Debt Negotiation Advice - Debt Negotiation Companies Knowledge Base

Debt Negotiation Companies Knowledge Base

Has anyone heard of debt negotiation companies? Do they work and are they legitimate. How will effect credit? I have spoken to one of these companies who has advised they will be able to negotiate my debt down to approx. 40% of original debt. There has been a major event in my life that does not allow me to continue normal payments. I would prefer not to file for bankrupt.

any advice about debt negotiation companies? I have been contacted by debt remedy solutions and am wondering if anyone has dealt with them or any other similar business. Does it really work?

I have about 25K in credit cards. I am about to lose my job. Anyone knows any debt negotiation companies that? WORKS???

What debt negotiation company would you recommend? We are looking for a company that is legit and fair.? We are not looking for loans or banks.... and would prefer if the answers came from people that actually used a debt negotiation service. Please answer if you have used a debt settlement firm...

which is worse for credit, bankruptcy or debit negotiation companies? talked to a company that "helps" with debt, decided on negotiation which means that I pay into an account with the company and they wait until my creditors have gotten to the point that they are willing to negotiate to settle the debts to pay them off. so all of the credit cards will basically go to collections and this is all going to be done over a period of 3 years so it is going to trash my credit. should I just file bankruptcy and move on? which is worse?

Are there any law firms that handle debt settlement / negotiations versus debt settlement companies? I hear that debt settlement companies are rip offs.

debt negotiation? any reliable companies you know of?

How long does debt negotiation hurt your credit rating? Is it worth it in order to become debt free ? Any referals of companies that have worked for you? any impartial websites that rate the companies?

Business credit card debt and legal action? I need some good legal resources for being able to handle the substantial debt I've incurred starting up my business. I am in settlement with one, but I owe so many others that I am unable to pay until I finish settling this debt, and then I'll settle the next and so on. I have a few accounts that are in the Law Office of so and so. Do I need to call them back because they don't tell me who they represent on the voicemail. I live in Texas, so would need contacts familiar with small business debt. I tried a debt negotiation company, but those don't work for me and end up costing me more.

What you guys think about debt Settlement/Negotiation Programs? I have like 40K credit card bills and want an easy and quick way out of them. I also need to keep my credit in a good shape so i am looking for a program to work with to help me to get red of debts. I interviewed a few debt settlement companies ( http://www.cydebt.com/home/homepage.shtm) and they told me that they can reduce my debts to 15K and wouldn't mark my credit. So what is the disadvantage of these companies and why everybody thinks that they're rip off. I also can't understand one part... what's will my creditors do if i don't make any payment?

I need the names of some trustworthy companies that offer Debt Management Plans? I will not qualify for government grants. I cannot get another consolidation loan. I do not want to use a debt negotiation service. My credit is good right now. I have paid all my bills at or above the minimum on time for over 7 years, and any blips on my credit have just recently "dropped off" my credit report. However, I am struggling, and things are about to get worse for me, and very soon I will start to be in the negative. I need help that won't ruin my credit score I have worked so hard to repair. If you have used a Debt Management Program and did not have to pay any additional fees, nor make any payments until all of your creditors accepted you into the program, please pass the name along to me.

The debt relief company cancelled what do I do now? Last may we decided to consolidate our debt and made payments to a debt relief company who would begin negotiations as soon as we paid the finance charges. Never got that far b/c our state passed law that said they could not do business with us, we got refunded. In the meantime we have been turned over to collection agencies, should I negotiate with them on my own?

Can I get out of Debt Negotiation program?? After my graduation I had 12000 dollars in creditcard bills last year //Due to lack of a proper job I went behind payments for 4 5 months and it wnet to colections .. to avoid the harassing calls i joined one of the debt negotiation programs..I payed of only 3000 worth so far and payed over 1000 dollars in fees and around 500 dollars in commision.Now I have a decent job and and can pay the rest of the loans in 6 instalments easily ..Now can ido it on my own bypassing the company ... I am doubtful if they are even trying as they promised as the ynever answer mycalls unless there is an offer and sometimesare more rude than the credit collectors ..Please help me I know I screwed up my credit for 12000 dollars but days were bad ... Now I am ina positin to pay off the loans either in full or atleast the negotiaeted amount and I dont want to deal with the people who are charging such high fees and wont answer my calls.My problem is there were 6 cards with imit ranging from 1200 to 6000 $

