Debt settlement is a form of debt relief where we negotiate with your creditors to reduce the amount you owe. In practice, it means working with your existing unsecured debts (like credit cards or medical bills) and reaching agreements to pay less than the full balancenerdwallet.com. Once a creditor accepts a settlement, that debt is considered paid in full and the creditor can no longer pursue collection of that balancenerdwallet.com. This process gives you a clear plan to become debt-free, though it typically takes a few years (often 2-4 years) to complete

Our program guides you step-by-step. First, we review and enroll your eligible delots. Then you make one affordable monthly payment into a dedicated account instead of paying each creditor directly. We pause your payments to those enrolled debts and let the funds accumulate. When enough money is saved, we contact each creditor with a lump-sum settlement offer. If the creditor accepts, that debt is settled (paid off) for less than the original balancenerdwallet.com. You never have to negotiate on your own - we handle all communication with your creditors. In summary, you save each month, we negotiate on your behalf, and upon approval the debt is closednerdwallet.comnerdwallet.com.

Debt settlement does impact your credit. Because you typically stop paying your enrolled debts during the process, those accounts will show missed payments or "settled" status on your credit report. This usually causes a drop in your credit score in the short terminvestopedia.com. However, settling debts can be better for your credit than continuing to miss payments or default. As each debt is paid off, your credit utilization falls and you rebuild a positive payment history, so your score can recover and improve over timeinvestopedia.cominvestopedia.com. In other words, you may see an initial dip, but paying off or resolving debt often leads to a healthier credit profile in the longruninvestopedia.com.

We charge no upfront fees or hidden costs. Better Future Finance operates on a contingency basis - we only earn our fee after a debt is successfully settledbetterfuturefinance.com.Our fee is a percentage of the debt enrolled (generally around 15-25%), and it's already included in your monthly payment to the programnerdwallet.com. In fact, you won't pay us anything until you approve a settlement and the creditor agrees to itbetterfuturefinance.com. lf a debt can't be settled, you owe nothing for that debt. This means no sign-up fees, no cancellation fees, and no payment if we don't save you moneybetterfuturefinance.com.

No. Better Future Finance's debt settlement program is not a loanclearoneadvantage.com. We're not lending you new money or charging interest on a balance. Instead, we're negotiating to reduce what you already owe. You simply deposit money each month into our program. We use those funds to pay creditors after reaching settlements. Because it's not a loan, there's no additional interest and no new debt is createdclearoneadvantage.com.

In the early stages, you probably will. Because the program usually requires pausing your payments, creditors will continue their usual collection efforts (phone calls, letters) while you're saving money for settlementsconsumerfinance.gov. This can feel uncomfortable, but it's normal. Our team works to communicate with your creditors and ask them to coordinate through us whenever possible. Once a particular debt is settled (and officially paid), that creditor will stop calling about that debtnerdwallet.com. In short, expect some calls until a debt is resolved, but rest assured that after settlement, that creditor will consider the debtclosednerdwallet.com.

Every case is unique, but most programs take 2 to 4 years to complete. In fact, Better Future Finance's experience shows that clients who finish the program resolve their debts in about 24-48 months (roughly 2-4 years)betterfuturefinance.com. Many clients see their first debt settlement in just a few months (often within 4-7 months) and then typically get a new settlement every 3-6 months after that betterfuturefinance.com. The exact timeline depends on factors like how much debt you have and how quickly funds build up, but you'll always know where you stand with regular progress updates.