What sets Harold Shepley & Associates, LLC apart from other companies?

Here at Harold Shepley and Associates we strive to stand out from the crowd, giving you the best service and the best results possible. Whether it is credit card payment reduction or overall loan payment reduction you are seeking, we can effectively negotiate with your creditors to help lower those payments. We will do everything we can to help you avoid bankruptcy and reduce your principal and interest payments instead, making them feasible for you to handle on a monthly basis.

Harold Shepley & Associates, LLC	Other Companies
We go far beyond simply reducing interest rates. Often we will negotiate the principal itself to 40% or less. In nearly every case the payment reduction is drastic. This can save the client thousands of dollars and several years of burdensome debt.	They may simply negotiate the interest rates with little or no reduction in the monthly payment. With little or no relief, most clients quit within the first year.
As a law firm, Harold Shepley and Associates is better poised to make payment reduction settlements and is taken seriously by creditors. We will sue creditors who violate client rights.	They are often not law firms and thus are not taken seriously by the creditors. Their clients often continue to receive harassing calls with no relief in sight.
We send out “cease and desist” letters to each and every creditor the client places within the program. We instruct the creditors that all further contact needs to be with the firm and the client needs to be left alone.	They do not send any notification to the creditors at all. Meaning, the creditors do not know the negotiating company even exists. Sometimes they will instruct their clients to send out these letters themselves which begs the question of what is the client actually paying for?
We begin the loan payment reduction process by communicating with the creditors immediately upon receipt of billing statements and first payment from the client.	They will not begin negotiations until there are enough funds accumulated to both commence a settlement and pay their fees. Some may even wait until all funds and fees are completely paid for all the client’s debts. This strategy practically begs the creditor to bring forth a lawsuit.
We encourage clients to bring all of their unsecured debt into the program. It is our belief that in order to properly serve a client, a solution for all unsecured creditors needs to be established.	They will only take certain debts into their program leaving the client to deal with the most difficult creditors on their own. This often results in the client filing bankruptcy after spending thousands of dollars to settle the easy debts. Another result is the client finds that they cannot afford to make both the debt negotiation payment and the monthly payment on the debts they were forced to keep out of the program. After paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees the client is forced to quit because they simply cannot afford to pay.
When seeking a principal reduction payment, we utilize a very detailed budget analysis to ensure a client’s success before they are ever enrolled. If the numbers don’t add up then the client is encouraged to seek a bankruptcy consultation.	They use a “throw it at the wall and see if it sticks” kind of attitude. They merely add up the client’s total unsecured debt and provide them with a monthly payment with no regard to the client’s income or monthly expenses. Often already desperate people enroll in a program they can’t afford as a last ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy. These companies are more than willing to take what little money these people have which could have been used to file bankruptcy.
We draft funds on a monthly basis which are held in the law firm’s escrow account until the time of settlement.	They rely on the clients to save their own money in their own bank account. When a settlement is reached the company contacts the client to release the funds. Upon contacting the client, whose budget was already out of control when they enrolled, the company often discovers that the client never set aside the necessary funds. The company doesn’t care because they continue to receive fees on a monthly basis.
We have developed good relations with most creditors because they know each and every time Harold Shepley and Associates accepts a credit card or mortgage payment reduction settlement offer the transaction will be completed.	They have poor relations with creditors because they never know whether the client set aside the funds or not.
We provide a monthly reminder call to each and every client. This call is made from a live representative of Harold Shepley and Associates. The call, while an example of good customer service, is to ensure that the funds are available to draft and shows them they are not simply placing their funds into a “black hole.”	They provide no monthly contact while continuing to draft monthly service fees. As long as the monthly fees are being paid the company has little concern over the amount of funds being accumulated in the client’s account.
We provide every client with a “follow up call”. This call expresses all the important details explained during the enrollment process to ensure the client fully understands all aspects of the debt negotiation / payment reduction program.	They provide no follow up, once again following the “throw it at the wall and see what sticks” mentality.
We will assist clients who are unfortunate enough to be sued. We will settle for higher percentages if the client approves, help the client find an attorney in their state to defend the lawsuit, or help the client find a bankruptcy attorney in their state.	When a client is sued, the company simply tells the client that the debt needs to be removed from the program and informs the client that they will have to handle it on their own.
We have no cancellation fees.	They have cancellation fees which can be as high as $1000 or more.
We do something no other company does. We will complete a settlement even if we have to wait for our fees.	They will not complete a settlement unless there is enough money available to cover their settlement fees.
We will negotiate a payment reduction settlement and set up a payment plan if the client does not have enough funds in their escrow account.	They will only do lump sum settlements.
We are a member of the BBB in good standing.	?
Our staff is unparalleled. Our Chief Negotiating Attorney is in fact the past President of the Pennsylvania Debt Collectors Association.	They do not have the proper background or experience. They are in business to make quick, easy money and simply disappear.

We strive to set all clients up for success and not failure. The corporate staff supports and cheers the clients through the completion of the program. Our ultimate goal is to offer Americans the opportunity to live “debt free” and avoid bankruptcy whenever possible.