© National Legal Center 2011 Frequently Asked Questions How much does it cost for a consultation? What services does your firm offer? What is Debt Resolution? What happens to my credit if I choose the Debt Resolution option? What type of Debt does your Firm work with? Does National Legal Center offer credit repair? Q: How much does it cost for a consultation? A: National Legal Center offers free consultations to all consumers.  Our highly knowledgeable and friendly analysts will take the time to fully understand your situation to help to guide you towards the right decisions for you and your specific case.  We will always be honest and fair with you.  We will never pressure you - only provide you facts to help you make educated decisions you can feel confident in. Q: What services does your firm offer? A:  Currently, National Legal Center offers the following services: • FDCPA Enforcement • Consumer Rights • Debtor Rights • Bankruptcy Alternatives • Debt Resolution • Elder Law For details about services, please call for a free consultation:  1-800-728-5285 Q: What is Debt Resolution? A: Working with our firm Debt Resolution Department, with the goal of reaching settlements on your credit card account, is a method of reducing or eliminating your unsecured debt by negotiating an agreed upon payoff amount, usually for an amount less than what is currently owed. Benefits of Debt Resolution include:  the ability to help you become debt free sooner, pay your debts based on your current budget, avoid bankruptcy, and pay less than you would by making the minimum monthly payments over time. While there may be many benefits to Debt Resolution and it can be an effective way to resolve your unsecured debts, there are also risks that must be well understood. Make sure to weigh all of the benefits and risks carefully before making a decision.  National Legal Center staff will always take the time needed to assist you understand all pro’s and con’s.  Q: What happens to my credit if I choose the Debt Resolution option? A: What happens to your credit will depend on many factors. To determine how Debt Resolution will affect your credit, you must first evaluate your current credit rating.   If you currently have perfect, good or even fair credit Debt Resolution will derogatorily affect your credit. Do not let any fast talking so called "debt consultant" tell you that it will only hurt your credit while you are working on resolving your debt. This is not true. The derogatory credit marks on your credit report may last for up to 7 years. If you currently have poor credit or already have accounts that are severely past due, it may not affect your credit any worse than it already is. Certainly the worse your credit is at the time of enrollment, the less the program will adversely affect it.  Any activity you have on your credit report, good or bad, is on there for 7 years. At National Legal Center, we always want to be honest with our clients.  For most individuals, Debt Resolution does negatively affect their credit score.  Many clients that decide to move forward with our Firm to resolve their debts are willing to accept that their credit will be negatively affected because they urgently need to do something about their problem debt.  If these next statements are true, then debt resolution or settlement may not be the right course for you:   1) Good credit is important to you 2) You have the means to pay off your debt in full by making required monthly minimum payments 3) You can afford the high interest charges associated with paying off unsecured debt and can make the required minimum payments each month.   While debt resolution will adversely affect your credit score, there are many factors that influence your overall credit. In addition to your credit FICO score (a number between 350 and 900) another major factor in determining your credit worthiness is your debt to income ratio. If you are maxed out on your credit lines and your debt to income ratio is out of sight, you are most likely not bankable – therefore, in many cases, even having a great credit score is not as valuable as it may seem. One last thing in evaluating if a debt resolution is right for you is the ultimate cost. Many things in life are priced based on your credit file. For instance, your home insurance payment or automobile insurance payment may go up if your credit score goes down. The cost of that car you hope to buy in 3 years will cost you more with a bad credit score. So always remember, what you save today, may come back and cost you in the future by other ways. The GOOD NEWS IS - all derogatory credit (except bankruptcy and public records) can be purged from your credit file after 7 years. So at the very least, you can look to a new start in 7 years, like this situation never happened. Q: What type of Debt does your Firm work with? A: At National Legal Center we typically work to resolve any most unsecured debt.  This typically includes credit card debts, store charge cards and unsecured loans. Debts that are secured by any property, such as mortgages, car loans, or purchase contracts cannot be included. We also cannot service IRS obligations or government-backed student loans Q: Does National Legal Center offer credit repair? A: National Legal Center does not offer credit repair.  If you are interested in credit repair, it is highly recommended that you research the company that you are choosing to help you with credit repair.  Check them out with the Better Business Bureau.