Non-bankruptcy related debt reduction Vs. your other debt options.
Bankruptcy
You are made bankrupt for 3 years. It affects your credit rating for 7 years, but your name is listed on the Personal Insolvency Index for the rest of your life which may have adverse effects when applying for loans beyond your bankruptcy term. Other consequences of bankruptcy: unable to travel overseas without Trustee approval, cannot be a company director for the term of the bankruptcy, your wages could be affected depending on how much you earn, then there is the stigma.
Debt consolidation/Debt Agreements
Otherwise known as Part IX (9) or Part X (10) Agreements. By entering into such an agreement you are entering into an act of bankruptcy. It affects your credit rating for 7 years, but your name is listed with the Personal Insolvency Index for the rest of your life which may have adverse effects when applying for loans beyond your repayment term. It all sounds great with one repayment, however, there is very little transparency in terms of which creditor receives what amount each month, what discount did you receive, and the actual cost for the agreement to be administered.
Loan consolidation
Applying for one loan to pay back all your other loans with one payment. This is convenient if you can have such a loan approved, however, at the end of the day you are borrowing more money to pay borrowed money - where and when does the cycle end?
Negotiate yourself
This is a do-able task, however, it becomes a full time job especially if you have more than one creditor to deal with, and the amount of supporting documents that need to be supplied, it will become an absolute nightmare to keep up. Furthermore, by handing this burden over to professionals, you are then left without this distraction to focus on getting back on your financial feet, making and saving as much money as you can in the time we are negotiating. We also have the first-hand knowledge of what proposals will be accepted and why, and who to speak with, to get you the best results possible. We also know what is a good settlement and what is not, based on the creditor.