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Credit card debt can be an extremely stressful burden for anyone. While there are a number of debt relief options available, it is important for someone with credit card debt who needs debt relief to carefully consider all of their options before making any decisions. Some means of escaping credit card debt come with a high amount of risk or require a tremendous commitment of both time and energy. One debt relief option with a lower level of risk and less commitment of time is debt settlement.
Also referred to as debt negotiation or debt arbitration, debt settlement is a debt relief option in which a creditor and balance holder will negotiate an overdue balance to a lower balance level. Once this lower debt balance is repaid, the debt is viewed by the creditor as paid in full. Debt negotiation is typically accomplished with a debt settlement company acting as a third party that negotiates with the creditor on behalf of a balance holder.
According to Shane Boldin of the Dallas-based debt settlement company MyDebtRelief.com, “Debt settlement is an extremely good option for many people and the returns can sometimes be quite good for a debtor. We have helped a number of people find debt relief by reducing their account balance by as much as 60%.”
Debt negotiation is seen by many as a proven alternative to other, more involved debt relief options including bankruptcy. With debt negotiation, there is no risk of a person losing property, as would happen if the debtor were to file for bankruptcy. Additionally, while bankruptcy usually requires a large time commitment for bankruptcy courses and working with a bankruptcy advisor, debt settlement programs do not.
Debt consolidation is another debt relief option chosen by many people with credit card debt, but again there are a number of drawbacks to this method that are not present in debt negotiation. In debt consolidation, a person will often trade unsecured debt, with has a relatively lower risk, for secured debt, which has a relatively higher level of risk. This secured debt will be matched with some form of collateral, often the balance holder’s home. If the balance holder is unable to pay off the credit card debt, they will lose their home.
“With debt settlement, there is a lower level of risk than in consolidation,” says Shane Boldin. “Also, many people are unable to pay off the consolidated debt in the time allowed or end up paying for years due to the interest rates. The majority of our clients are able to pay off their negotiated settlements in as little as 36 months.”
Ultimately, while there are a number of debt relief options available for someone with credit card debt, not all offer the same results. While some, such as debt consolidation, have a higher risk of property loss, and others, such as bankruptcy, take a large investment of time and energy, debt settlement is a debt relief alternative that reduces the risk posed to a balance holder while allowing them to be free of debt in a minimal amount of time.

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