Yes, however, designing plans and settling debt is all we do. You may be able to make your own plumbing repairs or install your own computer network, but most people don't have the time or expertise to deal with it.

Creditors deal with thousands of people who are in financial difficulty every day and have a vast array of sophisticated (and some rather blunt) methods of intimidating you into financial arrangements you cannot keep.

The settlement process is usually very emotional and stressful, especially when you are the one being attacked by collectors over the phone. Most people prefer to leave these tasks to experienced people who earn their livelihood doing that particular kind of work.

We have a staff of debt negotiators whose only job is to negotiate the settlement of unsecured debt, every day, five days a week. By letting SCOA do what we do best, you will get better settlements.

Many people cannot afford to make monthly minimums payments towards their credit card debt with high interest rates. It could take 30 - 40 years to pay off the debt. Others have had a decrease in income, suffered a disability, or lost a job and are likely already behind on payments or cannot afford to stay current due to a financial hardship.

Our debt negotiators will negotiate with your creditors on your behalf, not on your creditor's behalf, as is the case with credit counseling. SCOA gives you an alternative to bankruptcy and a solution to your unmanageably increasing debt due to high interest rates. So how does settlement work?

• SCOA designs an affordable monthly savings plan put together for you and your savings are used to obtain settlements with your creditors.

• The settlement process in our program typically takes about 36 months or less. Metron has assembled an impressive team of dedicated individuals who work with one common goal… to save you money.

• As a new client, SCOA will educate you on how to handle creditor calls and communications. We will contact creditors when it is an appropriate time and strive to get the best settlement for you.

• Our goal is to get you the lowest settlement possible. We are working for you, not your creditors. As a result, the absolute best settlement deals are achieved with your best interest in mind.

• We believe in a win-win relationship. As always, getting you out of debt is our job… keeping you out is our mission.

1. Someone who has some type of hardship such as (illness, disability, divorce, job loss, or a reduction in pay) and is having difficulty making payments on their credit card debt.


2. Someone who has past due credit card debt in excess of $5,000, with high interest rates and unsustainable payments such that the individual is considering filing bankruptcy.


3. Someone with a debt problem that he or she cannot resolve.


4. Someone who is having trouble staying current and is delinquent on their accounts or is receiving collection calls or is close to having suit for a judgment filed against them.


5. Someone considering bankruptcy, but would like to avoid it.

The time to complete the debt settlement program varies from case to case and is primarily based upon how much money you will be able to set aside each month to eliminate the debt of your enrolled accounts.

During your initial free consultation, the time to complete the debt settlement program for your individual case will be discussed with you by our Debt Consultant. SCOA’s average client plan is 36 months.

The amount of time it takes to clear your debts is largely dependent on your current financial situation. If your budget is extremely limited, results may take longer. Every situation is different and we will be happy to discuss this during your free confidential phone consultation.

A debt settlement program will have a negative effect on your credit while in the program. If your accounts are already delinquent it may not have much effect. For consumers with unpaid delinquent accounts this makes debt settlement an excellent option over ignoring the delinquent past due account, considering the savings versus paying the past due account in full. The question is, does debt settlement make sense for those who have current accounts, and a good credit rating. Those with a high credit score must weigh the negative impact on credit ratings against the risk of bankruptcy and the potential of being out of debt for less than the full balance. Note: even if your accounts are current your credit score may already be negatively impacted by your total debt and debt to available credit ratio; in this case negotiation of the accounts may still be a better alternative than making minimum monthly payments for the next 30 years and still having bad credit.

While in a debt settlement program, you will receive “slow pay” marks on your credit as you are not making regular payments to your creditors. Your consumer credit score will be negatively affected during the delinquency period. This occurs for two reasons. First the account is late and is continually reported to credit bureau as the delinquency period extends (60, 90, 120 days). Secondly, the amount listed in the payment due column increases as past due payments stack up. If the accounts are current but the credit score is low due to high balances or a history of late payments, the negative effect on your credit may already be reflected in your credit score.

No. The goal of debt settlement is to reduce the overall amount of the debt by negotiating agreed payoff amounts with your creditors. Debt consolidation requires you to take a loan to pay off your unsecured debt with secured debt.

Debt Consolidation loans transfer the debt from one account to another and typically takes unsecured debt(s) and changes it into secured debt (usually your home). If you do not have enough equity (typically 25 - 30% LTV), bad credit, or too much debt, it is not likely that you will be approved for a debt consolidation loan.

Statistics show that about 70% of people who obtain a debt consolidation loan find themselves in deeper debt than they were originally in within a two year period. You cannot borrow your way out of debt. Ask yourself why you would want to go from an unsecured loan to a secured loan to be paid over a longer period of time?

The main problem with consolidation loans is that once you have paid off the credit cards you have a whole new source of spending power: $0 Balance credit cards. Many people lack the discipline to avoid incurring any more credit card debt, leaving them in a worse financial situation. You end up not only having to pay back the cards but also the consolidation loan.

Unsecured debt is any loan or debt that has no tangible assets or property attached to it. The most common types of unsecured debt are credit cards, department store cards, medical bills, utility bills, and personal loans. Should you fail to make timely payments, the lenders only recourse is to pursue legal action.

Over the duration of the program, you will deposit funds into a Special Purpose Account with Global Client Solutions. Global is a revolutionary banking platform, trusted to solely provide the most up-to-date account management products to the debt settlement industry.

No - creditors have the right to use legal means to collect a debt. Some creditors are more likely to file suit than others.

In our experience, a small minority of consumers are involved in lawsuits. However, it is a common tactic of third-party creditors or collection agencies to threaten you with a lawsuit (which is illegal if they do not intend to sue). Third-party creditors or collection agencies sue less frequently than original creditors. While we cannot guarantee that legal action will not be taken, we are confident that our experience in dealing with creditors can reduce the possibility of this happening.

Despite any legal action that may or may not be taken, your account can be settled before, during or after the suit. Just because an account goes to legal action does not mean that we cannot settle it. The threat of legal action can be the scariest of all. IT CAN BE HANDLED. Sometimes a single lawsuit is not a bad thing because it may give our negotiators leverage to settle your other accounts. We recommend that our clients seek competent legal counsel in certain situations.