Is It Advisable ?

Hi Help Seeker! And welcome to the forums. :D There are some people who contact their creditors themselves to work out a settlement arrangement rather than consolidating or using a settlement company and have been successful. I have never used a consolidation company, so I am not sure how it effects your credit, I do believe it does however. I'm sure somebody with more experience with consolidation companies will be along to answer that question for you. :D

Consolidation may temporarily affect your credit--But so does being behind in your payments.

As you pay your bills off with consolidation, your ratings will improve.

I think your credit report will reflect that you are in a debt consolidation program, so this may impact your credit score for a short time. But as Jessi said, it looks better to be in a program and making an effort to pay than to show late payments, overlimit credit lines, etc. I think once you are done with the program and your debts paid, it no longer shows that you are in a debt consolidation program on your credit report, and obviously your debt to income ratio is much improved, so your credit should look much better.

debt consolidation also helps in paying those accounts in defaults in easy monthly installments. So, if you make a choice, you will only be improving your credit file from the present situation.

Debt consolidation remains in the file as long as you are taking the program. Once you are done, it will be off from your file. The lenders to whom you will show your credit will see that you made efforts in paying your debts rather than leaving it in defaults. You will only do good to your credit even if you take a consolidation program. However, the best thing will be to pay the debts on your own and see the maximum credit scores in your file. You have to make a choice.

Help seeker, how much is the total amount of your debt? You should go for only that program that reduces all your debts within the shortest time period.

If you have a huge amount, consolidation payments will take longer to eliminate the debts. People opt for a debt settlement program in many cases and eliminate the debt by 40 to 60 percent. You should rather sit with a consultant and discuss about your options.

Helpseeker, I would say register here and have a debt counselor talk to you. These are trained professionals that can give you good advice. Good Luck KYSIDE38