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     | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 05:56 am  I have read through this forum after being directed here by a post on Quicken.com. I have had a relatively good experience with CCCS (Genus Credit Management, formerly NCCS). I paid off close to 26k in credit card debt through them over 3 years (would have been 6-7 years but I paid them off as quickly as I could). Now during the time I was under CCCS, my credit was dismal -- essentially blacklisted because of the "Under Debt Management" notations on my credit reports. However, as I paid them off, these notations were removed(I got copies of the big 3 reports every 3 months to verify). I completed their program in July with my credit report basically clean. I have no deliquencies, no judgements, and my satisfied accounts show $0.00 balances and closed. I have 1 "sticky" CCCS notation on my report which I am in the process of taking care of right now. Other than that, my big 3 reports are solid. During the time I was under CCCS, I kept an Amex card, and a Visa card (didn't enroll them into the program), and continue to use them without any problems. Am I just ignorant and missing out on something huge, or should I count my blessings and consider myself a lucky guy to have escaped the wrath of CCCS?
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 06:40 am I have had a relatively good experience with CCCS (Genus Credit Management, formerly NCCS). I paid off close to 26k in credit card debt through them over 3 years (would have been 6-7 years but I paid them off as quickly as I could). Now during the time I was under CCCS, my credit was dismal -- essentially blacklisted because of the "Under Debt Management" notations on my credit reports. However, as I paid them off, these notations were removed(I got copies of the big 3 reports every 3 months to verify). I completed their program in July with my credit report basically clean. I have no deliquencies, no judgements, and my satisfied accounts show $0.00 balances and closed. Am I just ignorant and missing out on something huge, or should I count my blessings and consider myself a lucky guy to have escaped the wrath of CCCS? Don't expect to hear many people on this board approve your choice. I have been quite disappointed in the way that many people tout bankruptcy as the solution to all credit woes, categorically rejecting CCCS and other options. Call me hopelessly old-fashioned, but I consider bankruptcy a loser's way out, to be used only as an absolute last-ditch escape. You probably could have filed, but instead chose the longer but ultimately more succesful CCCS route. That was a smart decision.
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 12:21 pm I have personally attended a CCCS meeting with my client. I had already heard some negative experiences with the CCCS, but I thought we'd get at least SOME help. What an eye opener that meeting was! Talk about a reality check. During the years I worked with mostly first-time, low income and minority buyers, I wrote several letters to various CCCS offices across the country on behalf of my clients. I inquired about my clients' AWFUL credit after SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING the CCCS program. I never got a response. I have heard literally many hundreds of their misleading commercials, attaching incredible stigma to bankruptcy and lying about the credit impact of bankruptcy. Never once do they state in their commercials that you won't get any new credit, that you won't be buying a house for AT LEAST 3 years if you join their program. I had a client who qualified just fine for her mortgage when she entered in a lease option. She went to the CCCS because she saw their commercials on TV with smiling and happy CCCS clients, she heard the false promises and believed what they told her. Needless to say, she could NOT exercise her lease option a year later, mortgage lenders wouldn't touch her with a 100000000 mile pole. THAT's the CCCS I know. Why would you choose to spend at LEAST 3 years as "worthless low life dead beat scum" to any lender, AND pay many thousands of dollars? I have never had a client who'd been to a CCCS "consultation" and had bankruptcy recommended. The CCCS is financed by the finance industry to squeeze the last penny out of ignorant and desperate consumers. I have seen how the CCCS ruins peoples' lives. Not once, not twice, too many times to count. If somebody can actually get all the CCCS/debt management notations off the credit AFTER 3 years they're very lucky. None of my clients were successful. But most weren't exactly rocket scientists either, they had no computers and printers to easily send out dispute letters. They were mostly working stiffs, waitresses, landscapers, janitors ... not very skilled at disputing, negotiating, filing, etc. Of course there is always the possibility that the CCCS changed their proceedures. But I wonder why it is that ALBERT is working on his credit? Albert confirmed that the CCCS clients STILL end up with lousy credit, even after completing the CCCS program. Albert wrote "I have 1 "sticky" CCCS notation on my report ..." FYI: It doesn't matter whether it's ONE or ten notations, the underwriting impact is the same. I'd certainly be interested in attending another CCCS meeting with a consumer considering their program. Anyone in AZ, NM, or NV, if interested, please post here or E-mail me. Not knowing Albert's financial condition and goals in life I can't say whether he should have filed for bankruptcy. But paying $26,000 to then have to spend a lot more time and money on TRYING to get decent credit, well, it just doesn't make sense to me.
