CuraDebt is one of the most established debt consolidation firms in the United States and have been around longer than pretty much any of the other companies in the debt consolidation category. They also offer debt management services. We recommend that you check their services out.
They're able to work with debts of over $10,000 of unsecured debt and work in Canada and all states except Kansas, New Hampshire and West Virginia.
CuraDebt takes a somewhat different approach to charging for debt consolidation services than is taken by most other firms. Whereas most competitors charge a flat 15% of the total debt entered into the program, CuraDebt Charges an initial retainer fee of 5% of the total debt and then 20% of the amount they are able to save the client. That charge could make it more or less than others charge based on how the process actually goes.
Here’s some analysis of the pricing for comparison purposes. In general, debt consolidation firms presume that they’ll be able to save the client 50% of the total debt. If that actually happens, the cost to the consumer with CuraDebt’s pricing structure will be exactly the same as with companies that charge a flat 15%. If they save their client more than 50%, then their commission is higher but client also pays less overall because more debt is forgiven. If they save less than 50% of the total debt then their commission is correspondingly lower but the client ultimately pays more because a smaller amount of the debt is forgiven.
The 5% retainer fee is paid in three equal installments during the first three months of the debt settlement program. The fee is refundable if the client sets aside at least 2.5% of the total debt throughout the course of the program. Their retainer fee is calculated based on the client's debt amount, which means the more debt you have, the less you have to pay in terms of retainer fees. Some retainers will be 4%, 3%, and even 2.5% with the opportunity to receive a discount on all. This fee is refunded as long as client completes our program successfully.
Besides their regular debt settlement program, CuraDebt can provide the option for clients that can save 2.5% monthly, to participate of our no upfront fee program, where the commission is 35% based on the difference of the original debt total enrolled, and the settlement on each account (what we save the client).
CuraDebt has attorney-backed and performance-based debt settlement programs. The attorney-backed program involves a hold account where you deposit a negotiated monthly payment until there is enough for an attorney to negotiate a settlement. The performance-based program is similar, except that negotiators instead of attorneys work out settlements with creditors. You will pay the service 15% of the debt plus some legal fees.
Clients of CuraDebt have full visibility of the progress they’re making towards debt freedom on the company’s secure website. You will pay the service 40% of any savings negotiated. Or you can choose to pay 21% of the debt when you enroll.
There’s very little in the way of credit counseling offered by CuraDebt. Nonetheless, there is a user forum that can be used for asking questions and a monthly newsletter as well. We found that these services tend to promote the debt settlement program more that actually offering credit counseling information.
CuraDebt offers customer support by email, telephone and online chat.
Our orientation toward debt management as a preferable alternative to debt settlement, when at all possible, is clear. However, if you’ve already decided that settlement is the only viable path, then CuraDebt is a well established firm in this field and is worthy of serious consideration.
