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We have tried to be complete but succinct on our site—but maybe there are still a few questions.
See if any of your questions are answered below, and if not, drop us a line.
Q. Who is qualified for our program?
Q. Who is NOT qualified for our program?
Q. How do you Apply?
Q. How will Start Fresh Financial settle my debts?
Q. Who can join Start Fresh Financial's program?
Q. Is bankruptcy a better option for me?
Q. Does Debt Settlement have a negative impact on my credit?
Q. Can I still use my credit cards?
Q. What will I pay for your services?
Q. Do you guarantee that you settle all of my debts?
Q. Can I be sued?
Q. Can Start Fresh Financial stop my creditors from calling?
Q. Does Start Fresh Financial repair my credit?
Q. Can creditors Garnish my wages?
Q. What are the tax Consequences?
Q. Can't I negotiate my debts with my creditors on my own?
Q. Do you start negotiating with my creditors immediately after enrollment??
Q. Does the Program get easier once I am in it for awhile?
Q. What happens if I quit the Program after enrolling?
Q. Who is qualified
for our program?
A. Start Fresh Financial's debt settlement program is only for people facing a legitimate financial HARDSHIP. This means people who, because of an unfortunate circumstance, cannot make their minimum monthly payments to creditors, are late on paying their debts, have little or no ability to pay their debts in the future, or are facing a possible bankruptcy.
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Q. Who is NOT qualified
for our program?
A. This program is not designed to negotiate debts for people who have the means to pay off their debts on a regular monthly basis. If you have the ability to pay your debts in the normal fashion then you should honor your debts and do so. This program is NOT for people who are gainfully employed, have high credit ratings, need to maintain a high credit score, or can meet their monthly debt obligations.
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Q. How
do you Apply?
A. Complete the form online or call us directly. A Sales & Debt Consultant will review your information and your financial and hardship situation. After a Consultant has reviewed your situation, she will determine if you are qualified for our Program. A Consultant will then explain the Program to you in full. If you qualify and choose to join our Program, you will begin the enrollment process.
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Q. How will Start Fresh Financial
settle my debts?
A. As explained elsewhere on this website, as will be further explained to you in the conversation with the Sales & Debt Consultant, and as you will learn in the enrollment process, you will be asked to put aside and save a set amount of settlement funds on a monthly basis in an account of your choosing. This amount will be determined from your initial analysis; it will be based on the total amount of your unsecured debt and will be in line with your income and expense budget. If you choose to do so, you stop paying your creditors when enrolled in this Program; instead, you will put your money into your settlement account; only once you have saved enough money to settle each debt, will that debt be extinguished. Specifically, once you have accumulated enough settlement funds to make a reasonable offer to your creditors to settle the debt, a Start Fresh Financial representative will begin the actual negotiation process. Each person's situation is different and the negotiation process will begin at different times depending on the amount of your debt and the amount you are able to accumulate in the settlement account. Once a creditor agrees to a settlement amount, we will present this offer to you. If you approve of the settlement, we will instruct the creditor to fax over the settlement offer in writing. After we receive the written settlement offer, we will have a three way recorded conversation with you, the creditor and us to settle the account. Start Fresh Financial then moves through each debt until all of your debts have been paid and you are debt free.
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Q. Who can join
Start Fresh Financial's program?
A. Start Fresh Financial's debt settlement program is a hardship program. This program is only for people who:
- have a legitimate financial hardship
- are late paying their unsecured debts
- cannot make their minimum monthly payments
- have no ability to make payments in the future
- bankruptcy is their only other option, but they do not want to file
Examples of qualifying hardships are a loss of income, medical emergency, death of a member of the household who provided financial assistance, or a divorce.
If you are currently meeting your monthly debt obligations and are able to continue to do so, then our Debt Settlement program is NOT for you.
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Q. Is bankruptcy
a better option for me?
A. Anyone considering our Program should also contact a bankruptcy attorney to determine if the situation warrants filing for bankruptcy. Using the Debt Settlement process does not guarantee that you will not have to file for bankruptcy in the future.
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Q. Does Debt Settlement
have a negative impact on my credit?
A. YES. Your credit score will decline while in our Program. How much it will decline depends on your own circumstances. Most of the accounts you place into negotiation are likely to “charge off” which will reflect negatively on your credit. However, once this charged off debt is settled, the settlement is reported to the credit bureaus. You should know that federal law prohibits creditors from misrepresenting a consumer’s payment history to credit reporting agencies. Creditors are permitted to report negative information such as delinquencies and charge-offs for seven years.
We believe that although a high credit score is of course desirable to have, if you have a financial hardship and are unable to pay your debts, then your first priority should be to pay your delinquent debts and get back on your feet financially.
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Q. Can I still use
my credit cards?
A. NO. All credit cards in the Program must be closed and you will not have credit privileges. Any cards you DO NOT put into the Program should not be used. This Program is for you to get out of debt, not to continue the process that got you into debt.
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Q. What will I pay
for your services?
