Take Charge America: Has anybody dealt with them?

Take Charge America Reviews:
I called them to work with them on all of my debts including Pay Day Loans, they really wanted to help but could not find a solution concerning the pay day loans since an amount is taken every 2 weeks verses monthly. I needed to have remaining positive income at the end of each month for this program to work not hurt me more than the hole I am in. The lady I spoke with was very nice and gave me ideas on how to handle my situation and where to go for help. I was upset that they could not help more formally cause that is what I was calling for and regardless of the payday loans I thought something could be worked out. She sent me an analysis of debt to income and has me showing a negative balance which is true, she also sent me a cd budget where you plug in your debts and what you pay out each month for car insurance, car notes, mortgages etc and has been usefuel but not as useful as it would have been if pdl's could work with the program.

She did say for me to call back once I get my situation handled regarding pdl's and see if then something could be worked out. Had I qualify for the program my initial payment would have been $694 and then $619 per month after that which includes a $40 monthly maint fee. Its frustrating to go for help and still get denied just like taking out a loan from a bank, I don't qualify do to my credit. So in the meantime you think of other ways to stay afloat.

One thing she did not recommend was bankruptcy which I am not even considering event though I am drowing in debt.
Below are two of her recommendations:
1.) She said to call each of your cc and asked about an internal hardship program which would lower interest rate, stop late payments, overcharges if balance exceeds credit limit, and lower monthly payments. - good program only if you have the funds to commit to each month cause its an automatic deduction.
2.) Contact your State Bar Association see if they offer a pro bono program under going financial hardship and ask them how to deal with pay day loans.

She was amazed with all the pay day loans I had and asked how is that even legal since in the state she resides AZ, you could only have one pay day loan at the time. I then explained to her the trap we all fall under the on line pay day loans.

Take Charge America Reviews:
I'm going on my third year with Take Charge America. They've helped a great deal. The cut my interest rate with BoA in half. I have 4 different accounts with them. It's very convenient to just pay one place and they handle disbursing the funds.

Regardless of which agency you work with, make sure you still check your statements monthly. I've heard of horror stories where they paid you accounts late which would ruin you credit even more. Not to mention accumulate late fees.

Good luck!

I've heard that Take Charge America is a scam, is it true? I really need some guidance about choosing the right debt consolidation company. Pls help.

use the search options to find more info about them

Take Charge America is NOT a debt consolidation company. They do debt management. They negotiate with your creditors to lower interest rate and accept payment every month. You in turn have them debit your account and they will pay all your creditors. I managed to pay off $20,000 in 2 years with them. They are very customer-service oriented and are a non-profit organization. They only charge a $40 a month maintenance fee, not any percentage of your debt. I give them a 10 +

I've to agree with the previous poster, take charge america is not a scam rather they are a very legit company. They are into the business for over two decades and have only 15 complaints against them so far with the BBB, which IMO is a pretty impressive record.

I believe the monthly maintenance fee is state-to-state, as I live in Pennsylvania, and they are not allowed to charge this fee.

It was a real waste of time to talk with Charge America representatives. I needed help on temporary decreasing payments on one of 3 my credit cards.
The first representative I talked with collected all information, another one suggested escalating my monthly payments. The representatives could not help with negotiation with the bank at all and could not give any advice, except smart suggestion to cut money on food.

I have been working with TCA since September of 2009 and I am completely satisfied with them. I highly recommend them. The representatives are friendly and helpful. They have done everything they said they would and my future is bright! I will be out of debt (and it is a lot of debt!) in 4 years.

I had a nightmare situation a few years ago with CCCS when I called them and the first thing the rep did was lecture me and interrogate me as to WHY I had so much debt. I hung up on her! That experience made me think that these kind of programs were not for me.

A friend recommended TCA to me and I am so glad I called them. They are the best! If you have credit card debt they can help you and they really do a great job of making you feel like they are there to help. No one will lecture you or make you feel bad. They will help you.

I have been working with Take Charge America for the last 3 years. It has worked well. I wll be credit card debt free in a couple of months.