I know that i am a stranger, but would anyone mind lending me $850? I have every intention of verifying who i am by any means. I don't expect anyone to just lend me the $850 without me giving them ALL of my real information. Just in case anyone was wondering; i am not some bum looking to scam off people. I work hard for everyday. I am sales rep for a debt negotiation company. I do volunteer work throughout the city and love helping people in general. I am just in a tight spot right now because i kind of promised my nephew that i'd get him a laptop for his birthday which is on the 15th of this month but i'm just all tapped out right now. I will give $1,200 back in 2 weeks to the person who decides to lend me the $850.

As anyone had a career as a "debt negotiator"? I read about it and it sounds good, getting commission on cutting someone's debt in half, etc. the company wants $500 for the materials to start up doing it...is it legit? Has anyone checked into this debt negotiation career?

Debt negotiation letter? I am wanting to write a letter to some quick loan companies that I owe money to. I am wanting to try and negotiate a settlement. I am currently several months behind on my payments and I am going to have to file bankruptcy if I cannot work out something with some of my creditors. Does anyone know how to write a letter like this?

hospital debt lawsuit? A hospital filed a summon against me for $6565 + their attny's fees. I think that bill is way too excessive and unreasonable. I represented myself in court a couple of months ago for a hearing, and now the case is set for trial. I planned to stipulate with the plaintiff's attorney (hospital) for mediation, but I don't think I have time. I contacted a couple of debt negotiation service. One company said they may be able to settle the case by contacting the provider directly and hopefully reduced the charges claimed by 30-40%. Then my fees to the company is 30% of what is saved. Does anyone have any suggestion regarding this. I'm looking to make payments but not sure if that is possible. Please advise. Thank you.

Tips on debt negotiation.? I have several credit cards that are more than 6mo. past due. Several credit card company's have offered a 40% settlement. Is that a good deal or can I negotiate a lower %?

What to do with credit card debt?? I have a about $8,500.00 credit card debt. I can't afford to pay the minimums anymore and was thinking about contacting a debt relief company that will negotiate with credit card companies for me, during the negotiations I don't pay the credit cards should I pursue this option or should I just go with partial payments and keep on accumulating fees without reducing my debt? Please help me make this decision.

Credit Card Negotiation vs. Doing Nothing? I currently have over $25,000.00 worth of credit card debt from medical bills due to an auto accident that happened a couple years ago. The accident is going to be settled within the next year since I was not at fault, so I will eventually be able to pay off the debt completely. I have contacted the cc card companies to see if they'll lower my interest rate--no luck. However, I heard about a company that will negotiate my debt with the cc companies & will lower my debt up to 60% (for a fee, of course). Therefore, my monthly cc payments will go down & I will owe less money overall. The downside is that this will ruin my credit rating & it will take 6 months or so to fix it. Would it be better to do nothing & wait for the settlement to pay off all the debt at once & not mess with credit rating recovery (I want to purchase a home after the settlement)? Or should I do the debt negotiation & go through the process of rebuilding good credit again? Thanks! (Only serious answers please) By "do nothing", I mean still pay the minimum payment every month, but not negotiate the debt with the company. Sorry about the confusion. I am not going to file for bankruptcy. From what I've seen, this is the worst option for me (other than not pay even the minimum payments). I've seen that it can take 10 years to establish good credit after a bankruptcy.

I live in Texas. How much can I expect to pay in capital gains tax of $23,000 from a credit card settlement? Let me clarify, I used a debt negotiation company to successfully settle a $30,000 bank loan for $7000 and the bank said that since there is a $23,000 difference, I must file a 1099 and pay a capital gains tax to the IRS. *What is my best "legal" loophole/strategy to utilize in this situation? *FYI: Tax-wise, I file SINGLE and my salary is in the range of 65K-70K.

Is there anything in it for credit card companies to reduce my interest rate? I'm in the process of paying down my debt and it would be nice to do it at a more reasonable interest rate. Basically all of my cards are in the 20% range and i've been told you can negotiate a better rate. My score is in the mid-600's and all accounts are in good standing. Does anybody have any history of successful negotiation in a similar situation, and if so what's in it for the company to do so?

