ZipDebt Client Comment Forum
This post is intended to provide a forum for ZipDebt clients to post comments about their experience with the program. Recently, I spoke to a person interested in my program, and they told me that they didn’t bother to read any of the testimonials on my site because “everybody fakes testimonials.” Well, that’s probably true of many (if not most) debt-related websites. Not so with ZipDebt. ALL of my testimonials are real. No need for faking it here. But it gave me the idea of providing a way for clients to write in and post comments on their own.
Feel free to write about your experience of handling your own negotiations with training and coaching by yours truly.
Two simple ground rules for posting your feedback:
1. Please do not mention bank names or the names of collection agencies. (Two reasons for this: One, I don’t want to get drowned in blog-spam by debt collectors who work for said companies, or notices from their legal departments, etc. Two, settlement percentages are a moving target, and a bank/agency that settles for 30% today may stick with 50% tomorrow, and vice versa.)
2. Please do not include website links or html tags in your posts.
3. No profanity please (however tempting it may be to dump on your favorite debt collector). 
Otherwise, please feel free to relate as much or as little as you care to share with others. The main purpose here is to help the folks who are struggling with their decision about whether to use this strategy in their situation.
I want to thank Charles with all my heart. I was nearly $80,000
Comment by Wayne Ross — November 8, 2007 @ 8:12 pm(thats eighty thousand) in credit card debt and thougt I would never get out The
course really helped me. I settled the $80,000.00 of credit card debt for a
little over 27,000.00 I saved 50,0000. I owe it all to Charles and his e mails
I was drowning in debt for years and now I can breathe and relax again with peace
of mind. I followed his advice to the letter and everything he said to do, I
did and it was worth it. His course is worth ten times what he is asking. Anyone
can succeed if they follow his advice. I want to thank you again Charles with
all my heart. I owe you my life.
I don’t even know where to begin - to say that Charles has changed our lives is the biggest understatement imaginable.
Comment by Gail Weekly — November 11, 2007 @ 1:01 pmHe took us from massive hopeless debt to seeing bright light at the end of the tunnel in less than two years.
Starting with some $186,000 of debt, we have settled one account after another, negociating with Charles one-on-one guidance. We have settled a total of $120,000 of debt with settlements of 22% to 60%, paying a total of $50,575. Our average settlement percent is now $42%, but it is getting lower as we go along and get better at it.
For anyone who may be intersted in how this all happened, here’s our sad story:
Over the course of 20+ years, we STRUGGLED to get out from under what ended up being 14 different credit card accounts. Our total unsecured debt ended up being over $186,000. This is what happens when you borrow from Peter to pay Paul - open a new charge account in order to transfer balances with the intention of closing the old account, but then you need the old account for money to live on. Then all of your charge accounts keep raising your credit limits because you’ve done such a good job of managing your credit (translation - juggling).
We were a disaster waiting to happen, and it did. We hit the wall in November, 2003 when there was no money to make a payment on one account, which meant there was no ‘room’ on that account to pay the next account, and so on - just like dominos in a line.
I know this is getting long, and Charles, you may want to edit this, but I just don’t know which part to cut out and make it be logical.
The first thing we did was fall for one of those scams that you talk about. This so called ‘debt solution’ program asserted that we didn’t really owe anything to these creditors because they had never really given us anything in the first place - the evil banks had simply used us to borrow money from the government, and they would never pay that money back - besides the fact that they could never prove that we actually got any money from them in the first place.
Desperation blinded us to the fact that this was a scam, and like a drowning man would grab any rope offered - even if there was a monster throwing it out - we bought the program. After listening to their cd’s, we became aware that they were CROOKS! What a sinking feeling.
The problem was that we had followed their advice and stopped paying on ALL of our accounts, the phone was ringing constantly, all the accounts were charged off and reassigned to debt collectors, and the situation seemed hopeless.
We thought Bankruptcy was our only option - and to give the attorneys credit, we do feel like they bought us some time - they handled the calls for us and took the pressure off for a year or so while we made payments to them toward the bankruptcy. After we had nearly paid them off, a consultation showed that we really couldn’t file (the reasons why were complicated, but it involved the fact that money was borrowed in our relatives names too.)
