Pacific Debt Review for 2023

Pacific Debt Inc. is a debt relief and support agency that has been in business since 2002. Debt settlement companies such as Pacific Debt differ from credit counseling services and other types of personal finance companies.

Pacific Debt offers to help you pay off your debt as opposed to rebuilding or raising your credit score in the short term. They don’t just consolidate your debt and lower your interest rate — their goal is to eliminate your debt.

Based in San Diego, Pacific Debt Inc. is an A+ member of the Better Business Bureau with a 4.89 out of 5 rating. They are also accredited with the American Fair Credit Council and the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators.

Pacific Debt’s feedback and customer reviews from both are overwhelmingly positive, with customers frequently calling out their counselors by name for praise.

Pacific Debt Relief Qualifications

Debt relief is not a quick process, usually taking between 24 and 48 months to complete, but the result is to completely free you of your unsecured debt.

Unsecured debt is debt that is not backed by collateral like your car or home loan. These typically take the form of credit card debt, payday loans, personal loans, medical bills, or a repossessed car.

In addition to requiring your debt to be unsecured, the amount of debt you owe must exceed $10,000. Debt settlement is a labor-intensive process with Pacific Debt. They do not have phone banks but instead assign you to a dedicated agent that will stick with you throughout the process.

Pacific Debt is not available in every state. Check below to see if you qualify and can participate in your current location.

• Alaska
• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Arizona
• California
• DC – District of Columbia
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Montana
• North Carolina
• Nebraska
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia

Pacific Debt Relief Process

Pacific Debt Inc. is set up to settle your credit card debt for much less than you currently owe. Debt consolidation companies bundle your debt to get you a lower interest rate. However, Pacific Debt helps develop a payment plan to pay off your unsecured debts at a lower negotiated rate.

The first step is to contact them for a free consultation. During the free consultation, a certified debt counselor will discuss your financial situation to determine if you are a good fit for debt relief services. Once you agree to sign up, you will stop making payments to your creditors.

This is a scary idea for some people. The idea of receiving phone calls from collection agencies or having legal action taken against you can be a frightening one.

This is why Pacific Debt Inc. works only with people that are in way over their heads. If you have a large amount of consumer debt and are having difficulty making even the minimum payments, then this may be the right choice for you.

Instead of paying your creditors, you now will be putting money into an FDIC insured Special Purpose account every month. Funds will begin to grow in that account, and when you accumulate an agreed-upon amount, your personal account manager will start negotiating on your behalf with your creditors.

Customer Profile

The household average for credit card debt was $8,377 in 2016. That’s a 6% jump from the previous year. If your goal is to improve your credit or get a lower interest rate for your existing creditors, you may want to consider a debt consolidation loan or a credit counseling service. Debt consolidation loans can be used to pay unsecured debts, including credit card debt, medical bills, personal loans, and payday loans.

Customers considering Pacific Debt are usually deep in debt and are having trouble making their payments. As we mentioned earlier, the minimum they will consider for their debt settlement program is $10,000 in debt. However, many of their clients are closing in on or exceeding $100,000 in debt.

As mentioned, the customer reviews are mostly positive. For example, one client of Pacific Debt wrote on the Better Business Bureau’s website, “Mr. Hallas has been extremely professional and informative throughout the process and has assisted me with reducing over $150,000 in debt. I’m down to a little less than $65,000 and completely settling my wife’s accounts.”

As you can see, it is a rigorous process but one that can truly settle your debt for a fraction of what you actually owe.

Pacific Debt Relief Sign-Up Process

Signing up with a debt settlement company of any type is a big decision and should not be taken lightly. The first step of the process is to contact them.

Remember, these are not simply pushy telemarketers trying to make a sale. They’ll put you in touch with a certified debt counselor who can review all of your debt relief options and help you decide if debt settlement services are right for you.

They will help analyze your debt, monthly expenses, and your income. Then, they look at your current budget and determine a payment estimate that works for you. Often this amount will be less than you are currently paying to your creditors.

Additionally, there are no upfront costs associated with their services. You don’t pay any amount until you start seeing results, and their cost is in line with other services of this nature. Pacific Debt Inc. typically charges a monthly fee of 15% to 25% of your enrolled debt. The fee is factored into your monthly program payment.

Once the Process Starts

You should know upfront that once you start working with Pacific Debt, your credit score is likely to go down. As previously stated, their goal is not to improve your credit, that comes later. The goal of a debt relief company is to get you out of debt as quickly as possible.

Because you no longer make monthly payments to your creditors, those accounts are likely to go into collections if they haven’t already. As a result, you may begin to receive phone calls demanding payment from credit collection agencies. Luckily, there are federal and state laws that limit how often these companies can call you.

A member of their customer service team will reach out to you every couple of weeks to make sure you understand the process and answer any questions you may have.

As you pay into and grow your FDIC insured account, your Personal Account Manager will negotiate with your creditors to pay off the entirety of your bill at a lower amount.

Every time an agreement is reached, your account manager will reach out to you to finalize the arrangement and gain your approval. So from start to finish, you are always a part of the process.

Pacific Debt Relief Special Features

Pacific Debt’s philosophy is to pay off your debt as quickly and as cheaply as possible. By helping you to save a large portion of money and using that money to negotiate an immediate payment, they can potentially reduce your overall debt by a large percentage.

It probably took years for you to accumulate that much debt, and it’s going to take a few years to pay it off. But with Pacific Debt Inc., you won’t spend the better part of your life saddled with high balances and making interest-only payments.

Pacific Debt Reviews

One of the best ways to research debt settlement companies is by reading third-party reviews. You can discover what actual customers are saying about them before you choose to do business with them.

Pacific Debt’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating is currently A+, an indicator of excellent customer service. They also have very few complaints. You can find more Pacific Debt reviews at other review sites as well.

When is debt relief a good option?

Pacific Debt Inc. provides a much-needed service to a segment of the population that is in deep debt. Whether they are right for you is ultimately your decision to make.

The stress of creditors hounding you may be too much for some. Also, if you’re capable of making more than just the minimum payments on your credit cards and have a good credit score, you may want to consider other options.

This type of debt relief service is for those with large debt and few options left. If you value getting out of debt over improving your credit, this may be just the right choice. A good rule of thumb is to consider Pacific debt relief if you are in one or more of the following situations:

• You can’t make your minimum monthly payments or are just barely making them
• You’re considering bankruptcy
• Your total debt exceeds five or six digits

Those who choose Pacific Debt Inc. often receive the immediate benefit of a single monthly payment that is usually much lower than the sum of their minimum payments.

They typically pay off their debt more quickly than dealing with their creditors on their own. They also, on average, pay significantly less than their total amount of debt.

It does take determination on your part, especially when you have to endure harassment from debt collectors. Remember that it takes an average of two to four years to complete the process on average. Pacific Debt Inc. will be the first to tell you that they are not for everyone, but they may be the right one for you.