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“Just the thought of being debt-free can bring tears of relief to a family who has been under high interest payments for years,” says Absolute Debt Solutions Founder and CEO Tom Bates. “Studies show that 78% of all income is paid out to debt of some type, with the major percentage of each payment going toward interest.”

Bates lists the types of debt settlement options available and offers some insights:

~ Consumer counseling services — These services operate by setting clients up with their own personal counselors. Only after clients have paid an enrollment fee and agreed to automatic bank drafts, will the program go into effect. The counselor then contacts the client’s creditors and attempts to lower their interest rates. But, this is often only lowered temporarily. Should the client or the counselor be late in getting the payment to the creditor, that low interest rate will return to its previous high rate. Often these services appear to be non-profit, however that is most often not the case. An article from the Cincinnati Post titled “Wolves in Credit Counselors’ Clothing” (April 26, 2005) found Clients of the California-based National Consumer Council, Florida-based Debt Management Foundation Services Inc. and Massachusetts-based Better Budget Financial Services Inc. paid thousands of dollars to keep bill collectors at bay, but instead clients saw their debts, interest rates and late fees increase as the three companies did little to help. Often, these services will follow up with the creditor with a letter of counsel that informs them of the client’s involvement in their program and asks them the work with them, and to proffer a fair-share contribution. Ultimately, the money a client pays should be going to the creditors first, not the counseling service.

~ Debt Consolidation is always a great way to bring resolve to debt as long as clients have a process in place before the consolidation to settle the debt. If there is no procedure in place to discount the amount owed, there is no real reason to conduct a consolidation loan. Lowering the monthly payment is somewhat beneficial, but the end result may not be what is desired. A simple trade out of loans does not lower the amount owed or monthly payment, and in most cases, clients are going to end up owing double what they started with. About 80% of borrowers use debt consolidations loans, bringing accounts to a zero balance, but end up owing another lender at a lower or longer rate/term. In most cases, people that go through debt consolidation will continue to use the accounts that were paid off, resulting in double the debt. The end result is, if clients have a well qualified debt settlement company that will charge a fee based on results, they should handle all the negotiations before the debt consolidation and then they are sure to come out on top.

~ With Fee based Debt Settlement, there are many options, and in several ways, consumers can save money. If it is a buffer or shield type, clients are always in better hands with creditor experts that are IAPDA certified and have been in the collection and or credit industry. These creditor experts understand the creditor and the individual account better than an average debt settlement company. Further, the fees charged by fee based debt settlement companies are going to cost about 15% of the total debt. So whatever is advertised, add about 15 % to their quote, and in most cases, the fee is paid up front before the job is done or even started. If they are not willing to give a written guarantee to perform and produce, potential clients should reconsider doing business with them, regardless of their affiliation or ratings. The old saying, “if it is not in writing, it didn’t happen” applies here. The truth is, there is only one type of guarantee that will protect the consumer. When it comes time to perform the actual service, most of the money clients have saved over the months or years has gone to the debt settlement company, leaving little or no money for settlement. This method does not seem to have the consumer’s best interest in mind, as the debt settlement company gets paid before the creditor. One of the largest debt settlement companies just had a class action law suit filed against it, for the practice of collecting fees but not providing services. Along with this law suit, there are over 700 BBB complaints filed for actions truly not in the consumer’s best interest. Not all fee based debt settlement companies act like this; some put their client’s best interests first.

~ With a Service Fee Based debt settlement like Absolute Debt Solutions, there are clearly outlined steps for the best option for debt settlement. Clients know that they will reach a guaranteed discounted rate or pay nothing for the settlement, and pay nothing till the job is done. As the service fee based debt settlement company generates results, clients pay the fee rather than paying the fees up front. While all the other services as fee based debt settlement are practiced, clients pay nothing for debt settlement unless the goal is reached and the job is done. This protects consumers from fighting for a refund when the service is not completed and the creditor refused to settle. Only a qualified and IAPDA certified debt settlement company could or should consider this practice as the guarantee is weighted on the side of the consumer. Producing results, industry integrity, ethics and experience will maintain the needed client and creditor relationships.

For those considering debt settlement, they should consider these factors while deciding what program fits their needs:
1) First, how did they hear about the company?
2) Does the savings program have their best interests in mind?
3) Is the company willing to share its year to date settlement averages?
4) Are they experienced in both the collection and creditor industry?
5) Are they certified with the IAPDA (International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators)?
6) Do you believe in the team that will be helping you?
7) Once you start, are you aware there is no looking back?