These guys are legit. If you???re serious about getting out of CC debt, they will help. Reduced interest rates are one of the main things they can negotiate on your behalf, allowing more of your payment to go towards reducing the principle balances. They expect you to pay the amounts owed, however, and do not negotiate reduced balances (chargeoffs, as far as banks are concerned), Stay away from companies that do this as it will affect your credit rating adversely. After completing the TCA program, I had a good credit rating and was able to secure a home loan at 5%. Suck it up, let them negotiate on your behalf and reap the benefits down the road!

Take charge america has freindly honest and intellegent employees they have rescued me me from insane intrest rates that would have driven me crazy ! Thanks Take charge America . may Gods blessing fall apon you!

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I dealt with TCA for 2.5 years before I found this forum. (and I found this forum because of my payday loan mess). They are a non-profit organization and they are very professional. I had over $35,000 in credit card debt when I started. When I withdrew from the program, my balance was around $20,000. I withdrew because I messed up and got involved with payday loans which put my finances in a tailspin. Add to that family crises.....

For the amount of debt I carried, my monthly fee was only $40.00. While I was with them, I didn't have to deal with my creditors, received no letters, phone calls, etc. Just a monthly payment to them, and they did the rest.

There are many people who either don't have the time, nor the stamina to deal with credit card companies and their collectors. For them TCA would be a viable option. For those of us that can withstand the stress of dealing directly with them, good for us. For those that can't I recommend TCA from personal experience.

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This non-profit organization helped me immensely! I paid off over $35k in cc debt in under 3 years. They reduced my interest rates from 30+% to all under 10% some as low as 3%. I also live in PA so ther was at first only a small "eft fee" of $2 per month, but halfway through the program that fee was taken off entirely. The tca staff were very friendly and helpful. Instead of paying 5 different bills at different times during the month, I only paid once to them. The part of the program that forced me to stop using my credit cards was a much needed wake up call. Spending $ that wasn't mine was like an addiction, and today I am totally clean. Take charge america truly changed my life. I highly recommend them.

It's important to know that TCA is not a debt consolidation company because those are the companies that are considered scams. TCA is a debt management company and they do everything positive that everyone here says they will do, but you still have to be able to make a good-size monthly payment. You have to give up all credit cards and revolving loans (all unsecured debt--they don't deal with your mortgage, etc.) Initially they will work out your budget with you, and you must come up with a positive balance at the end of the month -- i.e. there has to be enough income that you can make your monthly or bimonthly payments to TCA and still have enough to cover your other expenses. So before you call them, work out a bit of a budget on your own, to cut your expenses such as food, laundry, transportation, etc. down to a bare minimum. It has helped me a great deal to have TCA negotiate lower rates with my creditors and make me to look at my situation realistically. I now pay cash for everything, or do without. The doing without is tough when you're not used to it, but at least I see a light at the end of three or four years. Mine is a four-year plan but I think I will be able to make extra payments and reduce that to three. As with paying off credit yourself, if you can make extra payments, your total will be paid off sooner and the less you'll lose in the long run in terms of interest and fees. As one commenter noted, you could deal directly with your creditors and possibly get similar results without the $40 monthly fee to TCA, but for most of us, it is so much quicker and easier to let them do the negotiating and the people who work at TCA are SO pleasant and SO helpful that you'll probably add years to your life by dealing with them rather than your creditors. Many TCA employees are former TCA clients so they relate to what you're going through.

Love this company. 5 more mounts and I will be out of debt. Thank you T.C.A.

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It was my own fault for racking up $64,000 dollars in debt. I don't even know how I did it. I am only 30 years old. I tried a consultation with CCCS and was insulted by the man interviewing me, but then again, it was my fault for owning five credit cards. I could blame the bank for increasing my credit limit, but I charged my purchases...so who should I blame at the end of the day. When I was going to go with CCCS, the man told me I would need to belong to a credit union, not a bank (i.e. Wells Fargo or BofA). Being that I was a BofA customer, that kind of screwed me. I called the utility credit union in my neighborhood and explained my scenario and my life story about the debt, the collectors and "why" I needed a credit union account in order to get on with CCCS. The lady at the legit credit union told me, if I was serious about debt management (not consolidation)- there is a difference, to call TCA and gave me their information. She also gave me references to call on behalf of TCA, to check them out.