That’s when we turned to the Internet for help. Searching under ‘debt negociation’ ‘debt settlement’ - anything I could think of, I clicked a link leading to Charles. Reading his web page, it seemed to be too good to be true, but something clicked with me as being the real deal. I called his 800 number with what was probably a very pitiful cry for help, and much to my surprise, he called me back. It was incredible to me that I had actually found a real live person who was willing to help. He spent a long time on the phone with me, which was unbelievable considering that I hadn’t paid him a cent.
Everything he said made sense, and we had discovered the truth of much of it ourselves. So we bought the course and listened to it, but at the time our business was failing, and we had no money to put aside to settle anything, so we couldn’t implement it.
A sherriff knocking on our door serving lawsuit papers put us into high gear. Our only solution was to try to sell our home quickly before it was taken from us. We were able to sell within a few months, and with our equity cash in hand we started consulting with Charles to start settling with creditors, which by this time was debt collecters as well as a number of debt purchasers, and we were dealing with a judgment.
Facing 14 different creditors seemed impossible when we began. When we met with nasty, lying reps, Charles reassured us, told us the truth, and outlined how to proceed. In every situation, Charles has proven to be right. They all settle - you just have to be patient and play the game. Listen to Charles, he will lead you out of the maize. As you knock them off one at a time, you will acquire confidence. When another one comes up and you start to panic, Charles is there to lead you through, calm you down, and outline a plan of action.
This is such an emotional thing to me, I’m choking back tears as I write this, but Charles, you just don’t know what you have done for us. I know I have told you this before - but you saved us, you gave us hope in a hopeless situation. You’ve been the only person we could turn to, and you’ve never failed to lead us through the toughest situations.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Gail
Just wanted to pass along my thanks to Charles. With his guidence, I was able to negotiate a reasonable settlement with creditors - in my case about 48%. If you’re willing to grind through the process, not get too flustered with the calls you’ll receive from debt purchasers and keep a good attitude, you will be able to work something out that is mutually beneficial for yourself and the creditor. Word of advice: stand your groubd with the collectors but be respectfull and professional with them. Set your bounderies and be clear that you will not tollerate abuse or rudeness but where possible be courteous - these folks are just trying to make a living too. Make it clear that you are willing to work with them. Great program and Charles is extremely responsive, objective and knowledeable. This program is short money compared to what you’ll save monetarily - not to mention from a standpoint of sanity. - steve
Comment by Steve B — November 13, 2007 @ 6:20 amI will save our scary story to tell at the end of all our negotiations. For now, let’s just say that it’s similar to Gail’s posting before she got to the scam part. Currently, we are in the thick of it–talking to creditors as Charles is advising us to do. We’re only two months into this process, but this is what we’ve gained:
$73,000!!! How’s that for a start? This represents 31% of the total we owed on two cards. In one phone call from Charles during the bank’s offer phase, he told us how to get this particular creditor to come down $7,000 more than we already thought was good. What he told us to do worked!! In emphasis, Charles’ 15 minutes of coaching saved us $7,000 more! My husband said he, actually, felt the weight come off his shoulders when they agreed to this fantastic settlement.
When we were hitting our wall, my husband ALMOST went with an attorney’s office to do this negotiation work for us as they were very convincing about the fact that “we would retain our good credit standing,” and because it’s LEGAL debt negotiation through their law firm, they can get better deals for us and easily handle our bankruptcy later if we needed them to.” But my gut said, “No! They want their $22,000 fee up front with NO promising agreements in their contract to do ANYTHING for us. How did they think we could pay this fee in the financial state we’re currently in–when we have no income right now? We would have to borrow more money to pay their fee! Now, what sense did that make?” It was a good day when I found Charles’ website.
My husband is very happy with himself now that he is handling our debt problems himself (using Charles’ expert coaching), and I’m proud of him, too.
Also, I purchased the ID Caller Manager that Charles recommended, and my peace of mind has been saved! I can put all my unwanted calls through to a recording and not have to hear the phone ring, which made my stomach churn.
Thank you, Charles, very much for a grand start, or should I say, “a $73 grand” start! . I will be posting more news later as more successes come about. What a difference a good coach can make!
Christine
P.S. Everyone: You MUST take good notes when you speak to Charles on the phone as forgetting his tips can be costly!