About Tom Bates
Tom Bates, IAPDA, CDA,CDS, is President of Absolute Debt Solutions and Absolute Credit Repair Inc. He has spent the last 13 years in the credit and finance industry, managing and directing some of the largest receivable companies in the world. Bates has developed a program that has proven results far above the competitors. He is IAPDA Certified (International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators). Absolute has one goal in mind, your best interest. Absolute also offers additional discounts and services for active military and those with special medical needs. For more information, please visit www.absolutedebtsolutions.biz.

Contact:
Tom Bates
IAPDA Certified Debt Arbitrator/Debt Specialist CEO
Absolute Debt Solutions Founder & CEO
Absolute Credit Repair Founder
1-877-255-6069
http://www.absolutedebtsolutions.biz

When you’re in the market for a business credit card, make http://www.creditcardlfyers.com your first stop.

The online survey found that a slight majority surveyed expect the nation’s economy to develop into a depression. Housing Predictor regularly surveys visitors to its web site on real estate related issues, including the economy, and provides more than 250 local housing market forecasts in all 50 U.S. states.

The survey comes at a time when the majority of the nation’s housing markets are in the midst of the worst slowdown since the Great Depression. Sales of homes and other properties are at the slowest volume in years in what has developed into a national real estate recession.

Foreclosures have reached all-time record levels as a result of the credit crunch and increasing signs that the nation has fallen into a full-fledged recession, including higher unemployment and worsening consumer confidence.

More than two million homes throughout the nation have already been foreclosed as a result of the nation’s financial crisis, and higher mortgage payments home owners are unable to afford. The foreclosure rate has doubled and is forecast to worsen over the next few years.

The real estate crisis has sent shock waves through Wall Street and other financial markets, sending the nation’s economy on a downward spiral. The White House and Congress are working on plans to help some home owners, but are clearly unable to act fast enough to help many consumers.

Housing Predictor forecasts that foreclosures will top 5.6 million units through 2011.

The crisis has broad implications for the national economy. Consumers are already feeling the pinch at the grocery store with higher prices for food and other products and at the gas station with higher fuel prices. Economists are growing with increasing concern over the economy, which could see the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

To find out more about the survey, check your markets real estate forecast and search foreclosures visit http://www.housingpredictor.com

The American Medical Association (AMA) adopted principles earlier this month that favor the health courts, which would do away with peer-based juries and replace them with judges trained in medical standards.

Hensley said the notion of health courts dangerously tips the standard of justice in malpractice cases against victims who may be entitled to sizeable judgments when they are seriously harmed by poor medical care.

“There is a fox-guarding-the-henhouse quality to this idea of having medical people passing judgment in medical malpractice cases,” Hensley said. “People who have suffered very serious injuries or damages as a result of medical malpractice should have little confidence in courts which are run by the very same profession that caused their injuries.”

Instead, Hensley said, medical malpractice victims should have full access to a court system in which their peers consider evidence from both sides, and then determine possible damages that are based fairly on the extent of their injuries or damages.

“This is not simply a step away from reasonable medical malpractice law,” Hensley said. “This is a step away from the very foundations of American justice.”

So-called health courts were conceived during Brookings Institute conferences in 2002 and 2003. Besides the move to health courts, the principles adopted by the AMA urge quick resolution of claims, special training for judges, and reliance on qualified experts. The AMA also has stated its support for limits, or caps, on medical malpractice judgments.

A better way to limit malpractice judgments, Hensley said, would be to limit substandard medical treatment that results in injury or even death.

“If the AMA wants to limit the claims that get awarded in medical malpractice suits, a good place to start would be in its own backyard,” Hensley said. “People have a right to expect good, professional health care and, when they don’t receive it, they should have a right to reasonable financial claims.”

Hensley said it is important to remember that the duty of a medical professional is not to cure, or even to guarantee a good outcome from treatment. Rather, the duty is to provide good medical care according to accepted standards in the community, or, in the case of a specialist, accepted standards in that medical specialty.

“Medicine is not an exact science, and doctors are not required to be right every time they make a diagnosis,” Hensley said. “A misdiagnosis becomes malpractice, however, if the doctor fails to get a medical history, order the appropriate tests, or recognize observable symptoms of the illness.”

According to Mark Guimond, Executive Director of the AADMO, “Agencies that are providing bankruptcy reform pre-filing credit counseling need to know what’s happening in their sector of the industry. Now they have a source for timely and important information. AADMO offers the best program designed to help them and keep them informed.”

“The states are starting to take notice of pre-filing counseling and requiring compliance with the applicable state laws. Providing this service pursuant to a federally mandated program does not exempt these agencies from other laws. We have state regulators and others who will make this crystal clear and explain what’s happening in the law”, said Guimond.