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 01:08 pm Christine, I suppose my situation is unusual in that I have been successful with a CCCS. It may be that I got lucky. It may be that Genus was a little better than the rest of the CCCS programs. My "sticky" notation has to deal with 1 credit card. They have already removed the CCCS notation on my Equifax (my Equifax report is pristine), and I am working on Trans Union and Experian. Please note that this was the ONLY instance where I had to "ask" my creditor to remove the notation, and if Equifax was any experience, they didn't argue. My remaining 8 credit card companies removed the notation automatically at the end of the payments with no complaint. I did do a few things most CCCS clients don't do: a) I paid more than my minimum of 525/mo regularly (paid on average 800-1000/mo). b) I occasionally made balloon payments that paid off balances when they were at about 1500-2000. c) I spent time talking to my creditors immediately before I made the final payment to satisfy a balance. I paid the final payment directly to the creditor and not through the CCCS. As you can probably tell, I make a good living -- I was just irresponsible. The reason I chose the CCCS route was because I felt that CCCS offered me a faster route to good credit. I needed something to put my debt into perspective. I realized that I was paying the minimum payment because I had so many credit cards and no way to manage it all (about 1 year into my CCCS, I invested in Quicken and now have everything in perspective). I was raised knowing only that bankruptcy is a no-no, and I only recently started to understand that it can be advantageous in some ways. Had I know about bankruptcy advantages 3 years ago, things may have been different. I will be honest though. In some ways I was misled about CCCS: a) I did not expect that CCCS would destroy my credit during the period I was enrolled under the program. I knew they were going to make the "Under Credit Counseling" notation, but I didn't know what that meant. This was a bit of a system shock to me. It's the equivalent of going cold turkey. I was forced into accepting that I could not get another credit card, and was forced to discipline myself. I'm glad I figured it out, and am glad I learned good money management, so I'm not as mad as I was 3 years ago. b) I did not get the "hand holding" that CCCS seemed to promise. I was given the impression that they would be calling me to see how I'm making out, and that they would give me some guidance when it came to redistributing my monthly payment ($525/mo) after each card was paid off. No such luck. It's just like dealing with any other operator that's paid minimum wage to take calls and read off a cue card. So... would I do it again? I'm not sure. It was A LOT OF WORK. Having a job with a lot of individual freedom (Programmer/Analyst) allowed me the time to keep up with my credit. I spent about $100 a year getting my credit reports to keep a close eye on how my reports were changing. In the end, I did beat bankruptcy by paying off my debts in 3 years and having a clean bill of health almost immediately afterwards. It may have been easier to walk away and pocket that $26k+, but I think I learned a lot more from the experience.
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 04:04 pm Albert, I really appreciate your honest and thorough posting. I truly believe that many people would greatly benefit from a REAL counseling and consolidation service. I know that occasionally unscrupulous bankruptcy attorneys have people discharge very small amounts of debt that SHOULD be paid. I don't know if you've read Mitch's postings, but he's the only bankruptcy attorney I know of who's been actively trying to help his clients with their credit. While attorney's are NOT non profits like the CCCS, I think they still have an obligation to at least advise their clients that they need to dispute their reports after the filing. Most attorneys just don't bother to learn about credit and they tell their clients that all they need to do is discharge and all will be fine. It's too bad that I have yet to find a non profit FREE service that has the CONSUMER'S interest as top priority, with no hidden agendas. You realize that you had an advantage over most CCCS clients, you're very educated, you make good money, you are more than computer literate, you could AFFORD the CCCS. I forgot to mention in my previous posting that so many people just can't keep up with the payments. Often they end up discharging the debts after sending many wasted payments to the CCCS. With software like Quicken it's easy to budget, analyze, see were your buck goes -- IF you have a computer and the skills to learn the software. Of course even that doesn't help when your monthly obligations exceed your income. There is no magic - other than Ch. 7 discharge. Consumers need to look at ALL options and their credit consequences and make an EDUCATED decision.
