AboutChristine Janklow Expertise As President of SettleSource,Inc. a business debt settlement firm, I invite you to inquire about all aspects of business debt solutions to best determine which may be most appropriate. If you have questions such as: What is debt settlement and how process provide debt relief to my business? What options are available to deal with my business debts? Is it possible for a business owner to negotiate their own settlements? Why is debt settlement preferable to filing a bankruptcy or debt consolidation? Why are creditors willing to provide settlements to a business? How will settling debts affect credit scores? or How to rebuild a business after debt is eliminated. Please ask it now! For more information regarding how debt settlement can help your business, please visit www.SettleSource.com and place your inquiry. Mention All Experts to have a confidential no cost consultation with Christine. If this is your business situation time may play a very important factor in getting matters resolved proactively before they have negative affects on the business.
Experience My expertise is specific to providing business solutions that will have profound positive impacts on the financial health of businesses. I have 25 years experience as an entrepreneur and have developed national sales programs; strategic alliances; product development; marketing programs; business and turnaround plans and debt settlement programs all providing methods to improve the financial outlook for large and small businesses.
Organizations Turnaround Management Association; Los Angeles area
Publications Los Angeles Daily News; Today Magazine Monthly series of business articles entitled "Brand News."
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Business Administration; Associate of Arts Merchandising
Past/Present Clients American Airlines, American Express, Safeway Inc., New York Life, consumer products manufacturers; retailers and service providers.
Question QUESTION: hello - our contracting LLC has a contract with DEX for an online search engine marketing package which has a one year contract at $250/month. We have never received any business inquiries or jobs from this advertising. there are about 6 months left in the contract with DEX. Two questions: if we dissolve the LLC will we still be liable for the balance of the contract? - and, what about the amount owed still for the time the business was in operation? We are about 4 months behind in payments to DEX since the advertising has not resulted in income to pay with.
ANSWER: Shane:
Thank you for your inquiry. Your situation is quite common and likely resolvable. I understand that you do not want to repay what is owed, as you apparently dispute the efficacy of your contract with them. My biggest concern for you is that you are willing to give up a business that you have no doubt invested much time, money and energy to build for a small amount owed of $3000. Have you tried to communicate with management and let them know of your dissatisfaction? Have you allowed them to come up with an alternative solution? Perhaps modify the marketing plan and even "giving" you some trial months so you can recoup losses? I would certainly exhaust every possible angle you can, even if you are late. Companies are usually willing to work something out if given the chance. Would you continue to be liable if you did close? I don't know if anyone signed a personal guarantee, but if it is a typical service contract, than probably not. You might want to have an attorney review what you signed if you exercise this option. If you were to stay open and try to get current, than you may be able to restructure another repayment schedule to catch up. I hope this proves helpful. Good luck.
Respectfully,
Christine Janklow
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QUESTION: thank you so much for your response! to answer you: yes, we have been going round and round with DEX since November of last year; we've talked with their highest level claims managers (Thomas Sandige and Gregory Duncan) - when we told Tom that we had no jobs coming in from the service and no money in our bank account to pay DEX, and that we might potentially be forced out of business, his response was, "Sorry." DEX is absolutely the worst company of any kind that i have had to deal with. both Tom and Greg absolutely refuse to work with us in any way and won't even respond to our emails whatsoever; the many phone conversations we've had with them have accomplished nothing. the problem with getting an attorney involved is that we have absolutely no funds to accomplish that with. since DEX won't do anything for us, and since we have no jobs on the horizon, and only about $300 in our business account with a debt to DEX of about $2500 (total amount, for the life of the contract), it seems that we have no choice but dissolution. we set up a temporary payment plan with DEX a month ago to cover $250 of what we owe, but now we absolutely cannot pay anymore. we have no resources to do so even if we wanted to. if you have any other suggestions or information for us, i would be glad to hear it, and thank you again for taking the time to respond. very much appreciated.
Answer Shane:
Thanks again for the follow up. As you are seeking direction, let me just say that there are too many variables and unknowns about your situation for me to provide that type of advice. However, it appears by what you have described, that you do not presently have the cash or capital to continue working your company. I know for a fact that "yellow page" type advertisers are the "worst" when it comes to collections. I've heard it said in many bankruptcy forums that they (the yellow pages) drive more businesses out of business than actually help them. A word to the wise. Nonetheless, it seems that your notion to close the business might be the best way for you to reduce liability at this point. I strongly suggest that you create some sort of "exit" strategy in case any of the debt you leave behind is pursued against you personally. You should also visit www.lawhelp.org if you ever need low cost legal advice in the event of a lawsuit. I wish you the best and encourage you to pursue your passions in business and life as these lessons no doubt will serve you in the future. If my advice has been helpful, please take a moment to provide a positive rating so others may benefit as well.
