As the name suggests, National Settlement Services offers debt settlement programs for consumers under economic hardship, helping them to reduce the total amount of debt owed to their creditors. They assist in relieving clients of harassing creditor calls and have established professional relationships with some the nation’s leading creditors.
The Good
National Settlement Services provides a gateway for consumers under the crushing weight of unsecured debt to realize financial freedom. To begin the process, consumers are offered a free consultation where a debt relief evaluation will assess the financial hardship of consumers and determine qualification. Once enrolled in the program, clients will be required to set up a trust, or Special Purpose Account, with Global Client Solutions where a monthly predetermined amount of money is saved. Funds accumulated in the account will be used to begin the negotiation process. When clients agree upon an amount, the company will require their service fee, which is higher than many of the leading industry competitors at 35 percent of the total amount of saved in the settlement.
We like that this company has established strong professional relationships with some of the nation’s largest and most reputable creditors. This gives negotiators a little more leverage when it comes down to overall debt reduction.
In addition, clients are able to access their personal accounts via an online client portal. A private pin number will be given upon enrollment enabling clients to track the settlement progress and communicate directly with their financial consultant.
Highlights of this company include:
- Free consultation
- Online Dashboard
- $5,000 minimum enrollment
The Bad
We have a few concerns with this company. Many of the complaints are due to mailings the company sent out with consumers’ private information listed on a postcard such as their name, the total amount of debt consumers were in, on top of who the creditor is. It seems more like a risky tactic to take when reaching out to a customer base. We would like to see them show a little more consumer privacy and reduce the total amount of “junk mail” they send out.
Their service fees are higher than many of the industry leader, ringing in at 35 percent of the total amount of debt “saved.” Representatives were sure to clearly state the fee was on the amount saved, although an example they gave us was, “If you enroll $10,000 then our fee would be $3,500,” which indicates their fee at 35 percent of the total amount of debt enrolled. This lack of clear pricing helps us point our visitors in a different direction.
We would like to see this company do more for clients in terms of educational resources. They have none to offer at this time.
The Bottom Line
National Settlement Services provides settlement with a higher price tag than others. They lack some important accreditations along with educational tools and resources to help clients maintain financial freedom. Overall, because lack of transparency, we feel there are better companies for debt settlement.
Price
35% of the total debt you settle for, on top of paying for your settlements.
Up-Front Fees
There are no upfront fees to get started, only a free consultation and then they’ll help you determine what you’re fees will be for the services.
Free Consultation
A free consultation is available to anyone who is interested in learning more about their services and what kind of program they can personally expect. Interested parties can either call in for a free consultation or sign up for a call back by filling out a form on the website. You may want to be prepared with your financial information (collection notices, bills, total amount of debt, names of creditors, etc.) before your consultation and prepare any questions you might have regarding the process ahead of time.
Time in Business
They have only been in business for 7 years, since 2009.
Debt Education
They don’t offer any official courses or education on how to avoid debt or manage the debt you already have, but they do have “credit counselors” who will educate you in a sense on how your debt can be negotiated and what you can expect from the whole process of working with them.
Money-Back Guarantee / Cancellation Policy
They don’t provide a money back guarantee but the customer service representative promised that they carefully assess each client’s situation and follow through to success and so long as the client is responsible about sticking with the program, they will be out of debt at the end of the relationship. There’s no official cancellation policy, neither listed on the website nor acknowledged by the customer service representative, it may have to be inquired about during the free consultation before signing an agreement.
Unsecured vs. Secured Loans
National Settlement Solutions is only able to help negotiate on past due loans that are unsecured in nature. Secured loans are those such as mortgages, student loans, payments with the IRS and car loans.
Mobile-Friendly Site
Their website is not currently mobile friendly and they don’t offer any mobile app.
Customer Support Quality
Customer support knew the answers to all my questions though the call seemed to be a little bit scripted and the representative seemed a little preoccupied as though they’d already spoken to many others today. However, the wait time was short and it’s always appreciated to speak to a live person.
Contact Information
Phone Number:
1-(800) 979-4145
Email Address:
Address:
1645 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Ste. 490
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Services Provided
They pair each new client up with a “credit counselor” who will start with a free consultation to look through your finances and your monthly income and determine what you can reasonably be expected to pay each month toward your debts. Then you’ll work with a “Certified Debt Negotiator” who will work on both ending the creditor harassment calls and letters that you might constantly be receiving. They will then work on a negotiation plan to help lessen the total amount of debts that you owe each creditor. They will send your funds to each creditor monthly on your behalf once an agreement on how much you’ll pay each creditor each month has been set up.
Minimum Debt Accepted
The minimum amount of debt that they accept is $5,000 to get started and all the accounts that they work on for you must be past due.
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- Takes your existing debt and try to settle with your creditors for a lower amount. If you pay off the settled amount, your debt will be considered paid in full.
- Negotiates with your creditors on your behalf.
- Fee based on a percentage of your total starting debt or a percentage of the debt they save you.
- Most settlement companies have you create a separate "escrow" account where you will make monthly contributions over a certain amount of time to contribute to your settlement. Once there is a substantial amount of funds to show your creditors, the settlement company will try to negotiate a lower amount of debt.
- Combines all your debts and creditors into one monthly payment.
- Allows you to pay one monthly payment to the consolidation company, instead of multiple payments to different creditors.
- You no longer owe your original creditors; instead you pay one monthly payment to your consolidation company.
- Consolidation companies can help negotiate lower interest rates on your debts and help lower your total debt payment in the long run. A lower interest rate will lower the amount you owe in the end.
- Allows you to consolidate all your different debts into one personal loan that can be paid off over time.
- Can offer borrowers a lower interest rate with a longer payback term (compared to high-interest credit cards or medical bills). This will lower the amount of money required to pay off the loan over time.
- Personal loan debt consolidation can be an effective way to raise your credit score quickly (within 3-6 months).
- Borrowers can receive funds from their loan within only a few days.
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