consumer credit counseling

The Truth About Consumer Credit Counseling!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:32:00 +0000

If you want to learn more about consumer credit counseling, then you want to read this article. Specifically will discuss who is a good candidate for credit counseling, what it involves, and what to look for in a company. After reading this article you should be able to determine credit counseling is right for you.

Consumer credit counseling isn't something you should enter into lightly. It's important to understand that will impact your credit for years to come. While the fact that you're in credit counseling does not immediately impact your credit score, it will be reported to your credit file. Creditors, understandably so, consider this to be a major red flag will be hesitant to lend to you for years to come. As underwriter for more than 10 years, I found many creditors are happier to lend to somebody with a discharged bankruptcy than someone who's previously been in credit counseling. (While this defies logic, the reason for this is likely that the person who filed for bankruptcy no longer has debt while the person who's been in credit counseling is likely still struggling to pay their debts off.) That being said for most people credit counseling is emotionally and financially a better choice and should be considered seriously prior to filing bankruptcy.

The type of counseling you can receive will vary from company to company. Most every company will negotiate with your existing creditors for reduced interest rates and reduction in the fees associated with your account. They may also be able to negotiate a lower payment. Your counseling company should also help you establish a good budget and a plan to get out of debt. It is critical that you take this seriously because unless you are able to develop new habits is very likely that you will end up right back where you are. There are also companies that offer faith-based christian debt counseling, which some people find beneficial.

Some companies also offer debt management plans in which you make payment directly to the agency and then they will remit payments to the individual creditors. While this is can be convenient, most companies will charge a monthly fee for this. If you do decide to go this route, remember to carefully check your statement each month. Make sure they reflect that a payment has been received as well as any terms that have been negotiated on your behalf, such as a reduced interest rate.

If you do decide the debt counseling is for you, you need to be very careful when selecting a credit counseling company. There are many good companies out there but for every good company there is another whose only motivation is to take your money and offer very little value! One of the best things you can do is get a referral from a family member, friends or even your church. Ideally you could find a company with a good rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Consumer credit counseling isn't a quick fix for credit issues, but for those who are seriously in debt and have few other options other than bankruptcy it can be a good choice to help you get back on track. Just remember to be very careful when selecting the company that you wish to go with!

Wendy Black Polisi is the founder of creditrepaircollege.com, a website dedicated to helping people understand how they can repair their own credit. To learn more about credit card debt settlement, consumer credit counseling, and christian debt counseling please visit her on the web.

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Is a Consumer Credit Counseling Right For You?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:49:00 +0000

By Cornie Herring

Your credit history will determine your credit worthiness and the interest rate you will pay when you apply for credit. That's why it is important to maintain good credit with your best effort, but unfortunately sometime it is out of our control and we are forced to live in bad credit situation. As a result, an increasing number of people are getting help from consumer credit counseling agencies to resolve their debt issues. However, consumer credit counseling may not be the best option for everyone. Then, how do you know that getting assistance from consumer credit counseling is right for you?

There are many types of debt relief solutions that you can use to reduce and resolve your debt problem. Among the common one is consumer credit counseling which involve financial education offered mostly by non-profit organizations to get people out of debt. Beside the advices and education courses on money management, consumer credit counseling often tight with the aid of a debt repayment plan that requires you to make a monthly deposit to the credit counseling agency, which will then pay off to your creditors according to a payment schedule set by your credit counselor. Overall, it is a good option to approach a consumer credit counseling agency, but it has some limitations that you have to know before your select consumer credit counseling as your debt relief option.

Credit Counseling Limitations

1. No All Debts Are Included

Consumer credit counseling does not deal with all types of debts. There may be some debts that are unable to place into your debt repayment plan, which include:

Secured debts such as mortgages and car loan.
Current bills for utilities.

If your debt problem is caused by those debts above, then credit counseling services can't really help you.