“Do you know if you are required to propose “60/60″ plans? Are there specific fee limitations on “60/60″ plans? May “60/60″ plan payments be disbursed through or outside of the credit counseling agency? Can “60/60″ plans subject an agency to new legal compliance requirements under state or federal law? If you want to know the answers to any of these questions, this program will help you learn the law of less than full balance payments and “60/60″ plans above and beyond those laws governing traditional credit counseling functions”, added Guimond.

Sessions for bankruptcy pre-filing credit counseling agencies and bankruptcy pre-discharge debtor education providers:
* “60/60″ Plans and Less Than Full Balance Payments - Understanding the Applicable Laws
Speaker:         Robby Birnbaum, Greenspoon Marder
* The Law of Illinois - Credit Counseling and the Law as it Applies to “60/60″ Plans and Less Than Full Balance Payments
Speaker:    Susan Gold, Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation
* The Law of Kansas - Credit Counseling and the Law as it Applies to “60/60″ Plans and Less Than Full Balance Payments
Speaker:    Adrian Serene, Kansas Banking Department
* The Law of Alabama - Credit Counseling and the Law as it Applies to “60/60″ Plans and Less Than Full Balance Payments
Speaker:    Jane Brannan, Alabama Securities Commission
* Bankruptcy Reform:     Value of Credit Counseling Requirement is Not Clear
Speaker:         Jason Bromberg, U.S. General Accountability Office
* Credit Counseling, Debtor Education and Bankruptcy Reform at the 2 Year Mark
Speaker:     Henry Hobbs, Executive Office for United States Trustees

Other sessions will include:
* The actual Experience of Audit and Revocation - One Credit Counseling Agency Shares it All!
* Leads and Referrals: Not the Same Old Ballgame
Speaker:         Jeffrey Tenenbaum, Venable
* Credit Counseling Industry Legislative Update
Speaker:         Mark Guimond, AADMO Executive Director
* Valuing Account Portfolios - Results and Analysis of the Industry Survey
Speakers:         Paul A. Baumann, Leslie Moreau
* 143 Audits - Why This Exact Number is Significant!
* State Regulators
* NCCUSL Uniform Debt Management Services Act - “Stand-By Committee” Recommendations

The AADMO Fall Conference program and registration information can be found at www.AADMO.org.

According to Mark Guimond, Executive Director of the AADMO, “This conference is designed to help credit counseling agencies understand all the changes and challenges occurring in the industry. There are significant changes to the law in the states and with the federal government, there are special requirements on providers of bankruptcy counseling regardless of DMP activity, the IRS audits are near completion and the Uniform Debt Management Services Act is being revised.”

“We have one session in particular that no one in credit counseling should miss - it is the actual experience of one agency going through the audit and revocation process. If you want to know the truth about the audit and revocation experience, this is the only opportunity to hear first hand from one of the front line veterans. You will learn directly from the top executive of a credit counseling agency that had its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status revoked by the IRS what actually transpired and the identified problem areas that led to revocation,” said Guimond.

“With 143 planned audits, so far, this is one conference everyone should attend. It’s more important than ever to have timely and accurate information about the audit process, the treatment or transfer of clients, disposition of assets and other real challenges during and after revocation proceedings,” added Guimond.

Sessions will include:

The Actual Experience of Audit and Revocation - One Credit Counseling Agency Shares it All!

Leads and Referrals: Not the Same Old Ballgame
Speaker: Jeffrey Tenenbaum, Venable

“60/60 Plans” and Less Than Full Balance Payments - Understanding the Applicable Laws
Speaker: Robby Birnbaum, Greenspoon Marder

Bankruptcy Reform: Value of Credit Counseling Requirement is Not Clear
Speaker: Jason Bromberg, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Credit Counseling Industry Legislative Update
Speaker: Mark Guimond, AADMO Executive Director

Valuing Account Portfolios - Results and Analysis of the Industry Survey
Speakers: Paul A. Baumann, Leslie Moreau

Credit Counseling, Debtor Education and Bankruptcy Reform at the 2 Year Mark
Speaker: Henry Hobbs, Executive Office for United States Trustees

143 Audits - Why This Exact Number is Significant

State Regulators

NCCUSL Uniform Debt Management Services Act - “Stand-By Committee” Recommendations

The AADMO Fall Conference program and registration information can be found at www.AADMO.org.

http://www.foreclosures.com/www/pages/Guide-to-Making-Huge-Profits-Investing-in-Pre-Foreclosures.asp (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

To get the details of what’s happening with foreclosures and housing markets in your state, region, and county, including year-to-date and month-to-month comparisons per capita and in filing numbers, please visit http://www.ForeclosureS.com/www/pages/pressinquiry.asp.