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 05:56 pm What does CCCS do for someone that they can't do for themselves? Why do people need a non-profit organization to have them, as Albert did, set aside $525 to pay their debts off. Why can't Albert just set aside $525 himself to pay his own debts off without bringing CCCS into it? The point is that CCCS is in cahoots with the debtors. I don't mean that in a perjorative way. CCCS has the ability to have debtors lower their interest rates and to have them change their payment amounts. Now if a creditor can lower your interest rate at the behest of CCCS then why doesn't that creditor just offer you a cheaper rate right now? Perhaps even a cheaper rate and you balance transfer some of that debt off of other cards? Oh no -- they're not interested in that at all. The point is that the threat of bankruptcy is making them willing to take a loss on you that is smaller than the loss they'd take if you filed bankruptcy. Make no mistake about it -- creditors lose money when you go into CCCS. Now I would think it would be hypocritical for a person to stand up after CCCS, to puff their chest up and say, "I'm better than you people who filed bankruptcy because I stole less from them than you did." The bottom line is that you signed agreeing to pay a certain interest rate at a certain payment amount and you reneged on your commitment. Nor am I satisfied at P.Rosa's hypocritical "Call me hopelessly old-fashioned, but I consider bankruptcy a loser's way out, to be used only as an absolute last-ditch escape." People can find elsewhere on the board that her approach to large debt was to simply stop paying. Most creditors charged her off or sent her to collections and she never paid any of them except the one that got a judgement against her. Accordingly I'm not impressed when she puffs herself up and says, "I'm holier than thou because I stole from my creditors WITHOUT filing bankruptcy." Congrats. This is the Bayhouse credit forum. If a person comes in here and says: "I'm seriously delinquent on several obligations, I can't afford to pay and I want to know what I should do to improve my credit." Does anyone here honestly doubt that bankruptcy is a much faster route to good credit than CCCS or waiting 7-years for the charged off items to drop off your credit profile? It is not uncommon for a person to get a major unsecured credit card immediately following a bankruptcy.
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 06:41 pm Nor am I satisfied at P.Rosa's hypocritical "Call me hopelessly old-fashioned, but I consider bankruptcy a loser's way out, to be used only as an absolute last-ditch escape." People can find elsewhere on the board that her approach to large debt was to simply stop paying. Most creditors charged her off or sent her to collections and she never paid any of them except the one that got a judgement against her. Accordingly I'm not impressed when she puffs herself up and says, "I'm holier than thou because I stole from my creditors WITHOUT filing bankruptcy." Congrats. A few points: "She" is a "he." I did not simply stop paying because I didn't feel like paying. Due to a variety of circumstances, I found myself in very dire financial circumstances at the start of the 1990's. Over four years passed before my financial picture showed even the slightest glimmer of improvement. Yes, most of my creditors got nothing. But they would have gotten nothing if I had filed for bankruptcy, as I had no assets to speak of. In the meantime, I had to spend six years dreading every knock on the door, thinking it was a process server. It was a horrible experience. And I take no pride at all in what happened and do not claim to be holier than anyone. If anything good came out of that experience, it's that I've learned - the hard way - to be careful about debt and spending. I certainly wish I didn't have to learn that, not in the way I did.
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 07:30 pm You should've filed bankruptcy.