I signed up with a debt consolidation company (solicited) by phone. How can I make them refund my $797? They said I would get the latest version of software for debt management as well as a license for a members forum included with the negotiation with credit card companies to have a lower and fixed interest rate. None of this happened. I found out that the software was the paperwork they sent in the mail to inform them of the credit cards I have. Also there is no forum, only the workers at the company when you call in. They misrepresented themselves and have never done anything on my account, since February. I found out there are numerous complaints of there practices with the BBB. Can I get my credit card company to reverse the charge? Is there a way to get my money back? I already contacted the credit card company and disputed the charge. I contacted the company and they told me they are sorry I "misunderstood" that software meant paperwork, Yeah, right. Any Suggestions, Please! Thanks!

Has anyone heard of Allegro Law debt? Has anyone heard if there are a real company or fraud? Trying to go through debt negotiations program, have been in for 3 months now! But still getting calls for creditors. My credit is crap and will be, but am trying to get it straightened out! Have seen sites that say it works and others that say it's a scam. Don't know what's true. And if it is a scam, can anyone recommend a good site for help. Want to get myself out of debit not deeper in it! Thank you for your help! If you ask question, will try to add response to it, as in more info..

A catalogue I have an account with are threatening to pass my debt to debt recovery what does this mean? Hi I am in quite a lot of debt, not helped by the fact that I am currently unemployed. I did however take matters into my own hands by contacting all the companies I owed money too and negotiating lower payments, in some cases interest and charges were stopped. There are however a few companies who will not accept my offers of payment and insist I give them an amount I cannot manage. I received a phonecall today from a catalogue I owe money to, they say that if I cannot pay what they want they will pass this debt onto a debt recovery company, will this mean bailiffs or more negotiations of payment. Really don't want bailiffs at my door taking my things many of which my partner and I have saved hard to buy.

I owed comapny card some money. The case has been forworded to General of Attorney office. What does it mean? I owed chase credit card company around $5000 five years ago. Recently I checked my credit report and found they sold my debt to a debt collector. On the report, it stated the debt is $10K now. I would like to pay off my old debt, so I called the company. But they told me I should contact the State general of Attorney. What does it mean? Is means I lost my time for debt negotiation? I have been out of country for the past five years and I have not got any mail regarding my debt from the company. What should I do? I am in Michigan, but they told me the case has been forwarded to Iowa. Why is that? The statute of limitations in Michigan is 7 years. It should start from the date I have not paid for my bill or from the date the debt collector bought my debt from the company? I owed credit card company around five yars ago, but the debt collector listed on my credit report from last Nov. What should I do? Are they going to freeze my bank account?

Credit Card Negotiation? Have you ever negotiated debt with a credit card company and for what %?

