Protect your Credit and Still Get Out of Debt

So what can you do if you have a need for credit.
Your interest rates have gone up a lot, so most of your payment is going to interest.
Your CC statements now show how long it takes to payoff debt based on minimum payments... and yours is showing 20 years!! You are not alone.

1. You could contact each and claim a hardship, that will get you an interest rate reduction. Usually temporary though. It can also ding your credit.

2. You could go with a program like Dave Ramsey's snowball plan. It works, but you still pay the highest possible interest. If you maintain timely payments your credit will be very good.

3. You could use another version of the snowball program, but lower your interest rates substantially through a debt management program. Your credit will still be very good. Simply put, more of you money will go to paying down your balance. So you debt will payoff much faster.

Banks like it when they get paid in full, so you benefit with a better credit score and become debt free in the process.

So how do you find a company you can trust?

Some criteria to consider:

BBB Rating, There are A+ rated companies. Use one of these.

Some of the nationally advertised companies are F rated. So be sure and check, no matter who you consider.

You will find debt settlement companies, either are rated very poorly or are rated NR.

The settlement industry is being heavily investigated by the FTC.
The BBB gets more complaints concerning settlement companies than anything else.

Ask how long a company has been at their current address, phone and or Internet URL. You are looking for stability here.

The biggest name in the credit counseling industry is funded primarily by the large banks. Guess where their loyalty is? That is right, they work for the creditors.
You want to hire a company that works for you.

There should be NO up front fees.
There should be a written guarantee.
You should be able to talk to a real human being, not a machine.
No personal information should be needed unless you are hiring them.
A toll free phone is good too.

If they are busy selling books etc, you can be sure their efforts are not in helping you manage your accounts. If you are battling debt, you don't want to be buying more stuff....
You don't need to buy things to get out of debt, you need to pay the debt.

You should be able to do this whole process online or over the phone. Physical office visits are not necessary.

Cutting up your credit card ceremony's are just plain demeaning. But there are companies out there that require that sort of thing.

You should not have to sign agreements that do allow you to use or apply for credit.

There really are some very good companies out there.

Do Not go with any form of debt settlement.... Simply put, it will destroy your credit. The damage here is serious. Bankruptcy is not a great option, but at least the collection calls are stopped cold. Between settlement or bankruptcy your credit will be ruined for 7-10 years respectively.

If you have a need to use credit for business, travel etc. you don't want to use settlement or bankruptcy.

Hope that helps a little.

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait...