If you are in a dilemma about whether to file for bankruptcy or work out credit card debt settlement then you need to know a number of things to come to the final decision which is best for you.

It may seem obvious to file for bankruptcy and get all the hassle and misery over and done with but before you do lets analyse a few facts.

However, if not in the first instance, at least some way down the line, they will reduce the amount they are asking for, and very often it will be a very significant reduction of what was once the original debt. If you go ahead and pay, the debt collection agency will get, lets say, around 60% of the final payment you make, leaving just 40% of that for the original creditor/s.

However, when it does get to this stage in the affair, the debt collection agency will actually offer to accept a fair amount less than your actual debt currently stands at. So as an example let us say that the collection agency will receive, if you decide to pay them, a commission of 60% of the reduced debt offer. Following so far?

Lets look at actual figures here.
- Your original credit card debt stands at $15,000.
- The debt collection agency offers to accept $8,000 as full payment from you.
- The debt collection agency receives 60% of the $8,000 as commission.
- The credit card company get 40% of the $8,000.

Furthermore, if you were to take the bankruptcy option this would stay on your credit file for a total of 10 years. If you were to take the debt settlement option then it will remain on your file for 7 years in total before you can start afresh.

By taking the bankruptcy route you also have to pay other fees such as the following:
– filing fee
– attorney fees
– court fees
– pre-filing debtor education course fee (and you have to sit the exam too)

If you were to take the route of bankruptcy there are other fees to pay, namely:
– attorney fees
– a bankruptcy filing fee
– court fees
– a fee payable for a pre-filing debtor education course and you have to take the course too.
And if you were to default on the bankruptcy terms and conditions you would have to start again from the beginning, and would at the same time lose all that money paid towards the above costs. A high price to pay for no results!

Therefore, unless your debt is very much insurmountable, it most certainly makes very good sense to focus upon the debt settlement route.

Click the link if you need information about a debt consolidation program. You can learn about low interest and 0% interest credit cards too.