Why do we let Greedy Capitalists own our Livelihoods? Tribune Company files for bankruptcy By Kristina Betinis and Alexander Fangmann 15 December 2008 World Socialist Web Site On Monday, December 8, the Tribune Company, which employs about 16,000 workers, became the first major news company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the current economic downturn. The filing, which threatens the jobs, wages and pensions of thousands of workers, allows the company to stop paying interest on its $12.9 billion in debt and enter into debt restructuring negotiations with its creditors. The bankruptcy filing lists the company’s assets at $7.6 billion The Tribune Company is a media empire comprising the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, the Orlando Sentinel, at least 6 other daily newspapers, a cable network, a radio station, 24 television stations, several weekly papers, Chicago Magazine, and numerous websites. It also owns the Chicago Cubs and their stadium, Wrigley Field, which are not listed as part of the bankruptcy filing. At court hearings last Wednesday, the media conglomerate asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to cut employee severance payments and health care benefits. In 1986, the Chicago Tribune smashed a bitter strike by pressmen and other craft unions, replacing 1,000 workers with strikebreakers. Today, the entire conglomerate is mostly non-union. Many media companies are suffering from dwindling advertising revenue, as well as the loss of readers to the Internet. In another recent sign of the downsizing and consolidation of the industry, the Detroit Free Press, owned by Gannett Co, and its partner, the Detroit News, are planning to end home delivery on all but the most lucrative days, which are Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The most direct cause of the Tribune Company’s bankruptcy, however, is the company’s staggering level of debt. Several large media companies, including Media General and Gannett, face enormous debt payments and may soon find themselves in a similar situation. Last year’s privatization of the Tribune Company bears the marks of leveraged debt financing characteristic of the recent climate of rampant speculation. In December 2007, billionaire real estate mogul Samuel Zell, nicknamed the “Grave Dancer” for his history of buying distressed or undervalued businesses, completed the transaction to take the Tribune Company private. He was estimated by Forbes in 2008 to be the 68th richest American. Zell, the Tribune Company’s chairman and CEO, pursued a heavily leveraged buyout of the company which was widely characterized as extremely risky and indicative of the irresponsible investments leading up to the recent crisis. The Wall Street Journal reports that “no one thought the buyout of Tribune Co. would work—and it didn’t.” Ruthlessness typifies Zell’s approach. Speaking on the mortgage crisis at the Milken Institute Global Conference in April, Zell was quoted as saying, “This country needs a cleansing. We need to clean out all those people who never should have bought in the first place, and not give them sympathy.” Zell maintained he could make the Tribune Company deal profitable through a combination of asset sales and reorganization to take place under the new management team, which had little or no experience in the newspaper industry. Senior executives knew that bankruptcy would likely be filed soon, in an effort to protect investments. While Zell invested $315m of personal equity, with substantial risk mitigated by tax breaks, debt was piled on to the company in the acquisition process. By the time of its completion, Zell’s deal had saddled the Tribune Company with $11.2 billion in debt. Most of the risk for the Tribune Company’s enormous debt was pushed onto the newly-created Employee Stock Ownership Program, which purchased $250 million worth of newly issued stocks upon being established in 2007. These schemes, promoted by the union bureaucracy to “save” failing companies, while securing the interests of big investors, have produced nothing but disaster for workers. This was the case at United Air Lines, McLouth Steel and other companies where workers lost their pensions, wages and life savings when the so-called worker-owned companies collapsed. The Tribune ESOP, as the majority shareholder, assumed most of the risk for the debts. Those employee shareholders are also at the end of the line of creditors in the bankruptcy proceedings. Speaking to the Chicago Tribune, Zell admitted it was likely that the employee stock owners could have their holdings wiped out. The Chicago Tribune reported that Tribune Company “will halt all severance payments, deferred compensation and other payments to former employees, who will be required to file a claim with the bankruptcy court.” The executive director of the National Center for Employee Ownership published an analysis of the Tribune Company’s ESOP in 2007 which included the following: The executive director of the National Center for Employee Ownership published an analysis of the Tribune Company’s ESOP in 2007 which included the following: “In the Tribune case, the ESOP will borrow money from the company. Regardless of how the plan acquires stock, company contributions to the trust are tax-deductible, within certain limits. So in this case, the company is able to use the ESOP to borrow money and repay it in pretax dollars, deducting both principal and interest. This is one of the key tax benefits that the many articles on this transaction are referencing.” In this case, as in other cases, an ESOP was established as part of the privatization to provide tax advantages and risk protection to Zell and company, rather than provide security for employees through ownership stakes, which clearly confirms the predatory nature of the Zell acquisition. n the first eight months after the Zell acquisition of the Tribune Company, more than 900 Chicago Tribune jobs were eliminated. Compounding the instability posed by the risky acquisition, the Tribune Company continued to see its advertising revenue fall sharply. In an effort to cut costs, the Chicago Tribune introduced a smaller, reformatted paper in September of this year, composed of fifty percent advertisements and fifty percent graphics-intensive reporting. The cost cuts were achieved by reducing news content and the staff required to produce it, which could be printed on fewer pages. By August 2008, increased layoffs, employee buyouts, and other cost-cutting measures failed to reverse the company’s decline. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/trib-d15.shtml Jim, Workers everywhere are taking it on the chin through no fault of their own. The capitalist is nothing but a leech on the working class. Capitalism is class warfare. The capitalist gets richer and richer as labor works harder and harder for less and less, as his benefits are slashed and his job "offshored" to cheap labor locations. If you had read this article, Zell's recklessness lies at the foundation of ruin for the employees of Tribune Co. "The ongoing debate over the auto bailout has demonstrated the conspiracy of the automakers, the two big business parties and the UAW against the autoworkers. All insist that workers must pay for a crisis that they did not cause, in order to restore the auto companies to profitability so they can once again be a lucrative source of income for corporate executives and big investors who are responsible for the financial catastrophe." http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/auto-d12.shtml Cowboy, Read the posted article!

