Even though at New Era Debt Solutions, we offer an Debt Relief alternative option to reduce debt and avoid the need to file for bankruptcy, we still feel strongly that a consumer must explore all options before they can make an educated decision about which strategy will make the most sense for them.

So, Is Bankruptcy Right For Me?

The only way to truly answer that question is to meet with a trusted bankruptcy attorney licensed in the state that you live in. However, through the process of elimination you can make a pretty good determination about whether or not bankruptcy is the right choice for you.

Since you are asking the question, it is a pretty safe bet that you are struggling to keep up on your bills and the option to just pay them until they are paid off is not likely a feasible solution. The next question to ask would be to determine if you could comfortably afford the monthly payments if the interest rates were reduced down to about 10%.

If so, then speaking with a Consumer Credit Counseling organization and learning what they might be able to offer you in terms of interest rate reduction would be something you should add to your checklist. If you find that even with lower interest rates the monthly payments would be too much of a stretch, you should contact us here at New Era Debt Solutions (shameless plug) to see if a debt settlement approach is a strategy that could work for you.

Generally we can significantly lower your current monthly payment and negotiate with your creditors to reduce the principle balance that you owe to them. With a debt settlement strategy it is possible to get out of debt in just a few short years for a fraction of what you owe.

If after speaking with us, you determine that you do not have a sufficient amount of cash flow to make a debt settlement approach feasible then we would certainly recommend that you meet with a bankruptcy attorney to explore the option.

Meeting with a bankruptcy attorney to find out if bankruptcy is right for you doesn’t mean that you must follow through and file for bankruptcy, it is simply another step in gathering all the information you need to make the best financial decision for you and your family.

Although it is more difficult than it was prior to 2005 when the laws changed, if you can qualify for a chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can typically wipe the slate clean and get a fresh start. If you make too much money or you have non exempt assets and you find out that you would be required to file a chapter 13 repayment plan, you definitely want to carefully consider all your options.

Often times, with a chapter 13 bankruptcy you will be on a 5 year repayment plan and it certainly isn’t the quick fix that most people think of when they think about bankruptcy.

If you would like to explore all options available before turning to bankruptcy, give us a call for a free consultation. If we can’t put together a workable plan for you, at minimum we can at least help you figure out what other potential option you should look at.

Is Bankruptcy Right For Me? is a post from: Debt Solutions

With every program claiming to be “the best” and consumers feeling the constant stress of debt collector phone calls and bills piling up, it makes it very difficult for a consumer to take their time and really investigate every program they come across. To help consumers narrow down the field of prospective Debt Settlement programs we created a short list of questions that would allow them to eliminate any company that didn’t meet all of the below criteria.

5 Simple Questions To Help You Find The Best Debt Settlement Companies

1. Has the company been in business longer than 5 years?

If they haven’t been in business for at least 5 years then they do not have a long enough track record to prove they are successful for their clients. A debt settlement process can sometimes take several years so any track record short of 5 years is simply insufficient. New Era Debt Solutions has been successfully assisting consumers for over 10 years and has a clear and transparent record of client success.

2. What is the BBB Rating of the company?

Some companies claim to be among the Best Debt Settlement Companies but happen to have a large number of complaints and an F rating with the BBB. Often times the sales reps will claim that the BBB is Bias and no debt settlement company can get a rating better than an F. This is simply not true. New Era Debt Solutions has an A+ rating with the BBB and over 24 positive real client reviews on Trustlink (The BBB consumer review site). If a company always puts their clients first and does what they promise to do, it will be very evident in the positive and unsolicited consumer feedback.

3. Do they charge Fees Upfront?

The FTC outlawed the practice of debt settlement companies charging upfront fees in 2010. Unfortunately most debt settlement companies where taking advantage of consumers and charging all of their fees before they actually settled any debts. This resulted in a very high number of consumers getting sued by their creditors and losing thousands of dollars to debt settlement company fees with little to no results. Since the FTC banned this practice, many companies have stopped doing it or have gone out of business. However there are still some companies out there that unfortunately care more about lining their own pockets than they care about helping consumers. Don’t ever hire a debt settlement company that charges their fees upfront especially if they are claiming that they are exempt from the law because they are a law firm.

