Article : Consumer credit counselors – How do they help you?

By Sandy Thomson, your credit counseling news source

Many people don’t know that consumer credit counseling can work as a substitute to filing bankruptcy. Expert credit counselors can educate you on various financial topics and offer debt counseling services after thoroughly assessing your financial condition.

Once you sign up for the services of a consumer credit counseling agency, your debt level would be evaluated by a professional credit counselor. Subsequently, a repayment plan is worked out on the basis of your income and debt level. They would negotiate with your creditors to reduce your interest rates and establish a debt management plan that would help you get out of debt.

How does consumer credit counseling work?

While setting up a debt management plan, your financial situation is comprehensively assessed by the credit counselors. Given below are the factors that are primarily taken into consideration:

• Number of credit accounts you have
• The outstanding balances of those accounts
• The interest rates
• Minimum monthly payments
• Delinquent accounts (if any)

The credit counselor also takes into account how much you earn each month and how much you spend. Taking all these factors into consideration, a debt management plan (DMP) is created to pay off your bills. Every one of your creditors receives this suggested plan for acceptance purposes.

As soon as they agree to the suggested debt management plan, you need to start making payments to the consumer credit counseling agency. As per the DMP, this payment is allocated to your creditors. When you enter a DMP, your credit accounts are usually frozen so that you don’t run up new balances.

Fees of consumer credit counseling services

A host of credit counseling agencies maintain that they’re nonprofit in nature. Even though an agency declares themselves to be nonprofit, you shouldn’t by any means assume that their services are free of cost. More often than not, their services are available to you against a fee. The initial payment made by you might be used to compensate for the fees. On the other hand, some debt management companies might ask for a flat fee which is deducted from your monthly payment. ...

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Article : An Overview Of Consumer Credit Counseling

By LaToya Irby, About.com Guide

Consumer credit counseling is an alternative to filing bankruptcy. It is professional counseling that provides you with financial education and debt counseling according to your situation.

Once you consult with a credit counselor, the counselor will assess your debt level and work out a payment plan based on your income. Some credit counselors can negotiate lower interest rates and set up a debt management plan with your creditors.

How Credit Counseling Works

The credit counselor analyzes your credit situation including number of accounts, balance, minimum payment, balance due, and any past due account. The counselor then considers your monthly income and bills. Using this information, the counselor puts together a debt management plan (DMP) for paying off your debts. The proposed plan is sent to each of your creditors for approval.

Once your creditors agree to the DMP proposed by your counselor, you begin making payments to the credit counseling agency. The credit counselor disburses payment to each of your creditors in accordance with the DMP. In most cases, your credit accounts are closed to future charges as long as you are on the DMP.

Costs

A lot of credit counseling agencies claim to be non-profit. Even if the credit counseling agency says it’s non-profit, that doesn’t mean the services provided to you are free. In many cases there’s some kind of fee involved. Some agencies use your first payment to cover their fees, while others deduct a flat amount from your monthly payment. ...

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Article : History of credit counseling

The first credit counseling agencies were created in 1951 in the United States when credit grantors created The National Foundation for Credit Counseling, or NFCC. According to W. Patrick Boisclair, Chairman of the NFCC's Board of Trustees, "the NFCC initially monitored legislative and regulatory activity for its retail credit members" and "also conducted public awareness campaigns on credit."(source) Their stated objective was to promote financial literacy and help consumers avoid bankruptcy, but they did not serve as collection agencies for the creditors. The first local credit counseling franchises emerged in the 1960's, offering education and counseling directly to consumers. NFCC is operated and the board of directors were major retailers, like JC Pennys and Sears, that used NFCC to act as a collection agency for bad debts.

In 1993, the “Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies,” or AICCCA, was founded, citing a need for “industry-wide standards of excellence and ethical conduct.” This formally organized the NFCC’s competition. The AICCCA was formed from the group of counselors who favored telephone delivery of debt management programs. The NFCC was, in the beginning, strongly opposed to this telephone business model, primarily favoring face-to-face counseling as a more effective solution. Eventually, all organizations practiced both phone and face-to-face processes with some agencies using large inbound call centers driven by mass media advertising.

The credit counseling industry’s third major trade organization is its largest: the American Association of Debt Management Organizations, or AADMO.

However, not all credit counseling agencies belong to a trade organization, nor are they required to do so; there are well over 1,000 active credit counseling organizations in the United States.

In 2005, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 made credit counseling a requirement for consumer debtors filing for Bankruptcy in the United States. In order to meet this requirement, during the 180-day period preceding the filing of bankruptcy, the debtor must complete a program with an approved nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency. Such a program may include, but is not limited to, one counseling session conducted by phone or over the internet. In addition, a post-filing debtor education credit counseling session is required in order to complete the bankruptcy process and to have your debts discharged.

