Hey everyone. Before I begin, I want to say that up until this point, I have never had experience with debt relief or anything of that sort. I am just a college kid trying to get into graduate school.
My dad has recently told my family that he is in $60k worth of credit card debt. Out of 5 of his cards, 3 of them are above $10k including one that is over $20k, iirc. My dad is not someone who is very transparent in his spending which is fucking terrible considering this bombshell he has put on us. To keep a long story short, my dad is an obvious ditch and I am not sure how it got to this point - I have been away from home due to college for the most part. A couple days ago, he informed us that he is speaking with a company called "Debt Advisors of America" for debt relief.
The agent pretty much told him that his credits will be split in half and he will be able to pay off his debt in a couple years, but only after we are in bad standing with the creditors (ie., Discover, Citi, Amex) - the agent did not directly say this, but that is what I am getting at. Essentially, it sounded like the agent wants my dad to ignore the monthly bills and phone calls so the creditor can reach a settlement with the firm once they find out my dad is unable to pay. The agent also informed my dad that his credit will temporarily dip, but it will resolve once the firm reaches a settlement (not sure if this is even true).
From my limited understanding, it seems like my dad just jumped the gun without considering any options. I asked if him if he has at least called the creditors to see if they can bump his interest rate down significantly (because that seems to be the thing that is killing him). I also asked if he willing to speak with a non-profit like NFCC to get some input from a non-profit that specializes in this sort of stuff...
All in all, I want to help my dad. He is not the most fluent or educated person in the world and so I could understand why a firm may have convinced him that this is his only option.
My dad is getting up there in age. He makes around $50k after taxes and is supporting a wife and 3 kids. If anyone has any advice that may be able to help, please let me know because I feel like our family will be taking on the brunt of this decision in the long run. Please also let me know if my recommendations are sensible. I already have so many things on my plate as a student and this is just another predicament I am dealing with.
Submitted July 22, 2022 at 10:31PM by bigbootyfruity https://ift.tt/ZnijMa0
