Can someone recommend a debt consolidation agency to help me with my credit?

10 comments

1. 

   ron d on October 6, 2009 at 9:09 pm

   Try it yourself, read books and check out the web for information about doing it.

2. 

   Rhonda on October 8, 2009 at 8:36 pm

   It depends on your income and whether or not you can afford your monthly bills. Consumer Credit Counseling (CCC) can be found in the phone book, and their services are free to help people manage their debt.

   Best wishes.

3. 

   advicemom on October 12, 2009 at 5:26 am

   i had a debt of 6 thousand and used clarion. they made my credit worse! it shows up that you are using the consolidation thing. if you have any kind of communication/bargaining skills, i say negotiate with the banks yourself. they will probably work something out for you and then stick to the payments. like clockwork. then your credit will improve. debt consolidation makes it look like not only did you get in debt, but you couldn’t get yourself out and lowers your score a LOT.

4. 

   epix1 on October 12, 2009 at 9:30 pm

   $3,000 isn’t THAT bad of a debt considering the average american household debt is $8,000.
   I’d start with contacting whomever you have the debt with and see about setting up a payment plan or reducing the interest rate.

5. 

   stolibabe2003 on October 14, 2009 at 4:20 pm

   If you have a debt of no more than 3,000……then this is something that you can do yourself. If most of the debt is on a CC, then look for a CC with 6-months 0% financing. Then tranfer all your debt to that…….juice up the payments and work paying it off.

6. 

   lil_hem_n_va on October 15, 2009 at 10:26 am

   You could do a debt consolidation through your bank but you would have to have collateral. If you call up the companies that you owe to, a lot of times they will work with you to pay off your debt and give you a break on the interest, especially if you set it up as an automatic debit on your checking account.

   NEVER EVER NEVER use those debt consolidation companies that you see advertised on TV. They may pay your debt off and maybe a bit sooner, but they are listed on your credit report and they look bad. Also, what they don’t tell you is that while you are paying off the debt through them, you are not able to apply for any new credit.

   Good luck!! $3k sounds like a lot of money, but the average person is $20k in debt. Doesn’t sound so bad.

7. 

   Lianne on October 16, 2009 at 2:14 pm

   Doing it yourself is always the best approach especially since your debt is relatively low and manageable. You’ll be suprised at how far you can get negotiating with your creditors yourself.

   Many debt consolidation companies charge a monthly fee that doesn’t not go towards paying down your debt and alot of the require you to close your accounts as part of the agreement. Before you commit to anything read this

8. 

   www.lindseysmith.pureromance.com on October 18, 2009 at 12:49 pm

   No do not get a debt counselor at this point! In many ways it looks like a bankruptcy on your credit report to many creditors. You have several options:
   1. Call the credit cards to have your int rate lowered or let them know you will be transfering your balance. (many times they will lower it)
   2. If they won’t lower it below 5% look online for a different card to transfer the balance onto with no annual fee or balance transfer fees. When the card comes CUT It UP so you won’t use it.
   3. Go to your local credit union and talk with a loan officer about their loan options to consolidate and pay off your debt. For your best rate and most likely approval route, have some security like a car you have paid off.

9. 

   Scott C on October 19, 2009 at 7:49 am

   Debt consolidation doesn’t work. It doesn’t solve the problem which is the habit of spending more than you make.

   Checkout this article I posted on my blog site (just last night) about debt consolidation.

10. 

    David D on October 19, 2009 at 6:20 pm

    I found some good info here.