My husband and I have about ,000 in debt and are considering going to one of the many debt counseling companies that we see advertised. Can they really help by working with the credit card companies ? Also do they all charge a fee and how do they work? Refinancing our home is currently not a option.
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Sun, Oct 25, 2009
October 25th, 2009 at 8:36 am
There is only 1 that I would recommend and that’s Consumer Credit Counseling Services they are the largest and oldest non-profit credit counseling service in the nation and have offices in most major cities.
They will lower both your interest rate and monthly payments, I used them several years ago and was debt free in 36-months.
There number is 1-800-388-2227.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Great question!
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October 25th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Any type of debt counseling or relief program depends upon the type of debt you have, secured or unsecured. Secured debts are any debts that have a form of collateral i.e. mortgage auto loan, Unsecured debts are those without any form of collateral i.e. credit card debt. For the most part, debt relief programs can only work with unsecured debts.
Also, do not be fooled by the term non profit credit counseling. They still charge fees. The credit counseling industry will – at pains – lower interest rates for their favored customers as well as waive past due fees and over limit charges that never should have been assessed in the first place, but they won’t ever even try to lower actual debt balances.
Before signing up for credit counseling I would recommend researching other options, such as debt consolidation or debt settlement. Debt consolidation will pull your debts together into one loan with lower payments over a longer period of time. Debt settlement will attempt to lower actual debt amounts by negotiating with creditors. Once again these programs mostly work with unsecured debts. Also, beware all of these options will have a negative affect on your credit score. In the long run your credit will be better off by resolving this debt as soon as possible and avoiding bankruptcy if possible.
If you do decide to use any company for debt relief be sure they are a member of the B.B.B and research there ratings.There are many websites out there that give reviews and show complaints about these companies. This kind of information will give you a better feel for which company to work with.