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 07:59 pm Yup, I agree with Shylock here. I can't help but read P. Rosa's postings and think about the Catholics in Europe in the middle ages. This "you sinned and now you have to suffer to get your absolution" type attitude. And then trying to make everybody else suffer like he did. Despicable. P.Rosa wrote: "In the meantime, I had to spend six years dreading every knock on the door, thinking it was a process server. It was a horrible experience." I think people should help each other AVOID those horrible experiences.
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 08:10 pm Christine: I went to CCCS about 6 months prior to filing b/k. They were the ones that suggested I file. I was just way too far gone for them to help. My sister ended up going to them. I thank the Lord always that I was not accepted into their program.
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| | Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 08:28 pm I'm not sure how to interpret that, not knowing your financial situation, but it's good to see they got *some* limits. How is your sister doing?
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| | Wednesday, October 11, 2000 - 02:03 am My wife took my situation to CCS and they threw up. So we tuffed it out and I finally realized that i had no other choice but the "7". Believe me, I fought it very hard. It was a very painful decision. what i have found amazing is that when you tell someone like a credit manager or fellow worker bee that you did a "7", the very common answer is "so did I". Most didn't want to but were forced because creditors wouldn't accept any type of reasonable repayment. The creditor-debtor relationship has broker down just as the worker-employer relationship has deteriorated. No respect on either side. You are just a cog in the wheel, a piece of meat to be used and discarded when no longer usable. My favorite saying in this reorg is "you have been deleted". It is so right on target and expresses the new way of treating employees. Sure you get counseling (what a @#%%#%joke) for your emotions and help putting a resume together. But the cold reality is you won't be able to pay bills. Creditors have no one to blame but employers if you connect all the dots.
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| | Wednesday, October 11, 2000 - 06:10 am I agree with Senator, I filed kicking and screaming all the way. If there had been any way around it, I would have taken it. Thankfully, there was not. I don't know why I was so scared. It was almost too painless. We were raised to always fulfill any and all obligations. That is why I tried CCCS. I'm so thankful they turned me away. Even after their recommendation it took me several months before I could bring myself to file. My sister on the other hand refused my advice and pleading and signed up with them. I told her b/k was not that terrible and the stigma is nothing like it used to be. I went with my sister to CCCS and it was very clear that they are there for the creditor to recover their money. Not to help you. We recently saw her credit report which showed she was in CCCS and they all stated "will show positive in 2009"(I think that was the date, it is due to pay off in two more years plus the 7). Mine on the other had is crystal clean with the exception of the b/k entry and it will be gone before hers. We both bought a car recently. I had no problem, she had trouble finding anyone to finance her AND she had to get PERMISSION from CCCS including a letter from them before the bank would do it. Talk about humiliating!!!!!
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| | Wednesday, October 11, 2000 - 11:06 am I got a response from Worthknowing.com today. Kathryn explained WHY the CCCS is regarded so highly and why they advertise their services free of charge. "I'm not sure where you live, but in Atlanta CCCS is regarded by consumer advocates as the best place for consumers with credit trouble to turn. If you go to http://www.clarkhoward.com (he is our local consumer guru and his radio program is syndicated in nearly every state) he references CCCS as well and often refers consumers who call in to his show to CCCS. If you have negative information about CCCS we would certainly like to know about it. To the best of our knowledge they are a reputable, non-profit organization." Well, I have been publishing my experiences with the CCCS at least since 1995 and the Transamerica dispute. I *believe* the San Francisco Chronicle did a huge expose on the CCCS, many years ago. They wrote about their fake "consultations" and I think that's where I first learned that they are financed by the finance industry. But the finance gurus don't pick that up. I guess they limit themselves to reading the faxed CCCS press releases. I have no idea who Clark Howard is. Is there something special about the Atlanta CCCS?
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| | Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 03:27 am Clark Howard is a consumer advocate that takes calls about people having problems with their credit cards, airplane tickets, utility bills, whatever and gives them advice on the air. He is nationally syndicated I think and he's carried in Los Angeles on KFI AM 640.
