The Federal Trade Commission is looking into legislation that would change the debt settlement industryâ??s common practice of charging upfront and numerous processing fees. Many companies, like The Debt Settlement Program and Your Debt Negotiator, already offer programs that charge no upfront fees, taking consumer concerns into their own hands. The proposed regulations would require debt negotiation companies to be completely transparent, sharing with clients the estimated time it would take to reach a settlement, the effects on their credit score, and the fact that a settlement might never be reached. The debt negotiation company would also have to make clients aware of the fact that creditors will still call and will still harass the consumer. The proposed regulations would also prohibit debt negotiation companies from charging any fees before services have been performed, and would not allow them to make unreasonable debt settlement estimates just to obtain clients. I think these new guidelines are going to be great! It's about time the FTC got serious about debt relief fraud.