Credit Card APR reduction? Has anyone ever had good results when asking a cc company to reduce their intrest rate, or do a debt negotiation? (example: an APR of 19.99% that was reduced... or a balance of $3500 negotiated to $2900 and paid in full) If so, which company was this with? I am looking to do this, and want to know my chances of success.

Need advice on rent being raised on lease-to-own property!!!!? I only know the barest of facts, but it smells fishy to me. My family's business is part of a shopping center strip and we are the anchor store. About a year ago, it switched property management groups. This week, we were told that our rent would rise substancially to cover an outstanding debt that the previous property owner passed on to the current company. Shouldn't that debt have been part of negotiations when this company bought out the last, and how can they make us pay for their mistake?

Which of these radical ideas might both Conservatives and Liberals rally behind together...? 1. Profit-sharing/stock ownership plan for UAW Workers, as a pre-condition for bailout package... Conservatives should like it, because ownership & profit sharing in the company will bring UAW back to RESPONSIBLE negotiations that don't jeopardize the long-term viability of companies and encourages more pay-as-you-go type spending tied to immediate financial condition of the company with creating long term debt/liabilities. Liberals should like it because it puts workers first, and increases power of UAW in a responsible long-term viable way. 2. A Marshall plan for Russia that is contigient on respect to the sovereignty of existing nations as they are currently drawn, and would be used to encourage non-oil based economy (i.e. manuafacturing & industry). The idea here is to stabilize a country in economic turmoil due to the sinking price of oil that owns the greatest number of nuclear missiles outside the United States. We cannot afford to let them become destabilized. At the same time we can use economic aid to pressure reform(free speech, free press, freedom of dissent), respect of border integrity, and most importantly move them to an economy that can benefit their people long term---beyond oil usage. Oil is a corrupting influence that encourages power grabs that hurt their people. Conservatives should like protections against nuclear proliferation, border stability, and reform of tyrannical government. Liberals should like the addressing of the underlying causes of Russia's tyrannical gov't as well as decreasing oil focus by Russia. Just some radical out-of-the box thinking for the Last working Friday of the year.....

