I have a high cellular phone bill, and am having trouble paying the bills. What do the consolidation companies for debt do? charge? Where can I find some help? We both have jobs but are suddendly not getting as much hours as needed.
2006-07-10 14:25:07 · 14 answers · asked by KelBean 4 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Debt consolidation is not a good plan
http://www.daveramsey.com/the_truth_about/debt_consolidation_3035.html.cfm
Get the book "Your Total Money Makeover" at the library and he will you some honest advice about the "debt snowball" and how to make your money work for you without credit and without debt.
2006-07-10 14:28:48 · answer #1 · answered by Sir J 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The business of debt consolidation can be a grueling experience. You might probably be asking someone for advice on help with resolving issues with debt companies if your not careful. Don't forget they are for profit businesses as well. You pay them, and they pay everyone else, is generally how it works. They buy off your debt at let's say 35 cents to every dollar and charge you about 50 cents to the dollar. So you have a 50% less combined note to pay. Everyone is happy. But if that were ideally true there wouldn't be so many unhappy Debt Cons'tion customers. Look up BBB Debt Consolidators and you will read all sorts of good or bad reports on any companies. Either way extending your phone bills past affordable limits is an issue noone can help you with.
I hope this answer just changed a life. Peace.
2006-07-11 03:53:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you discussed the problem with your cell phone company?
If you are late but the account has not been charged off yet, that should be the first thing you do before trying to find a consolidation company.
Don't speak with the average customer service rep that answers the phones, speak with someone higher up.
Explain your circumstances, tell them you have been a good customer for x number of months/years and you would like to be able to resolve this. Find out if they will work with you on a payment plan.
Just an idea of resolving it before you sign with a consolidation company.
2006-07-10 14:37:17 · answer #3 · answered by echo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately, you can only file secure debt with a debt consolidation company. Debt consolidation companies are okay, just watch out for enormous monthly fees. Your debt is not really negatively impacted. What will mess you up is a a debt settlement company. You pay them a payment each month, then when there is a set amount of money in your account (6 or months down the road and your creditors are hounding you( they will settle your debt for much less than what you owe. Your credit will be ruined.
For more info check out
http://www.debt-settlement-inc.com/FAQs.asp
2006-07-10 14:41:26 · answer #4 · answered by Lamb725 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Debt consolidation is taking all you debt together and spreading it out over a long period of time. The idea is to get a lower interest rate. If you have credit card debt it's at a high interest rate. The idea is that you are spending less money on interest and more on paying down the debt. For it to help, you also need to balance your budget. Moving forward, you want to be spendiing less than you are making. You might need to cut up your credit cards and move to a strict budget to make it work. It helps to understand how you have been spending your money for the past year, and then simplify it, for example, but changing the way you spend it so you are less likely to get into hot water again.
2006-07-10 14:31:23 · answer #5 · answered by Molly R 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I went through a debt consolidation company. They were the biggest ripoff I have ever seen. The best way to do it is to call all of the people you owe money to and tell them your having a hard time paying. Most places will try to help you out and set up some sort of payment plan. I went through a place called Financial One and they were HORRIBLE!!! It sounded great at first but all I did was pay them alot of money to do nothing.
2006-07-10 14:29:45 · answer #6 · answered by impossible 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most consolidation companies do charge, but I don't know how much. Do some research on them because there may be some that don't charge. If you're not getting as many hours, you may need to stop using your cell phone for awhile. It's not essential like electricity or water is.
2006-07-10 14:30:25 · answer #7 · answered by First Lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some credit bureaus have consumer counseling for free. They can help you get your debt under control and set-up a payment plan with your creditors. The interest on your accounts will stop. My credit bureau charged $12.00 a month fee. I don't know if it is the same way in all states. I'm in CA. I do know if you do this and don't stop with the cell phones you will be right back where you started from.
2006-07-10 14:36:06 · answer #8 · answered by Sassy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Basically they pay off your bills and you owe THEM the money instead... usually at a higher interest rate spread out over a longer peroid of time so you pay less per month but over the long haul you lose big. They really have you now that they have changed bankruptcy laws... filing for bankruptcy will no longer get you out of unsecured debt. Hang in there!
2006-07-10 14:30:02 · answer #9 · answered by evalmonk 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Those companies on really work with credit cards. You may just have to disconnect your phone for a while and make payment arrangements for it , switch to a pre-paid phone. For you guys to get out of so much debt, your going to have to cut out the unnecessary things like cable, eating out etc. things that you could live without, just until your finances got better.
Check out www.suzeorman.com
2006-07-10 15:15:32 · answer #10 · answered by nikkie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