Comment by Christine — December 10, 2007 @ 3:53 pmI run a small business. Through a series of setbacks, I found myself with $220,000 of unsecured credit card debt. I was making over $4,000 monthly minimum payments on eleven different bank cards. I had some cash, but not nearly enough to keep pace with my payment schedule and still run my business. I assummed my only two options were bankrupcy or Consumer Credit Counciling. Either way, I would be paying between $4000-5000 a month for five years. Fortunately, I found Charles’ program while researching the subject on the internet. With Charles’ guidance, I was able to settle all eleven credit card accounts in a year for $87,000. Charles, your program is phenominal. I can’t imagine any other way a person can become debt free from credit cards in such a short period of time. The negotiation process with the creditors was exactly as you said it would be. It is very refreshing to get advice from someone is extremely knowledgeable and also a straight shooter. I would highly reccomend this program as the most effective way to deal with “out of control” credit card debt. Thanks again Charles. You’re a lifesaver!
Comment by bob — December 20, 2007 @ 9:14 pmWords can not express what Charles has done for me.
Comment by Patti — January 8, 2008 @ 7:26 pmPrior to finding him on the internet,(thank god I did), I was literally sick to my stomach about the debt I had accumulated. I owed over $50,000 worth of debt on a salary of vey little. I was never able to catch up and the more I played balance transfer games the worst it got. Sound familiar? I called the 800 and left a message and Charles called me back and explained his program. After his call I felt like I had an angel delivered to my doorstep to guide me through the dark money tunnel I had fallen through. His program, advice and kindness have gotten me through this without the despair I was feeling before starting on this program. The information he supplied me with made the last 6 months easier than the last 6 years have been. I followed his advice and I got a tracfone and used that as my debt collector phone (you have to change the information on your account to the new number)and I was able to handle the phone calls at my convinence. I have cleared my debts in 7 months for an average of 31% and I am now debt free for the first time in a very long time! Please do not be skeptical of this program, it is the REAL thing, with a REAL person who is charging very little for a system that actually works. You have very little to lose and quite a lot to gain. Again, thank you Charles for everything you have done. You and your program are a Godsend!
We make a good income, we live in a good neighbor hood, we are regular people, and we were strangled by debt we could never pay off. For years we struggled to make payments to “keep our good credit”, but with the birth of my son, I promised myself to get out of this situation, I did not know how, but I knew it had to stop. I looked everywhere for solutions, I called the advertisers on the radio, I searched the Internet, I found Charles, Thank GOD I Found Charles. We were skeptical to say the least, who wants to spend more money when you are already hopelessly in debt right, well I am here to tell you that in 15 months we settled every account we had for pennies on the dollar, and I could not have done it without the support that Charles provided. Charles will show you the door, but you will have to walk through it, it is not easy, it is frustrating, but it is possible, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I never put much stock in things like these, testimonials, this is the first time I have every written one, and if anyone that is reading this is on the fence make the leap, you will be taking the first steps towards a freedom you can not buy.
Comment by Mark & Jenna — January 23, 2008 @ 6:53 pmCharles does one thing well, he motivates you. It is often difficult to answer the phone when creditors call, to talk with them rationally, and to make progress on one’s debts alone. Charles is your partner in this, and will see you through to the end of your debt problems.
Personally, I had 7 credit cards, totalling $63K in debt and was about 6 months behind in payments. After I settled one on my own, it was just so simple, I tried to settle others and I could not make any progress at all. It turned out that I had settled with one of the card companies that was the most liberal, and I had a lot to learn and a long way to go.
With Charles’ program, I got motivated and am now the self-proclaimed award winner of the annual Zipdebt “Zippy”, for the fastest settlement time from course purchase to being credit card debt free. I settled my credit card debt for a total of $31K, just under half of my original amount.
Thanks, Charles!
Comment by Karl - Zippy Award — January 29, 2008 @ 5:44 pmCharles’ program is invaluable. It is so useful that I never try to negotiate a debt until
I have referred to the program CD and workbook, and emailed Charles for strategy guidance.
His program has helped me and one of my family settle several debts at an average of 33% of the total.
We would never have achieved this success on our own! I am so impressed with Charles’ program that I am referring him to everyone I know who needs help.
Thanks so much, Charles.
