Comparisions of debt relief programs?

Answer 1

I don't have any comparisons, but Take Charge America is very good. takechargeamerica.org 866-578-0588

Answer 2

You honestly don't need to go through these companies. They charge you a lot of money and can't provide ANY guarantees on what they can do for you, how much they can save, or how low they can drop your interest rate. They will negotiate on their behalf because essentailly they are paying off your debt with their money and you then pay THEM. Get your 3 credit reports together and take an honest look at them. Write down who you owe, how much you owe and what they are charging you. List items in order of how much you owe. Add up all the minimum payments, then write down how much you can pay monthly. Subtract all the minimum payments for each bill but the smallest debt. Concentrate all your extra money on that one bill until it's paid off. You may also look at how much money you're spending and for what. Cutting out items that aren't crucial could hep you get a hold on your debt. If you can't come up with enough to pay every minimum, you will need to contact some of these companies to see if you can reduce your minimum payments for a short period of time. Be honest with them and they may be flexible.

Debt programs might be nice in that they consolidate your debt, but they may not reduce your debt at all. Having this listed on your credit report is NEVER a positive and is frowned upon when you apply for credit in the future. Once they see this on your report, you are considered a big liability.

As another poster said, there is nothing they can do that you can't do yourself. If you talk to any, they will all sing their praises and tell you it's not bad to utilize them. But then again, no sales person will tell you all bad things about what they are selling if it means money in their pockets.

Answer 3

There is nothing those companies can do for you that you couldn't do better yourself. Suze Orman has books that explain how to contact each creditor and be your own debt relief counselor and how to stop them from harassing you by phone. You can work out debt reduction with each company on your own. Check out whatever debt relief company you are looking into with your local Better Business Bureau because some are scams and alot take their portion of your monthly payment for themselves and don't forward the rest to your creditors until weeks later. Please be careful because if one of these companies scams you- do you have the time and resources to go after them and still work on your debt?
Good Luck!