can be a great help to getting your finances back together, but not all debt relief ‘counselors’ out there want to help you get out of your slump.
Some are just vultures preying on those that can least afford to be taken advantage of.
This is exactly why you have to keep your wits about you when you’re on the market for a debt relief counselor, and here are just four of the more common signs that you’re dealing with a vulture instead of a counselor:
Prodding into financial accounts
One of the first signs that you’re talking to a debt relief fraud is when he or she asks for access to your private accounts.
Legitimate debt relief service counselors will only ask for limited information pertaining to your income or expenses. They will then make use of this information to think about your options to get yourself out of debt, with little other information needed.
Vultures, on the other hand, insist on you divulging more sensitive information.
This can be done explicitly – like asking for direct control over your accounts – or implicitly – like asking for unnecessary bank account details. Both method of prodding into your account will allow these frauds to take over your account, and they will then proceed to suck it dry.
Guarantees without proof
Another common tactic of these vultures is to prey on people’s desperation by offering guarantees and claims that are often too good to be true.
For example, there is no way a person with no income would be able to clear a credit debt of a hundred thousand dollars overnight without having to sacrifice anything. A real debt relief counselor would advise foreclosure and bankruptcy. The counselor would then help this person overcome the ordeal and recover from it all, this may also involve getting a debt relief loan.
In short, true non profit debt relief counselors are not magicians that can make anything possible. They will definitely work for your benefit, but they can never make the impossible happen.
Secretive and non-transparent
Anyone working in the financial business is a bit secretive, but counselors that refuse to explain how things work to you may not be what they claim to be.
The first step to getting you out of serious debt problems is to educate you. If your own counselor does not have the heart to explain things to you, then it would be better for you to save your money and doing all the research yourself.
This is exactly why asking questions will go a long way, and will help you discover just how willing your counselor is to get your finances back in track.
Tendency to rush things
Nothing takes advantage of ignorance like speed, especially if you are in a hurry to solve your credit card problems.
Fraudulent counselors will often try to blitz you into handing over information or making rash decisions. This often works well with people that urgently need assistance, as they would be grateful for any credit counseling debt relief that gets thrown their way.
Time is gold, indeed, but making major financial decisions requires a lot of time and a lot of careful thought. Matters will only get worse for you if you give in to the pressure.
Steer clear of these four red flags, and you’ll be able to avoid fraudulent debt relief counseling much more easily than without such information!