Someone recently reached out to us about Sparks Lending, so I thought it would be helpful to do a review. We will call him, John.

Here’s a summary of what he said,

“I received a mailer from Sparks Lending pitching a debt consolidation loan. The representative explained the process, and it sounded a lot like debt settlement (also known as debt relief) where you stop making payments to creditors, send to a trust fund, and then come to agreements with creditors. Sparks Lending called it credit modification.”

Here’s an example of a Sparks Lending mailer. You may have also seen a social media ad with Sparks Lending in collaboration with United Club Lending. Does this sound familiar? If it does, let’s dive into what is Sparks Lending, what is credit modification, how much will this option save you, Sparks lending legitimacy, and what should you do.

My name is Ben, and I have spent the last 5 years helping people understand the differences in options to help them eliminate debt cheaper, easier, and faster. I have uncovered debt consolidation scams. I was also one of the first to write an article covering the unfortunate Litigation Practice Group bankruptcy have spoken with countless people negatively affected by it.

I created “Your Debt Relief Pal” to help protect you from debt companies that may use deceptive marketing and provide you with realistic estimates of your options for debt freedom.

Check Your Rate and Compare Options!

Now, if you are struggling with debt and wondering what to do next. You may be looking for a debt consolidation loan, but do you qualify? Is your credit score good enough? Is your debt-to-income ratio or credit utilization good enough?

I helped build this free consolidation loan and other options calculator to help you compare your rates across multiple debt consolidation lenders and your options to other options if you cannot qualify for a loan. It’s specific to your financial information, so if you have $10,000 in debt, it will provide an estimate of your situation.

You can then check your rate, which will NOT affect your credit score.

If you do check your rate, understand the interest rate and the origination fee to see how much you will save by consolidating your debt. The above options do not charge prepayment penalties and have fixed rates, but if you use a different lender, these are important characteristics to look for.

1. What is Sparks Lending?

I could find very little information on Sparks Lending. For example, check out what I found when I searched Sparks Lending on Wayback Machine.

Sparks lending BBB

I could  not find anything on BBB related to the same Sparks Lending.

When I used ICann Lookup, I found that the website was just registered in June, 2022.

What Is The Sparks Lending phone number?

This may be the most surprising thing I found in my searches. When I searched the Sparks Lending phone number on Google, look what came up.

I clicked on the link, and here’s what someone had added.

So, Sparks Lending is pitching credit modification, but what exactly is credit modification? Let’s look at that next.

2. What is Credit Modification?

From my research and based on John’s experience, credit modification does NOT sound like a debt consolidation loan, and sounds like a debt settlement program.

Now, if you are looking for a debt consolidation loan, there are 3 debt consolidation loan companies that we have vetted 1) Only do a soft check to check your credit 2) Do not charge prepayment penalties. With debt consolidation loans, it may be helpful to check your rate from multiple places to get the best rate. If you aren’t able to qualify, then some individuals look at debt settlement.

If you are unfamiliar, Debt settlement is the process in which a third party negotiates and settles with your creditor on your behalf. The goal of a debt settlement firm is to find a lower payment that will fully satisfy the debt that you owe. So, a debt settlement may try to settle a $20,000 credit card balance for $10,000. This can provide ample savings and a potentially lower monthly payment.

I was the previous CEO of a debt settlement company, and I believe debt settlement can be a good option for some, but not for others.

Will debt settlement save you money though?

3. Would You Save Money With Credit Modification/Debt Settlement?

Debt settlement may be a good option, but it’s only in the context of understanding all of your options.

As such, we built the free consolidation loan and other options calculator, which includes a debt settlement. While the calculator cannot provide your precise Sparks Lending debt settlement plan payment, it can provide an estimate based on your personalized financial data and allows you to understand the cost and duration of various options.

Debt settlement can be much less expensive than your current obligations, but it is a debt relief option, meaning that there are pros and cons associated with debt settlement. For example, debt settlement can hurt your credit score while a debt consolidation can potentially increase your credit score if you make on-time payments and eliminate your debt.

In Summary

Based on the lack of history, lack of BBB, and lack of reviews, I am unsure what to think of Sparks Lending.

As the phone number came up as a social security type product, I may proceed with caution.