Anyone ever use Debt reduction sevices?
 

Hubby and I decided to use one of these places that consolidate all your credit card bills. It looked damn good on paper and we thought at the end of three years that we would have these high interest rate CC's paid off..

our beginning debt was around $15,000 (maybe under a bit..but not sure)

after 20 months of paying these fuckers..$400 a month, we are now down to $13,500....The company actually thought I would swallow this bullshit.

Some of the credit cards had higher balances than when we handed them over to them. They have only got one of the origional 8 down by $600..the rest are at the same balance

one in particular is $1000 over the limit.

They dropped one because their computer program told them it was paid off.... I checked and it was at $260 because of all the late fees..grrrrrr

They kept telling us that all those late fees that acquired when they first started would be dropped. Seems all I have been paying is the late fees from when we first started with them.. which I wouldnt have if I would have kept paying the bills.

If i start paying the credit cards now.. I am afraid there will be even higher balances because they have a stupid contract with this debt reduction company to jack our shit back up if we go back to taking control ourselves.
This also looks like a bankruptcy on your credit report..but they don't tell you this

Has anyone else had a problem with these companies.. anyone had a success stories with these companies?

I've got to regain my composure before I deal with them Monday morning.. I already came unglued in the office once..

I don't have any debt :glugglug

I had actually all my debt paid off when i met my hubby.. he spends well beyond his means..and still does.. i feel like I am whoring for car payments and credit card bills every day..worse than whoring for crack :1orglaugh

there should be some kind of state laws regulating those services.

I've heard nothing but complaints from everyone I know that has tried using these companies.

Your best bet if you own your home is to take out a mortgage for the required amount to fully pay off all your high interest debt, then promptly cut all the cards up and don't use credit cards again until the mortgage is paid off.

Ouch hon. :( I wish you'd been able to read Dave Ramsey's book "Financial Peace" before you did that.

Yes, it now reads as a bankruptcy on your credit report. Nice of the scam arists to tell you that, isn't it?

Call your creditors personally. Get a copy of your credit report. Tell the scam company that you don't want their bullshit anymore, and start taking care of things yourself.

If you have car payments, get rid of the car. Buy a beater that works well enough to do what you need to do.

Credit is a bad word. Debit is much better. No more credit cards. No more charges on any credit cards. Do a plasectomy and cut those fuckers up.

When you see your credit report, take notes on how much goes to whom. Most of the time, if you call them and tell them, "Look, I want to pay your back, but I'd appreciate it if there was a way to lower the payments", they'll work with you, sometimes even lowering the total amount owed.

Pay the smallest off first. When that's completely paid off, use the money that you would have paid them and add it to the amount for the next payoff. This is called a debt snowball. Every time you pay off a creditor, roll the extra money into the payment for the next creditor. As an example, if you were paying $100 a month to creditor #1 and you pay him off, add that $100 to the $100 you will now pay to creditor #2, making the payment $200.

Drop me an email and I'll send you a copy of Financial Peace. Great book.

I'm going to step off the soapbox now, but I hope I helped.

They fuck up your credit too....

Most lenders look at it, as a very negative thing.

Try to get a home equity loan, if your house can afford it...

Or, a personal llne of credit, or debt consolidation loan.

Credit Counseling services are bullshit

Most of those services are nothing but a scam. Get your money back, close all your CC accounts, and make a payment plan with them. You dont need a 3rd party scamming company to do this, just some will power and self control.:2 cents:

We tried, but on our credit report it looks like we have filed bankruptcy.. our credit is in the shits since we have been with this company.. didnt have any problems before..

I so fucking agree! I feel I am going to be paying them for the next 20 months only to be handed a debt at the end that is at $12,000.

im bringing hubby in here to read this one.. our car payment alone is as much as the mortage..its silly..I will be icqing you later, I would love a copy !

You got it hon. Email me your mailing address. I seriously hope that this helps. This way takes a while, but it works and works well. :thumbsup

im in debt but not by much, i think i have like $1k left to pay off. should be all cleared up by the end of the month. :glugglug

Very true.

