Direct Merchant Bank ripoff harassment, deceptive practices How can you make the payments they set forth and not make headway on the debt? Internet

I have a suggestion.

My son's friend "Jeremy" racked up some credit card debt (over $1500) with, let's call them "XYZ Credit". He consulted an attorney who specializes in credit restoration, and what the attorney did was essentially this: he called XYZ and said Jeremy was unable to pay the balance of the card. He further stated that he was about to file bankruptcy, and XYZ had two choices: either get embroiled in a long, drawn out bankruptcy case where the judge was likely to grant the creditors a few cents on the dollar, or settle right now for a greatly reduced pay-off amount with no further interest applied. It worked! XYZ took the money and ran. The remaining balance was reduced to something that Jeremy was able to pay off in a few months. The attorney charged him $250.00. Of course, he didn't file for bankruptcy--that was a bluff. Now I'm finding out that there are lawyers who specialize in negotiating credit card debt, and they do this for people all the time.

Frankly, I think what Jeremy did was shameful. He got the card knowing full well he didn't need the debt, and then proceeded to buy all sorts of new, shiny toys, and then weaseled out of it. Hardly a responsible thing to do. Let's not forget: sometimes it's the consumer ripping off the credit card company, and we all pay for that!

I believe your case, however, is entirely a different matter. Enough is enough! They have probably profited more than their fair share at this point, and I think it's perfectly fair that you should be able to get out from under them.

Consult an attorney, one who specializes in this sort of thing, and see what he can do for you. He may even be able to keep it off your credit report. His fee will be worth it if it saves you another ten years of making payments to these barracudas.

I do want to add one thing though: be VERY VERY VERY VERY CAREFUL!!!! There are a lot of disreputable lawyers out there who are just waiting to take advantage of people like you. I've also heard suspicous things about those so-called non-profit debt counsellors.

Get everything in writing, in advance, before you give them one penny, including a realistic estimate of what you can expect them to do for you, and find out how this will affect your credit rating (your most important asset).

Good luck!