Link to a forum : "Consumer Credit Counseling Service??"

Opening date of this forum : 05-19-2010

2 replies so far

Opening post of this forum : "After my BK discharged, I got behind in my mortgage payments.

I just caught it up this month and pulled the house out of foreclosure, payments are now current.

Today I get a call from Consumer Credit Counseling Service, asking to do a interview. They say they work for Freddie Mac and work as a mediation between homeowner and bank to modify mortgages, and such.

Has anyone heard of them, or had success with them?

I can't do the HAMP because my housing expenses are just under the 31% guidelines, so I am hoping these people can help with a modification. They say that they make recommendations to the bank on ways to keep the homeowner in the house, and paying.

Thoughts?"

see this forum

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 : Eliminate Your Debt and Effectively Manage Your Credit Score

source : ezinearticles.com
By Divya Mishra

The toughest aspect about any and every debt reduction plan is not the negotiations or the regular repayment of the debts. Instead, it is the negative impact on the credit score that is most difficult to manage.

Just as you cannot live without unsecured debt, you cannot live without your credit score. In such a scenario, it is obvious that you will have to manage both these aspects simultaneously. Managing debt relief as well as your credit report is like trying to juggle three balls at once when you have just one hand.

Holding on to a single ball is only going to hurt you more. In such a scenario, you should know how to juggle the balls effectively.

Elimination of debt by requesting your creditor for a 90% discount is, at least in theory, possible. However, what about the practical aspect? Do you think any credit card issuer will be interested in helping you out after you seek a 90% discount? Obviously not.

If you can not repay anything more than 1/10 of your debt, it is obvious that you are terrible at financial management. This information will be clearly stated in your credit report and you will find your credit score coming down drastically.

That is the reason why you should manage your debt relief program in such a manner that your debts come down even as your credit score is protected. You should go in for a reduction program that leaves you with sufficient debt that can be repaid in full.

That is to say, if you go in for 50% discount, you will have to repay the balance 50%. This means that you will have to strict towards disciplined repayment plan and fulfill your obligations very quickly.

Needless to say, this will have a huge impact on your credit score. The fact that you sought a waiver of 50% of your debt will work against you. However, the fact that you repaid 50% will definitely work in your favor.

In such a scenario, choosing the right remedy which will help you balance both these aspects is a very important task. Rather than trying to do everything on your own, it makes sense to get in touch with professionals who will advise you on the right way to negotiate and proceed.

There may be instances where card issuers may be prepared to offer a 70% discount. Going in for a 50% discount will definitely impress them that you are trying to do your best. They may even not specify that you have discharged your loan. This might even help you overcome your negative hit on the credit score.

If you are one of the millions of Americans who has over $10,000 in unsecured debt, it is time you found out about the debt settlement options available to you. Due to the current economy an overwhelming amount of people are in debt, creditors are having no choice but to agree to debt settlement deals.

Link to a forum : "Consumer Credit Counseling Service and DMP"

Opening date of this forum : Nov 13 2008
( 4 posts )

Opening post of this forum :

"How is somebody with debt and expenses over their monthly income suppose to save any money. Or even budgeting for that matter. If you only paying your necessary expenses and your Credit Cards and Car loans, and have nothing or less then nothing left over, what do you do? We have 2 cars because there is no reliable or safe public transportation that can take us to work and to and from the babysitter everyday. We have internet because of work ans school. Not for entertainment.
"Karla with a K" has written some really good things on this thread. And would love her advice.
I am paying ruffly 700 dollars a month to my unsecured debt. And 500 dollars a month to secured debt. I have an appointment with CCCS on Tuesday to hopefully enter their DMP program. DO you Karla or any other person familiar with CCCS, know if they recomend me to bring all my "debt" or just the unsecured one? I am not late on my secured debt ( carloans )and the interest is low ( around 5 % ) but the payments are very steep. I could really benefit from a reduction of 300 - 400 dollars a month in debt payments. Is that even possible with CCCS?
Thanks in advance.

And to all of you who is struggling everyday to get by to suport yourself and your family. There are many of us out there and you can always come here for support. I even would suggest citydata to give financial hardship its own forum."

see this forum

Link to a forum : "Consumer Credit Counseling etc."

Last post: Feb 23 2010
(more than 26 replies)

Opening post of this forum :
"Hi ,

I'm not saying I'm going to do this, but it never hurts to consider options. Does anyone know anything about debt consolidation, consumer credit counseling, bankruptcy, and similar such programs?

DR says they are a bad idea b/c they will destroy your credit. But, I'm starting to wonder if it might be the only realistic option for us. Ironically, one reason we were able to take on so much debt is because of our good credit. Somehow we always manage to make the minimum payments and make them on time. However, if we were to move I doubt if we could get another mortgage or even qualify for a rental property because our debt to income ratio is terrible with a capital T. And I know of others who have declared bankruptcy or done some type of debt consolidation and they survived and were better off in the long run.

If the farm sells the situation will change considerably but who knows when that will happen.

Given the poor economy I don't see our income going up significantly any time in the near future. At the rate we're going we will literally have this consumer debt for the rest of our lives.

Does anyone have any ideas? "

see this forum

Article : Debt Consolidation and Consumer Credit Counseling

By Marjorie Salada

Debt consolidation and consumer credit counseling are both ways of eliminating your debt. Consumer credit counseling is actually a form of debt consolidation, but it does not involve a loan. Sometimes the term debt consolidation can also refer to a home equity loan that is used to pay off debt. Debt consolidation refers to a solution that consolidates your debts and allows you to make one monthly payment to cover all your debts.