Comment by Chris — February 2, 2008 @ 10:10 amI, like many others, failed to control spending, and spiralled down a path of endless debt. 12 years ago I was $120K in cc debt, and I had never been late on a single payment of any kind. By 2001 I had paid off about half of that. However I made a classic mistake and did not close the paid accounts, and was back up to $90K by 2003.I thought I was OK though and took a 2nd mortgage for $72K to take care of this cc debt once and for all. Once again I did not manage my finances well. I only paid $45K on cc, did not close the paid accounts, and loaned $25K to a business partner. HELLO! I was really in deep now. By the fall of 2005 I owed $85K on cc, a 1st and 2nd mortgage, and on and on, and 4 children. I begged and pleaded with creditors to work with me, cut rates, etc., anything. Of course I was on “default pricing” and they would not help me, even though I had still never been late on a payment, ever. I was flopping $2500 a month and to someone looking in I had the perfect life. WRONG! By May 2006 I could not make payments. I had had back surgery in December,and minimum payments on some accounts doubled. I could not rob Peter enough to pay Paul. I quit paying them, one by one. The phone calls came pouring in, bunches of them. I tried to answer or return all of them and explained that I wanted to pay but just could not. I did trickle a payment in here and there, but truly did not know what to do. I tried credit counselling, but did not qualify because payments were higher than I was paying before, and I had less income. I tried debt relief companies I had heard about on the radio. Same thing, could not do payments. Finally I did an internet search on “How not to pay your cc bill”. The Zipdebt site came up and I checked it out. I called Charles the next day and asked if there was any hope. He assured me that things were not so bad and that he could help. I have heard a lot of sales pitches over the years, but something told me Charles was for real. He suggested the seminar with 1 year of e-mail coaching would work for me. I listened to the CDs about five times and we then talked again more specifically about my strategy. I was already about three months behind with some creditors so things happened fairly quickly. The first thing I did was get a call management program from the phone company. I must say at this point I knew Charles was for real because the psychology between me and the creditor changed quickly and drastically. The funny thing was that after I had quit paying these creditors, they suddenly found that they indeed did have a “hardship program” and could help with rates, payments, etc. IMAGINE THAT!! Thanks to Charles and his advice these situations played out exactly as he said, every time. As it turns out the CD seminar has all you need to do this, but you have to pay attention to every detail. One by one these acounts settled averaging 37%. All but one settled within nine months, and the last in twelve. The settlements ranged from 20% to 60%, with the largest balance $17400 and the smallest $3800. All I can say is that Charles and his knowledge and experience are for real. I cannot thank him enough and I still have some dignity as well. He makes you believe in yourself. With patience and discipline any body can do this with Charles’ help and guidance. Sorry to go on so long but this is a real, true life story.
Comment by chris — February 9, 2008 @ 7:43 pmI would like to take this opportunity to personally thank you for your prompt and professional service. You delivered as promised and always provided thorough answers to my questions in a matter of hours!
A little information for anyone considering the debt elimination program offered by Mr. Phelan:
By the time my six accounts had approached “charge-off” status, I was in excess of $150k in debt.
After exploring (and becoming suspect of) other “debt elimination” companies that I had heard about on the radio and TV, I discovered information presented on Mr. Phelan’s ZipDebt web site. Mr. Phelan’s approach combines expert, industry-specific knowledge with sound negotiating skills. Furthermore, I remained in control of my finances - as opposed to entrusting my cash flow to a high-priced, financial babysitter (as is the case with “debt elimination” companies).
I decided to purchase the ZipDebt program. I closely followed the advice presented by Mr. Phelan in the program; reading through and listening to information contained in the manual and on the audio CD’s two or three times. Armed with my newfound knowledge, I formulated a “game plan” and went to work. Within a matter of weeks, I had my first settlement on the table - 25% of my outstanding balance! Yes folks - it can be done! After all the smoke cleared, I had negotiated settlements on all six of my accounts. Average settlement: 41.8%
Important advice to readers:
1.) Not all of the settlements were “lump sums,” as I managed to negotiate payment plans into a couple of the deals. Just ask them!
2.) Upon entering into your negotiations with either the original creditor or a 3rd party service - treat them as your friend - not your enemy. You will find that these people are just like you and I - they are simply doing their job and will be much more inclined to reach an agreement with a “friendly” voice.
3.) Don’t show fear. Be friendly, but firm. Outline your boundaries prior to making your calls, and if pushed to far, know when to say, “I am sorry, I simply can’t do that.” Generally, the creditors will back off and often times present a more favorable option.
4.) Be patient. You will generally not receive your best deals early on. Creditors become more willing to negotiate as the odds of recovering their money becomes slim and the debt approaches “charge-off” status.
5.) Please make an honest attempt to comprehend to the information Mr. Phelan presents in his course - it is invaluable! The information walks you step-by-step through the negotiation process, and Mr. Phelan promptly answers any questions you may have.