A. Start Fresh Financial has a 7% setup fee which is calculated based on the total amount of debt that an individual brings into the Debt Settlement Program. After the setup fees, we will charge you a flat monthly maintenance fee based on the size of your debt for the remainder of the time you are enrolled in the Program.
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Q.Do you guarantee
that you settle all of my debts?
A. We cannot legally guarantee that your creditors will negotiate with us or that your debts will be reduced. Your creditors would rather that you spend the majority of your life paying off the debt you owe them. Thus, once you join our Program, many of them will take action such as threaten or intimidate you, continue to charge you interest or increase the interest rate, assess late charges, charge you default costs, and/or sue you.
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Q. Can I be sued?
A. YES. Your creditors certainly have the right to sue to recover their money. Usually the purpose of the lawsuit is to force a settlement on the matter, which is exactly what we do through debt settlement. It has been our experience that many creditors would rather not go through the expense of suing; they would rather negotiate a settlement with us, out of court. However, our clients have been sued, and all clients must recognize that this is a potential risk of joining our Program. If you are sued after joining our Program, we work with you to promptly settle the debt for this particular creditor, although the settlement may be at a higher percentage than if you had not been sued. We are not able to provide you with legal advice, because we are not lawyers at Start Fresh Financial. Our Consultant will further explain the potential risk of lawsuit.
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Q. Can Start Fresh Financial
stop my creditors from calling?
A. NO. Your creditors have the right to try and contact you in order to collect a debt and they may still call you even after your join our Program. However, we have been successful in reducing many of the harassing telephone calls. If your account is in collections, collections agencies have to adhere to the FDCPA Guidelines.
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Q. Does Start Fresh Financial
repair my credit?
A. NO. No company can remove legitimate negative items from your credit report. Negative items that are accurate will remain on your credit report according to the conditions imposed by the credit reporting agencies. However, the goal of our Debt Settlement Program is to settle your delinquent accounts. When a delinquent account is settled, this is also reflected on your credit report.
Further, since your debts will be paid, your debt-to-income ratio should improve once you have completed the Program. Debt-to-income ratios are not part of a credit score, however, they are an important measurement by which lenders evaluate applicants for auto and home loans.
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Q. Can creditors
Garnish my wages?
A. YES. However, this is can be a long process for the creditors. The creditor first has to sue you, successfully obtain a judgment, and then file for garnishment. If you’re willing to work with your creditors, wage garnishment may be avoided.
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Q.What are the
tax Consequences?
A. Your creditors will report cancelled/settled debts exceeding $600 to the IRS and you are required to report the same as income on your annual tax return. However, the IRS permits you to write off any “income” from canceled debts up to the amount by which you were “insolvent” at the time.
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Q. Can't I negotiate
my debts with my creditors on my own?
A. YES. You could negotiate your debts with your creditors on your own. As a matter of fact, if you successfully negotiate a debt on your own, it may cost you less in the long run to use this approach than to use Start Fresh Financial's service because we charge fees for our services.
You should note, however, that the debt settlement process can be a long and arduous process for the average consumer. That’s why we offer debt negotiation as a service, so that we can be there with you during the process. Our debt negotiators have the skills and knowledge of how your creditors negotiate and they have many years of experience negotiating debt reductions. You don't have to spend all of your time and effort trying to negotiate with your creditors alone and you can rely on our experience to get a settlement possibility for you.
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Q.Do you start negotiating with my creditors immediately after enrollment?
A. As part of your enrollment process, you will send letters to your creditors* that state you are now enrolled in our Program and you will provide them with a Power of Attorney that gives us the authority to negotiate with your creditors on your behalf. We cannot negotiate an actual dollar amount with your creditors until you have saved a sufficient amount of money in your settlement account. Generally, as soon as you reach 30% of a debt in your account, we will call your creditor and begin actual negotiations.
*Some creditors are more difficult to settle with than other creditors. Our Consultant will discuss this with you and how we propose to deal with your more difficult creditors.
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Q.Does the Program get easier once I am in it for awhile?
A. YES. In the beginning, there is paperwork you must fill out and go through with a Consultant. You will need to understand our Program, and so you will have several conversations with our staff. Creditors often intimidate new clients who have recently joined our Program. The first year is often the hardest, and that is the year where you must put sufficient funds in your settlement account and pay us the majority of the fees that we charge at the same time. However, once you have the first year behind you, and a settlement or two finalized, the path to debt recovery will feel easier. The more you are able to put into your settlement account, and the quicker you are able to do so, will determine how long it will take you to be in this Program. We strongly recommend that should you decide to join our Program, that you complete the Program to reap the benefits available to you.
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Q.What happens if I quit the Program after enrolling?
A. We do not recommend that you quit our Program after enrolling and before settling your debts with creditors. If you do so, you will have paid our initial fees and angered your creditors without realizing any benefits. The benefits of the Program are only realized after you have accumulated sufficient funds in your settlement account and after you begin to actually settle your debts.
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