A debt consolidation loan is a viable means of paying off your debt, but I do not recommend it. If you have credit card debt or are enrolled in credit counseling and do nothing, your creditors can report you to the credit bureau and make numerous collection calls, but that is about it. However, if you have a debt consolidation loan and cannot make the payments, the consequences are much more severe. Your creditor can start foreclosure proceedings on your home. Many people have debt consolidation loans, but there are better ways.

Consumer credit counseling is a form of debt consolidation, but it does not require a loan. Debt counseling is a way for people to get out of debt without incurring additional debt. A debt management agency can help you get on a plan that will help you have your unsecured debts paid off in five years or less. If it takes longer than five years, you may want to consider other debt relief options.

Your credit counselor will interact with you lenders and they will no longer be allowed to make collections calls to you as long as you follow the terms of the plan. There are many benefits to debt consolidation with a debt service. Here are just a few of the benefits you will see by consolidating with a credit counseling agency:

*Reduced and possibly eliminated interest rates
*One convenient payment each month
*No more collection calls
*No more fees
*Budgeting and financial education resources

The biggest part of being successful with a debt management plan is not getting into something that you don't think you can manage. If you are given a quote that you don't think you can handle, you are setting yourself up for failure if you accept the proposal.

Debt relief is something you need to go into with an open mind and the attitude that you are going to do what it takes to become debt free. The most difficult part of getting out of debt is recognizing that there is a problem and asking for the necessary debt help.

source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Debt-Consolidation-and-Consumer-Credit-Counseling&id=1289132

Article : Consumer Credit Counseling Services

By Neil D'silva

What are the functions of Consumer Credit Counseling Services?

Contrary to what most people think, or want to think, about consumer credit counseling services, these services are not just about mere counseling for your financial credit problems. They are much more than that. The following is a list of all the services that the consumer credit counselors will provide to you:-

• Of course, the first service is counseling itself. They will listen to your financial problem carefully. When you are speaking all these things out, you are yourself realizing the extent of the problem you are in. Anyways, the credit counseling services will try their best to counsel you verbally about your financial problems at the outset.
• The next step is to train you in financial management. The credit counseling services will sit with you and discuss how you can better manage your finances. They will prepare a budget for you and your family so that you can make the best use o the income you are getting and efficiently manage the payments you need to make.
• Most importantly, they will tell you of schemes in detail, such as the debt consolidating and debt refinancing plans by which you can solve all your credit problems. Debt consolidation means clumping all your individuals into a single loan which you can pay with greater ease. While, debt refinancing means getting your existing loan renewed through another lender at a cheaper rate of interest. The consumer credit counseling service will coach you in these plans, and will help you implement them too.

Why choose Consumer Credit Counseling Services?

It is very difficult for people who are deep in debt to manage their finances properly. Sometimes, these people might have the financial capacity to come out of their debts, but because they are not managing their loans properly, they are not able to solve the situation. This is where the consumer credit counseling services help. They will actually sit and discuss the problem with you and will tell you of ways by which you can be debt-free.

Most people when they approach consumer credit counseling services, they do not even know what debt consolidation or debt refinancing means. Even if they know about them, they have most likely a very hazy idea about it. It is the job of the counselor to make people aware of these viable solutions to their problems.

Credit counselors also become important when a person is to file for bankruptcy. In fact, the American law has made it compulsory for people to enroll into the programs of the credit counselors before their bankruptcy so that they can seek knowledge of how to avoid this sticky scenario the next time round.

Thus the consumer credit counseling services are not all out there to make a fast buck. Most of them have genuine intentions and a noble way of doing business.

Which Consumer Credit Counseling Services to avoid?

Many credit counseling services are nothing but scams, and you need to avoid them like the plague. Avoid all companies that are not registered with the government. Their programs have no value at all in the courts. Do not go for any consumer credit counseling services who want to push a particular policy of theirs. You must make sure that they are understanding your problem first, and working with you to find a solution for it.

source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Consumer-Credit-Counseling-Services&id=1009856

Link to a forum : Bankruptcy? debt consolidation service? Consumer Credit Counceling Serv?

2006
First comment from this forum :

"I'm trying to not file for bankruptcy. Overdraft protection is the only thing keeping me from making late or no payments at all on my bills and that's nearly maxed out. I'm in huge cc debt, apppr 35k, and bankruptcy seems like the easiest way out and to feel like a person again. I want to try and fight my way out of this mess if I can. I would like to see if a service can help me but know there's a lot of scams out there. Is CCCS a debt consolidation service like Debtco or are they two different things? How do I go about finding a fair and reputable service? What types of questions should I ask? I'm near Portland, OR. Anyone have a suggestion of where to find a good service or lawyer (if bnkrp is in the future)?

Also, is a charge off really that much better or different than filing for bankruptcy? What's the difference when it comes to your credit report and how it is viewed by potential lenders?"

see this forum at : http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=1006021704914

Description : Credit counseling

Credit counseling (known in the United Kingdom as debt counselling) is a process offering education to consumers about how to avoid incurring debts that cannot be repaid. This process is actually more debt counseling than a function of credit education.

Credit counseling often involves negotiating with creditors to establish a debt management plan (DMP) for a consumer. A DMP may help the debtor repay his or her debt by working out a repayment plan with the creditor. DMPs, set up by credit counselors, usually offer reduced payments, fees and interest rates to the client. Credit counselors refer to the terms dictated by the creditors to determine payments or interest reductions offered to consumers in a debt management plan.

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