How will this program impact my credit score?
How will this program impact my credit score?
First off, are you planning on making any big ticket purchases, such as a car or a house in the very near term?”. If you aren't, a decrease in your current credit score should not affect your lifestyle. You should also keep in mind that with a debt load that is flat-lining, even if you are current on your credit card, your credit score is already in a slow and steady decline due to the fact that you have a high DTI (Debt to Income Ratio). In some cases, this program may help to improve your credit score by getting rid of all your unsecured debts and correcting your DTI but this change cannot happen until your accounts have been settled.
Is there a difference between debt reduction and debt consolidation?
Is there a difference between debt reduction and debt consolidation?
Debt consolidation only lowers your interest rates by a couple points. It also does not lower the principle balance of your debt. Debt reduction, however, can potentially cut your total debt in almost half greatly improving your financial situation.
Do I qualify for this debt reduction plan?
Do I qualify for this debt reduction plan?
We meet with all of our potential customers for a free face-to-face meeting. During this meeting, we go over a budget analysis where our professional underwriter will review your situation to see if it meets the requirements of the program.
When does Century First Credit Solutions start negotiating my debt?
When does Century First Credit Solutions start negotiating my debt?
Once we have studied your financial hardship and approved you for enrollment into our Program, your creditors will be notified after your enrollment by your assigned CFCS debt specialist. Your debts are settled as funds become available through the payments you make into your secured FDIC-ensured dedicated account. When enough available funds have built up to begin negotiations a debt specialist will contact you. They will talk about settlement offers with you and execute settlements with your creditors on your behalf as your legal representative. You have the most reliable advice at your disposal as you navigate your way out of debt back to financial independence.
Can I settle these debt by myself?
Can I settle these debt by myself?
It's very tough to successfully settle any and all of your unsecured debts by yourself. Also most major creditors will only allow settlement of personal debts within a 3 payment period usually with 90 days or less to pay off the debt. Most Americans with substantial hardships and high debt levels simply do not have the available wealth to personally settle their debts with their creditors. That is why our 24 to 36 month structured payment plans allow our clients the ability to successfully pay off their unsecured debts to creditors, while still keeping their standard of living and while avoiding bankruptcy. If you are in a tough financial hardship, this process can be serious and will have a large impact on your future. In this situation, you deserve help from someone that understands your rights.
Once enrolled, will creditors continue to call me?
Once enrolled, will creditors continue to call me?
At the start the original creditor maintains the right to contact you. We, however, possess the knowledge and experience to decrease and sometimes eliminate all of the calls. When you are enrolled with us, you are also enrolled into a consumer advocacy program that will further aid you in decreasing and eliminating unwanted creditor calls, as well as educate you on your rights as an American consumer under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). At the beginning, it is impossible to make ALL calls stop completely, and that is why our unmatched customer service and consumer advocacy network are here to support you as you go through these initial bumps on your way to financial independence. Please keep in mind that once your account has been transferred to a third party, it becomes an easier process for us to decrease and eliminate all calls.
Can you explain how this process works & how CFCS stops creditor calls?
Can you tell me how this works & how the creditor calls stop?
Creditors do reserve the right to call you, however, our program can reduce these calls or potentially stop them altogether. You have to grasp that on some level this is a game. Your creditors view you as an extremely valuable customer due to the fact that they make great profits off of your ‘revolving debt cycle’ where you make minimum payments at high interest rates while being unable to reduce the principal of your balance. Their goal is to keep consumers paying on their balance in order to maximize profits on each account. We understand these initial calls may be annoying, but if you get this ‘game’, you will not be scaried by them. Our business understands the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. Upon receiving "Cease and Desist" letters, your creditors have to comply with the rules set forth by the Fair Debt Collections Practics Act. Your creditors are completely aware of these rules. The Cease and Desist letters, therefore, either drastically reduce or eliminate phone calls immediately upon receipt. Beyond this, when you start the program, you are also enrolled into The United Consumer Advocacy Network (UCAN). Enrollment with UCAN is a free service provided by our company. UCAN will educate you of your rights as a “Consumer” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and assist in decreasing or ending phone calls from your creditors.
Who do I reach out to if I am having issues with my creditors ?
