I enrolled with Beyond Finance in May 2024 with approximately $29,572 in debt. I am writing this review based on the actual financial results of my account because my experience has been dramatically different from what I believed I could reasonably expect when I enrolled.
When I signed up, my agreement projected an estimated debt resolution amount of $15,208.46 on my $29,572 of enrolled debt. It estimated total program deposits of $23,844.96, which included the funds needed for settlements and program fees.
I understood that these were estimates and that specific results were not guaranteed. However, I will give Beyond credit for having a very effective salesperson. The program was presented to me in a way that left me believing I would experience significant savings and be in a substantially better financial position when this was over. My actual experience has been very different.
Six of my accounts have now been negotiated. The balances on those accounts at the time of settlement totaled $23,707.61. Beyond negotiated settlements totaling $18,099.71, meaning they negotiated $5,607.90 off the balances, or approximately 23.7%.
That might sound like decent savings until Beyond's fees are included.
My agreement charges a program fee equal to 25% of the enrolled balance of each debt Beyond resolves. Based on the original enrolled balances of these six accounts, Beyond's program fees total approximately $5,075.75.
So these are my actual numbers:
Balances when settled: $23,707.61
Settlement amounts: $18,099.71
Amount negotiated off: $5,607.90
Beyond program fees: approximately $5,075.75
Actual savings after Beyond's fees: approximately $532
In other words, after Beyond's program fees, I have saved just over 2% of the $23,707.61 I owed when these settlements were negotiated.
That is substantially different from the level of debt reduction I believed I could expect based on the projections I received when I enrolled. My agreement projected resolving $29,572 in enrolled debt for approximately $15,208 before program fees -- roughly 51% of the enrolled debt. By comparison, my six actual settlements have required paying approximately 76% of the balances owed at settlement before Beyond's fees are even added.
My original biweekly program deposit was $229.27. My biweekly contribution is now $398 because I have repeatedly had to increase my contributions in order to fund settlements.
I also still have an account that Beyond has failed to resolve after more than two years in the program. I have contacted Beyond multiple times specifically asking about this account and have repeatedly been told that it is "negotiating." After waiting all this time for a resolution, I recently learned independently that the original creditor had sold the debt to a third-party debt buyer. I did not learn this from Beyond.
That is extremely frustrating because I have proactively contacted Beyond asking for updates and continued to be told the account was "negotiating." I am now requesting specific information from Beyond about what negotiation activity has actually occurred, who they have been communicating with, when the last communication occurred, and whether any offers have actually been exchanged.
I understand that debt settlement involves risk and that Beyond does not guarantee a specific settlement percentage. Their agreement states that explicitly. My complaint is not that Beyond failed to meet a guaranteed number. My complaint is that the actual financial outcome I have experienced is dramatically different from what I believed I could reasonably expect when this program was sold to me.
Looking at these numbers now, one of my biggest regrets is that I could have taken the money I was depositing into Beyond, saved it myself, and attempted to negotiate directly with my creditors once I had enough money to make settlement offers.
Knowing what I know now, I believe I could have saved significantly more by setting that money aside myself and attempting to negotiate directly with my creditors rather than paying thousands of dollars in program fees to ultimately achieve approximately $532 in net savings.
Had I understood that I could go through this process, allow my accounts to become delinquent and balances to increase, significantly damage my credit, repeatedly increase my program contributions, wait more than two years without a resolution on one of my enrolled debts, and ultimately save around 2% after Beyond's program fees on the accounts resolved so far, I would never have enrolled.
Before signing up for a debt settlement program, I strongly recommend doing the complete math yourself. Don't just look at the settlement percentage or how much was negotiated off the creditor's balance. Add the company's program fee back into the settlement amount and calculate what you are actually saving.
I wish I had done that math before I enrolled. read more