Dena Standley | March 13, 2023
Edited by Hannah Locklear
Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.
Summary: New Era Debt Solutions is a legitimate debt relief company with mixed online reviews, and its lack of transparency should give potential customers pause. Instead, consumers can settle debt on their own With the help of SoloSettle.
Starting the journey to get out of debt can be tricky. You must first decide whether you should go it alone or hire a debt settlement company. The process starts with researching the answers to important questions, such as how trustworthy is the debt relief company? What are the guarantees? How much will they charge you?
Then you have to sift through mounds of scammers to find a reputable debt relief company.
At SoloSuit, we aim to help you navigate the densely populated, sometimes murky, debt relief industry. Today, we will look at New Era Debt Solutions. Read on to discover if this company is the best fit for you, or get started with the debt settlement process on your own with SoloSettle.
New Era Debt Solutions has 4.9 stars on Google. That said, always keep in mind that companies often hire non-customers to leave favorable reviews on multiple sites. Consumers praise New Era’s services for the following reasons.
SoloSuit has conducted a thorough review of New Era Debt Settlement. Our team suggests that if you work with New Era Debt Settlement, please keep the following drawbacks in mind.
Not everyone can access New Era’s services. They don't operate nationwide. You may want to consult their website for a list of the states they serve.
It is impossible to know exactly how much you will pay, but the average fees are steep. According to Investopedia, New Era typically charges between 14% and 23% of the original debt. You can request an initial estimate, but the amount can and does change. Most valid debt settlement companies disclose their fees upfront, so it may be a red flag that this information is not easily available from New Era.
A minimum debt requirement automatically locks out some consumers needing help. Even worse, the company is yet to state the least amount of debt you must have clearly. So consumers are forced to go through the trouble of the consultation process can only to fail to meet the minimum debt requirement.
Many debt settlement companies will not tell you that the IRS may attempt to collect taxes on the amount of forgiven debt.
Let’s explore an example of how this works.
Example: John owed $2,000 on one credit card. The creditor forgave 50% of what he owed ($1,000). The IRS expected the creditor to pay tax on that amount, but they reported it as a loss. It was the creditor’s loss but John’s gain, and the IRS is entitled to collect taxes on it. John was never told this and is shocked when he receives a notice from the IRS that he owes money on the forgiven debt. Any amount over $600 in forgiven debt may be considered taxable income.
This may be the most unexpected outcome for most consumers. It takes you months to save the amount New Era Debt Settlement has said is necessary for an attempt to settle your outstanding accounts. Unfortunately, no debt settlement company can guarantee that your creditors will accept the settlement offer. If any lenders refuse to resolve an account, you will end up in a worse spot than you were. You wind up several months late, facing penalties, accrued interest amounts, an increased interest rate, and possible debt-collection lawsuits.
Here is what one consumer said on New Era’s BBB complaints page on 05/09/2022:
“I contracted a new era for debt consolidation. They promised around 40% of my debt I would have to pay back in the end. Right now, I’m around 70% and have had my check garnished, paid back the largest creditor on my own in full (100% plus fees and interest accrued for years) had multiple court visits where I was unprepared …. I feel like I have been completely scammed in this process, and yet they continue to come up with more fees and less transparency.”
Win a debt collection lawsuit.
Letting all your accounts default as you save for New Era to make settlements with your creditors is sure to hurt your credit score. As you wait, the missed payments go onto your credit report. Even after you pay, creditors report these accounts as “settled” in full. Those derogatory marks severely impact your credit score, which can make it difficult to use credit to buy a car, a home, or other necessities until you’ve spent years working to rebuild your credit.
Watch this video to learn more about how debt settlement affects your credit score:
Overall, the lack of transparency from New Era Debt Settlement should give potential customers pause. With SoloSuit’s SoloSettle tool, consumers can pursue debt settlement individually.
You can take matters into your own hands and settle your debts by yourself with the help of SoloSettle.
SoloSettle, powered by SoloSuit, is different from traditional debt settlement companies. Here’s how:
Check out this video to learn more about how to settle your debt on your own—once and for all.
Let’s take a look at an example of how to use SoloSettle to settle debt.
Example: Maria is being sued by The Kaplan Group, a debt collection agency. She uses SoloSuit to respond to the lawsuit before her state’s deadline, giving herself time to work out debt settlement options. Maria investigates her income, budget, and paychecks to determine how much she can afford to pay to settle the debt. She uses SoloSettle to send an offer to The Kaplan Group. They respond with a counter, and after a few rounds of negotiations, Maria settles the debt for just 60% of the original amount. Her case is dismissed, and Maria feels like she’s given herself a financial rebirth.
SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.
You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.
SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.
>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)
Here's a list of guides for other states.
Being sued by a different debt collector? Were making guides on how to beat each one.
You can ask your questions on the SoloSuit forum and the community will help you out. Whether you need help now are are just look for support, we're here for you.
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Out Debt Validation Letter is the best way to respond to a collection letter. Many debt collectors will simply give up after receiving it.
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