New Era Debt Solutions has always charged our fees based on our performance even before a law was passed requiring us to do so.

4. Do you find many consumer complaints about them when you do a Google search for the company?

Type the company name into Google and see if there are a lot of consumer complaints about the business. If a large number of current or past clients were not happy with the service, there is a good chance that you won’t be happy hiring them either. A high number of consumer complaints should certainly knock out any program claiming to be among the best debt settlement companies.

5. Are you speaking with the entity that will actually work to negotiate your debts or just a sales person that will refer you to another company after they get your money?

More often than not, the person speaking to you about their program is actually not the organization that will be performing the debt settlement service and thus, they are not in a position to promise you anything. Once they get paid and refer you to someone else, they have no control over what happens to you. New Era Debt Solutions takes care of our clients from start to finish. You are never outsourced to anyone. When you speak with us, you are talking to the people that will actually be negotiating directly with your creditors to resolve your situation.

Even though this is a short list, asking these 5 simple questions will go along way to saving you time and insuring that you are hiring one of the Best Debt Settlement Companies. There are very few programs in the industry that can satisfactorily answer all 5 of these questions and when you find one that can, you should definitely put it on your short list of potential companies to hire to help you resolve your debt issue.

Best Debt Settlement Companies is a post from: Debt Solutions

Negotiating With Credit Card Companies

Do I need an Attorney?

The reality is that when negotiating with credit card companies, a properly executed debt settlement strategy with an appropriately qualified client should rarely result in the filing of a credit card lawsuit. If a debt settlement agency is experiencing a large number of their clients getting sued, then they are accepting unqualified clients and likely charging extremely high upfront fees that do not allow for early settlements with creditors.

While only about 6% of New Era Debt Solutions clients ever experience any sort of legal activity, we have recently noticed a sharp decline in the number of lawsuits received by our clients over the last few months. Even in the rare event that a lawsuit does occur, the debt can often still be negotiated and settled. In fact less than 1% of our clients ever experience any form of escalated legal activity such as a bank levy or wage garnishment.

An important thing for consumers to keep in mind if they are considering working with a “legal model” debt settlement firm, is that quite often their fees do not include representation if you are actually sued by one of your creditors. Having full representation in the rare event of a lawsuit would be one of the main benefits to paying for an attorney, and if they aren’t even going to provide that, you should question the value of using an “attorney firm” and paying large upfront fees.

You can find debt relief and settle your credit cards in a timely manner without hiring an attorney and paying steep upfront fees. Be leery of sales people who promote large attorney model debt settlement firms, claiming that only attorneys can settle your debts. More often than not, these fees are simply going to pay large commissions to the sales people and a “servicing company.” Typically an actual attorney will never even look at your file or negotiate anything with your creditors.

If you are in a financial situation where Negotiating With Credit Card Companies is a viable strategy and you can raise the funds necessary to settle your debt within a reasonable amount of time, the possibility of being sued before a settlement can be reached is not very likely. Even though there is still a chance of it happening, hiring a typical debt settlement law firm will do nothing to minimize that chance and will likely just lighten your wallet without providing any additional service or legal protection.

Negotiating With Credit Card Companies is a post from: Debt Solutions

In business for over 10 years with an A+ BBB rating, New Era Debt Solutions is the Go To source for help with Debt Settlement in Los Angeles. The above article, written by Jenny Werth describes an exhaustive search for an honest debt settlement company. She goes on to share that she just never felt comfortable with any of them until she was introduced to New Era and their “consumer friendly” approach, which is highly unique to the industry.

 Debt Settlement Los Angeles

Like many California cities, Los Angeles has been hit hard by the economic downturn and New Era Debt Solutions prides itself on providing step by step solutions for cash strapped consumers to get out of debt and avoid bankruptcy.

Located just outside of Los Angeles county in Camarillo California, New Era Debt Solutions works with clients throughout the country to negotiate and settle credit card balances for less than the full amount owed.

Over the years, many companies claiming to settle consumer debts have come and gone. New Era Debt Solutions was one of the original pioneers in this industry and to date has settled almost 200 Million Dollars worth of debt for its client’s.

A debt settlement approach is not the right solution for all situations. Contact New Era today for a free debt reduction evaluation. New Era does not charge any fee unless they are able to successfully settle your debt, so if their program is not the right fit for you, they will be able to point you in the right direction.

