You’re knee deep with debt. You’ve tried budgeting, talking to your creditors and other self-help strategies for controlling your debt, and yet it just hasn’t done a bit of good. Don’t stop trying! Don’t panic! Give consumer credit counseling or debt management a try before you ponder on filing for bankruptcy.
What is Credit Counseling?
Reputable credit counseling services can do these tasks:
- Advise you on managing your money and debt
- Help you develop a budget
- Offer free educational materials and workshops
Credit counselors are certified and capable in the instances of credit score, money and debt management and budgeting. Counselors will discuss your entire finances and can help you create a personalized plan to solve money problems.
Choosing a Credit Counseling Organization
Most credit counselors offer their services through local offices, online or on the telephone. When possible, make sure you seek one that offers in-person counseling. You ought to develop an index of reputable credit advice organizations and ask that they supply you free information brochures about their services. The following organizations often offer credit counseling services:
- Colleges and universities
- Military bases
- Credit unions
- Housing authorities
- County or cooperative extension services
Your bank, local consumer protection agency, church, family could be an excellent source of information and referrals. The US (Bankruptcy) Trustee Program has a list of approved credit counseling agencies in your area. Each state’s Attorney General’s office, local consumer protection agency and Better Business Bureau can give a list of any complaints filed against the agencies on your list.
Be wary! Many consumer credit counseling organizations are nonprofitand provide their services at no cost or for just a modest fee. However, one can find for-profit credit counselors that could charge an expensive fee and others which could bill themselves as “nonprofit” and “free” but require you make an upfront “donation” or “voluntary” contribution.
Questions to Ask
After you have narrowed your list of credit counseling agencies, contact your final candidates and ask:
- What services do you provide? You want budget counseling and debt management classes, not debt management plans discussed below
- Will you help me avoid debt problems in the future?
- What are your fees? Are there any upfront or monthly fees? Get it in writing
- What if I can’t afford your fees?
- Will I have a formal written agreement or contract with you? Always read what you sign
- Are you licensed by the state?
- What are your counselors’ qualifications? Are they accredited or certified by an outside organization? If so, by whom? If not, how are they trained? Avoid agencies that train or certify their own counselors
- How will you keep my personal information private?
- How do you compensate your employees? Avoid any agency that pays their employees based on whether they sign you up, pay a fee or make a contribution
Debt Negotiation Programs
Stay clear of credit counseling agencies that promote debt negotiation services! They’re extremely risky and may have a negative impact on your credit report. Many claim to be nonprofit organizations and:
- Guarantee that they can reduce or remove your unsecured debt
- Require substantial monthly fees
- Demand payment of a percentage of savings
- Tell you to stop making payments or communicating with creditors
- Require you to make monthly payments to them, rather than to your creditors
- Claim creditors won’t sue you for nonpayment of unsecured debt
- Promise that using their system won’t have negative impact on your credit report
- Claim that they can remove accurate negative information from your credit report
For help with an Athens GA chapter 13, find an Athens bankruptcy law firm. An Athens Georgia bankruptcy law firm could give you the help you need.
Filed under credit by on Sep 18th, 2010. Comment. 
These days consumers deal with huge amounts of debts. In some cases they can handle it easily, while there are consumers that find it difficult to pay their debts back. Once you have found that your score is low you start looking for the ways to improve it. Rebuilding your score is possible but keep in mind that there are no any “tricks” to increase your credit score. There are no services which you can sign up for or products which you can buy that will rebuild your credit score overnight.
Actually, there are millions of consumers in the US that have negative items on their credit reports and these items hurt their credit score. A lot of those people aren’t informed enough about the ways to improve their credit reports and feel absolutely helpless. Surely, certain efforts are required to understand how the system works and what you can do to get your good credit score back.
There is one common tip for all the consumers is start paying bills on time. If paying on time is problematic for you you can consult your creditor who can assist you in your personal payment plan development. If the problem id really serious you can also contact CCCS, Consumer Credit Counseling Services, to consolidate your bills into one payment.
Even if you make payments on time there are different things that can happen in your life, such as divorce, job loss, bad investment, law suit, and a lot of other unforeseen situations. This can turn all your life upside down since such items are recorded as derogatory items which lower your credit score. Even if you manage to halt down all the troubles these records still remain. What should one do in this case?
In fact, everything is not as hard as it may seem. There are some steps that you need to follow. You can improve your score on your own, but if you find it difficult there are various services with the help of which you can make your credit report and score repaired. Be careful when you are offered to repair your credit score quickly and great results are guaranteed. Make sure that the solution is legal and helps to repair the source of the problem. Once your credit score is improved there are also some rules you need to follow. First of all, you must control your spending and eliminate debt.
If the items in your credit reports are inaccurate you have a right by law to dispute them. Don’t waste time and work on removing inaccurate negative items from your credit report. This will take some works and efforts, but the results – lower interest rate and ability to get a loan for a new house, or a car, or a job – well worth the effort.
Do you know that the knowledge of your credit score can help you a lot in taking care of many problems with credit? And also do you know that you can get a free credit score?
This is possible. Find out more about free credit score, how anyone can get free credit score and how to use this info with maximum effect.
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Filed under credit by on Sep 3rd, 2010. Comment.