Debt settlement

Debt settlement, also known as debt arbitration, debt negotiation or credit settlement, is an approach to debt reduction in which the debtor and creditor agree on a reduced balance that will be regarded as payment in full. During a negotiation period, all payments by the debtor are made to the debt settlement company, which typically withholds payments to the creditors, even if the debtor has paid a lump sum or made payments. Once all the debtor's accounts are in default due to this non-payment, the debt settlement company has leverage to force the debtor to accept a reduced lump sum payment as settlement. The debtor's credit rating goes down significantly due to the default, especially if the debtor was not behind on payments before the negotiation period commenced. Even though the accounts are "settled," the default appears on the debtor's credit record for seven years. Nevertheless, some debtors prefer this method of debt reduction over bankruptcy.