Here is the thing. Getting out of debt is our responsibility- not anyone elses. Debt management means managing your lifestyle within your means and paying off money to someone who lent it to you years previous. After that debt is paid, you (we) are free to do whatever we want, but if all we are doing is bitching about what is a scam, then you aren't serious about giving a portion of your money to manage debt that you owe. TCA is legit, available, they own your obligation to help pay back money to creditors and they are nice people.

I owed $64,000. I am on a 4.7 month plan. I give up 25% of my paycheck a month. I don't use credit cards. My budget is VERY VERY tight. I have paid off $27,000 thanks to TCA's help and I can't wait to be debt free. And to the numchuck who thinks we are TCA...yes, I am. I am American and I am taking charge of my freakin life!

I am just starting with TCA, but so far am very pleased with their helpfulness and positive attitudes. I can speak from experience that I cannot negotiate with my credit card companies and get the results that TCA can. I tried over and over. Bank of America was at a 29.99% interest rate and when I discussed lowering it, they took it down to a whopping 24.99%. Please tell me what kind of a difference that will make? I believe TCA is the right choice for people who are struggling to make minimum payments on their credit cards and have a substantial amount of debt to eliminate.

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I am going to call them right now since they are legit.

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Have been with TCA for four and a half years three more months and my consumer debt is gone. I started working with them because I could not get the credit card companies to lower interest or monthly payments. IN some cases TCA was able to cut interest reates from 24% to only 2%. It has been hard living on a budget and having no real extra cash but come November I will have over $1100 dollars a month that is free and clear.

Great customer service, not judgmental at all. They were recommended by Bank of America! My counselor and I went over all debts and income, we found out that I make enough to cover my credit cards. I just didn't know how to manage them. This service was FREE! And I have an online calculator that sorts my debt. I will be debt free in 2 years.

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I have been with them for 4 years and had $55,000 credit card debt on 13 cards. I currently have 5 months to go to be debt free. They lowered my interest rates from 26% to the lowest of 2%. The $35 monthly fee is worth it for them to handle paying all for me. Before contacting them I called CCCS and was told that with that debt I should just file bankruptcy. I wanted to pay my debts not try to get something free. Some of the credit card companies worked with me for 6 months or a year to lower interest rates by 5% but that was only a temporary fix. TCA has helped me get a permanant fix and I have had no problem getting car loans during the time with them. My credit rating keeps increasing. Can't wait to have that extra $1100 a month to save.

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TCA took $140,000 CC debt, most at 25-30% interest rates, negotiatetd with the CC companies to get the rates down to 9-12%, and have me on a plan to pay off all the debt within 5 years. All for $40 a month - a good investment. I tried and tried on my own to get the CC companies to lower their rates and most were jerks. That was a year and a half ago and they were all big name CC companies and flying high. You know the names: MBNA (got bought out by BoA), BoA, Citi, Chase, Discover, etc. I had 11 credit cards - most with the same 4 or 5 companies. I'm glad all those big banks, CC companies, and Wall Street firms got taken to the cleaners and lost their shirts. They're all jerks. I hope they lose everything. But TCA gets AAA+++ rating in my book.