Please I need help with my HW? Please read and let me know how you would analyze this article:The Water Crisis: Analysis and Proposals By Celine Tan Water and sanitation is the first of five priority action areas under the WEHAB plan for the post-WSSD implementation of sustainable development. The challenge of providing safe and clean water and sanitary conditions for an increasing world population, in the face of rising inequities, is phenomenal. Forty percent of the world’s population, in 80 countries, currently suffer from serious water shortages. A billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation (Global Economic Outlook 2002). Yet, the biggest threat to universal access to clean water and adequate sanitation is not mother nature but corporate globalisation. Privatisation of water is aggressively exported to the developing world under the rubric of poverty reduction and debt relief strategies, free trade and economic development. By turning a scarce resource into an economic commodity, the world’s economic leaders and policy planners claim that existing water resources can be managed and consumed efficiently in accordance with competitive market principles. These claims are not only misguided, they are deceitful. There are two myths being projected: first, that placing a price on water will encourage conservation and wise water consumption. Secondly, that market competition will lead to more consumer choice and better services. In reality, the water sector is monopolistic when placed in the hands of the market. It is thus alarming that the commodification of water resources is now heralded as the answer to the world’s water woes. Monopoly and subsidies for corporations Water is a US$400 billion global business, controlled by a handful of European transnational companies and consortiums, namely French multinationals Vivendi and Suez Lyonnaise, SAUR and British water companies Thames Water, Anglia Water and United Utilities. The global drive towards privatisation of water services is thus pursued not by a collective of democratically elected governments acting in the interest of the world’s population, but by a cartel of corporations motivated by profit and market conquest. To make matters worse, these companies are subsidised by their governments (and invariably their taxpayers) through support from domestic export credit agencies, and by multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. They are also subsidised by developing countries who raise credit from international financial institutions to upgrade their water systems prior to private takeover. This corporate subsidy comes at the expense of consumers, most of them in developing countries, who are made to pay for what is a necessity of life. For the poor this means no access to water. Additional loans to facilitate the privatisation process are raised by developing country governments from multilateral and bilateral sources. Often, these loans are also used to finance the creation of an ‘enabling environment’ for foreign water and wastewater investors. This includes the drafting of local investor protection legislation to guard against re-nationalisation of the water industry and to provide for hefty compensation for any attempt to renege (for good reasons) against the privatisation contracts. In many cases, corporate access to a developing country’s water system is paved by a loan or debt relief conditionality requiring the poor or indebted country to privatise its water and sanitation services. For example, the IMF insisted that Tanzania privatise its Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWSA) as a condition of its debt relief package under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Fallacy of privatisation Experience shows that the privatisation of water services cannot ensure universal delivery of safe water and efficient sanitation. Privatisation imposes additional financial obligations on governments. They may have to bail out failed privatisation project, and also shoulder the costly legal risks of rescinding a privatisation contract with a wealthy transnational, even if the company’s performance is unsatisfactory. Argentina, Hungary and Bolivia have found that the legal claims for compensation by private water companies in Tucuman, Szeged and Cochabamba respectively, have made terminating contracts prohibitively expensive. The dominance of foreign water companies and the liberalised investment climate - mostly facilitated by structural adjustment, and now under trade agreements including those under the WTO Ð in developing countries will also ensure that a large portion of profits from water privatisation will not accrue to the countries themselves but are repatriated abroad instead. The imposition of full-cost water pricing as a result of privatisation will only deprive more and more people of access to clean and safe water by forcing poor communities to seek alternative sources of water for consumption, such as untreated well water and water from sewage-ridden urban rivers. Forced upon rich and poor, consumers and industrial producers, similar rates for water use will also result in greater income disparity and deeper social cleavages, leading to higher risks of civil unrest. In 2000, martial law was declared in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba as a result of city-wide riots precipitated by high water prices. A private consortium led by International Water doubled the water prices to city residents. Water bills went up by 35% and some, twice that. The World Bank supported full-cost water pricing and prohibited any use of its structural adjustment loans to subsidise water services for the poor. Future fears and WSSD outcomes There is no agreement on the text in the WSSD Draft Plan of Implementation that commits governments to supporting the UN Millennium Development Goal of halving, by 2015, the proportion of people unable to reach, or afford, safe drinking water and access improved sanitation (paragraphs 7 and 7[alt]). However, the most pressing concerns over universal coverage of water and sanitation services are not expressed in these bracketed paragraphs. Rather, they are reflected in the general lack of political will demonstrated by developed countries to address the systemic issues leading to a crisis of sustainable development in the south, and the alarming emphasis placed on public-private partnership funding and implementation of sustainable development programmes. The relinquishing of responsibility by developed countries is marked by their reluctance to commit to specific disbursements of ODA and by repeated references to voluntary partnerships and initiatives as a means of financing WSSD programmatic outcomes. In the absence of firm commitments by governments, Type II partnerships on water and sanitation services will only increase private sector involvement in this crucial area. The private sector is already identified as a key implementer of the ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for All Initiative’ involving 28 countries, six UN agencies, the World Bank, and the Asian and African Development Banks. Another major threat to universal access to water and sanitation is liberalisation under the WTO’s rules. Although Member countries have the right to liberalise at their own pace, and even choose not to open up a sector under the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), there is tremendous pressure especially on developing countries to liberalise. Thus in the ongoing negotiations at the WTO, developed countries are submitting extensive ÒrequestsÓ that seek access to every sector in the developing world, including water services and sanitation. If developing countries succumb, privatisation of water services initiated under World Bank and IMF structural adjustment programmes could become permanent under the binding rules of the WTO. Once a country is locked into the GATS regime, the right of its government to regulate liberalized service sectors will be diminished, paving the way for foreign transnationals to enter the domestic market. Any attempt to reverse the situation would be subject to WTO disciplines and penalties. Any real effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goal must therefore include commitments to review loan conditionalities that impose privatisation and countries must not be pressured to offer water services under GATS liberalisation. Essential services should be exempted from GATS. Conclusion Privatisation does not address the deeper economic and ecological issues of water shortages. Questions of why there are water shortages in countries not under water stress are not resolved by shifting responsibility of service provision to private companies. Water management and water distribution are also key factors in determining water supply and universal coverage. Until and unless rich countries fulfil their commitment to provide resources for developing countries to build solid, cost-effective water delivery systems which support the needs of the world’s population equitably and ecologically, the water woes of the world will not go away. At the same time, all governments need to recognise and support the diversity and replication of community water management systems and practices. These have proven in many countries to be the most sustainable approach to rural water management for rural populations. The WSSD process and the last 10 years of the work of the CSD have called for good and best practices in sustainable development. However, where water resources are concerned the trend and emphasis are privatisation which has proven destructive. Firm commitments must be made at the WSSD to reverse the trend of corporate takeover in the water and sanitation sector, rather than to accelerate the process of privatisation and corporate monopoly. Undermining the sovereign power of governments to regulate supply of water in their countries and passing the bucket onto private transnationals to steward the world’s water resources would probably be a most anti-development and anti-ecological step.

