5 /5 Leon H: so, ive never actually ever met Douglas as it was the pandemic and everything was done through email and continued to be done through email years later. i had credit card debt up the wazoo and was at the point of filing bankruptcy and was working 2 jobs just to barely pay the minimum payments and the mortgage. obviously my credit score was pretty much ruined already and i was ready to file bankruptcy, so i clearly didnt care about it being ruined even more. instead he suggested a 3rd option and that was to just simply stopped paying period, wait for them to sue 12 to 18 months later and then settle at around 40 to 50 cents on a dollar in most cases with a negotiable payment plan that was still better than making minimum payments. (they would also only sue for the principle and not accrued interest) one debt collector didnt even sue me on time and now could not. im not even saying any of this proudly or do this intentionally, but in effect, i was out of debt immediately, and then could use that minimum payment money towards settling at even less than full price. i had never heard of anything like this from any financial guru or book or anything, it was crazy and life changing. After the settlement payments were paid off, then they would discharge the debt as settled and it had a much less damaging effect on my credit score (not that i really care about it anymore) and it would pretty much recover 30 points on each full payment plan i paid back. I even got my score back to around 635 within a year or two without filing bankruptcy. The fees were tied to what kind of discount he could negotiate and of course that helps to have someone working in your corner who had a horse in the race. I have never worked with a lawyer who was so responsive and on the ball. This would be a scenario where this would be a 10 star review if I could leave one. Thank you for your service.