Do those debt relief agencies really work?

Question

I am wondering what peoples experiences are. I have about $25,000 in credit card debt and around $30,000 in student loans. The credit cards are surprisingly well under my limit. I would be interested in consolidating the credit card debt especially, as it seems those are going to last forever. Any advice?

Answer 1

Stay away from credit repair/consolidation/counseling companies. They take their fees up front and leave your credit trashed. Some of their techniques are to stop paying your credit cards completely till they are several months past due then negotiation a settlement under threat of filing bankruptcy.

Work on paying off the credit cards one at a time. Thow everything you can on the highest interest rate, while paying the minimum on the rest. When the highest rate is paid, move to the next, till they are all paid in full. Of course, you have to stop charging on the cards!

It will take 2 or 3 years to get the credit cards paid off. But once the credit cards are gone, you can start paying more on the student loans.

Answer 2

Consolidating the cc debt how? By getting a loan? Might be pretty difficult to get an unsecured loan that large.

Leave the student loans as they are, and keep payments current. The interest on those can give you tax breaks if you qualify.

As to debt relief agencies, there are legit ones and scams who will charge a substantial fee and then not do much of anything for you. So be very careful. Consumer Credit Counselling seems to be one of the legit ones. You'll still have to pay back what you owe, but interest rates might be lowered substantially.

Answer 3

I did it and don't regret it. Its been so long ago, the company has changed names, so I can't recommend one to you. Check around online and see what you can find out. There are pros and cons to doing it. The pros are, that it puts you into a set repayment plan and you stop accumulating the massive amounts of interest and you can get it paid off. The downside is, that you can no longer use the credit cards. Although with $25,000 in debt, that isn't such a bad thing. After I got rid of my cards, I never got another one. I has forced me to live within my income and savings and I am much happier without all the debt. I'm not sure they can do anything with the student loans since these companies are usually affliated with the credit card companies --- it may depend on the program.

Answer 4

I currently use CareOne because I had 4 accounts with Bank of America (whom I would not recommend to anyone), and wanted to pay them off, but they keep increasing their percentage and fees. What this company does is lower the APR to 9% for the life of the card, basically, you paid it off and it's considered closed. The money is first transferred out of your checking account on say, for example the 15th, however, they do not actually pay your creditors until the 23rd. If you can live with that, reset the due dates to the end of the month, and it takes about 3 months before your creditors accepts the "proposal" and waives any overcharges or fees incurred during the beginning of this program. The fees are incurred by, let's say the minimum payment is 96.00 and CareOne decides to get it down to 40.00 and pays them that amount. They will say that you still owe 56.00 and adds this to your minimum next month along with a late fee.

But it works for some who are not worried about closing the accounts - I understand that the FICO score is lowered when you close an account. For me, it was worth it. I still have 2 other credit cards & an auto loan that I am paying off without their help as I want these accounts to stay open.

Answer 5

If a person has accumulated a large amount of credit card debt due to multiple credit cards, the need for a proper counseling for credit card debt consolidation can't be understated. Credit card debt consolidation counseling helps a person get vital insights into the facts that can help him get control over the credit card debt.

Credit card debt consolidation counselors are experts with a good knowledge of debt management, budgeting and behavioral patterns of credit card holders. These services are vital for those struggling to manage their credit card debts. Also called credit counseling or debt counseling the credit card debt consolidation counseling brings immediate relief to a credit card holder.

A person seeking credit counseling can get it from two types of organizations. The professional or commercial organizations, and the non-profit organizations. As depicted by its name or categorization, the commercial organizations charge money for their credit counseling sessions and consolidation help on the other hand the non-profit organizations offer free of charge services. Just because the non-profit organizations are free, it doesn't undermine their quality of service. The persons associated with such organizations are thorough experts and have lived the trauma of being under credit card debt themselves and hence bring their vital experience to the credit card holder. Read more from: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/article/353,Credit_card_debt_consolidation_and_credit_counseling_great_tools_to_get_rid_of_credit_card_debt

Answer 6

If you are currently able to make your payments, stay away from the debt consolidation companies. Instead, pay down your highest interest credit cards first, then work on the others. Of course, always make the minimum payment on all the cards every month and on your student loans. You can also look into transferring the balance on higher interest credit cards to a lower interest one. Check with your student loan company to see if you can consolidate your student loans and get a lower payment and interest rate.

Answer 7

You need to check out this video on how to increase your credit score by using a 100% legal loophole. Here is the video URL: http://www.creditscoresecret.org

I was able to get to 595 from 489 in just one day and from 489 to 748 in just a few week; that's pretty fast in my book. Good luck!

Answer 8

Those agencies work beautifully, if you find a reputable one. Howevr the problem with debt consolidation is that it will be considered by future creditors just as badly as you filing for bankruptcy.

Answer 9

LOLOLOL

If they really work they'd be out of business.

LOLOLOL