(I've been using Take Charge America (TCA) since May of 2010. My experience has been excellent.)
From December of 2008 until March of 2009, I'd called all of my credit card companies in order to attempt to negotiate lower rates (*not* debt elimination or settlement). What I discovered is that many companies have programs that they can offer. For a few companies, in order to find this out, I had to speak to more than one person. For others, I would call again the next month to find out if the company had started a program since the last time I called. *Most* of them were able to offer me rates in the single digits, a few were at 12% or so. So, yes - if you are organized, able to listen, well informed, persistent, and able to communicate well, it is possible to make a pretty good dent in your penalty fees and interest rates. I have to add, though, that having been a "good" customer seemed to make (most) representatives willing to find out if there was *any* way at all that they could help. I had been proactive during my time with them, and when I stopped being able to afford to pay my debt on time, I called if I was going to be late or miss a payment. Often, the company would tell me that yes, there would be a late fee but if I paid before 30 days, they could reimburse the fee. I also made it clear that my goal was to responsibly pay *my* debt, but because of [crisis]+[bad financial decision] leading to [late/over-limit fees]+[interest rate increases], I was finding it difficult to make any progress. After a little over a year of paying under individual payment plans, I felt proud of the progress that I'd made.
Now, during the time that I'd been trying to work out arrangements on my own , Bank of America had been one of two institutions that routinely told me that since I was making my payments on time, I was not eligible for the plans that they had. Well, in the spring of this year (2010) I'd called Bank of America (BofA) once again to find out if they could finally offer me an arrangement. Possibly, but they suggested that I contact TCA first, and mentioned that TCA could help me with all of my creditors. I asked BofA to tell me about the bank's "possible" program. They told me about it and I didn't really like the sound of it. I called TCA.
That a lending institution/bank was recommending TCA made me *extremely* skeptical. I asked lots of questions (Why do I have to go through a second party to negotiate with you? Why can't you offer this to me, as an individual, on my own behalf? Etc, etc.) and had to do a great deal of research. I called TCA went through their lengthy vetting process (that's what it feels like!) and waited for the verdict. The told me that I would be eligible, and then discussed the terms that they would propose to my creditors. All of the interest rates that they were planning to request were lower than my already self initiated reductions. AND, they would be able to negotiate a lower rate with BofA. So, I called BofA back, asked them more questions, asked them why they recommended TCA (they also had one or two other agencies to offer, but the representative that I spoke to said that TCA was most recommended by other bank customers who had gone through the its program.) etc. I looked up TCA at the Better Business Bureau site and was fairly satisfied by what I saw. I made sure I was using common sense (important!).
I read ALL of the fine print, did everything they asked, and followed up with each of my creditors while they were reviewing the proposal that TCA had submitted to them on my behalf. After the review period passed, each creditor accepted the proposal for my account with them. I got a lot of mail, over the next two weeks. I read it all and did what I needed to do. If I wasn't sure, I called and asked questions of the creditor, TCA, or both. I started the program.
My experience so far?: 100 percent positive and beneficial.
Fees: First month = One-time $45 application fee + $35 monthly processing fee.
Each month thereafter = $35 monthly processing fee. I understand that these fees may vary from state to state. This is worthwhile to me because of the interest saved due to TCA's involvement.
I now have three accounts with 0% interest rates. *All* of my rates are lower than they were before TCA. Next month, I will pay off the first/highest interest rate creditor ( 8 months ahead of pre-TCA scheduled payoff date!), and am about to roll-over that payment to the next highest creditor (TCA does this automatically by the way.). TCA has many online tools available. Customer service has been excellent. Counselors are consistent in their information and skill level (rare in customer service these days. With many companies, 4 different representatives usually equals 3 1/2 different answers! Which can be costly when it comes to finances.). All are helpful, though straightforward. It is important to read everything, and make sure that your credit card statements (which will continue to come to you. I find this to be a positive thing.) reflect the arrangement that you agreed to. The first month involved an extra lot of attention to detail, filing, phone calls, and other business. It did take an initial flurry of effort on my part, but I'd be irresponsible to complain about it because the debt is mine to pay up. That flurry is a drop in the bucket compared to how things *could* be.
Be informed, be responsible, be involved, and don't give up.
I hope you're able to start working your way out of this!

(I've been using Take Charge America (TCA) since May of 2010. My experience has been excellent.)


From December of 2008 until March of 2009, I'd called all of my credit card companies in order to attempt to negotiate lower rates (*not* debt elimination or settlement). What I discovered is that many companies have programs that they can offer. For a few companies, in order to find this out, I had to speak to more than one person. For others, I would call again the next month to find out if the company had started a program since the last time I called. *Most* of them were able to offer me rates in the single digits, a few were at 12% or so. So, yes - if you are organized, able to listen, well informed, persistent, and able to communicate well, it is possible to make a pretty good dent in your penalty fees and interest rates. I have to add, though, that having been a "good" customer seemed to make (most) representatives willing to find out if there was *any* way at all that they could help. I had been proactive during my time with them, and when I stopped being able to afford to pay my debt on time, I called if I was going to be late or miss a payment. Often, the company would tell me that yes, there would be a late fee but if I paid before 30 days, they could reimburse the fee. I also made it clear that my goal was to responsibly pay *my* debt, but because of [crisis]+[bad financial decision] leading to [late/over-limit fees]+[interest rate increases], I was finding it difficult to make any progress. After a little over a year of paying under individual payment plans, I felt proud of the progress that I'd made.