To read the full article in Hollywood Weekly, click on the cover page below.

Debt Settlement Los Angeles

Debt Settlement Los Angeles is a post from: Debt Solutions

The easy credit that came during the boom times played a major role in hiking the cost of living in California to one of the highest in the nation. Many consumers were compelled to borrow money simply to afford to stay living in the state. Before 2006 it was painfully simple to get a California debt consolidation loan by taking a home equity line of credit out on your home.

However times are different now. While the cost of living in California is still quite high, with homes in some areas losing more than half their value, consumers no longer have access to that easy credit that allowed them to make ends meet. Now consumers must buckle down and get resourceful to survive and the first thing that must go is all of that debt that has been accumulated.

California Debt Consolidation

If you are struggling under a pile of credit card bills, you must figure out a way to get rid of the debt. The proverbial ATM in the kitchen is gone and with it went the option for consumers to take out a credit card debt consolidation loan.

The 3 remaining resources that consumers should contact for assistance are credit counseling programs, a California debt settlement company, or a bankruptcy attorney.

Each of these three options have their own pros and cons and there is no such thing as a one size fits all solution. A consumer should explore each of them to determine which one if any will be the best solution to solve their financial situation.

Even though times are tough, now is the time to get rid of debt and put yourself in a strong cash position. People make money in booms and in busts and it is those that have no debt and extra money available that are in the best position to pick up assets at the bottom of a market and ride them all the way back up to the top.

If you think that a debt settlement approach might be your best option be sure to compare New Era Debt Solutions to any other settlement program out there. We help consumers all over the country but our corporate office is located right here on the Golden Coast in Camarillo California. Our nationwide clients love the fact that we can provide our service via telephone consultations, but if you live in the local area, you are welcome to make an appointment to come speak with us in person.

Our offices are located at

California Debt Consolidation is a post from: Debt Solutions

The least expensive service to use of to send your letter through the post office by certified mail, return receipt requested. When the letter is signed for you will get back a green postcard showing when it was received and who signed for it. You may also decide to send your letter by FedEx or some other express mail service to get additional attention.

Keep the return receipt postcard or some other delivered proof with a copy of the letter you sent in a safe place. You’ll probably need it later if you have to escalate your dispute.

In your letter give the company 14 days to respond, keep a friendly tone, and state what your issue is and the resolution you would like to receive. There is no need to be mean or nasty in this letter.

Let the company know that if they fail to respond you will escalate the matter to state and federal officials but you want to come to a win-win outcome that is good for both you and reasonable for the company.

Sometimes a company will come back with a refund offer to help remedy the dispute. While the refund offer may not be for the full amount you feel you deserve, only you can determine if the partial refund provides you with a satisfactory outcome and not left feeling cheated.

You don’t have to accept less than you are owed but there must be a cost-benefit determination to figure out if more time, pressure, and escalation on your part is going to result in a better outcome for you.

If the company does not respond or you feel it is insufficient you can escalate your claim to your State Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau, your local consumer affairs office or other enforcement office. You can find a listing of all consumer protection offices online here.

If you’ve been ripped off or have a complaint about a company that has taken your money or made you promises for a loan or was selling you some money saving service, credit repair, or debt help and just hasn’t delivered there are plenty of places to file a complaint in hopes of getting help.

But you may want to consider wiling an online report using the scam report and consumer complaint submission form.

This free service is unique as compared to other online complaint portals in that it companies that are the subject of a filed complaint are contacted and asked to respond directly to your complaint.

The goal of a consumer complaint using this service is to create a conduit for a solution and the problem being resolved.

Without a doubt the effective route to a resolution is to be levelheaded, persistent, and do what you can to work with the company first. Give them a chance to do the right thing. Your documentation that you tried and they did not want to assist you in resolving the dispute will come in handy if you later file your complaint elsewhere.

While this guide is written more for people that feel cheated by a debt relief company, the detailed step-by-step refund directions are still good for almost any dispute.

Author: This article was contributed by GetOutOfDebt.org, a site that provides free help for people looking for advice on how to get out of debt or getting out of debt.

Source: Have You Been Scammed or Ripped Off? How to Get Help and Get The Problem Resolved.

