less than 3 times the Service Fees you have paid to us, we will refund a portion of those Service fees. The amount of the refund will be calculated so that the amount of Service Fees we retain is equal to only 1/3 of your total Debt Reduction. Please keep in mind that Retainer Fees are generally non-refundable. means test are then required to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The Means Test In order to file under Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, your income must be below the median income for same sized families in your state or you’ll be required to go through a bankruptcy means test. Your income is determined by calculating your average income from the past six months. For families with a recent loss of income due to job loss or declining wages, this average may not reflect their actual current income. Even if you pass the first part of the means test and you have an income lower than your state’s median, there is an additional test for your expenses which places severe restrictions on your spending. If the court believes that you have $100 or more per month in disposable income that you could apply towards your debt repayment after allowances for child support, food, housing, and other related expenses, you’ll be pushed into a repayment plan under Chapter 13. Debt Settlement Debt Settlement, also known as debt arbitration or debt negotiation, is an approach to debt reduction in which the debtor and creditor agree on a reduced balance that will be regarded as payment in full. As long as consumers continue to make minimum monthly payments, creditors will not negotiate a reduced balance. However, when payments stop, balances continue to grow because of late fees and ongoing interest. In order to work with a debt settlement company, a consumer needs lump sum cash (best scenario), or build up enough funds over pre-determined period of time. Once enough funds are built up the negotiation process can begin with each creditor individually. Account can be held by credit card companies or may be sold to collections agency for average of $0. 15 on the dollar. In which case debt can still be negotiated. The debt settlement company negotiates with the credit card companies for 35% – 50% of the existing balances. The debt settlement companies typically have built up a relationship during their normal business practices with the credit card companies and can come to a settlement agreement quickly. With the current economic crisis, more and more credit card companies may be willing to settle existing credit card debts rather add to their already large written off bad debt.