Consumer Credit Counseling

[jenrose66]

Has anyone ever used Consumer Credit Counseling. I used to pride myself in taking such good care of the finances but since we started having kids things have slowly gone down hill. I'm not in huge trouble, but we've started to carry a balance on our credit cards...more than I'm comfortable with.

I know that they don't reduce the debt...rather just kind of consolidate right??and you also have to stop using the credit cards...I believe that's the deal.

I don't doubt we'll be able to catch up on our own...and I know my credit will probably take a hit...but I also don't want to keep living on plastic and even though we say we won't use the cards I can't seem to cut them up...I think I need them taken away.

Anyway, just looking for anyone's personal experience with this.

Thanks

 

[taylor3297]

Many years ago some bad things happened and I ended up in debt. Consumer Credit Counseling did help me a lot. I made one payment to them and they made the payment to my creditors. In some cases they were able to get my APR lowered.

Go talk to someone and see what they say. You don't have to commit to anything.

 

[minnie1928]

my mom used them and they were great...I think they are the most reputable company out there. However, if your debt is not that great then I would seriously think about this before you jump in. My mom's credit took some big hits.

If you want to do it yourself, you can. If you need advice for a budget, check out the boards over at www.savingadvice.com.

 

[Virgderon]

I'm not sure that you can do it on your own ... depends on your interest rate and how much of your payment goes to interest. If your interest rates are over 20%, you are going have a hard time.

For me, CCS was a way to fairly pay off my debts. They did not reduce the principal, but they dramatically reduced the interest rates I was paying.

 

[howlongtildisney]

My husband works for Consumer Credit Counseling Service - in a non-counseling position. I can't recommend them enough. You can call them and get just basic budgeting help, or they can help you work with your creditors through a debt management plan. There are also a lot of options in between. http://www.cccsatl.org/

 

[mom2d&b]

We love them. We used them for counseling and a sounding board to confirm we were doing all we could. They worked with us on our budget. They offered to set us up on a program where they would lower the intrest on our cards, even told us how low they could proabaly get the intrest. I chose instead to call the banks myself and try to get the intrest rate lower. I was successful getting my rates lowered but not quite as low as CCCS. I just couldn't commit to a long term program. We did use them for about 6 months for counseling and it was a great experience for us.

 

[dreamalittledream]

We love them. We used them for counseling and a sounding board to confirm we were doing all we could. They worked with us on our budget. They offered to set us up on a program where they would lower the intrest on our cards, even told us how low they could proabaly get the intrest. I chose instead to call the banks myself and try to get the intrest rate lower. I was successful getting my rates lowered but not quite as low as CCCS. I just couldn't commit to a long term program. We did use them for about 6 months for counseling and it was a great experience for us.

sounds interesting, I want to try to do the same. what did you say to the banks? who did you talk to? a supervisor or higher?

 

[Tina]

Call each of your banks and explain your situation. Ask if they have a Hardship program or a Balance Liquidation Program. I had gotten in over my head with Chase. I did some reading on the CreditBoards forum and made a call. I asked for their Balance Ligquidation Program. They asked me a few financial questions. She told me I qualified for it at 6%. I knew others had gotten better, so I asked for 0%. She said, "well, we could request 2%, but you only qualify for 6%." So I countered with, well if we're requesting below the threshold, let's just ask for 0%." She sighed and said Ok. She made it sound like I would be rejected. But I called back 3 days later as instructed and I was approved. I am now paying back the full balance at zero interest over 5 years. There will be no negative reporting on my credit report.

Give your creditors a call!

 

[cole6179]

We used them several years ago. We were careless in our early 20's and once we had kids seen no end. Our credit took a hit, but our cards have been paid off for about 2 years and we are slowly building our credit back up. It's nice knowing we don't have a huge amount hanging over our heads. I was also able to add debt in as it came along (like large hospital bills). I was really pleased with our journey with CCC.

 

[mom2d&b]

When we spoke with the banks I found I had better luck when I mentioned we were working wih a credit counseler. Those seemed to be magic words that opened the door to better offers. My guess is if they( the banks) know you are seriously exploring all options they will be more inclined to work with you directly.

 

[zoie101]

Call each of your banks and explain your situation. Ask if they have a Hardship program or a Balance Liquidation Program. I had gotten in over my head with Chase. I did some reading on the CreditBoards forum and made a call. I asked for their Balance Ligquidation Program. They asked me a few financial questions. She told me I qualified for it at 6%. I knew others had gotten better, so I asked for 0%. She said, "well, we could request 2%, but you only qualify for 6%." So I countered with, well if we're requesting below the threshold, let's just ask for 0%." She sighed and said Ok. She made it sound like I would be rejected. But I called back 3 days later as instructed and I was approved. I am now paying back the full balance at zero interest over 5 years. There will be no negative reporting on my credit report.

Give your creditors a call! [/QUOTE
same thing happened to me with citi, I quit paying all together then they called and ofered to reduce my intrest rate I bagained to 0 % now I have it almost paid off. ]

 

[BrookeTx]

We utilize the program though Money Management Int. Sad to say this is our 2nd time down this road.

They basically have a relationship with each creditor and they do lower your APR. However, depending on the size of your debt you could be paying more than what you are paying now because it is a 5 year program.

Before I started the program I did not have any lates, just very overwhelmed, etc. I moved all my due dates to the end of the month. It took a few months to get these going smoothly. There were 1 or 2 times I had to make double payments to avoid lates. July we will have been in the program for 1 year and will have a 20% decrease in our debt.

Your credit will take a hit. Some close the cards, some keep them open and some put payments to debt management program.

They do allow 1 credit card for emergencies. We just kept 1 CC with a low balance for emergencies. If we have to use it, it's paid off the next month.