Your credit is actually hurt worse by these companies than by paying late on bills.

Yeah, you are fucked.

I used to work at providian. What that paticular company did was drop the percentage 4 points, and instead of paying 3% of the balance, you paid 2%. Which was usually just covering the interest on the account, so you actually are only paying a few bucks a month on the card.

betty at bettylove.com

thanks Tala!! :thumbsup

that much in late fees? sue them

Everyone I have heard using these services have been very unhappy with them. Don't use them period.

Mark

OUCH! I've never been "in debt" too far with my CC's because I'll actually go lock them in my saftey deposit box at my bank that is 40 minutes away. lol

HOWEVER....... I have heard some really bad things about those consolidation companies, stories of friends credit being worse off in the end, etc.

I was feeling like there was something I was doing wrong with this company and that it was my fault.. well, geting in debt to begin with is.

I am relieved to see that I am not the only one dissatisfied and fucked over...i'm not crazy!!! (phwew)

flyingiguana, I feel very much like doing just that.. but i dont think in the long run after all the snake(lawyer) fees it would be justifiable or financially responsible of me.

why would anyone need a book to read? Dont spend more than you make its quite easy. And it may look like a bankruptcy but if its not a judgement it's not bankruptcy. There are a ton of lenders that will refi your home or lend money right after you leave the court house and file bankruptcy. Live and learn:glugglug

I had 15k in debt. But I just paid it off. Worked my ass off and made the payments.

Consolidators need to make $ too. :)

yes its easy to say "dont spend more than you make" but the fact is.. its allready happened over a period of years with the help of my hubby and those words can do nothing to help me out of my predictament.

I have worked my ass off..still do and will be till this shit is paid off...the shitty thing is making your parnter see that money does not grow out of your ass and you arent a cash cow (moooooo)

I paid all of my debt off when i met hubby.. now I am worse off than before. Everytime I tried to take control of the spending.. he said I was being a controling bitch.. I tried to not be so controling and it fucked me hard. SO now I have to tell a grown man how we are going to pay this shit off and what we have to get rid of..he is not liking anything I have to say..at all...

If I were single this would not be a problem..and all you guys complain about your women spending too much... bah!

I agree.. but not at my expense anymore.. fuck those fraudelent cocksmokers with a hot poker in the eye :glugglug

yeah i used a debt reduction service

i started paying cash for everything.

i pay my credit card bills in full when they come in. no interest

I am lucky, hubby hands over every single cent he makes...with our joint income I pay the bills....and he gets his toys. He always asks "Can we afford this" and never buys anything without checking. We have accomplished a great deal since we have been married but there is still a long way to go.

Basically our only debt is our mortgage...I would love to be able to pay that sucker off...I hate the interest we have to pay.

Sometimes men have difficulty in the woman controlling the finances....to them money is power and they lose something if they don't keep that power.

Money is also one of the biggest reasons for divorce...so sit down with hubby...pen/paper and calculator in hand and figure out a budget that HE can live with as well as you. Phone your creditors and explain the situation. Tell them you would like to pay them off ASAP but with the current situation the debt is not being paid off so you would like control over it again.

If all else fails, have your lawyer contact them and speak on your behalf. Good luck....there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

I am a control freak with the money because there isnt very much if any to spend on anything frivilous and I go nuts if my bills are late.. but he seems to do it anyhows.. I dont know how many overdraft fees i have paid for a pack of fucking ciggs. Girl, I have sat down with him many a times and done this deal.. he still hates to ask me if we can afford anything.. i say no..he gets stupid and does it anyhows because he has faith in me that I can always make more money. I told him to take a look at my ass.. its not 25 and looking like "all that" anymore..HELLO.
He does have his money put in the bank account.. I could gripe on and on.. but doesnt help much..lol

Mostly everyone here has given some great advice...thank you..now I need to get my cast iron skillet and pound it into hubbys thick ass head

:1orglaugh

What does the paperwork you signed say? If everything was spelled out you and agreed to it, they didn't do anything fraudulently. And of course, no one put a gun to your head saying you had to sign up with them at all :winkwink:

Will have to find that piece of paper. I didnt agree that my credit was going to be ruined, i didnt agree that my credit card balances were going to be more than when I handed it over to them, i didnt agree that when my 36 months were up I would still have all my debt.

