“The last thing I want is          

                   a 'quick fix' solution.”

Who you choose to negotiate, manage and settle your financial matters is as important as what they do.

FAQs

Is Four Peaks Financial Services a non-profit or for-profit company?

Four Peaks Financial Services is a private, for-profit company, which benefits you. How? Because, unlike traditional non-profit credit counseling agencies, Four Peaks Financial does not depend on donations from clients and/or creditors in order to cover the cost of doing business. This business model allows us to better serve your interests, since we work for you - not your creditors.

Will I be totally debt free when I’m done?

Our program is focused on dealing with only unsecured debts (credit cards, medical bills, unsecured personal loans). We cannot help you with debt that is secured by collateral (such as mortgages or auto loans). After completing the program, however, the money that you are no longer paying towards your unsecured creditors can now be used to pay down secured debts, as well as to save for your financial future.

How much does your debt settlement programs cost?

What distinguishes Four Peaks from almost every other settlement company is how we structure our fees.  Once enough funds have accumulated in your FDIC insured - Special Purpose Account, a Four Peaks settlement specialist will begin negotiating on your behalf with your creditors. Upon successfully negotiating a settlement payment to the creditor, Four Peaks will be entitled to 20% of the amount we have saved you, as our client, regarding that creditor.  This means we only get paid on settlements based on the amount we save you!!!!!!!

We will also receive the first two monthly payments as enrollment fees along with a nominal monthly administration fee of $19.95 which only begins in the third month of the program. This allows for funds to start accumulating in the third month and enables us to begin settling your unsecured debt faster than most other companies.

The majority of debt settlement companies will charge you between 15% and 20% percent of your total debt enrolled. This will normally be paid out to them by taking the first 3 or 4 monthly payments in full, followed by a substantial portion of the next few monthly payments until their fees are paid in full. What this means to you is: it will take longer to start accumulating enough funds in order to have your accounts settled with creditors. When paying another company's fees up front, what incentive is there for them to work hard for you, insuring they get you the best settlement possible?

Performance-based companies such as Four Peaks can begin negotiating your unsecured debt with your creditors within the third month while up-front fee companies normally will still be collecting their fees.

Who will have access to my personal information?

In order to provide the necessary services promised through our contractual agreement, Four Peaks Financial Services will only share non-public personal information with vendors and processing companies when necessary. For instance, Four Peaks Financial Program Advisors will provide Global Client Solutions (our third-party processor) with the information necessary to set up a Special Purpose Account. With regard to confidential information, only select Four Peaks personnel whose purpose is to serve our clients' best interests will have access to this information.

How does this affect my credit?

If you do not make required minimum payments to your creditor you may be breaking the terms of your agreement with them and your actions will probably be reported to consumer reporting agencies as a late, delinquent, charged-off or past due balance. This is true whether or not you have enrolled in a Debt Settlement Plan. Depending upon the condition of your credit report at the time of enrollment, a Debt Settlement Plan may have an adverse effect on your credit report and credit score. Our goal is to get you out of debt for the lowest cost, in the shortest period of time without declaring bankruptcy.

Will I continue to get calls from my creditors?

There are federal and state laws designed to protect you from creditor harassment. However, the fact is that most of our clients experience some collection calls. Four Peak’s goal is to get your creditors to call us and not you when they want to ask for money. In addition, we will work with you to make sure violators of collection laws, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) are appropriately handled. After you enroll in our program you will receive a New Client Agreement in which there will be forms for you to fill out to notify your creditors that we are now representing you and that all future correspondence should be directed to us. By sending out the necessary forms creditors will be made aware to contact us in order to help resolve your unsecured debt. If you continue to get calls, call our customer service department and they will again contact the creditor informing them of our representation. In all cases, you should keep a log of all calls you get from creditors with respect to the unsecured debt you put into our program

Will I owe taxes on my forgiven debt?

The IRS considers a forgiven debt as taxable income, so at the end of the year, they will expect taxes to be paid on the settlement. The IRS, however, has a form (Form 982) available for certain hardship situations that may exempt you from this tax. Please contact a tax advisor to discuss this issue further.

Do interest and late fees accrue on my accounts?