2. Can't Help To Reduce Debt Principal

Credit counseling services can't help you to reduce the amount of debt principal you owe. You need to go for a debt negotiation or debt settlement services if you look for the potential reduction of the amount of your debt principal. What the credit counselor may help are:

Reduce or waive your interest rate agreed by creditors.
Reduce your monthly payment by prolong the debt repayment period so that the amount used to pay your monthly debt is within your financial capability.

3. Can't Freeze or Protect Your Credit Rating

Consumer credit counselors will not report their client participation in their debt management program to credit bureaus. However, it may be reported by the creditors which will cause negative impacts to your credit report. If you choose to participate into the debt management plan offered by consumer credit counseling, you should maintain your obligation to reduce the negative impacts to your credit report because the creditors may re-age your account and set the status to current in your credit report.

Summary

Credit counseling service can provides a solution for debtors to get out of debt, but it may not the best option for everyone. You should understand the limitations of consumer credit counseling before you choose it to be your debt relief solution.

Cornie Herring invites you to be debt free in 12 to 39 months and visit http://www.debt-consolidation-1stop.info to explore more information about debt relief options.

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Consumer Credit Counseling Can Be Beneficial To Your Financial Well Being

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:34:00 +0000

By Tim Gorman

If you're to the point where you're having trouble making ends meet financial speaking or are consistently making payments to all of your bills late then perhaps you should consider consumer credit counseling. Paying a bill late once in a blue moon is not a life stopping event (although I don't recommend it due to the adverse effect on your credit score) however if you are unable to pay your bills (to include the minimum payments) or always pay them late then consumer credit counseling will indeed help get you out of a financial jam and prevent creditors from harassing you on a daily basis.

The benefits of credit counseling manifest from the ideas and advice they give you in regards to managing your debt properly. The biggest learning factor provided by a reputable consumer credit counseling agency will be knowledge they present you with in order to bring a more disciplined financial environment into your life resulting in less stress in terms of your current financial shape.

Before signing up with the first credit-counseling agency you find please make sure to do your research. Although many of the companies are reliable and trustworthy there are a few that give the industry a bad name. Most of the legitimate companies offer their services for a small up front fee. Definitely avoid any that offer to settle your debts for free or with only a small upfront payment of $75 to $90. Most of the companies that fall in that category usually wind up as unreliable and are only good for taking your hard earned money with zero return on investment. You can verify the legitimacy of a consumer credit counseling agency by checking to see if they are registered with the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agency or the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Both of these companies will have reputable counseling agencies as registered members.

Another benefit of using a consumer credit counseling agency is their ability to keep the companies you owe money to off of your back while you make minimum payments to them. A trustworthy counseling firm will take your payment and then forward it to the creditor you owe money to allowing you to focus on learning how to avoid future financial crisis and issues.

Don't let the horror stories of how people have been burned utilizing a credit counseling service. If you do your due diligence you will be able to find a fair company that will help you manage your debts better while maintaining your reputation with your current and future creditors. Always make sure the counseling company is on your side and doesn't view you as a consumer that is delinquent with their credit. Their fair representation of you should include them acknowledging you as an individual interested in credit counseling to your creditors.

One small disclaimer should be noted. Although in most cases consumer credit counseling does work well at helping a person climb out of financial distress it is no substitute for a huge amount of debt. With that said you should know that if your current debt is so high that it requires you to consider filing bankruptcy then no credit counseling firm will be able to help you avoid the inevitable.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Debt-Relief-Solutions.com. He provides more debt consolidation advice, solutions and counsumer credit counseling information that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

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Consumer Credit Counseling Services

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:49:00 +0000

By Neil D'Silva

What are the functions of Consumer Credit Counseling Services?

