CASE STUDIES
+ Jim with an Industrial Salt and Petroleum Distribution Center in Michigan:
Jim was experiencing a warmer than usual Winter in Michigan. He purchased a large amount of salt expecting local municipalities to have high demand due to snow an ice, but that year they hadn’t had much of either. He was literally sitting on a mountain of salt! He counted on salt sales to fund his other operations during the rest of the year, but instead had to take out a loan from an online finance company for $250,000. At first he could keep up with the daily payments, but it didn’t take long for it to interfere with his payroll and other expenses. A few months later he was in default, still owed almost the entire amount, and was sent to collections.
Total Debt Amount: $238,000
End Result: Settlement
Amount Paid: $35,700
Savings: 85%
+ Jean with a Daycare in Mississippi:
Jean took out a Merchant Cash Advance online, and gave up a certain percentage of her card transactions each week to pay it off. Everything was going fine until the she experienced an unexpected drop in enrollment. She originally took out $15,000, payed it down to $7,700, and finally had to close the daycare. She was unemployed, but the lender still was pursuing her personally guaranteed loan.
Total Debt Amount: $7,700
End Result: Settlement
Amount Paid: $4,000
Savings: 47%
+ Abel with a Jewelry and Coin Shop in New York:
Abel had taken out a Commercial Loan with one of the nation’s largest banks originally totaling $150,000. Shortly after taking out the loan he experienced a marked decrease in business, but kept making his loan payments as agreed. Despite this, the bank decided to call in the full amount due with $137,000 left to be paid.
Total Debt Amount: $137,000
End Result: Settlement/Removed from Credit Reports
Amount Paid: $54,800
Savings: 60%
+ Glenn with a Movie Production Company in Hollywood, CA:
Glenn produced movies in Hollywood his entire life. Having divorced 2 times prior, he had now remarried an actress you would recognize as a household name (his daughter-in-law even more so). He at one time even acted himself alongside such legends as Clint Eastwood and John Wayne during the Spaghetti Western days. In more recent years he preferred to stay behind the scenes, and find projects that took on more personal meaning. One of these projects was dragging on too long, he lost his initial studio backers, and actors were threatening to leave the set. He took out another $200,000 on a commercial credit line secured by his wife's home, and it bought him a few months. Soon he was right back in the same spot. He still owed $186,000, the account was purchased by a debt buyer, and on the fast track to their legal network.
Total Debt Amount: $186,000
End Result: Settlement
Amount Paid: $55,800
Savings: 70%
+ Lisa with a Logo and Printing Company in Virginia:
Lisa was having a hard time with an equipment leasing company, and 3 large copiers. The copiers never worked as promised, no matter how many times they sent service people to fix the issues. She eventually decided that enough was enough, and stopped making payments. The copiers were subsequently repossessed, and a collections agency pursued her for the total remaining lease payments.
Total Debt Amount: $27,000
End Result: Debt forgiveness.
Amount Paid: $0
Savings: 100%
+ Anisha with an In-Home Health Care business in Oregon:
Anisha’s business had been struggling for some time. Changes in the health care law had required significant investments in compliance. She also relied on a low-cost labor force, and her municipality recently increased the mandatory minimum wage. To see things through this turbulent time she took out an online line of credit for $15,000 with a nearly 40% interest rate, daily payments, etc. The terms became unmanageable quickly, and she ended up in collections.
Total Debt Amount: $10,000
End Result: Settlement
Amount Paid: $6,000
Savings: 40%
+ Amish with a Hotel in Nevada:
Amish owned 3 hotels at one time, but was now down to 1. It was a franchise hotel, and he had taken out loans to renovate it. Regardless, he still had a lingering debt from one of his closed hotels (personally guaranteed) that was becoming a problem. It was originally a longtime line of credit from a regional bank called due after the Great Recession. He was unable to pay it, and had not made any payment on it for over 2 years. It was now with a law firm, and they were just getting serious about the $48,000 left owing at the worst possible time for Amish.
Total Debt Amount: $48,000
End Result: Settlement
Amount Paid: $24,000
Savings: 50%
+ Dale with a Trucking Company in Indiana:
Dale used to work for a large trucking company, but decided at some point it was time to stake his own claim. He leased-to-own a truck from a large leasing company, and from the start things did not go well. His brand new truck had a defective engine, and before he could even hit the road it was in for repairs. He was fighting the manufacturer regarding the warranty, and in the meantime could not pay for the repairs without income, so the mechanics put a lien on his truck and kept it on site until they received compensation. During this time Dale was not bringing in any other income, as he sunk all his savings into the down payment on that truck which still had $97,000 left to be paid. He soon found himself in collections.
Total Debt Amount: $97,000
End Result: Settlement/Removed from Credit Reports/Got His Truck Back
Amount Paid: $60,000
Savings: 38%
+ Mike with an Auto Collision Center in Pennsylvania:
Mike had just purchased this business from the previous owner, and that owner did not tell him about all the business debts. One in particular was really hounding him, and he knew that he technically owed it (since it was really just a handshake business sale). It was for an online commercial loan totaling $34,000. He really didn’t want to pay it, but they were not letting it go, as it was secured by business equipment. He could not risk losing valuable machinery that would render his collision center useless.
Total Debt Amount: $34,000
End Result: Settlement
Amount Paid: $10,200
Savings: 70%
+ Bill with a Roofing Company in Texas:
Bill spent over 30 years in the roofing business, and at one time had a lot to show for it. Lately he had come across hard times. An accident made it so he was unable to continue roofing, and he put one of his sons in charge of the business. Little did he know that his son had been taking out loans under the business name without his knowledge. He had authorized his son to manage the business, so he was upset with him, but knew the business was ultimately responsible for the loans. Most had already been paid out of his own pocket, but the last one was more than he could handle. A $200,000 online commercial loan that was now owned by a debt buyer.
Total Debt Amount: $200,000
End Result: Settlement/Removed from Credit Reports
Amount Paid: $60,000
Savings: 70%
+ Natasha with a Record Label in Rhode Island:
Natasha was into finding talent, and putting it on display. She could care less about the numbers, or financing needed to make it all possible. She did what many successful people do in business – she delegated the task to someone she thought she could trust. This formula worked for many years – until it finally didn’t. Unfortunately, she put a little too much trust in this person, and, despite having a wildly successful company at one time, the business began to fail slowly but surely. She started losing bands and acts, let go of her studio, and now just had a small studio in the basement of her home. She was on the brink of personal and business bankruptcy. The person she initially put in charge of the books had forgotten/ ignored a major secured creditor encumbering Natasha’s business assets and home. She owed this creditor $463,000, and saw no light at the end of the tunnel. Her business was feast or famine, and she had been surviving on crumbs for a long time. At this point the account had been purchased by a debt buyer, placed with a collections agency, and was on the fast track to a law firm.
Total Debt Amount: $463,000
End Result: Settlement
Amount Paid: $40,000
Savings: 91%
*Result may vary greatly based on several factors. Please fill out our initial Business Debt Consultation questionnaire to learn more about what we may be able to do to help your circumstances.
