anyone here ever use those credit card debt reduction companies? How do they work? Does it affect credit score? Will they close your credit cards?

Kinda deep in cc debt....considering calling one of these companies.

pretty sure it does affect your credit a little. and they do shut down the cards. How much in debt are you? dont be like me and ignore them for 3 years untill they give up trying to get their money

all those hundies would be akin to throwing rocks at an elephant in an attempt to kill it, to answer both your questions, kind of in a bit of debt, college overspending combined with a girlfriend who thought I was a walking ATM machine....

I have a friend that works for a non-profit group that sits down with people and helps them manage debt etc. He's basically a debt counselour. Those credit card debt consolidaters are normally:

A) Rip-off
B) Yes they do hurt your credit score.

You are better looking for a non-profit group in your area and sitting down with them first. They will give you a few suggestions (a lot of times you can write to credit card companies and ask them to lower your rates if you explain your full situation) if you have been on time with your payments you'd be surprised how often they are willing to work with you.

I would use the one of these services as a last resort. Do your monthly debts currently outweigh your income?

It will fuck up your credit but no more than if you can't afford to pay the bill

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I never understand how people get into deep credit card debt and then expect a way out of it without fucking up their credit score.

Just do what you gotta do to take care of it, and worry about your credit score at a later point. Perhaps not having a credit card in the first place would help you out even more.

The only times you truly have to worry about credit scores are if you plan on buying a car, a house, and sometimes a job if it deals with finances or law enforcement. If you're not planning on doing anything that deals with any of these, I say get your current debt taken care of and just deal with the credit score hit until you can get yourself back on your feet.

GL with your situation.

 

Originally Posted by cizastro

I never understand how people get into deep credit card debt and then expect a way out of it without fucking up their credit score.

Just do what you gotta do to take care of it, and worry about your credit score at a later point. Perhaps not having a credit card in the first place would help you out even more.

The only times you truly have to worry about credit scores are if you plan on buying a car, a house, and sometimes a job if it deals with finances or law enforcement. If you're not planning on doing anything that deals with any of these, I say get your current debt taken care of and just deal with the credit score hit until you can get yourself back on your feet.

GL with your situation.

This is incredibly short-sighted especially when not knowing the amount of debt a person is in. Your advice might somewhat make sense if we are talking 25-30K in debt or something. For anything 10-12K you are much better coming up with some sort budget for yourself, buckling down and paying it rather than paralyzing yourself from any major purchases for 7 years.

29K versus 40K is a lot.

I'd suggest writing to the companies to explain your situation. Then you need to come up with a budget that you can stick to. I'd also recommend if there is anyway possible getting some sort of 2nd job. You're in a pretty shitty situation.

 

Originally Posted by Bob Futon

 

Originally Posted by cizastro

I never understand how people get into deep credit card debt and then expect a way out of it without fucking up their credit score.

Just do what you gotta do to take care of it, and worry about your credit score at a later point. Perhaps not having a credit card in the first place would help you out even more.

The only times you truly have to worry about credit scores are if you plan on buying a car, a house, and sometimes a job if it deals with finances or law enforcement. If you're not planning on doing anything that deals with any of these, I say get your current debt taken care of and just deal with the credit score hit until you can get yourself back on your feet.

GL with your situation.

This is incredibly short-sighted especially when not knowing the amount of debt a person is in. Your advice might somewhat make sense if we are talking 25-30K in debt or something. For anything 10-12K you are much better coming up with some sort budget for yourself, buckling down and paying it rather than paralyzing yourself from any major purchases for 7 years.

I suppose it was shortsighted, but I was assuming it was a considerable amount of debt to begin with. I doubt many people would come on here worrying about 10-15k worth of debt. That's manageable assuming you make a decent salary. Perhaps I should've stated my assumption along with my advice.

Budgets can work, but only if the person is serious about fixing their problems. I've tried helping people in the past with debt problems only to have them completely abandon the budget I helped create for them and just went further into debt.

The only real purchase you'd totally screw yourself out of would be a house as you could buy a car with cash. A house would be a helluva lot tougher to buy with cash, but it could be done depending on your location.

pm me soon please do not use one of those companies.

Some good points on here so far but climbing out of debt that deep is not gonna be easy. If you haven't been making payments then your credit is already fucked. No luck getting a loan if that is the case. However, a loan is the best way to go because you will save a ton in the long run. Credit cards are a ripoff if you don't keep 'em paid off/balance low. Credit counselors help but only the non-profit ones are trustworthy and all they will do is cancel your cards and negotiate a fixed payment for your credit companies. Then they ste your monthly payment as high as they think you van afford and begin the long process of whittling down your debt. Bankruptcy will screw you over for 7 years but is sometimes the best way to go. Good luck.

 

Originally Posted by Spiltbongwater

I believe the average household debt to income in the U.S. is at about 125% or so. If you make 40K and are 29K in debt, congratulations on helping to bring the average down.

I would try to obtain a line of credit or such from your bank. Tell them what you have been paying for you monthly credit card payments, about the interest you are paying, and hopefully they will give you a 29K loan at 7% or so. Pay it off as quickly as you can afford, and don't go into credit card debt again. Use those cards as short term interest free loans. That is all mine are for, although I am using debit more due to my bank paying me $10 when I save $100.

A bank is going to give someone who makes 40k a year a 30k unsecured loan at 7%??? LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

 

Originally Posted by Tread

 

Originally Posted by Spiltbongwater

I believe the average household debt to income in the U.S. is at about 125% or so. If you make 40K and are 29K in debt, congratulations on helping to bring the average down.

I would try to obtain a line of credit or such from your bank. Tell them what you have been paying for you monthly credit card payments, about the interest you are paying, and hopefully they will give you a 29K loan at 7% or so. Pay it off as quickly as you can afford, and don't go into credit card debt again. Use those cards as short term interest free loans. That is all mine are for, although I am using debit more due to my bank paying me $10 when I save $100.

A bank is going to give someone who makes 40k a year a 30k unsecured loan at 7%??? LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

The best part about this is that 18 months ago a 7% loan on that could have been reality

I would love to be able to pay off my credit card debt.. I would love to able to get a loan from a bank to pay it all off and make one payment.. I dont care if its 17%APR.. I would much rather make one payment for 5 years to one place then 12 payments.. Im sick of it.. But because of this arbitrary credit score that no one even does any research on.. I cant even get a loan. I just dont understand how I have a bad credit score when I have never missed a payment ever on all my accounts. Ive paid off two cars. Paying off one now. All my cc accounts I pay.. But yet Im a risk for a loan? Please.. Its all a bunch of garbage. Credit card companies/banks and credit reporting agencies all work together to fuck you over as much as they can..

Of course they are all close to maxed.. I'll give you my info if you want to pull a report on me. I dont care I have nothing to hide. Shouldnt be a red flag that I have an 18 year history of making payments.