Unsecured debts do not have any collateral attached to them and hence have very high rates of interest.
The creditor's idea is to recover most of their money with the first few installments, by charging a very high rate of interest.
These same reasons also make them very flexible when a debtor is trying to settle the debt.
They realize that if the debtor is harassed to pay the money he or she does not have, it will drive him/her to file for bankruptcy.
The creditors providing unsecured loans will lose all their money.
In the case of a settlement the debtor has an alternative to bankruptcy and the creditors are able to recover at least some of their money.
This makes debt settlement beneficial for both the creditor and the debtor.
In a debt settlement program, the debtors either approach the creditors directly or through a debt settlement company.
The creditors then assess the debtor's actual paying capacity and negotiate a settlement amount.
This amount is usually much lower than the original amount payable.
The creditors re-age the debtor's account to save them from delinquency.
They even waive off the non payment and late payment charges.
The debtor then has the choice to pay off the negotiated amount as a lump sum or in easy monthly installments.
The creditors provide the debtor with a letter of full and final settlement.
This letter states that once the debtor has paid off the settlement amount, he or she does not owe anything to the creditor.
This further strengthens the debtor's credit scores.
The debtors have other options to lower the loan amount even further.
They can consolidate several high interest loans with a single low interest one.
Moreover, they can convert the unsecured loans into secured loans further lowering the rate of interest.