I would imagine, that given the current credit “shakedown,” creditors my be more willing to settle these accounts at a couple of percentage points less than levels we were seeing a few months ago - Correct me if I am wrong here Mr. Phelan…
I only wish that I had been armed with this knowledge 20yrs ago! Oh well, as they say, “better late than never!” At least now I awaken with a clear conscience and the weight of a hundred bridges off of my shoulders! May the wealth-building phase of my life begin!
Once again - I sincerely appreciate your help!
Comment by DB — February 17, 2008 @ 8:39 amAll the comments that have been made describes exactly what our situation was a year ago so there is no need for me to repeat the financial mess we were in. Before finding Charles I had contacted a financial management Co. and when we put pen to paper it did not take us long to figure out how much we were going to be paying them and the length of time it was going to take to get out of debt. That is when I got on the internet and started searching and I found a lot!! I truley believe that God directed me to Charles. When I finished exploring his website and I got down to the bottom there was his picture and I thought “he has a kind & sincere look”. So I downloaded the 32 page report. After me & my husband read it we took advantage of the free phone consultation and we both felt a great since of relieve after talking to Charles. Given the amount of dept we HAD we choose to go with his enchanched program which was pennies compared to what we would have paid for a financial management program. We have settled several accounts with only one collector left and they are being a little tuff but Charles is just a phone call or e-mail away! Charles I do believe I had an angel on my shoulder when I found you. Harold & I thank you for all your support and your prompt responses. We could not have accomplished this without you!
Comment by Harold & Pam — February 26, 2008 @ 10:28 amI started this program in September 2007 and have already settled 5 of my 10 credit card accounts for 30 cents on the dollar and was able to structure the settlements out over a 3 month period. I am working on account #6 now. A couple of the more stubborn creditors have charged off the balance and turned the acct over to a collection agency so those will probably take a little more time but I am confident now that with a little patience and this program, that I can get them to settle as well. Zipdebt has saved us from having to file bankruptcy and I am grateful to Charles for helping us. Thank you!
Comment by Doreen — February 27, 2008 @ 7:26 pmI’d always understood managing personal credit is a game, a serious one, but a game nonetheless. I thought I was equipped for the game with a good credit score, low interest rates and a good income. Unfortunately, many of us have no clue with how to succeed in the debt and money management game. I’ve come to understand many of our laws and industry regulations strongly favor the credit card companies, not the consumer. Add to this, the barrage of offers of easy terms, constant flow of pre-approved credit cards, low introductory rates, de-regulatd interest rates, increasing unasked-for credit limits, cash advances with high interest disguised as “open checks”, and any number of marketing tools employed by the credit industry to increase their revenues.
Because of a cross-country move and a home remodel I found myself with a lot of unexpected cc debt, over 60K. It was manageable but stressful and somewhat embarrassing. I also knew the payments were cutting deeply into my ability to save/invest for retirement which kept me awake at night. I had a great credit score and all of my interest rates were low, but I desperately needed to adopt a plan to pay off the debt. I did some research and started a program which advises setting up a timeline to pay off all your debt and cc’s, one at a time. Finally some relief, there was a plan in place! Just two months into the program, I noticed two of my cc’s with smaller balances went from single digit interest (card rate, not introductory) to over 25%! Alarmed, I checked all my recent payments and bank statements and as usual everything was paid on time. So I confidently called the two cc companies to tell them there had been some misunderstanding and would they “please” change my rate back. Talk about naive!
I learned the credit card companies had reviewed my credit file and decided I had become a larger credit risk because my credit card debt ratio had become high, although my overall credit score had barely moved. A contributing factor was that in the spirit of financial housekeeping I had recently closed a number of old credit accounts that contained open credit with zero balances. The following month another credit card with the largest balance followed suite and raised my interest rate from 11% to 29.9%!! Now I wasn’t just shocked, I was freakin livid! I found I had no recourse; none! I had not applied for any new credit, made ANY payments late, hadn’t changed address or jobs; I had just slowly used the credit line the card companies had extended me in the first place. Nor had I given permission for a “review” but found I was now at their mercy and after a couple of conversations with their representatives, I found out they had none. At that point I figured it was a matter of time before the remaining large account and another smaller account “caught up” with me. Looking at those high balances with such high interest rates was devastating and made me understand that all the years of good credit history with the same companies and paying on time meant almost nothing. Worse, I knew this would add additional years to my pay-off program and more years before I could start to save significantly for retirement. I knew I had to do something. I talked to the instructor of the acceleration program and he suggested I talk to Charles.
