Have any of you ever used the Debtor's Secret Weapon

[kimmerspixelated]

to address credit card debt?It's supposed to be legal and highly rated. I couldn't find any bad reviews, but I'm sure the info is free if one cares to look in the right places, but where exactly is that? Just curious, has anyone tried this or similar programs?

[Occam Bandage]

1. You mean bankruptcy?

[kimmerspixelated]

12. No it's the program here:

www.outin90.com

[anigbrowl]

21. Wow, it's just $49.95 + $7.95 s&h. Let me guess, it's not available in stores...

Dude it's a scam. All of these services just repackage publicly available information and prey on people's fear, greed and confusion. Go here instead: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm

[Ian David]

2. I just put Night Cream on my credit cards. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. lol n/t

[Oregone]

3. You mean paying it off?

[Lisa0825]

8. Believe it or not, it is not that straight forward.

If you pay off a debt that has gone to collections, that restarts the amount of time that the bad account will show up on your credit report. You should never pay off a bad account without first getting an agreement from them IN WRITING that in exchange for payment, they will remove the trade line from your report.

[TexasObserver]

18. That's right. I wish everyone in debt knew this.

I don't handle bankruptcy or defense of collections work, but I have a never ending number of friends and relatives who ask me what to do about debts they cannot pay. Over the years, I've learned the process, mainly through such contacts.

Once a person has decided not to pay a debt (such as a credit card), the last thing they should do is pay a dime on that debt. To do so restarts the statute of limitations, which does not begin to run until the last payment was made. The instant one sends them a dime, they revive the indebtedness, and revive the time which must pass before they can get the debt off their credit report.

Most unsecured debt has no more than a four year statute of limitations, and once that has passed, they cannot sue for the debt. Hell, I just talked to a friend earlier who is being hounded over a debt that he stopped paying over ten years ago. I told him what I tell all such persons: "Don't talk to them. Don't respond to them. Don't answer their mail. Do pursue a credit repair program."

Credit card companies have several years when they can sue a debtor. After that time expires, it's just people making annoying phone calls, begging for money on the account, and the indebtedness is far from the original creditor by that time.

One final thing I would note is this: While your admonition that they get an agreement in writing to remove the trade line from their report, the debtor is often dealing with a collection company that is far removed from the original creditor, and they will literally say anything to get someone to pay them money.

[Lisa0825]

20. Regarding the last part, I agree, and that is when you present the

signed agreement to the credit bureaus. If that doesn't work you can also sue the collector, and each violation is worth $1000. Usually even a threat of suing gets action. In fact, it usually doesn't even get that far because collectors are notoriously bad about record keeping. If you ask for debt validation (copy of original contract) and they can't produce it, by law, it has to come off the report. Once they know they are dealing with someone who knows his/her way around the system, they usually move on to other less resourceful prey.

[TexasObserver]

22. That's also very true. They move to easier targets.

Much of what collectors do is illegal under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and there are penalties which can be imposed for each instance. Most states have their own such statute, too.

[Statistical]

4. put them in a shredder and excercise financial self restraint in future? n/t

[wolfgangmo]

5. Did you mean...

... sacrificing chickens on the cards while sticking pins in pictures of the company CEO?

What, pray tell are you talking about. Try a link. Something. Throw us a bone here.

[Lisa0825]

6. Most things that any company charges for can be done yourself for free or

next to free. I learned how to repair my creidt at the forums at www.creditinfocenter.com. Great site! The site owner/founder wrote a book too, but just about everything from the book is also available for free throught the website.

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Looks useful, thanks! nt

[kimmerspixelated]

11. Thanks!

[Political Tiger]

7. Here's some answers:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070507220421AAxsYmm

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070619102326AA9nwzr

[ThomWV]

9. I presume you mean taking scissors to credit cards - yep, we used it.

[tjwash]

13. You mean that scam of a book that shady dude wrote?

Sorry, your probably better off filing bankruptcy or paying them off and practicing financial restraint in the future.

[calmblueocean]

14. I'm sure all they're talking about is your right to debt validation under the FDCPA.

When you get the first collection notice from a collection agency (not the original creditor, but a firm they've either hired to collect for them, or a firm they've sold the account to) you have 30 days to dispute the debt and demand that they show how the debt was calculated and that you owe it. If the collection agency can't do that, they legally have to stop collecting that debt (although they can always sell it to another collection agency to start the cycle again).

[Howardx]

16. i have mentioned debt validation and the fdcpa...

to collectors in the past. they do not enjoy it.

[customerserviceguy]

15. I went to that site

and I cannot believe you didn't see through the incredible cheesiness of that huckster's scam to sell a stupid book for fifty bucks!

There are no "secrets". Reliable news sources dealing with the subject of the economy would publish reports on laws for free to increase readership.

Frankly, if you consider this schlock credible, it doesn't surprise me that you have a lot of debt you'd like to get out of.

[county worker]

17. If you take the tactics of this site and compare them to many others you'll see that all he is

selling you is a fantasy.

You see this all the time on TV. They never really tell you anything up front because there is nothing to tell. Just like the secret to a flat tummy. It's all the same game but a different subject.

[rucky]

19. Nolo Press has some good stuff on this...

http://nolo.com/resource.cfm/catID/847CCA51-130F-47D1-920751FBD79C7570/213/208/