Ok, another question

no advice out there??? Help....

Call some more places..They are not created equal!

I have never done consolidation or settlement, but it concerns me that the first place would let your accounts go into default..I think the last thing you would want to do is hurt your credit!

Also, make sure you check all potential companies with the BBB.

I have to agree with Fins - check out the company you are considering for debt consolidation or settlement thoroughly - including the BBB. Most consolidation programs charge a fee, but not all of them will put you into a default situation right off the bat.

You have a couple of options.

You can contact the BBB and research this company further. Many of the debt consolidation companies have information about them on this website and on the internet.

You can also try to consolidate your bills yourself by contacting the creditors and trying to work out payment arrangements. It would be cheaper to try to work it out yourself than having to pay someone to work it out for you.

Obviously most people go to a dmp after the accounts are already way past-due, and so the creditors are happy to get paid something, even if it is only partial payments.

For an account that is current, the creditor will not be "jumping for joy" when they get a debt consolidation proposal in the mail asking to reduce interest and lower payments. For that reason, it is inevitable that almost any creditor will deem that as a default situation. So I say, you can't really blame the debt consol company for telling you the accounts will default first. That's naturally what happens when you don't make the payments as agreed, even if you are retaining a DMPs services.

I do agree with Fins that not every company is the same. Call around, get a number of different plan options, and then you can see if it will truly help you.

For the most part, though, they all do about the same thing. They send a letter to the creditor and ask them to lower the payments and interest, and waive late fees. I receive debt consolidation proposals all the time, and the only thing different about them is which company it is coming from. I have not once had one of these companies call me on the phone and negotiate live. Following is an example of the form they send to your creditors:



As you can see, it's just a form letter they send out. These places don't put any effort into negotiating your payment; they just leave it up to the creditor to agree or modify it. Like I said, I've received hundreds of proposals over the years from debt mgmt companies, and they all mimic the form above.

Frankly I think you might be better off with Alexandria's advice and try calling the creditors yourself. They may be able to come up with a suitable payment plan that doesn't involve paying a third party for their ability to send out a form.

I called a cc company on my sons behalf and spoke with them. I told them I wanted this paid off, but could see no way of doing it at the present interest, fees, etc. She said they have a program where they will drop all interest, fees, etc., if he commits to one year of xx amount of dollars. If you break that agreement, the deal is off. So I,too, would suggest you talk to your creditors first..Good Luck...Karen

I was in a debt settlement program for many months with no luck. I too was never late until I entered into the program. I knew that it would take a few months to negotiate the first settlement. You have to be so many months past due before they even contact the creditor in the first place. In the meantime, I kept paying my monthly payment to them that went into an escrow account. I nearly paid all of their fees upfront which was a mistake on my part. They had a good rating with the BBB. Now, I was getting calls left and right about getting sued since I was so past due. I relayed this information to my debt counselor at the time. Instead of trying to negotiate a settlement with certain creditors, she decided to belittle me by even taking their phone calls. Then I was blame for none of the accounts not being settled yet when I had plenty of money in my escrow account to settle at least three of the four on the plan. I got a different song and dance from her supervisor. I am no longer with that company but now my credit report is in bad shape because of the late payments and charge offs. I was rebuilding my credit after a bankruptcy years prior and now I have to start all over again. I have been working with the creditors on my own and having some good luck. I would try to work with them on your own first to see if you can negotiate some terms with them. I know different companies do have different programs. Good luck to you and keep us updated on your progress :) Don't make the same mistakes that I did.

Mishele:

I made that mistake as well even though I had filed for bankruptcy. But I am going to pay off these payday loans and then I am going to work on my credit cards next. I just pray I can do this without anything crazy happening. That is my goal.

How did we get back into this mess for the second time around Mishele? I think it was because I moved back to the same old town which depressing in itself and followed the same old habits. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it, huh?

Mischele,
Who did you use? can you say???? I still haven't made a decision.. I'm waiting for feedback from you all and I am checking out everything with the BBB and any other avenue I can think of..
Kat :shock:

wickedkittykat? go to nolo.com & you find additional info your looking for Need help? Holler!

wickedkitty,

I would rather not comment on who the company is but I would recommend finding a settlement company that doesn't charge so much in up front fees. Try sifxpert.com. I've heard great things about this settlement company. He has given me some great advice as well. Have you tried your local CCCS office? They are a non-profit orgainization that does consumer credit counseling. You can find them in your local yellow pages and most creditors will work with them. My husband has been on a program with them for the past four months. He's had great success so far with late fees being waived and interest rates being dropped. He was also able to include our second mortgage on this plan which will save us years of payments and thousands of dollars. I just filled out paperwork for them myself. Alexandra, I've made plenty of financial mistakes. :oops: I have learned much from them over the past year. I guess I had to hit rock bottom before I was ready to do something about it. :roll:

Mishele,

I followed your advice I read about sifxpert.com and I have already settled 2 accounts with him. He is very nice and since I ahd the funds ready to settle, he charged me no up front fee at all and I settled both accounts with the money I had and this month is the first time I will be paying him anything and its been 3 months I have been working with him and he only charges 10% of the amount saved. I have to say also that he settled my CHase at 35% and my MBNA at 15% of the balance . Not off, it was 15 cents on the dollar. I settled a 23k account for $3500.00 He is a godsend! Thank you Mishele