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| | Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 06:13 am I used to listen to Clark Howard pretty regularly. I couldn't stand to hear him encouraging people to go to CCCS and do things like close out credit cards because you only need a couple. I don't know if he is still spouting this last one. He would have to be awfully ignorant of credit scoring to encourage this without knowing the full picture. He is very old school about financial matters in my opinion.
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| | Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 10:26 am Occasionally I've listened to those type of radio shows, but it usually didn't take long until I got very irritated by the credit or real estate advice given.
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| | Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 10:38 am FREE Credit Reviews for the people who completed their CCCS payment plans and can fax or e-mail their reports. I want to see what those reports look like. Are there differences from office to office or State to State? Was Albert just lucky or did things get better? I'm asking for the "Certificate of Completion" from the CCCS, but I don't even know if that exists. I've never seen one, but I'd expect that you get some kind of account statement showing that you're done paying them.
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| | Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 01:43 pm Christine, I ran across your site more than a year ago and still stop by to see what's new. As a former credit officer for a sub-prime auto loan originator, I cannot agree with you more about CCCS. We considered any CCCS entry on credit bureau files as and automatic turn down. It might as well have been an open bankruptcy. I once went to bat for a deal that involved a paid off CCCS entry and had to go to a senior VP to get approval. I could have made and documented 4 loans in the time it took to get that one done. After that, I really did not feel like going through the BS within the company to get those loans with CCCS (but good merit) done anymore. I doubt this type of thinking is isolated to the company I worked for. Anyway, the really sad part is how CCCS is not only marketed but promoted even by government entities. STAY OUT OF CCCS! If you can't work it out with creditors yourself, file a 7. You'll have a better chance in my humble opinion. Thanks for a great site!
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| | Tuesday, October 31, 2000 - 10:41 am I went to CCCS years ago to *counseled* about credit. The dim wits in the office there were completely unable to answer the most basic of questions regarding my credit. That is precisely why I did not sign on for their services. I was very naive at the time and needed words like "Charged Off as Uncollectable" despite being paid, explained to me. They were not able to do it. They were not able to advise me on moving forward with creditors who were willing to accept pennies on the dollar to settle an account. They wanted me to pay it in full over many months. It was nuts. They don't counsel anyone about their credit in any honest way either out of ignorance or malice. They simply collect money and pay creditors instead of you paying them yourself. It is a ridiculous system and the fact that they are pushed by the government and social service organizations just gets my ire up even more. As a matter of fact, Equifax had a notation stating "Credit Counseling Contacted" with a date just from the company pulling my report. I challenged it and it was removed. If them helping you hurts your credit, they are not helping you at all. If they were truly working in the consumer's interest they would never permit their mark to destroy the consumer's credit.
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| | Tuesday, December 19, 2000 - 12:58 pm About a year ago, I enrolled in MyVesta.Org in order to reduce my interest rates so I could pay off my credit card debt sooner (about $25,000). I had no idea that CCCS would look bad. I was never in danger of declaring bankruptcy, I just liked the convenience factor, and the promises of being debt free in 4 years. Now, I found this board (I'm looking to buy my first house), and I'm terrified that I won't be approved for a mortgage. I pulled my credit report from Equifax, and sure enough, Citibank put a comment in my file. Is there any way to get out of this program and have Citibank remove the comment? I looked throughout their website, and I can't find any information about canceling their "service". Any advice greatly appreciated!
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| | Tuesday, December 19, 2000 - 01:48 pm My understanding having spoken with a few individuals in the program, that if you cancel with these guys and start making the payments yourself, the update may happen all by itself. In other words, there is a notation in your file with Citibank that is being sent to the CRA's. If you should change that status to just paying versus paying through counseling service, the next update may do it for you. However, if this is not the case, then you will have some evidence after having paid it yourself a few months to provide to the CRA's to dispute the CCCS notation. Catch my drift? My experience has been there is no date with the CCCS notation so you will have something to work with. The one thing to consider is that there was guy, the first post above, Albert, who says his "Under Credit Management", was removed after he finished the program. Call Citibank and ask them if they will remove the mark after the debt is paid. Get there policy in writing if you can. If they do, no problem. If they don't, my advice above might help. Certainly some one else may have more to add.
