Debt Relief Agreements

There might come a time when you find yourself overburdened with debt and looking for relief. While there are reputable agencies available to you, you need to be careful of unscrupulous businesses attempting to take advantage of you. By exercising a little caution and doing a little digging, you should be able to avoid the less savory debt relief agencies.

Tax Agreements

If the debt you find yourself in has to do with taxes, there are approaches you can use in order to get some relief. One way to help relieve your tax debt is to hire a professional and get an Offer of Compromise, or OIC, set up. The way it works is that the Internal Revenue Service sits down with your representative to find out how much you can pay. The IRS then draws up an agreement that offers you a reduction in your bill, assuming that you accept the offer. While this is effective, you must meet some conditions --- one is that you really do not have the financial means to pay your tax bill and the other is that the tax bill was excessive to begin with. If you can't get an OIC, you can have a payment plan set up with the IRS, in which you pay down your debt on a monthly basis.

Scams

In your search to get a debt relief agreement drawn up, you need to be careful of the various scams out there. When an economy has a downturn, there are possibly people out there looking to take advantage of the vulnerability of others. The most common way that the scammers try to take advantage of you is by telling you there is an upfront fee before they can help you. Before you sign any agreement with anyone, do some basic research on the company, either by consulting the Better Business Bureau or by seeing if there is any information on the company posted on the Internet.

Protection

In September of 2010, certain protections were put in place to help consumers. The new rules applied only to telemarketers, however, and wouldn't allow any telemarketer to ask for an upfront fee before doing any work for the client. While the new rules were greatly needed, they don't apply to companies that are operating over the Internet or are doing their business with you in person. Again, make sure that you do some background checking before signing any agreements with a company.

Successful Outcomes

Despite bad companies being out there, people are still able to find debt relief when they sign agreements with reputable agencies. This takes place when the debt relief counselor has you undertake an aggressive plan of attack, usually consisting of having your personal finances completely overhauled, as well as having your debts consolidated into one payment. In addition, a good debt relief company engages in debt negotiation with your creditors and attempts to have some of the debt amount lowered. Consult with friends and acquaintances who have had successful outcomes and contact the agencies they used.