I was in debt and being in college made it more difficult even to pay off my monthly installments on my credit cards. At that time I approached 'My Debt choice' which turned out to be a nightmare now.

Initially they took my phone call and comforted me by saying they will handle the situation. They took details of my debt and gave me a quote that my debt will be settled in 18 months. I signed the letter and faxed them back.

It all started from there. They are middle men to a law firm which rips you off. The initial settlement time they mention is no way a genuine one. From every month payment the law firm takes away $55 for account maintenance. You keep paying them every month and get calls from your credit card companies all the time.

Even after 17 months (out of 18 months they initially mentioned) I have paid the amount they asked for, my account is not even half way settled. As long as it is not settled they keep taking their account fee every month. There is another catch.

The credit card companies keep adding fees for not paying their balance and it builds up to lot more than what your initial debt was. When they offer a settlement they quote approximately 50-60% of the final amount. The law firm charges 33% on the settlement. At the end of everything you end up paying more than what you initially owed and added to that you will have bad credit on your account. Look at the math.

By the time the account is settled the fees added by credit card companies is generally 25% of your debt. They settle for 55% of the final debt.

Settlement amount = 0.55 * (1.25 time of initial debt) = 62.5 % of initial debt.

Settlement fee = 0.33 * settlement amount = 20.6 % of initial debt.

Account fees ripped off every month generally comes to around 25 % of the amount you pay = 0.25 * ( 0.625 + 0.206 ) = 20.8 % of initial debt.

Total you pay = 0.625 + 0.206 + 0.208 = 104% of initial debt.

All the time this is happening, you will have bad credit. This is all deceitful taking into consideration the ignorance and desperation of the consumers.

They do nothing that you cannot do. Instead of paying them this additional amount you can directly negotiate with your creditors and pay it off.