Now, during the time that I'd been trying to work out arrangements on my own , Bank of America had been one of two institutions that routinely told me that since I was making my payments on time, I was not eligible for the plans that they had. Well, in the spring of this year (2010) I'd called Bank of America (BofA) once again to find out if they could finally offer me an arrangement. Possibly, but they suggested that I contact TCA first, and mentioned that TCA could help me with all of my creditors. I asked BofA to tell me about the bank's "possible" program. They told me about it and I didn't really like the sound of it. I called TCA.


That a lending institution/bank was recommending TCA made me *extremely* skeptical. I asked lots of questions (Why do I have to go through a second party to negotiate with you? Why can't you offer this to me, as an individual, on my own behalf? Etc, etc.) and had to do a great deal of research. I called TCA went through their lengthy vetting process (that's what it feels like!) and waited for the verdict. The told me that I would be eligible, and then discussed the terms that they would propose to my creditors. All of the interest rates that they were planning to request were lower than my already self initiated reductions. AND, they would be able to negotiate a lower rate with BofA. So, I called BofA back, asked them more questions, asked them why they recommended TCA (they also had one or two other agencies to offer, but the representative that I spoke to said that TCA was most recommended by other bank customers who had gone through the its program.) etc. I looked up TCA at the Better Business Bureau site and was fairly satisfied by what I saw. I made sure I was using common sense (important!).


I read ALL of the fine print, did everything they asked, and followed up with each of my creditors while they were reviewing the proposal that TCA had submitted to them on my behalf. After the review period passed, each creditor accepted the proposal for my account with them. I got a lot of mail, over the next two weeks. I read it all and did what I needed to do. If I wasn't sure, I called and asked questions of the creditor, TCA, or both. I started the program.


My experience so far?: 100 percent positive and beneficial.


Fees: First month = One-time $45 application fee + $35 monthly processing fee.
Each month thereafter = $35 monthly processing fee. I understand that these fees may vary from state to state. This is worthwhile to me because of the interest saved due to TCA's involvement.


I now have three accounts with 0% interest rates. *All* of my rates are lower than they were before TCA. Next month, I will pay off the first/highest interest rate creditor ( 8 months ahead of pre-TCA scheduled payoff date!), and am about to roll-over that payment to the next highest creditor (TCA does this automatically by the way.). TCA has many online tools available. Customer service has been excellent. Counselors are consistent in their information and skill level (rare in customer service these days. With many companies, 4 different representatives usually equals 3 1/2 different answers! Which can be costly when it comes to finances.). All are helpful, though straightforward. It is important to read everything, and make sure that your credit card statements (which will continue to come to you. I find this to be a positive thing.) reflect the arrangement that you agreed to. The first month involved an extra lot of attention to detail, filing, phone calls, and other business. It did take an initial flurry of effort on my part, but I'd be irresponsible to complain about it because the debt is mine to pay up. That flurry is a drop in the bucket compared to how things *could* be.


Be informed, be responsible, be involved, and don't give up.


I hope you're able to start working your way out of this!

(Sorry about the double post. My post from yesterday wasn't showing until after I posted again. Please remove one. Thanks.)

My experiences with TCA have been similar to those posted above. Began in Sept 09. Approx $45K in CC debt. Five year plan to repay debt completely. Reduced average interest rate to 3%, with highest balance cards to 0%. Have learned to live without using credit, which is a great bonus. Referred to TCA by BofA. BofA agent actually transfered me to TCA while I was on phone with him. Very respectful and helpful representatives at TCA.

I am very new to TCA and so far the experience has been very positive. They have answered all my questions - been honest and thorough.