Who do I reach out to if I am having issues with my creditors ?
One of the beneficial aspects of the program is that we assign a credit counselor to you who will get to know your relationship with your creditors. You will be talking with and receiving correspondence from this certified debt specialist for the duration of your program. Your personal debt specialist is here to answer any questions you may have in regards to your savings account, keep you updated on the current status of your settlements with your various creditors, as well as to better help you with any communications that you may have gotten from your creditors so that we can have you understand what it means to you and address it in the best way to protect your rights as an American consumer. Keep in mind that once you have signed with us, we are just a call, fax or email away. You won't be alone, that's our promise to you. Our goal is getting you ‘peace of mind’ while also achieving your financial freedom.
Do all of my card have to be enrolled ?
Do all of my card have to be enrolled ?
Of course not. Your program is tailored to your needs and requirements. We will enroll only the debts that you want included in the plan. We look at your portfolio, sorting the accounts, from most serious to least, searching for what we label ‘malignant’ debt. They are creditor accounts where interest rates are extremely high or have increased recently, credit balances are nearing or may have exceeded the limit, and minimum payments are being made but the balance does not decrease dramatically. You may be experiencing a level or even increasing debt load. This is a bad financial situation, and it causes a revolving debt cycle CFCS labels “debt slavery” onto the consumer. What this means for you is that your payments are getting you further into debt, or bringing you hardly anywhere at all, when in reality these payments should be aggressively getting rid of the principal debt. Essentially, you are throwing away your money, in a revolving debt cycle where these is no end in sight. Any accounts that match these criteria are strongly encouraged to be enrolled immediately and aggressively settled. If you have cards that match NONE of these characteristics, you and your debt specialist may determine to keep these cards out of the program. Many of our customers keep one card just in case of an emergency. All situations are unique and individual to the person, and therefore it is important that you bring this up with your CFCS debt specialist before deciding on any one card.
How much does it cost & how does your company get paid ?
How much does it cost & how does your company get paid ?
We provide a free face-to-face meeting with a certified debt specialist through the IAPDA (International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators). You will never send a check to CFCS. Instead you will put aside money into your secured FDIC-insured dedicated account as a part of your savings plan to eliminate your unsecured debt. This dedicated account is your property and it is FDIC insured for $250,000.00. Upon request, you will receive statements from this account each month like any other bank account. It is strongly recommended that you use your account solely to build up funds for your program and fulfil your obligations to your creditors, according to your selected payment plan. As a private corporation, we do need to make money in order to run our business, pay our employees, and provide services to our customers. CFCS charges an 18% flat fee and a small maintenance fee on top of that, which is already built into the program's monthly payments, ensuring no hidden fees or extraneous charges. This fee is collected during the course of the program through your fixed monthly payments. We are successful ONLY when you are successful, a central principle of our company.
How do I know which company I can trust ?
How do I know which company I can trust ?
Good question. There are many “fly by night” companies out there. We are accredited through the Better Business Bureau of New York and have an A+ rating with them. Additionally, we are a member of the Manhanttan Chamber of Commerce, a business membership organization comprised of a cross section of 10,000 business members. We have debt specialists that are certified through the International Associate of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA). Finallly, CFCS does not conduct business over the phone. We provide a free face-to-face meeting for a CFCS representative to sit down with the client to start the enrollment into the program. We also understand that you will want to do your due diligence before signing so we provide our clients actual CFCS settlement letters we have achieved for our clients.
Will all my creditors settle with CFCS?
Will all my creditors settle with CFCS ?
There are some instances when a creditor will not settle. To minimize this risk, CFCS debt specialists check to see that the creditors included for enrollment in the program have a history of settling with CFCS debt specialists. If a debt specialist feels it is not in your best interest to include a creditor, that account will not be allowed to enrollment. Most unsecured accounts are able to enroll. Most accounts that are not allowed are either federally backed(for instance, student loans) or are debts that are attached to an asset (such as a car or house) and therefore are “secured” debt. If the creditor does not settle initially, we have methods in order to seek out an arrangement. During these negotiations, the creditor realizes that their tough approach will not get them anywhere when dealing with seasoned debt specialists. The opportunity to receive some of the money owed is better than the risk of receiving nothing at all.