Jack Sparrow vs The World? "Sparrow is pirate lord of the Caribbean Sea, and enjoys the freedom of his occupation, drinking rum and seducing women while looking for supernatural treasures. He engages in much dealing and treachery, preferring to use negotiation and wits over weapons to survive. Sparrow is introduced as seeking to regain his ship the Black Pearl from his treacherous first mate Hector Barbossa, and spends much of the sequels trying to escape his blood debt to Davy Jones and battling the East India Trading Company. Despite his rude or cowardly behaviour, he is nonetheless an honorable and likeable character" Is Sparrow a real Spiritual Seeker/Practioner ? Have you Seen the Rainbow !

CCCS - Bank Settlements/Agreements? Does anyone on here work for a debt consolidation or credit counseling service? If so, my question is directed to you. What do the credit counseling service companies say or do with the banks that I can do on my own? What type of offers do they make the bank? Is there a certain % of total debt they start with? Do they make multiple counter offers back and forth or is it just a one-shot chance with the bank? I owe over $30k to American Express and had it down to only $3k about 2 years ago, but life happens and we had to live on the credit card for a short time, and the charges and interest just keep piling up. Any and all comments on bank negotiations are welcome here.

What happens when credit collector sends your file back to the creditor? My negotiations with a credit collector (acting on belief of a credit card company) have collapsed because the credit collector believes I have the means to pay debt even though I cannot afford to pay it. He said he is sending the file back to the credit card company with regomendations (probably saying that I have the means to pay). What actions is the credit card company likely to take? Should I be very scared?

Credit Card Negotiation? Have you ever negotiated debt with a credit card company and for what %?

I have about 25K in credit cards. I am about to lose my job. Anyone knows any debt negotiation companies that? WORKS???

What you guys think about debt Settlement/Negotiation Programs? I have like 40K credit card bills and want an easy and quick way out of them. I also need to keep my credit in a good shape so i am looking for a program to work with to help me to get red of debts. I interviewed a few debt settlement companies ( http://www.cydebt.com/home/homepage.shtm... and they told me that they can reduce my debts to 15K and wouldn't mark my credit. So what is the disadvantage of these companies and why everybody thinks that they're rip off. I also can't understand one part... what's will my creditors do if i don't make any payment?

Please send me your thoughts on going into a credit negotiation program.? What about those over exposed credit companies that promise you to eliminate your credit card debt by entering thier credit negotiation program? Seems to me that you put your life and credit history in their hands with no garantee. Anyone has participated? I have "mid sized"credit card debt BUT no bad credit. Pay ontime. Only Problem: monthly payments are killing me. What is the truth on dealing directly with credit card companies?? Please, can anybody share ideas and experience? Tks Yes, I do have an option to offset some of the debt by using my savings. I was always told not "to put good money into old bad money". Going with these debt negotiation program , I thought, would preserve my savings. I do like your answers. It is indeed helping me to make up my mind. Tks a lot