I was current with all payments when I had the initial conversation with Charles. It didn’t take long for me to see he had a deep understanding of how the debt companies operate and a philisophical POV that melts the conventional attitudes which keep consumers of debt in “line” by mortgaging their physical health and their financial futures. I’m convinced purchasing Charles’ zipdebt program was the best financial decision I could have made. It’s one year later and I just settled the last account for 45%, with my overall total for settlement at 39%. And, depending on your situation, you don’t necessarily need a pile of cash to begin.
I followed the program very closely. It’s not always easy but after the first settlement you begin to see it’s possible and how it truly works. My first settlement came at 26%; talk about motivation! Although some settlements are tough, others are not-so-tough. The conversations with the collection agents can rack your nerves, but you don’t have to lie, and it gets easier. Just follow Charles’ program and advice, his responses are always prompt and overall coaching is very thorough. He gets contant updates on what many creditors are willing to do.
The Zipdebt program is awesome, it’s inexpensive, and I appreciate that he has kept the price so reasonable - it’s really worth more. But when you’re looking a big pile of accumulated debt, it’s hard to imagine spending yet more money on an unknown is a good idea. But I found it is. I’m now at a place where I can make real progress toward retirement, pay off my home mortgage and start to repair my credit rating. As I’ve said all year: Many thanks Charles, I couldn’t have done it without you!
Comment by Carolyn in Austin, TX — March 3, 2008 @ 12:08 pmDiscovering your program for reducing our debt was one of the best things we have ever done. It is a process that anyone can manage by themselves. I now understand that if you do not take the time to
administer the debt negotiation process personally you will waste a lot of money that could go to pay off your debt and likely not insulate yourself from your creditors like you have been advised. I say this because I have a variable income. If I committed a specific amount each month to pay someone else to negotiate with my creditors, there would have been months that I would not have been able to pay.
By eliminating the credit services fees I was in a position to begin settling my accounts in several months and all 5 of the accounts I decided to settle were completed in 9 months. In the process $22,701.83 of credit card debt was cancelled in about 9 months.
If you are considering using a credit service to deal with your creditors—STOP—-, and give Charles a call. You will be glad you did.
Sincerely,
David and Wendy Williams
Comment by dave and wendy williams — March 22, 2008 @ 2:43 pmRacine, WIsconsin
Thank you Charles L-I-F-E-S-A-V-E-R Phelan!!!
Being a single mom after going through a nasty divorce, I had quite a bit of debt built up for being only one person. I was attending school at the time to get my Master’s Degree and was literally using leftover student loans to help pay for my bills. I know, BIG MISTAKE (for many reasons)! and even BIGGER when I graduated and the money stopped coming in. I found myself not being able to pay all my bills.
I researched many debt elimination/debt consolidation/debt negotiation companies and almost had the pen to the paper when I came across ZipDebt! What a miracle day that was!! I withdrew my paperwork immediately after reading Mr. Phelan’s FREE 32 page report and made that infamous 800# “call for help!”
Mr. Phelan called me back and we discussed my situation. He was even kind and truthful enough to tell me that I only needed the lower costing program (although I would have paid three times the highest amount!!)
Fall 2007 was the season of my “release from financial prison”. I received the ZipDebt CDs and could NOT put them down. I ended up listening (and taking notes) to every one of them in one sitting. Some advice: listen to them OVER AND OVER again!! I cannot tell you the sense of freedom and control that I have felt since starting his program.
To date, I am in the 3rd payment of a 4 month payout plan in which I settled for 17%!!!!!!!
I.E. 21,000 debt and I settled for $3,500. My in-house settlement amount is LESS than I would have paid the negotiation company for their fee!!!!!!! INCREDIBLE! ALL THANKS TO MR. PHELAN’S GUIDANCE!
Currently, I am dealing with a second creditor which I’m sure will be sending me to a 3rd party collection agency. Armed with ZipDebt’s tools, I look forward to the challenge as it will be a battle of knowledge and skill.
Some advice:
1. listen to Mr. Phelan’s CDs over and over again! (always keep things fresh in your mind.
2. when talking with a creditor, it is IMPORTANT to always give them the minimal amount of information possible.
3. “act” clueless (pretending to listen to every last word of the creditor’s advice like you have no idea about what is going on) and then go in for the “kill” when YOU (and your pocketbook) are ready.