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Have You Been Scammed or Ripped Off? How to Get Help and Get The Problem Resolved. is a post from: Debt Solutions

Debt Settlement is not a pain free way to cut your debt in half by making small payments for 4 or 5 years. However, under the right circumstances, although not fun and painless, Debt Settlement is the fastest and least expensive way out of debt short of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

How Does Debt Settlement Work?

Unlike the theory of relativity, how debt settlement works is actually quite simple. If you find yourself in a situation where you are unable to keep up on your obligations to your creditors then a debt settlement strategy is one option that you can look into. Debt settlement is for individuals who have determined that simply reducing the interest rates on their credit cards is not going to provide sufficient relief and that they are unable or unwilling to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Debt Settlement is best performed if you have access to a lump sum of money but a successful outcome can certainly be achieved if you have to save the money out of your monthly cash flows over a 1 to 3 year period.

As you fall further behind on your bills your creditors will eventually reach a point where they realize that some money is better than no money and will be open to discussing a debt settlement option. All creditors are different and knowing when to talk about settlement and how low to negotiate is where hiring an experienced debt settlement company will really give a consumer an advantage.

A lawful debt settlement company will not charge you any fees until they have been able to successfully reach a settlement agreement with your creditors. While it is true that hiring a professional will cost some money, the reality is that the money paid in fees is often more than made up in the additional savings to the consumer that a professional negotiator is able to obtain. This essentially allows a consumer to have a professional negotiate on their behalf for little to no actual cost.

So how does debt settlement work? Well that is just it, there is not much more to it than, negotiating the best deal at the best possible time. Of course there are many different turns that a collection account can take and the strategy will be different if you are dealing with a debt collector, or a debt collection attorney but in a nutshell, it is all about having an experienced middle man find a common ground that both sides are happy with.

If you are struggling with debt and have questions about how our debt settlement program might work for you, please fill out a short consultation request form and one of our settlement specialists will be happy to answer your questions for free.

Ask New Era A Question

How Does Debt Settlement Work is a post from: Debt Solutions

If you are a Financial Planner, CPA, Bankruptcy Attorney, or any other professional who works with consumers to improve their financial situations, New Era Debt Solutions would like to speak with you about our Debt Settlement Affiliate Program.

Our Debt Settlement Affiliate Program provides financial professionals with a great referral resource for their clients who are deep in debt and in need an honest consultation about a possible debt settlement option.

As a leader in the debt settlement industry for over a decade, New Era understands how important it is for a professional to be able to trust a referral source to take care of a client.

With that in mind, we would like to open up our doors and share our process, our track record, and most importantly our clients’ results, to give you the confidence and peace of mind you would require to recommend our service.

Our Debt Settlement Affiliate Program is a win win for both you and your client. You are able to earn a referral fee for pointing them in the right direction. Your client will thank you for introducing them to a company that can actually settle their debts, charges no upfront fees, has an A+ rating with the BBB and a 10 year track record to back up that rating.

New Era Debt Solutions is a company that you can Trust to take care of your clients. After comparing our program we are confident you will agree.

Please click here to learn more about our referral fees and the specifics of our Debt Settlement Affiliate Program.

New Era understands that sometimes a professional adviser may be in a position where they are unable to accept referral fees. If that is the case, we would be happy to pass the referral fee on to your client in the form of a discount.

Affiliate Program

Image Credit: Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

New Era Offers A Professional Referral Partnership Program – A Trusted Resource For Your Clients is a post from: Debt Solutions

Debt Relief Scams

The New York Department of Consumer affairs recently announced that they consider debt settlement companies who charge consumers upfront fees to be the biggest fraud of the year. We couldn’t agree more.

Even though recent laws have thankfully forced debt settlement companies to stop charging upfront fees and finally start putting their clients first, there are still a large number of programs who seem to have not quite gotten the message.

In the past year, regulators have sent a clear message to upfront fee debt relief scams and yet many have chosen to desperately look for loopholes instead of looking out for their clients. Perhaps The Bobby Fuller Four can put it in a way that is easier for them to understand. (See image above)

Despite the numerous consumer advocate and regulator warnings, consumers are still getting sucked into these upfront debt relief scams. Aside from the obvious reason to not enroll into any debt settlement company that wants to take their fees first, many of these programs will be out of business by regulators within the next 12 to 24 months.

