Difference Between Debt Consolidation and Debt Settlement

Debt Settlement (DS) --> It is a process, which involves negotiating with your creditors to settle your debt for amounts significantly less than you currently owe. People not able to bear the burden of huge debts anymore or on the verge of bankruptcy are advised for debt settlement.

Debt Consolidation (DC) --> It is a process in which all the bills and debt whether secured or unsecured are combined together into a single payment, usually resulting in lower monthly payments. Often debt consolidation involves many unsecured loans (such as credit card bills, medical bills, etc.) into a single payment but with collateral backing it up. This is then referred to a secured loan. There are two types of programs under debt consolidation, i.e. Debt Consolidation Service and Debt Consolidation Loan.
a) Under Debt Consolidation service, debt solution companies negotiate with the creditors to lower down the interest rates and monthly payments.
b) Under Debt Consolidation loan, a lower interest loan is provided to the debtor in lieu of multiple high interest loans and bills, in order to pay off his debt quickly.

Lets come to the differences between Debt Consolidation (DC) and Debt Settlement (DS), which are given below:

1) In DC debt isn't reduced, it remains the same, only interest rate is reduced, but in DS debt is reduced to substantial level and also the interest rate is reduced.

2) In DC interest rate can be reduced to 50-75% depending on the debt, whereas in DS the interest rate can be reduced down to 40-60%.




3) In DC though the rate of interest is reduced, one has to pay the whole amount, but in DS once you repay 40-60% of your outstanding dues, you're legally out of debt.

4) In DC the credit score of the debtor isn't affected and in some cases there is a positive impact on it, if the bills are paid on time, on the other hand DS can severely damage one's credit score.

5) In DC all the secured and unsecured loans are combined together into a single secured loan, which are associated with collateral. So in case debtor fails to pay the loan he has to loose his property. But in DS creditors are at constant risk in loosing their money.

6) Usually, you can be out of short term credit card debt consolidation in five years or less but in DS the payment period is more.

7) If good credit manners are maintained a debtor with DC can apply for fresh loan and can get it, but a person with DS will affect their ability to get credit at favorable interest rates for couple of years. In fact, the Fair Credit Reporting Act states that negative information must remain on a credit report for a minimum of seven years.

Now its upto debtors and also depends on their financial position which plan to go for.