For those who say you can work with your credit card companies? I have tried... I am one of those people whose interest rates were more than doubled (by Citibank... I will never do business with them again!) in January 2010 even though I paid on-time every month for 8 years and paid more than the minimum. These same companies even extended my credit line by $8,000 just two months earlier (which fortunately, I didn't use). There was no way my credit card companies were backing down on the interest rates - I called multiple times and I could see no way out when faced with 30% interest after having cards with only 13% and lower rates. One of the credit card companies suggested working with a debt management company as the only way to get this resolved so I found TCA... and I'm thankful!

im going to try them based on your recomendtions hope they are as good as you all say

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I totally agree. Take Charge America has helped me immensle:Dy.

So, I am about to start with TCA but am worried about being able to get a car loan next May. Anyone have experience getting car loans while on the program?

Hi, i just recently got in touch with TCA (after being recommended by BoA, whom i asked for interest reduction), the person i spoke with was very very nice. One thing that came up in the conversation was about impact on credit history and i was being told that sometimes it does not impact the credit history -ively, does anyone knows more about it

Started Nov. 2008 and will be done May 2013 over $141,000 in credit card debt. $3k a month includes $48 monthly fee to TCA, we live in TX. It's an awesome plan and will keep you out DEBT. Lord willing only 29 more months!!

I am a graduate of Take Charge America. My husband had been laid off from his job, and we were in big trouble. I swallowed my pride and called. It was wonderful. The people do not judge, they incourage you. We were debt free in 4 years. We made lots of sacrifices, but each one was worth it. My car did break down the last year we were in the program. Yes we got a car loan, and at a very decent rate. My brother died and I had to help pay for his funeral. TCA worked with me, I added extra dollars when I could and got caught up. I will never be able to tell how wonderful the advisors are that help you.

Take Charge America is not a scam. I have used it for two years and without them I wouldn't have been able to pay off my debt. They are very helpful but if you are a demanding person who wants to be served on a silver platter you are a bad person to begin with and I see why you got in debt. I would recommend TCA to everyone who has debt over 10k with 3 or more creditcards.

Although you may be able to get lower interest rates with your credit card company a lot of what they have to offer is based on how much you owe, your payment history, previous rates, and the status of the account. Credit card companies are federally limited to how many lower rate programs they can offer and often these lower rates are only one time for a year. I have seen people that have gone with counseling agencies when they would have been better off handling the account on their own, but often times the counseling agencies offer them a better payment plan with a lower rate that the company would not have been able to match. However once you start with a counseling agency you won't be able to use the cards again.
Please be aware that if whoever you are going through to consolidate your debt asks you to sign a power of attorney or is associated with a lawyers office it is not the same as a credit counseling agency! They will let your debt go 180 days past due and then settle with the bank. You can do this yourself without the consolidator fee but it will still show as bad debt for the next 7 years whether or not you pay it off.

Also to answer some previous questions about how counseling agencies effect your credit score. Credit cards have different statuses for accounts. Once you start with a counseling agency any cards you are paying through them will automatically be suspended. Suspended cards can not be used or re-opened and it does show on your credit report. This is the equivelant of being 90-120 days past due. It will hurt your credit score but by how much is on an individual basis.

I have worked with TCA for about 31/2 years on a 5 year plan. We had nearly 80 thousand in debt. (Don't ask how!). They pushed us to be aggressive, but we did work out a plan that was right at our limit. Over time, though, we have kept up with those payments and have not gone further into debt in any way.
We are on track to eliminate the 80,000.
More importantly, our credit rating has actually skyrocketed. When we finish this process, we will be in the mid to high 700s. When we started we were just above 500.
I know that many debt management consultants, including Talk Radio hosts counsel against this. But for seven years prior, we couldn't keep the credit card rates down and the diversity of payments was killing us. We believe it was the best, maybe the only, real option for us to climb on top.
We are very glad we used TCA and not some other system.

I've been on their program for 2 years and cut me and wife's credit debt in half! Awesome program and great people to work with. Prior to this we were paying a little more a month than we are now and I was only making payments to interest. The best part is my credit score has improved quite a bit. While on the program, I was still able to get a new vehicle and I bought a house.

I used a company that settled my debt for 20 cents on the dollar. It took them a few months to settle with all of my creditors and now I am debt free. I paid the creditors directly and only paid them a small fee. They can be reached at 866-833-6398.