Credit Counselling is also a growing industry in Europe, both for profit-making debt management companies and charities such as Christians Against Poverty and the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, Britain's largest debt advice charity.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_counseling

Article : Consumer Credit Counseling Services

By Cindy Holbrook

Real Estate Plus Editor

Does the dream of owning a home seem impossible? Are you struggling to make ends meet? Are your bills bigger then your paycheck? Are you only able to make the minimum payments on your credit cards?

Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) a local, nonprofit credit counseling agency, can help you solve your credit and debt problems. Our certified credit counselors can show you how to take control of your money and achieve your financial goals. Consumer Credit Counseling Service is a program of Lutheran Social Services of Mid-America and a member of the National Foundation of Credit Counseling.

Debt Management Program - Get out from under you financial burdens and set a course for a debt-free future through our Debt Management Program. The first step is to contact us by phone, email or website. We will send you a worksheet to complete, which includes your income and expenses, and a list of your creditors. Then contact us for an appointment. At your confidential appointment, a certified counselor will complete a budget assessment by reviewing your income, expenses, and debt levels. They will assist with identifying problems and the need for appropriate referrals. You may find that assistance with financial management is all you need to get back on track.

However, many people find they will benefit from our Debt Management Program, where we work with creditors to reduce monthly payments and interest to affordable levels until your debt is paid in full. As the only local credit counseling agency in the Miami Valley, you have your choice of in-person, telephone, or internet counseling. So, if you feel you are getting overextended, give us a call. We can’t help you if you wait too long.

Credit Report Reviews - Uncover the mystery of your credit report. These confidential sessions will explain your credit report, help you identify and address any problems and show you how to protect yourself from identify theft.

Consumer Education Programs - Learn more about a wide variety of consumer financial topics through our educational programs. A large selection of classroom and community presentations covering topics like budgeting, credit, debt management and banking basics is available.

Default Mortgage Counseling - Bring your mortgage up-to-date and keep it that way. Through individual counseling sessions we’ll help you explore all the possible solutions to prevent losing your home and analyze your cash flow to see how your income stacks up against your expenses. We’ll try to negotiate a solution with your loan provider. And we’ll help you prioritize your debts to avoid a situation like this in the future.

Springfield Office - Consumer Credit Counseling Service, 204 N. Fountain Avenue, Springfield, Ohio 45504, 937-325-2898 or 1-800-377-2432. Website: www.cccsmv.org.

The above information was provided by Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Miami Valley.

USDA Funding

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers an exciting loan option in mortgage financing for eligible home loans: NO DOWN PAYMENT HOME LOANS. The loans are provided through USDA©ˆs Rural Development Program, and are available to purchase homes located in rural areas. Also, with the USDA loan program, your monthly payment may be subsidized, lowering your monthly payment and increasing the loan amount for which you are eligible. The objective of the program is to help lower income families or individuals who do not qualify for a home loan through conventional financing. This allows people to purchase a home now rather than later or in some cases, never. With the use of these no down payment loans and the payment subsidy, thousands of families who could not afford a home through conventional lenders now enjoy owning their own home. For further information, please contact the Hillsboro Office USDA Rural Development at 514 Harry Sauner Road, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133, or at (937) 393-1921.

Appeared in the March 12, 2006 issue of Real Estate Plus

source : http://realestate.springfieldnewssun.com/springfieldnewssun/featuredarticle.jsp?pg=featuredarticle20060312_2.htm

Article : Who needs Consumer Credit Counseling?

by Randi Foerde

In fact, I think everybody could need Consumer Credit Counseling. All who have to deal with money in our complicated society could need to have a talk with a credit counselors at a Consumer Credit Counseling Agency . And that's the most of us, is it not? For some, not because they are in trouble, but to be sure they never will be. For others, they are already in trouble with their finances, and will sure need some help. If it is not to late.

There are many out there who want to sell you Consumer Credit Counseling services. Before you choose one, ask what they cost? If you are in financial difficulties, don't get deeper because you are getting services that cost you to much, more than you can pay.

Since the late 80s and early 90s, the number of credit and debt counseling agencies in America increased significantly, and many of them are not working for their clients first, but for themselves, second for you. As the marked of people with money problems grows, so do the group of helpers, Consumer Credit Counseling and others, grows too.

Therefor, look out for them who is there mostly to get your money and don't care too much if you are getting into deeper trouble. If you smell them, run as fast as you can.

Organizations who have criticised the credit counseling industry, say that credit counselors serve the interests of the creditors over the interests of consumers. Credit counselors respond that their job is not to take sides, but to take care of all parties equally to help resolve debts.

But my main point is; you can sure get help from Consumer Credit Counseling if you use a little time to find the right one. You can even get help from the reading books. Some authors know their stuff, and have helped a lot of people without needing to pay a lot for Consumer Credit Counseling.

To become in need of Consumer Credit Counseling is a shame to some. Don't feel that way! Everybody may need help now and then. What may be worth being shameful for is not seeking help. There is help for all, whoever you are, and some counseling are non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling.

source : http://www.consumer-credit-counseling-site.com/