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| | Tuesday, December 19, 2000 - 02:17 pm I was the original poster in this thread. Based on my experience, the CCCS notation "Under credit counseling" will be removed upon successful completion of the program. Pulling out of the program COULD cause some serious problems -- view it from the creditor's perspective: a customer says he has trouble paying his bills and has enrolled in a CCCS program; the creditor reduces the interest rate for the customer and red flags the account; customer calls in to say that CCCS isn't really needed after all. If I were the creditor, I'd be seriously concerned if I were ever going to see the money. I would imagine they would try and collect on the remaining balance. This may not be the case -- but again, be careful. All I can say is that if you complete the CCCS program, the notations will come off. I would imagine that getting a mortgage while under CCCS will be extremely difficult. I can tell you that the "under credit counseling" notation is like a death sentence to your credit worthiness -- for the entire time I was under CCCS, I was basically considered a deadbeat. Since completing the CCCS program in July, I have had every single notation removed -- the platinum card offers with low APRs are finally coming in. It has been a long time. If getting a house is a high priority right now, my advice would be to consult an attorney (call the local bar association for a referral). Do this before you try negotiating with your creditor!
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| | Monday, February 26, 2001 - 07:42 pm I'm new to the board, so my response to this thread will seem late. Albert, I think your experience is certainly not the norm, but congratulations. I would first like to point out that the credit counseling organization you referenced (Genus) and CCCS are two totally separate organizations and are not affiliated in any way. CCCS has been around for many years, long before the popularity of the worldwide web came into vogue. In most of their offices you will have the opportunity to meet with trained and certified credit counselors. Genus, and a plethora of non-profit and for profit credit counseling services have come into the arena over the past 5-7 years as the internet grew in popularity. Genus (formerly NCCS) was one of the first outside of CCCS to expand into this financial services arena. Credit counseling agencies are supported in part by voluntary contributions from clients (some agencies require up front fees, others require a monthly fee) and the remainder of their revenue comes in the form of "Fair Share". This is a portion of your monthly payment to your creditor (often 5-15%) that is returned to the agency to help pay its operating costs. The client receives full credit for the full payment from the creditor, the creditor can write this "contribution" off on taxes, and the agency receives a payment for collection of your payment. Not all creditors pay this fee, but most large lenders and credit card companies are willing to do so. Why? Most lenders make their profit from interest, but the majority of the profit comes from annual fees, late charges, overlimit fees etc. A creditor can easily reduce interest for a small portion of their customers that take the credit counseling (hereon called ccs) service route. Most the customers that join these programs are already having difficulty making payments and collections actions cost the creditor money. By allowing the ccs to act as a collector they actually save money on collection costs. The problem today stems from the fact that most of the ccs agencies that have recently come into existence have far exceeded their capacity to service the accounts they have enrolled. Genus, for example, will proudly inform you they have over 250,000 current clients. The rush over the past few years to enroll these clients to increase operating revenue for the organization has caused many clients to be enrolled without fully understanding what they were getting themselves into. Most fall prey to the lure of the television commercial that often stresses "We can get the creditors to stop calling you", as they have been inundated with collections calls. The theory of the service is fine. Provided an enrollee can committ to a set monthly payment amount and never miss a payment. Creditors have grown increasingly impatient over the past few years and often a single missed or late payment can cause them to stop offering the benefit of reduced interest and payments and in many cases the cardholder agreement is immediately reinstated, sometimes retroactive to the time the enrollee began the program. This causes an actual increase in the balance as accrued interest that was not collected due to the reduction under ccs is added. The ONLY agreement between a cardholder and the credit card company or lender that is legally binding is the cardholder agreement you originally signed. No agreement between the ccs and the creditor negates the original agreement. At best it can be considered a "handshake" agreement. Some