Effective October 27, 2010, the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) will prohibit debt settlement companies from charging upfront fees before they settle a client’s credit card debt for less than full balance. This advance fee ban states that the debt settlement company may only collect their fee *after* the debt has been successfully settled.
The TSR will make debt settlement companies offer full disclosure to clients seeking help. These companies must disclose the various aspects of their services, such as the fact that the clients will continue to receive collection calls. Also, the debt settlement companies under the TSR have to state that no specific results are guaranteed. Finally, companies will have to disclose that the client’s credit report will be adversely affected.
The third major component of this new law is that debt settlement companies may not misrepresent their services. Therefore, gone are the advertisements making claims to settle for pennies on the dollar or that the debt settlement company will be able to put a stop to all collection activity.
Many people became victimized by the depressed economic state of the last few years. Maybe you are one of these unfortunate souls. People who normally were on top of their finances lost jobs after working and striving so hard. They found that they couldn’t pay their bills no matter how hard they tried.
People ran out of options, felt hopeless, and they needed a lifeline. Predators saw a way to make money off of the misfortunes of others. They created debt settlement programs that misrepresented their abilities to help people, and ultimately took their money. Not all debt settlement companies are like this, but some are.
Oh, and one really important detail about these debt settlement programs. Most or all of the fee would be paid on the front end before any results were obtained. Personally, I always thought these front-loaded fee arrangements were a bad deal for consumers. But I suppose if someone’s feeling desperate enough, they can be persuaded to do things that that wouldn’t normally do.
Under most circumstances I prefer minimal government regulation and to let economics sort things out, but this is a case where I strongly support this law. In my opinion, too many consumers were being harmed financially and I believe the shenanigans of certain debt settlement companies would have continued until the government stepped in.
I’ve been in this industry since 1995. I know of a lot of great and reputable debt relief services available. These services can be obtained at rates that are fair and reasonable to the consumer. Just because people need professional help doesn’t mean that they deserve to be preyed upon, and this new law will help to protect those that need it the most.
Mark Brinker is a leading authority on credit card debt negotiation. Please visit his site to access his free videos where he answers the most common questions concerning credit card debt settlement.

