Enrolled Debts

Enrolled debts summary:

• Enrolled debts are debts you include in your debt relief plan. 

• Debt relief is a legal way to get rid of debts for less than what you owe. 

• Debt relief companies can help with unsecured debts such as credit cards, medical debt, and most personal loans. 

Enrolled debts definition and meaning

Enrolled debts are debts you pay off through your debt relief program. Debt relief is the process of negotiating with your creditors to clear your debts for less than the full amount you owe. You can negotiate with creditors on your own or with the help of a professional negotiator. If a creditor agrees to let you resolve a debt for less than the full amount, the rest of the balance is forgiven. 

Debt relief programs can help with unsecured debts, like credit cards or medical bills. You may need a minimum amount of unsecured debt to enroll in a debt relief program. 

Key concept: Debts that are enrolled in a debt relief program.

More about enrolled debts

Debt relief offers a path out of debt when you have financial hardship. A professional debt relief company could help you create a custom plan to negotiate what you owe. Enrolled debts are the debts you include in your debt negotiation plan. 

You might enroll all of your debts or just some of them in your debt relief plan. It usually hinges on the types of debts you have. 

Enrolled debts are removed from the plan once they've been resolved. 

Enrolled debts: a comprehensive breakdown

Debt relief could significantly reduce your debts. When you enroll a debt in your plan, a debt relief company will take the lead on negotiating the balance down for you. 

In a debt relief plan, you make one affordable monthly deposit into a dedicated account while debt negotiations are underway. An expert negotiator works with your creditors to reach an agreement on what you'll pay. Once an agreement is reached and you approve it, the debt relief company uses funds from your dedicated account to resolve the enrolled debt. Then you don’t owe any more on that debt and it’s gone for good.

You can enroll unsecured debts. There's no collateral on unsecured debt. Collateral is something of value that you own. A car is the collateral for a car loan and a house is the collateral for a mortgage. Debts that you might enroll in a debt relief program include: 

• Credit cards

• Department store cards

• Medical bills

• Personal loans

• Private student loans

• Collection accounts

• Repossessions

• Lines of credit

• Payday loans

Some debt relief programs require that you have a minimum amount of debt to resolve. For example, Achieve works with people who have at least $7,500 in unsecured debt. 

Enrolled debt balances may increase while you're in the plan. That could happen if interest or fees accrue and/or you stop making payments to your enrolled debts. 

Still, debt relief could significantly reduce what you owe. And you could get rid of debt faster than by making minimum payments. Most Achieve Debt Relief clients resolve their first debt within a few months after starting the program. It typically takes anywhere from 24 to 48 months to complete a debt relief program. 

Types of debt you can't enroll

Certain debts can't be negotiated through a debt relief program. Most often, these are debts that are secured by collateral or debts you owe to the government. 

Debts you typically can't enroll include:

• Auto loans

• Other secured vehicle loans, like RV loans or boat loans

• Mortgages

• Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs)

• Secured personal loans or lines of credit

• Business loans secured by vehicles, equipment, or other business assets

• Tax debts 

• Utility bills

• Judgments

• Federal student loans

If you need help with these types of debt, go right to the source. Talk to your lenders (or in the case of tax debts, the IRS) to find out what solutions might be available to you. 

If you have federal student loans, you might be able to delay payments for a while or get a lower payment. If you owe a lawsuit judgment, you may need to explore whether bankruptcy is the best way to get rid of the debt.