How to Make a DMP Work for You

How to Make a DMP Work for You You also could: negotiate directly with your credit card company, work with a debt settlement company, or consider bankruptcy Continue to pay your bills until your creditors have approved the plan. If you stop making payments before your creditors have accepted you into a plan, you'll face late fees, penalties, and negative entries on your credit report. Contact your creditors and confirm that they have accepted the proposed plan before you send any payments to the credit counseling organization for your DMP. Make sure the organization's payment schedule allows your debts to be paid before they are due each month. Paying on time will help you avoid late fees and penalties. Call each of your creditors on the first of every month to make sure the agency has paid them on time. Review monthly statements from your creditors to make sure they got your payments. If your DMP depends on your creditors agreeing to lower or eliminate interest and finance charges, or waive late fees, make sure these concessions are reflected on your statements. The Telemarketing Sales Rule, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, requires companies that sell debt relief services to explain their fees and tell you about any conditions on their services before you sign up; it also prohibits companies that sell debt relief services by phone from charging a fee before they settle or reduce your debt. For credit counseling that promises to get you into a DMP, that means the company cannot collect a fee until you have entered the DMP and made at least one payment to your creditors using the DMP.

View How to Make a DMP Work for You