4. STAY CONFIDENT!
5. it is important to stay in contact on at least a monthly basis with the creditors as I found that some of them actually do notate your calls in their files. (Don’t burn any bridges!)
Mr. Phelan, you are truly a blessing to so many! I have shared my story with so many friends and family (as well as strangers). Thank you for being courageous enough to cross over from the “dark side” to help ordinary people like us to have hope for a debt-free future!
God Bless!!
Heather
P.S. I will update when the “game” begins with my next creditor!
Comment by Heather — March 25, 2008 @ 7:12 amI have read all the inforation from others that worked with Charles and must say “MEGA DITTOS” to it all.
Charles is the most helpful and honest man I have ever had the pleasure working with!
We are a little different than many of the others in that we began working with a partner that turned out to be a disaster. We were steered wrong, stollen from and left with unfinished properties. All the money we had (also IRA’s cashed in) went to finishing the properties. We also paid a mortgage of over $1000 a month on a property that was being worked on, but not rented or sold. Unfortunately, much of the money to finish the properties came from credit cards. We always had excellent credit all our lives (we both are in our early 60’s). Before this all happened, we used credit cards when needed, but never had high balances on them. By the time we knew that we had been “taken”, we had a $250,000 debt on credit cards, not to even mention the IRA we lost and had to pay a penalty on.
We also talked to many of those “others” about our debts. They charged outragious fees and the monthly payments were more than we could handle. Like the others we got on the internet, talked to Charles and we were convinced this made sense. Well, we started with Zipdebt in the fall of 2007 and to this point we are down to about $125,000 owed. We also got some real deals in the 20% area following his advice. Have one filing a suit, a couple others that don’t want to move, etc. I feel that in time we will get the rest paid off. It might take 2 years, but we will do it.
Charles does do 2 things that I really appreciate. One he answers your e-mails quickly.That means alot! The other, which I have heard in the above notes, he encourages you. Just last week I said in an e-mail to him that I am tired spending so much time on checking all the accounts (we currently have 10 more cards to settle). He wrote back telling me to think about how much money I am saving and divide that by the hours spent and I would be happy as to how much I earned. He also said we will continue to have progress, sometimes it takes time.
A BIG THANKS TO CHARLES AND A NOTE TO ANYONE THATS NEED HELP WITH GETTING RID OF DEBT, PURCHASE HIS PROGRAM! FORGET THE OTHERS, CHARLES KNOWS HIS STUFF!
Comment by Bernie & Karen in PA. — April 15, 2008 @ 1:00 pmHi, my name is Patty. Before my nightmare started I always had good credit. Always paid my bills on time and never thought I will find myself in the situation I was in but it does happen to the better of us when we least expect it. Before I knew it I had more debt than income coming in. I tried to keep up with my payments and like alot of us I was robbing Peter to pay Paul. I started talking to debt settlement companies but their fees where so high I thought to myself if I can not afford to pay my creditors where am I going to get the money to pay this debt settlement companies. So I searched the web on do it yourself debt negotiations and much to my surprise I discovered Charles. He was the answer to my prayers!! I thank God for him because without him and his program I don’t know where I would have been. When I started Charles program my total debt was almost $62,000 and by the time I finished my settlements my balance excalated to $69,000 with finance charges and late fees. After 7 months of negotiating with my creditors I finally settled a little over $32,000 a combined savings of 47%. I was hoping to do better but I will take that any day just knowing I don’t have that large debt over my head and the stress it has taken off my shoulder.
My advice to anyone that is considering Charles program. DO NOT HESITATE. DO IT!!! This is probally the best move and investment you would ever make and his program is by far less expensive and rewarding than going through any other programs because you negotiated your debts yourself with the help of Charles. Again, Thank you Charles for all that you do and may God Bless you abundantly!!!
Comment by: Patricia in Florida - April 22, 2008
Comment by Patricia in Florida — April 22, 2008 @ 4:37 amThere is no other way I could have accomplished the results without you. I will be
Comment by Tavo & Kathryn — May 6, 2008 @ 11:16 amforever in your debt. You are truly a godsend to people drowning in debt because
of the banks sucking us in to their webs of disgracefulness. Consumers need to be
educated with your program, for the small amount of $ for your program in exchange
of the education you provide that the banks don’t want consumers to know. Here
are my results. Settled more than $260,000 of debt for about $70,000 following
your advice.