Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Iowa

What you have heard is not true.

Discover rarely settles, and I am not convinced of the utility of debt settlement programs-they rarely succeed. They all say the same thing: "Stop paying your bills, give us all your money, and we'll settle your debts one by one at fifty cents on the dollar." However, the creditors are under no obligation to compromise a debt and the people who market these plans never tell the customers that they're likely to be sued by one or more of their creditors.

If it is a small claims case (less than $5,000) you can ask the court to let you make payments and the creditor cannot execute if you stay current. If you can scrape up about 50 per cent of the balance you stand a pretty good chance of settling this yourself on the courthouse steps.