I have 4 credit cards with approx. $25,000.00 worth of debt on them. I would like to get ahold of a non-profit debt counseling service in order to get rid of the high interest rates and pay them off alot sooner instead of only paying the interest and the over the limit fees. I have not used these cards for the past 5-6 years and the accounts are closed except for me making payments on them. I am not even touching the actual principal that I owe, although, I have probably paid enough on these cards to have actually paid off the actual principal. How is the best way to do this and what are some reputalbe non-profit agencies that will help achieve this? I have also heard that some credit cards will take a settlement on some accounts. Is this a good idea and how much of the amount owed do they usually want? I realize that this may hurt my credit rating but to be honest with you it isn’t worth squat now, so what is the difference? Does the debt consolidation hurt your credit as well?
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2 Comments Received
March 1st, 2009 @1:38 pm
You would want to get in with a company that is non profit as you stated in your question. Other companies charge you a fee for doing this for you, as much as 50.00 a month. Consolidated Credit Counselors is a company I used before the only problem I had with them is the agreement they have with the issuing banks it to make payments that is 5% of what you owe. That was too high for me so I had no other choice but to do a bankruptcy. In time your credit rating will improve. But by taking action and just not walking away will definately improve your credit rating.
March 4th, 2009 @7:08 pm
I recently enrolled in a program with a company called Debt XS (www.debtxs.com). What you do is stop paying on your credit cards (which will hurt your credit) and start paying into a personal savings account of your own. You keep Debt XS informed of the amount you have saved and when your account gets high enough they will call your credit card company and negotiate an amount to pay to the credit card company to consider the account paid off. Once you pay the amount agreed upon (which you pay directly to the credit card company) it will go on your credit report as settled then you can start to work on your other accounts. It will damage your credit but once settled shouldn’t take as long to repair the damage as bankruptcy. They claim that the credit card companies usually settle their claims at half of what you owe, but there are no guaratees. I had tried everything else and figured the amount they were charging to help me out is peanuts compared to what I was paying in interest. It’s definitely something to look into. They are very helpful and will explain everything involved in their program that way you can make an informed decision whether or not you want to go that route. I’ve only been with them for about 4 months so I haven’t gotten anything settled yet. The worst part for me has been the credit card companies calling and hassling me for payment constantly (at least 4 times a day). All I know is that bankruptcy isn’t an option for me. I tried talking with the credit card companies to get a lower interest rate but they wouldn’t work with me. I tried to consolidate and no one would do that either. This is the only company that I found that would work with me and I’m hoping it was a good decision.
You could also try a credit counseling agency. They negotiate with the credit card companies to get a lower interest rate. You then pay the credit counseling agency and they disperse your money to your credit card companies for you.
Also, saw something on Oprah last week about a debt diet where they teach you how to negotiate with credit card companies. Have the steps on her web site but I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet.
Good luck and I hope this helps out!!
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