Credit counseling services have acquitted a stigma in the United States. To blame for this negative perspective on these services rests on those credit repair counselors who have deceived and misled their clients.
General advice is that you should repair your credit on your own if you can. Do not visit a credit repair counselor if you can avoid it, with one reason being that you will need to share information which may be mishandled later. Credit consolidation or working with creditors to reduce your interest rate on credit cards of credit loans may be good options to pursue, but should be researched thoroughly to determine if it will actually help your credit situation and not damage it further in the long-term.
Most creditor counselors do little to help your credit score while most offer debt reduction. This is not the same as improving your credit score. The reality is that your credit counselor may actually reduce your credit rating if they do not submit your payments on time, which sometimes does occur. Your credit report will include a note such as “30 days late” which could be avoided if you are submitting the payments yourself.
Some credit repair companies may mail letters to the credit bureaus stating that the information reflected is incorrect and demand this information be removed until an investigation is completed. Credit bureaus remove the negative information and wait for a report to come in. The credit companies will then provide their clients with a “clean” report to show that their credit rating has indeed improved. The problem is when, or if, those negative notations return following the investigation.
This does not intend to mean that every credit repair organization is illegitimate or a scam. Some agencies are honest and have earned their reputation. Such agencies can be trusted to remove negative information which is actually incorrect. This is, however, the most that a credit repair agency can do to improve your rating. No agency can remove negative information that is correct and this information remains on your credit report for seven years from the time it is reported. Even worse, a bankruptcy remains on a credit report for ten years.
It is always a better option to handle credit issues yourself. Choosing this option will avoid providing personal information and you will know what your actual credit rating is.
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try http://credit—card.org/ good luck
These companies work by taking your payments, not paying the card issuer, watching your credit get trashed and then offering to settle at a discount. You will not get credit again for a long time and if future employers run a credit check on you, you may well be refused a new job. I would just contact the issuers and see if you can get the interest rates reduced. Then, after setting aside enough for the minimum payments on all the cards, I would pay down the card with the highest balance first, until it was fully paid off. And then I would move on to the next highest card.
If you want help, then the following company seems to be recommended by "experts":
National Foundation for Credit Counseling
(800) 388-2227
http://www.nfcc.org
Also known as Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS)
Good luck.
Aggie is right. Debt consolidation loans in and of themselves aren't the problem. Not paying the minimum payments is. You can purchase a home immediately, too, if the credit is sufficient and the income can support both house and debt. Just don't jump into buying a house if you don't have some savings. It's easy to get in than it is to stay in sometimes.
When your financial situation unexpectedly changes, due to something like losing a job you have to sit down and take a long look at your finances. Only after examining both your debt and your assets, can you make an informed decision about the best course of action to take in rectifying the situation. Professionals are available for free consultations for pretty much all the available options. There is no reason not to speak with somebody in each field. Only by knowing the pros and cons of for your particular situation of debt settlement, debt management, bankruptcy, and credit counseling can you really make the best choice. Remember that the best choice is always going to be an informed one.
There is an article here about debt consolidation counseling which may help you.
I wish you luck!
There are plenty of places that offer quick loans for people with bad credit with no-hassle applications and easy requirements.
Some of these lenders even offer 1 minute approvals, and have both secured and unsecured loans, depending on your need and situation. Check the page listed below, it has information and bad credit lenders listed off and on.
http://www.axalda.info/bad-credit-loans.html
Don't use any credit card consolidation companies. They won't do anything to help you – just spin you a story on how great their services are. You'll just wind up paying more and owing them a ton of money. They don't work for free. There's no magic wand to fix your debt situation.
You can manage this by yourself.
The first thing you need to do is put all your cards away and stop using them. You can even cut them up. It's like the old story about how to get out of a hole. First thing you need to do is stop digging. Do not use your cards or you'll find your hole deeper and deeper.
You've got to make more than minimum payments and make the payments on time. You don't need any late charges. Some people say to pay off the smallest one first. Or perhaps the card with the highest interest rate. However you decide to do it, pay more than the minimum on each one every month.
Write down all your cards and account numbers. Then put the interest rate you're being charged next to them. Then keep a running tally of how much you owe and how much you've paid each month. You need to see in black and white what your financial situation looks like. Take a good look at the interest charges you pay. You need to imprint it into your head that all the 'stuff' you charged really wasn't that great.
Depending on how many cards you have and how deep in debt you are, it's going to take a while to pay them off. Sell some of your stuff on ebay or Craig's list to get cash to apply towards your debt. Get a second job doing anything to make extra money. Cancel your cable. Cancel your cell phone. You should be too busy working to need them anyway.
You'll feel so great when you see your debt getting smaller and smaller. Bite the bullet and live really poor until you get all your cards paid off.
If you want to buy something, save for it first. You'll find things to be a lot cheaper when you don't factor in all those finance charges you have to pay on credit card debt.
Most debt consolidation companies will not be helpful, as they add a fee to the debt you are consolidating. You will not save money, as a rule. Some of these are creatures of the credit card companies and are increasingly found to be engaged in illegal debt collection, even if they are non-profits.
Some credit card companies will reduce the fees and interest, but not all will, and by varying amounts.
Frankly, the only fair way to address credit problems is through c. 13 or c. 7 bankruptcy, in which all interest, fees and charges stop and all creditors are treated the same. Both have become more expensive thanks to the "reforms" that became effective last October.