According to them.. my debt was supposed to be paid off when I am done with them. We are now in month 20 and there is only $1500 paid off on all the bills. I paid them around $7000 so far.

they basically lied to my face when I asked them specific questions like "Will I be able to refinance my car or house"..surrrrre, no problem. They have my credit so bad right now..its not funny. They have me by the balls and they arent squeezing gently

What were your other options? Your credit was going to be ruined if you didn't pay the bills. Your credit was going to be ruined if you filed bankruptcy.

The contract will tell you how much they are golng to apply to the credit balances.

I do volunteer work with one of the consumer help programs here in Atlanta and these companies are one of our biggest "headaches". But mostly because people aren't reading what they're signing and don't understand how tney work :( They are there to keep you from filing bankruptcy, lower your interest rates and hopefully keep you from getting into serious debt again.

There are VERY many that don't do what they'll TELL you they'll do, but IME, every single one of them has done what the contract said they would do :( A verbal agreement is worth the paper it's printed on.

That's fucked up. But why didn't you cancel your credit cards once it was consolidated?

canceling the cards does not take away the debt or finance charges. You still have to pay them. and they are all canceled btw.




My credit was fne before I hooked up with these guys..I paid my bills and the cards were below their limit. we used them not because we were looking at financial ruin.. but to just cut those CCs up, get our interest lowered and get them paid off without spending on them ever again. Hubbys suggestion and doing.. I was the sceptical bitch in the office asking a million questions. out of the origional 8, they have only one that they got the interest rate lowered on . The other CC's are still up in the 20 's in the percentage range.

Sounds like you need to buy your hubby a lawnmower.

you sure your credit was fine before. 20% interest rates are not the norm for "fine" credit applicants. I been in the mtg biz for years and every client has "fine or good" credit:helpme

I use to promote debt leads, honestly it's a waste of time/effort and money.

I mean people even spam this stuff, that should have triggered a few stop lights. Most of the offers that reach your inbox are a clever way of getting you to open your wallet by praying on personal issues.

it wasnt good..but it wasnt bad either.. these cards are like 10 to 15 years old.. when you are late a payment or two here and there over the time.. they jack that shit up..as you well know.

ok thats what I thought

For years we were making enough money for our toys plus able to put two girls through college and savings and retirement. 9/11 came and I really didn't think anything about it but a few companies bellied up and I just thought I would get more accounts. Meanwhile I was using our savings to pay bills and we kept the same lifestyle plus paying employees and rent. Then a partnership went bad and I depleted our saving account with lawyer fees and I started to use credit carts to keep the business a float.

Funny thing for the last year I been thinking about dept reduction services and always heard bad things about it. Honestly it is has been a nightmare, one day late and cc raises your low interest rates up to 24.99 percent from 4.5 percent. I was able to reduce some cc interest rates just over a flaw that the same company sent me a pre-approved new account letter.

Still hanging in there but and not ready to beg and some jobs that pay are coming in and with the url posted above I managed to lower are dept and hubby is finally understanding that until I make more money, we rely on his.
:)

Sorry that happened to ya! All the bad has been covered in the above posts. For those with problems. I suggest you gather all you can and hire an attorney to help. Most won't want you if they think you have no $$ for them to rip off. If you can find a better lawyer some how, they can work wonders with out the bad news.

guess GFY did not like the url http://beta.moneycentral.msn.com/com...oard=YourMoney

hope I don't get band for this. :)

thanks.. I was wondering what URL you were referring to.

I hope u dont get banned either ..eek!

good luck with that

I sell porn, I don't need debt reduction... I need someone to help me spend my bling!

I will send over my hubby.. he does a bang up job :1orglaugh