Contrary to what most people think, or want to think, about consumer credit counseling services, these services are not just about mere counseling for your financial credit problems. They are much more than that. The following is a list of all the services that the consumer credit counselors will provide to you:-

Of course, the first service is counseling itself. They will listen to your financial problem carefully. When you are speaking all these things out, you are yourself realizing the extent of the problem you are in. Anyways, the credit counseling services will try their best to counsel you verbally about your financial problems at the outset.
The next step is to train you in financial management. The credit counseling services will sit with you and discuss how you can better manage your finances. They will prepare a budget for you and your family so that you can make the best use o the income you are getting and efficiently manage the payments you need to make.
Most importantly, they will tell you of schemes in detail, such as the debt consolidating and debt refinancing plans by which you can solve all your credit problems. Debt consolidation means clumping all your individuals into a single loan which you can pay with greater ease. While, debt refinancing means getting your existing loan renewed through another lender at a cheaper rate of interest. The consumer credit counseling service will coach you in these plans, and will help you implement them too.

Why choose Consumer Credit Counseling Services?

It is very difficult for people who are deep in debt to manage their finances properly. Sometimes, these people might have the financial capacity to come out of their debts, but because they are not managing their loans properly, they are not able to solve the situation. This is where the consumer credit counseling services help. They will actually sit and discuss the problem with you and will tell you of ways by which you can be debt-free.

Most people when they approach consumer credit counseling services, they do not even know what debt consolidation or debt refinancing means. Even if they know about them, they have most likely a very hazy idea about it. It is the job of the counselor to make people aware of these viable solutions to their problems.

Credit counselors also become important when a person is to file for bankruptcy. In fact, the American law has made it compulsory for people to enroll into the programs of the credit counselors before their bankruptcy so that they can seek knowledge of how to avoid this sticky scenario the next time round.

Thus the consumer credit counseling services are not all out there to make a fast buck. Most of them have genuine intentions and a noble way of doing business.

Which Consumer Credit Counseling Services to avoid?

Many credit counseling services are nothing but scams, and you need to avoid them like the plague. Avoid all companies that are not registered with the government. Their programs have no value at all in the courts. Do not go for any consumer credit counseling services who want to push a particular policy of theirs. You must make sure that they are understanding your problem first, and working with you to find a solution for it.

Neil D'Silva writes a lot on finance related topics, especially dealing with the US. He also runs a content writing business.

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What is Consumer Credit Counseling?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:07:00 +0000

By Jackiee Shepherd

One of the main concerns in economical and financially unstable times is to fulfill your credit obligations. But how do you meet your colossal debt payments in such tough situations? In desperation, you might end up filing a bankruptcy. Consumer credit counseling is an aid to come out of the difficult times and also a way to upgrade your credit score and choose some better ways like debt settlement or debt consolidation.

You need credit counseling, if you fall in one of the given categories.
• If you are in debts beyond your resources but intending to enhance your credit worthiness and not end up insolvent.
• If amendments in the terms of credit namely interest rates, place you in a comfortable position to repay debts.
• You have reasonable corresponding resources but getting restive due to massive debts.
• If you failed to get a revised repayment plan from your creditor.

Consumer Credit Counseling - A Brief Insight

Beginning in the mid 20th century, it is a process to educate consumers grappling with huge debts, unable to meet timely obligations. It includes debt restructuring or debt management plan enabling the consumer regain debt repayment capacity and trim any imminent dent in credit scores. Besides assisting in restructuring debt, credit counseling also helps in better evaluation of financial situation and resources.

Modus Operandi of Credit Counseling

It often has a tie-up with creditors and offer non-judgmental advice. An expert guidance in the backdrop of a diminishing credibility enables you to negotiate restructuring better with your creditors. The information and data shared by you is kept highly confidential by the credit counselors and they incorporate easy modes to reach you at any point in time. E-mails, live chats on web portals, phone calls and even personal visits enable timely expert advice reach you. Subsequent to detailed discussions, they offer you customized solutions to avoid bankruptcy and consequently upgrade your credit standing.

Once you sign a suitable solution plan with this agency, they will in turn pursue the same with the creditor. You need to pay the revised periodic repayments to the credit counseling agency which transfers the same to the creditor.

Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies

Though the rapidly growing industry comprises of few deceptive agencies, you can put your apprehensions to rest by associating with a Member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) or an agency affiliated with National Foundation for this agency.
Pin your attention on the below aspects to avoid further undermining of your financial position:
• Most often these agencies do not charge unusually high fees for their services, so you need to be cautious of any high fee demanding agency.
• Once you make the regular periodic payments to the credit counselor, a timely enquiry regarding the onward transfer of the same funds to the creditor is advisable to avoid any odds of misappropriation of your funds.

Is Credit Counseling Free of Any Negative Cues to Creditors?

Though associating with this agency and the subsequent most probable debt restructuring or management plan signals instability in your financial situation, it also is a testament to your intention to remain solvent and meet your obligations to the extent possible, which is much favorable to creditors than a bankruptcy. Creditors may consider lending in future to consumers with a past restructuring debt than a consumer with a bankrupt history.

So, you need not be concerned on your financial flux and reach out to a legitimate consumer credit counseling agency and have expert consumer credit counseling to enhance you present and future credit score.

At debtsteps.com you can access detailed information on consumer credit counseling and enrich yourself with intricacies of consumer credit counseling. The site also provides debt settlement and updated information on various credit related issues. Upgrade your credit score and choose some better ways like debt settlement or debt consolidation.

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Consumer Credit Counseling Service

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:27:00 +0000

By Alevoor Rajagopal

Consumer Credit Counseling Service

Legitimate consumer credit counseling services are not easy to find, as many of them have come under public wrath of late. A common criticism about credit counseling is that participating in such a plan ruins a consumer's credit which also has led to charges that credit counseling is a marketing gimmick the lending industry makes use of. Probably it is for this reason the experts opine that credit counseling is ineffective. But one must not forget that credit counseling is not the same as debt consolidation.

In the forefront is the Christian credit counseling which is making a difference in this field not just by demonstrating genuine intentions but also by offering credit counseling in an affordable way to consumers. It helps consumers take steps to improve their credit.

A consumer credit counseling service has the goal educating debtors of different consolidation ways. Of which the secured debt credit is the one with which you can avoid unnecessary additional clerical costs and also prevent legal actions against you. In short credit counseling is designed to persons who are neck deep in debt.

The Statutory Bindings

If you are looking for information on nonprofit credit counseling agency Christian credit counseling is your natural first choice. Like all nonprofit organizations they have an obligation to educate and counsel the needy people. All nonprofit credit counseling agencies are bound by nonprofit corporation statutes and comply with state charitable solicitation laws. This is why nonprofit credit counseling agencies provide free services or at least charge minimal fees to recover their cost. It helps to keep in mind that appropriate Federal and Senate committees have taken cognizance of the profitable nature of some of the nonprofit credit counseling agencies.

In fact, for more than five decades now, nonprofit credit counseling organizations are helping consumers. Those providing assistance to consumers credit counseling and debt management services must keep your private information confidential. Rules are put in place to limit the fees a nonprofit credit counseling firm charge their clients. Californian licensed nonprofit credit counseling firms must file their financials with the statutory agencies regularly.

However, some community credit counseling services are setting precedence and are taking their services beyond expectations. If you act sensibly you can actually get free counseling and debt consolidation advice from them.

Here Are Some Helpful Steps

List out all community based and nonprofit credit counseling services.
Checkout their accreditations and business histories through their websites and testimonials.
Talk to them before signing any documents.
Don’t leave anything to ambiguity; get their and your obligations in writing.
Take help from The National Foundation for Credit Counseling for researching about some credit counseling organization.

You must always remember, at the back of your mind that, credit counseling is a legal and ethical alternative to file bankruptcy. In any case, credit counseling is a viable option before meeting a bankruptcy attorney. For an industry having more than its share of questionable reputation, at least this is the only way out. In addition, for those consumer credit counseling agencies in the for-profit side of the industry, the problem is that the fees are rather too high and typically take long times to clear off the debt. However, the bottom line is credit counseling is still best if you want a total makeover of your finances.

Alevoor Rajagopal, MBA, advises on issues that concern small businesses. Fine tuning common but pesky issues to improve efficiency and ROI is what he specializes and writes at online earning. Find his eBay business coaching at eBay Made Easy.

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