creditors will actually report that you are not paying as agreed, even though they agree to the program. Others will report that you are utilizing a credit counseling program, and this in itself is considered derogatory by most lenders. The impression it gives a lender is that the consumer was so financially irresponsible that they had to go to a third party to have them arrange a payment plan and make the payments on their behalf. Forget unsecured credit while you are enrolled in the program, and any secured credit (home, auto) will very likely be subprime rate. It is not uncommon for these agencies to make payments to creditors late, make them to the wrong creditor through an automated payment system, back off from the "veiled" promises they make when you join the program, and conceal the truth regarding its affect on your credit when you enroll. I will grant, that the program works for some. This is the exception rather than the norm. If a person is totally overwhelmed with debt, has a strong moral belief about paying every penny they owe, and can committ to monthly payments for 3-5 years it is wonderful. Very little counseling is offered. Most of the agencies consider a bi monthly education brochure as "counseling" and would not offer this if they did not need to show the IRS that they are providing educational services. Most consumers will not be willing to be persistent enough with the credit card companies to negotiate reduced rates in order to do it themselves. If you have a spotty payment history, forget it, the creditor will not discuss this with you in most instances. If your payment history is good, don't hesitate, be polite, insistent, and if they balk at your suggestion, tell them you will just close the account then. You will be suprised how quickly they change their tune. I work for one of these credit counseling agencies, not by choice, but rather because I believed I would actually be helping others. Now, all I can say, is I try to be as honest as possible with those that I deal with. My job may be jeopardized but I have a clear conscience. STAY AWAY FROM CREDIT COUNSELING AT ALL COSTS. You are better off credit wise filing bankruptcy, your credit will recover more quickly and you will be able to start your life financially over in a shorter period of time. If you want to honorably pay all your debts a few suggestions. 1. Find out where your money is going, keep a notebook with you for a month, write down every penny you spend. You will be suprised how much coffee, snacks, newspapers etc add up. 2. Look at your budget, live on the minimums (do you really need premium channels or cable at all, do you need that 2nd phone line, could you walk to the market instead of driving if it is close. 3. Once you have determined where you are spending, if there is ANY extra committ yourself to paying it on these debts. Begin with the larger interest accounts first as these cost you the most. Establish a habit of making the payments on time every month. When one pays off, move the money to another. Make at least the minimum payment on everything to avoid fees, charges etc. Everything over the minium on time decreases your principal. Sorry this is so long. But with inside knowledge on credit counseling, I wanted to share.
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| | Monday, February 26, 2001 - 08:30 pm Many people these days are looking for the 20 word answers, but that's just not how life works. Much appreciate the time you spent to post your detailed description of credit counseling. Thanks!
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| | Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 10:43 am Christine - Sorry for the long post. After reading the thread, I felt it needed a detailed description. I wanted to be forthright about the dangers of credit counseling as I see many misled and hear of their suffering later.
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| | Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 07:42 am Hal, You did a good thing! Your post was comprehensive and informative. I would only add that similar advice should be given to those considering Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, as opposed to Chapter 7. I spent 4 years, at the end of the 80's, paying back considerable un-secured debt to un-appreciative creditors who continued to report me as a 'Charge-off'.
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| | Saturday, April 14, 2001 - 07:23 am Hi, I'm new to this board and just had a comment. I am enrolled in CCCS and have been for the past 2 1/2 years (will be finished in another 1 1/2 yrs). I received my three credit reports in November 2000, and I also just finished ordering my FICO Score and Equifax Credit Report this March. NONE of my accounts or ANYWHERE ELSE on ANY of my credit reports state anything about being in a CCCS or credit counseling program! Did I just get lucky?? Perhaps this is a change CCCS has made or are there credit card companies who choose not to report accounts in this way?? I'm confused.
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