If you let your accounts go delinquent, your creditors will continue to add interest and late fees onto your balances. Typically, your balance will increase until a settlement is reached. Keep in mind that the interest is going to accrue regardless of whether you make minimum payments or not. Four Peaks’ goal is to negotiate substantial reductions to the balances on your accounts, even after the interest and late fees have accrued.

Will my debts be sent to a law firm? Will this result in a lawsuit?

Creditors do have the right to send debts to third party collection agencies and/or law firms in order to collect a debt. If this happens, we will continue to negotiate on your account and will treat the debt as a priority creditor (meaning we will try to resolve it first, before moving onto your other accounts). Based on our actual experience, it is a small percentage of cases on which lawsuits are actually filed. When this does happen, usually the purpose of the lawsuit is to force a settlement. We will continue to negotiate to settle the debt, although the settlement percentages are often higher than typical “non-legal” settlements. Please note, we are not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice or legal representation.

Do you guarantee that you settle all of my debts for a certain percentage?

No. Every case is a negotiation, and there is no guarantee how the negotiations will wind up. Furthermore, the success of our negotiations is highly dependent on your ability to save a specified amount each and every month you are in the program.

Is there a penalty for paying my unsecured debt off sooner than my program requires?

Of course not, we actually encourage our clients to make pre payments which may allow them to more quickly and efficiently settle their enrolled unsecured debts.

Does Four Peaks Financial control or direct my funds?

Our programs are designed so that the client is always aware of the funds available for settlement. Four Peaks Financial employs a reputable, third-party processing service, Global Client Solutions, to hold all client accounts until settlement. This Special Purpose Account being held by Global Client Solutions is viewable by you 24/7 on-line. Four Peaks Financial Services will only deduct the Enrollment Fees, Monthly Administration Fees, and Settlement Fees as authorized and agreed upon by you in the signed Enrollment Agreement.

How will I know what each creditor wants to settle for and/or their responses?

Four Peaks Financial communicates offers, responds to offers, and forwards the final settlement agreement to the client along with the payment instructions proposed by the creditor in accordance with the debt settlement agreement.

Can I still participate in the program if I have a flexible monthly income?

Yes. Our fees and payment schedule is on a client-by-client basis. We will set you up a payment plan that is convenient and affordable for your unique situation.

Can a person achieve these credit card debt settlements on their own or do they need to hire a debt reduction professional to get out of the credit card debt?

While it is certainly possible for someone to achieve a credit card debt settlement on their own, we do not recommend it anymore than we would recommend somebody taking out their own appendix.

Creditors do not take the situation nearly as seriously when a debtor calls to make a settlement as when a debt relief professional such as a bankruptcy attorney or debt management firm calls to make a debt settlement. An individual would not know how to negotiate a debt settlement or what a proper debt settlement would be. A debt management professional working in this field would know most individual creditors including what their standard acceptance offer would be.

In order to achieve the proper credit card debt settlement it is important to understand the proper way to fill out certain financial forms, most individuals do not know how to do this properly. A debt reduction professional also knows what to say, what not to say, what to ask for and what, to a creditor, would be a ridiculous request. Credit card debt settlements are best achieved when the creditor's standard operating procedures and formats are followed. An individual would have no idea how to go about following such debt solution procedures. It is harder to negotiate one of your own credit card debt accounts because of the emotions involved when negotiating for yourself. Even amongst lawyers it is said that the lawyer that represents himself has a fool for a client. This is the case for either a lawyer or non-lawyer negotiating debt settlements on their own behalf. When someone else is negotiating for you the calls from the collector and letters end up going to the debt management professional you have hired to work for you making the entire debt settlement process less stressful.

How do I find out the progress of my debt settlement?

You can call us at 800-727-1478, Monday thru Friday from 8am - 6pm MST to speak with a client services representative.

We are always happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

If I miss my monthly payment to Four Peaks Financial, will I be dropped from your program?

The program is designed to effectively settle your account with your creditors in a timely fashion. This can only be done if a client is able to make their monthly debt settlement program payment. We understand that due to some unforeseen circumstances a client may need to miss a monthly program payment which is fine. All the client would need to do is call out Customer service department and reschedule their payment. If a client repeatedly misses their monthly program payments and prevents Four Peaks from working diligently on their behalf we will have no choice but to drop the client.