Consumer Credit Card Help Through Credit Counseling And Debt

I have approximately $2000 of credit card debt that I absolutely need to get paid down. i talked to consumer credit counseling services, a debt consolidation company, http://www.cccsstl.org/ and this is what i was told:

Basically they would cut my payments down to about $130 a month total for 3 cards by getting my interest rates lowered to between 6 and 10% approximately. I would pay it off in 2 years instead of 8 as i would now without consolidating. he said the $130 a month payment included a monthly fee of $49 directly to the credit counseling service for their help and services. Is that the normal thing when consolidating? Is that legitamet? I would only be paying $80 or so a month on the actual credit card debt and that doesn't seem like very much to me.

Anyone have any knowledge in this area? Is consolidating a smart thing to do and does it hurt your credit in any way? Is there a smarter way to do it?

LONG-sorry and thanks!

Don't touch it! Instead go to www.daveramsey.com
He is a financial giant. Great advice there. Read Financial Peace , Total Money Makeover both by Dave Ramsey.

2007-02-20 22:27:47 by Holly C

WWLP Springfield, MA interviews Christopher Viale, President and CEO of Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp., about a new study which examines how ...

I have approximately $2000 of credit card debt that I absolutely need to get paid down. i talked to consumer credit counseling services, a debt consolidation company, http://www.cccsstl.org/ and this is what i was told:

Basically they would cut my payments down to about $130 a month total for 3 cards by getting my interest rates lowered to between 6 and 10% approximately. I would pay it off in 2 years instead of 8 as i would now without consolidating. he said the $130 a month payment included a monthly fee of $49 directly to the credit counseling service for their help and services. Is that the normal thing when consolidating? Is that legitamet? I would only be paying $80 or so a month on the actual credit card debt and that doesn't seem like very much to me.

Anyone have any knowledge in this area? Is consolidating a smart thing to do and does it hurt your credit in any way? Is there a smarter way to do it?

LONG-sorry and thanks!

I have placed this in the source box. There is a wealth of information there and a great free debt management software program. I bookmarked the site as I return to it often for the advice it offers. I hope this helps you.

2007-02-20 22:28:04 by Holly C

I am overwhelmed with loans, Credit Cards, and bills. The thing is I have decided to go through Consumer Credit Counseling to have my interests on my loans lowered and pay off my loans, and the Credit Cards which are now in collections. I cannot handle this debt on what I make, because my job has cut hours, and cut completely out overtime. I was told by someone who went through Credit Counseling, and she sent them the money that they were suppose to send the different bill collectors to pay their debt, but the Credit Counseling took too long sending out those payments, and she received numerous of calls from her debtors. Eventually the money was sent to her debtors, but it caused her credit to look worsier on her Credit Report, than if she would of handle it herself, because they took too long sending the payments. My question is, Is getting help from Credit Counselors the way to go?

Credit counseling may be the way to go for you. Unfortunately it is not easy to find a trustworthy counselor. Click on the link below to find a list of states that maintain a website of credit counselors who meet certain standards. I suggest you seek the help of a counselor on one of these lists.

I would be very weary of any ad for credit counseling firms on TV, radio, magazine, internet, etc. Any ad I have ever encountered makes shady promises and gives you the illusion that it is easy to get out of debt. That is not true. It is easy to get into debt, but hard to get out of it.

Good luck!

2008-07-11 10:22:16 by Lyn93

Today, I come home and notice an envelope taped on my door. It was a summons from a local lawyer regarding my Citibank credit card account. They state that I owe $1700, which I am not sure of, will have to do a little looking back. I don't dispute that I have not made payments in the last 6 months. BUT, I cannot pay that amount in full at this time. I have a few questions:
1-The date on the summons was December 14th, and there was also a Jan. 11th stamped date (I am assuming it was when it was brought through the courts) and I got it today Feb.6th. wtf? and they want me to respond within 30days. How the heck do I prove that I didn't get it until today?
2-If I know I owe the debt. Would it be better to go through the courts or just try and settle with the lawyer. I do not have assets at all. My car is not worth $2400, I rent and my bank acount has about $300 in it. They could garnish wages, but I would rather avoid that. What should I do?
3-Is it too late to get some help from Consumer Credit Counseling?
I am in NY btw. thanks for any advice.
Thanks. I just don't know what I am going to do. Settle something? I have no money. I can make monthly payments, but there is no way a lawyer will do that. I am going to go through the courts and see if they will allow a payment option. And it wasn't my fault that I got the summons today and not on Jan. 11th. that to me is shady. typical lawyer tactics. oh yes, I will be calling the county clerk first thing monday to let them knwo that I just received the summons. That lawyer was probably hoping that i would not send an answer in due to the time constraint, therefore he would win by me not showing. shady sh*t.

I work at a law office and I would advise for you to try to file an answer to that complaint asap so you dont get defaulted otherwise if you do that will allow for the creditor to get a writ and garnish your wages. If I were you I would file an answer and at the same time try to settle something with them. You should try to avoid the garnishment because that will only accumulate interest or if you have lots of debt you might want to consider filing for bk. Hope this helps... and good luck!

2010-02-06 20:43:44 by D<3L

Today, I come home and notice an envelope taped on my door. It was a summons from a local lawyer regarding my Citibank credit card account. They state that I owe $1700, which I am not sure of, will have to do a little looking back. I don't dispute that I have not made payments in the last 6 months. BUT, I cannot pay that amount in full at this time. I have a few questions:
1-The date on the summons was December 14th, and there was also a Jan. 11th stamped date (I am assuming it was when it was brought through the courts) and I got it today Feb.6th. wtf? and they want me to respond within 30days. How the heck do I prove that I didn't get it until today?
2-If I know I owe the debt. Would it be better to go through the courts or just try and settle with the lawyer. I do not have assets at all. My car is not worth $2400, I rent and my bank acount has about $300 in it. They could garnish wages, but I would rather avoid that. What should I do?
3-Is it too late to get some help from Consumer Credit Counseling?
I am in NY btw. thanks for any advice.
It is legitimate. I looked up the case online in public records. It is listed with the date Jan.11th and it does not give a dollar amount on there as far as what is owed. I don't mind setting up a payment plan. However, it has to be affordable.
How can they give you a time frame in which to respond, when there wasn't a Feb. 6th date on there at all. And that is when I got it. They can't just hold on to the summons for close to a month and give it to me at the last min. How the heck am I supposed to fight that? I have never been through this before and it is freaking scary. They can't put a lien on a home that I don't own. And they can't touch my bank account when there isn't a high balance. That I know.

Respond to the summons. Since you know the debt is yours, ther isn't a whole lot for you to say in your defense. You might object to the amount.

Show up in court. Otherwise, they will get a default judgment. With the judgment they can attach your bank account, garnish your wages, and lien your property.

You can try calling the attorney and working out a payment plan. They are not going to accept small payments drawn out over a long period. A lump sum offer would get the best deal. You may be able to settle for less but since the account is only 6 months in default, don't expect more than a 25% discount.

Credit counseling only works when the accounts are still active and they can negotiate better interest rates. When you default on the account, it's too late.

2010-02-06 20:42:12 by D<3L