611 Credit score- 13,000 in CC debt - payments never late
Date: Thu, 01/18/2007 - 11:57
I found this site in a bit of desparation, and I'm hoping someone could give me some advice on what to do next.
I am a full-time college student, with a part-time job (I'm an administrative assistant - not a temporary waitressing job). Due to earlier stupidity, and a couple of very destructive relationships, I've managed to rack up about 13,000 in CC debt, over 4 credit cards. I have never missed a payment, nor have I ever went over the limit, but my credit score went down from 700 to 611 in a year. TransUnion says its because my debt to credit ratio is too high (My total credit is 13,500). At this point I'm struggling to make the minimum payments on my credit cards.
I understand that my options are either to get a consolidation loan. I think taking out 10,000 would be best, but I dont really know if I would be able to obtain such a sum with my credit score. Getting a guarantor is not an option. In people's experience, is this plausible?
I guess I should also mention that I have about 2,500 in Federal Student Loans, which I do not have to repay for another 3 years, or possibly even later.
I know that my second option is to go through a credit counceling agency. Through the research that I've done, I see that GreenPath is one of the best choices in NYC. However, I also learned that going through such an agency would lower my score even more because the agency would be paying less that the minimum payment to the CC company.
I'm asking for suggestions and for peoples experience. I guess my primary goal is to come out of the situation debt free (not counting the student loans) and to be able to get my credit score back to where it was before the shopping fiasco.
It's said that you'll have to lose something in order to gain so
It's said that you'll have to lose something in order to gain something precious.
You need to compromise with your credit scores for some time until the debts are paid off. Once everything is paid off, the creditors will do positive reporting to the bureaus and your scores will boost up. For the time being, you need to decide your options. You are already facing financial crisis. And looking for a better choice is limited. debt consolidation won't hurt your credit negatively. It only makes your repayment process easier with the creditors. Credit is worst affected when you stay defaulted in your payments. Debt consolidation will be in your credit copy until you are using the services. Once the plan is over, no one will come if you ever used it.
Future lenders will give your credit a positive view if the present information providers report "Paid" or "Paid as Agreed" to the bureaus. Don't accept anything like "Settled" because this can be derogatory.
