Jackie O,

The best kept secret in the credit world is debt settlement. They hate the fact people are becoming aware of it. I was aware of debt settlement 20 years ago and have settled my own debts in the past. Unless you know what you are doing, it’s best you get a professional. If you are DIY make sure you get the settlements in writing before you hand over the money or else the money you hand over will become a payment only.

I got this information today from the guy at Canada Debt Settlements. Unless I heard him wrong, this is what I learned from them.

Hey Jackie O
Debt settlement is offered across Canada.

Where did get your information?

Just for your information, this service is currently only available in Ontario. They, Canada Debt Settlements, cannot assist you if you are in BC. They charge 25% of the amount that they reduce your debt by. eg you owe $1000, they settle on your behalf with your creditor for $600, you pay to them 25% of the $400 they reduced your debt by.

I apologize but I posted my reply on the wrong thread. And I realize this is an older one but I figured I'd post my info about my situation I got out of recently. This may not be completeIy relevant to this thread either, but I got help from a company called Canada Debt Settlements, they gave me a free consultation and the only fee was a percentage of what they saved me. I was able to avoid credit counselling/bankruptcy which was a life saver. The guy that helped me was an ex-bill collector and was really knowledgeable and made sure I completely understood how the process worked. They only deal with accounts in collections because they don't want to be involved in damaging peoples credit. I'm almost postive they only deal with debts in Canada myself. (Hence their name) Heres their website if youre interested. Just to add, I have let others know about this business, their type of business because people I have talked to in person as well have not heard of this option yet, and them being in a similar situation as myself... I feel its a great help to others that I can relate to. I also hope posting web sites & e-mail addresses is not considered advertising, Hope this helps.

http://www.canadadebtsettlements.com

email address is info@canadadebtsettlements.com as well. That's how I first got in touch with them.

I found these information pages on Equifax's home site.Equifax FAQ page

This page What is a rating talks about how Equifax defines their rating system.

From R1 - R9, L1-L9, all these have different meanings as follows:

Rating What it Means

? R0 Too new to rate; approved but not used

? R1 Pays (or paid) within 30 days of payment due date or not over one payment past due

? R2 Pays (or paid) in more than 30 days from payment due date, but not more than 60 days, or not more than two payments past due

? R3 Pays (or paid) in more than 60 days from payment due date, but not more than 90 days, or not more than three payments past due

? R4 Pays (or paid) in more than 90 days from payment due date, but not more than 120 days, or four payments past due

? R5 Account is at least 120 days overdue, but is not yet rated "9"

? R7 Making regular payments through a special arrangement to settle your debts

? R8 Repossession (voluntary or involuntary return of merchandise)

? R9 Bad debt; placed for collection; moved without giving a new address

The credit bureau is not going to suddenly change your credit item rating from R9 to R4 unless it was truly an R4, for example.

Monte,
I made an informal proposal to creditors in March of 2003. I paid the agreed upon amounts in full on March 31, 2003. The payments were equal to about 20 cents on the dollar. (I did this to avoid bankruptcy and only after a registered consumer proposal was refused.) Each creditor sent me letters accepting the partial payment as payment in full on the account. (see my post under HBC credit card for an "amusing" related story) Today my credit reports show some R7's and some R9's on these debts. It has been more than three years. With work I am sure I can get R9's changed to R7's but is it possible to get R7's improved now that it has been more than three years since final payments on my informal proposal?

Debt settlement is an alternative to bankruptcy, consumer proposals which are regulated federally by the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, and as well an alternative to Orderly payment of debts.

What people don't know is that credit bureaus in Canada don't report correctly on your consumer proposal. Equifax and TransUnion and the creditors report your consumer proposals as an R9 which means "bad debt, collection account, or cannot locate"

R7 is supposed to mean that you're making arrangements to make your payment. The credit bureaus in Canada rate your consumer proposal credit items as a R9 until you've fully paid off your debt . This is wrong.