How we make money
How we make money
We are paid through the settlement fee you agree to in writing, and by partner companies when a client adds an optional legal plan or enrolls through a partner. Each one is explained below, with who else gets paid.
Questions about the fee? Call 866-659-7966
How the fee works
Four points about our fee.
The federal rule for debt relief sets most of this. We would work this way anyway, because a fee you can see is a fee you can judge.
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Before you sign
You see the fee in writing.
Fees are taken only as your signed enrollment agreement allows.
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While you save
We charge you nothing.
Your deposits build up in an account in your name, not ours.
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The risk
Some debts may never settle.
We earn no fee on a debt that does not settle.
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After a settlement
We earn the fee for that debt.
Only after you approve the offer and a payment is made under it.
Where our money comes from
What we earn from (and what we don’t)
We are paid
- A settlement fee of 20 to 29% of the debt you enroll, charged only after a debt settles and a payment is made
- At one percentage across every debt you enroll, as your signed agreement sets it
- A percentage from the legal plan companies when a client adds the Veritas Legal Plan or the Fortress Legal Plan
- A percentage from Consumer Defense Partners, a partner company, when a client enrolls through it
We don’t
- Charge any fee before a debt is settled and a payment is made
- Make or sell loans, so we earn nothing from interest
- Take commissions, referral fees or any other payment from creditors, collectors or debt buyers
- Buy, sell or share leads, or run a lead marketplace
- Hold your savings, or take any part of the account provider’s fees
Who picks up
Edit Furth, CEO
- No bots: a real person picks up the phone.
- A small, expert team, working since 2008.
- People abroad with a US SSN or ITIN and US debt are welcome.
What does the fee look like in dollars?
Take $25,000 of debt across 4 accounts. Our fee is 20 to 29% of enrolled debt. Your percentage depends on your situation and how you enroll, it is written into your agreement, and it is the same for every debt you enroll, as the federal rule (eCFR, opens in a new tab) requires.
The fee for each account can be charged only after that account settles and a payment is made on the settlement.
| Account | Enrolled balance | Fee at 20% | Fee at 29% | Earliest it can be charged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal loan | $3,750 | $750 | $1,088 | After it settles (month 10, illustrative) |
| Medical bill | $5,000 | $1,000 | $1,450 | After it settles (month 15, illustrative) |
| Card B | $6,750 | $1,350 | $1,957 | After it settles (month 21, illustrative) |
| Card A | $9,500 | $1,900 | $2,755 | After it settles (month 26, illustrative) |
| All accounts | $25,000 | $5,000 | $7,250 | Only if every account settles |
Illustrative only: your own percentage, within this range, is stated in your written agreement before you sign.
Who else pays us?
Some clients choose to add an optional legal plan, the Veritas Legal Plan or the Fortress Legal Plan. We sell these plans as an add-on, and the companies behind them pay us a percentage. Ask what a plan costs, what it covers and what we are paid for it before you decide.
Some clients enroll through Consumer Defense Partners, a partner company. When they do, Consumer Defense Partners also pays us a percentage. How you enroll can change your fee percentage, so ask which company you are enrolling with and what each one is paid.
Who else gets paid when you settle?
Your creditors get the settled amount, paid from your account, only after you approve each offer.
The company that runs your dedicated account is independent of us, as the rule requires. Depending on how you enroll, it is Global Holdings LLC (formerly Global Client Solutions) or Forth Pay.
The company that holds your dedicated account charges its own fees: a $9.95 setup fee, plus a payment fee when payments to your creditors are made. You pay these fees, they are separate from our fee, and none of that money goes to us.
The CFPB notes (CFPB, opens in a new tab) that you may be charged fees for using an account like this, so ask for every fee in writing before you agree, ours and the account provider’s.
Do we sell your information?
No. We do not buy, sell or share leads, and we do not run a lead marketplace. What you type into this website goes to us alone. We do not sell it or pass it to other debt relief companies or lead buyers.
If you tick the consent box on our estimate form, it names Clear Financial Company only. If you live in a state where we do not enroll clients, you are never treated as a sales lead.
Why do we publish all this?
Because after the settlements themselves, the fee is the biggest cost of debt settlement. The CFPB warns (CFPB, opens in a new tab) that these fees are often expensive, so you should see ours, and every other way we are paid, before you share a phone number.
The rules we follow, and every disclosure, are on licensing and disclosures.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from. Each link opens the original in a new tab.
- 01 eCFR 16 CFR 310.4: Abusive telemarketing acts or practices (the advance-fee ban) (opens in a new tab)
- 02 FTC Debt Relief Services and the Telemarketing Sales Rule: A Guide for Business (opens in a new tab)
- 03 CFPB What is a debt relief program and how do I know if I should use one? (opens in a new tab)
Next step
See the fee before you decide.
Check your state and see an illustrative estimate with the fee on its own line, or call 866-659-7966. Nothing is signed until you say yes.
Four short steps
Your estimate first. Contact details last.
- 1How much you owea close guess is fine
- 2What kinds of debtpick all that apply
- 3Which state you live inchecked before anything else
- 4Your estimate, then a real person if you want one