There are so many folks in debt in the United States that some debt relief companies have been taking advantage of people. This is why the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has stepped in to make new rules and guidelines for the way they operate.

One of the problems with SOME debt settlement companies is that they have been known to prey upon the very people they claim to be helping. Charging fees at every step, some customers never get results and end up owing all sorts of fees. These customers are the same ones that are having debt problems in the first place and they end up owing more than they started with!

But things are now going to change because beginning on October 27 2010, any company that is in the business of selling debt relief services over the phone cannot charge any fees before they actually do what they promise: settle or reduce the debt of the customer. You can read more about it here at the FTC website.

The bottom line is that no debt settlement company can guarantee you that they can settle your debt or lessen it. No company can make a guarantee to you that they can get you debt relief grants or any other kind of grants they may be promising. They can try to help you, but there is no way they can be 100% sure that they will be successful.

The new regulations make sure that you won’t be charged ahead of time for promises made that may or may not be able to be fulfilled. It covers companies that engage in credit counseling, debt negotiation, and debt relief. Non-profit companies are exempt.

BEWARE OF THIS FALSE ADVERTISING

On a side note, beware of advertisements online that are made to look like newspaper reports but are not. They look like real news sites on the Internet but everything is fake including the reporter, the weather reports, the pictures, and the comments. You can see an example here.

These are called “advertorials” and they are just advertisements that are made to look like real news stories so that you will think they are legitimate. But they are not legitimate and that should tell you to avoid what they are selling as well. They can be trying to get you to buy Obama debt relief services, work from home kits, and even Acai berries for weight loss.

To protect consumers, the FTC has just come out with some new rules that will be put into effect on October 27, 2010. The FTC believes that some debt relief companies are a bit less than honest when they charge people up front for services and promises that they might not be able to deliver on. This new ruling will be there to protect people from those advance fees and false promises.

Although there is nothing officially called “Obama debt relief”, the FTC is trying to help the many people who are already deep in debt and looking for debt reduction, debt counseling, and debt consolidation. These are the people that already have nothing and some companies are trying to lure them in with promises of being able to reduce much of their credit card debt and then not delivering on that promise. However, if you have already paid, it is near impossible to get your money back.

The new ruling will not allow any upfront fees or payments and you can only be charged AFTER they have successfully provided their service to you. These rules apply to for-profit debt relief companies and not to ones that are non profit and you can read about it here: FTC ruling.

People are in all sorts of financial trouble right now with credit card debt, foreclosures, loss of jobs, school debt, and little hope for the immediate future. They are looking for Obama stimulus grants, Obama back to school grants, and any other kind of Obama grants they can find.

At least now they won’t have to worry about being taken to the cleaners by any company that makes debt relief promises that seem too good to be true.

People are obviously in a world of hurt right now and many are looking for stimulus debt relief and any other kind of financial aid. With jobs being lost, the value of homes going down, and the stock market performing so poorly, people who are in debt are in more trouble than ever before. Debt collectors are being especially annoying right now as everyone needs money, including the companies people owe debt to.

Unfortunately there is nothing like government debt relief grants from Obama but there are places you can go to get debt help. Debt Negotiator matches consumers who have $10,000 or more of credit card debt, with counselors who will help them resolve their debt.

1) They will help you legally reduce your credit card debt and other kinds of debt.
2) They will help you reduce the amount of your monthly payments.

Debt Negotiator is a step you can take to learn more about what you need to do to reduce your debt and start turning your ship around. But if you are looking for free money and free debt relief, you should know that it does not exist.

Obama debt relief grants from the government are a fantasy because they just don’t exist. Some people might be looking for them because they have heard of the stimulus bill and all the money that is being thrown around by the goverment. That money is mostly going to companies and local governments and it is NOT going to individuals.