So even if these companies charging upfront fees plan to provide an actual service, if they are charging all of their fees upfront, regulators are going to catch on and likely put them out of business.

Protecting yourself is actually fairly simple. If you are in a situation where a debt settlement approach will make the most sense, do not enroll with any debt settlement program that wants to charge their fees before they can successfully settle your debts, period.

Other factors you should look at to protect yourself from a Debt Relief Scam are…

1. The company BBB record.

2. The amount of time the company has been in business. Should be a minimum of 5 years and longer than that is even better.

3. Is the company transparent with the results of current and past clients?

4. What do their clients say about them both on their website and off their site?

There is unfortunately no shortage of debt relief scams actively looking to take advantage of consumers, but if you take your time, and do a little research, it will be very difficult for them to make you their next victim.

Debt Relief Scams Dominate Debt Settlement Says NY Department of Consumer Affairs is a post from: Debt Solutions

There was the debt settlement sales affiliate, predictably praising all the virtues that debt settlement has to offer.

The former consumer credit counseling employee attacking the debt settlement affiliate for scamming people out of their money and advising the client to never look into debt settlement.

The “consumer,” sounding suspiciously like the same debt settlement sales person, telling the former credit counselor how much money he had saved with xyz debt settlement company, and linking to their website as a supposed public service.

Then we have the random guy named something like baller1077 adding that the banks are in a conspiracy and getting rid of your debt is easy. To back up his claim he added that his wife’s friend just wrote paid in full on a 10 dollar check and when the bank cashed it they were required to zero out her debt. I wonder if he will come back into the forum in about 18 months and let us all know how much his wife’s friend is getting garnished on her paycheck?

Of course, there was much more back and forth and if you have ever asked a financial question in an Internet forum then the above scene is likely very familiar. As well intentioned as many responses in the forum were, nobody knew anything about the readers financial situation, yet everyone had an opinion on whether or not debt settlement was a good idea for him.

So, Is Debt Settlement a Good Idea or Not?

Obviously the answer depends solely on a consumers specific financial situation, but the truth is that in some cases a debt settlement approach is the least expensive and fastest way out of debt for consumers. Unfortunately debt settlement has gotten a bad rap because of all the unscrupulous individuals that entered the space and began to heavily market a service to many people that didn’t qualify for it.

They would charge heavy fees upfront and predictably many of their unqualified clients would drop out of the program when they realized it was not working as planned. This generated large numbers of complaints and regulators have finally stepped in to pass restrictive laws to prevent debt settlement companies from charging fees upfront. This has driven many of the scammers out of the debt settlement space, but there are still quite a few remaining and hoping to further take advantage of consumers.

The best rule of thumb if you think debt settlement is a good idea for your situation, is to never hire a company that tries to charge large upfront fees before they actually settle your debts. While this rule will not weed out all shady operators, it will help you screen a large number of them.

Under What Circumstances is Debt Settlement a Good Idea?

Like Credit Counseling, Bankruptcy and any other debt solution, there are specific circumstances when a debt settlement can make great sense for a consumer.

1. A consumer has fallen behind on their bills or is no longer able to make the payments.

2. A Credit Counseling program will not provide the consumer with a low enough monthly payment to meet their current cash flow situation.

3. A consumer is unable or does not want to file for chapter 7 bankruptcy.

4. A consumer has an expectation that they will be able to raise the money needed for settlement in a reasonable time frame.

Every situation is different and this is by no means an exhaustive list because there are so many individual factors that a consumer must consider when deciding on their best debt relief option. A consumer struggling with debt should always fully explore all debt relief options available to them, but debt settlement is a good idea to explore if you find yourself in between Credit Counseling and Bankruptcy with neither providing you a great solution.

So is debt settlement a good idea? Yes, but only when it makes the most sense.

At New Era Debt Solutions, our Counselors are not paid on commission and we don’t make a dime until we successfully settle your debt. If you would like to learn what a debt settlement strategy would look like in your situation, you can request a free consultation with a knowledgeable debt counselor today.

Is Debt Settlement A Good Idea is a post from: Debt Solutions