Debt Consolidation -- Do these places really work?

[Gouki]

We've all seen the ads for these places on TV and maybe heard em on the radio, but do they really work?

I'm asking this because...well...if they work then I need call one up and see what they can do for me. Basically whenever me and the now ex-wife split last September, I moved in with a friend of my older brothers that just recently moved back into town. Come to find out that the guy is a recovering alcholic and couldn't keep a job to save his life. Needless to say I paid all the bills while I kept listening to his lines about how he was gonna get caught up with the money he owed me.

Long story short...I gave him a number of chances (mainly cuz he's a friend of my brothers) and all the while I was going farther and farther in debt with my credit cards.

Now...I'm going back to school and not working full time right now and the bills are getting too much to handle.

So...does anyone here have experience dealing with these debt consolidation places? If so...please share them. Thanks.

[vass0922]

Not a consolidation loan, but credit counselling.. I've been looking into it myself.
Its a non-profit organization.. they help you get your credit cards interest rates lowered so you can start working on them

http://www.cccs.org/

[Gouki]

ya...that sounds like the ones I've seen on tv. They're non-profit...thanks for the link I'll take a look.

[Bushmaster]

Make sure you completely investigate the company you choose to work with. There have been quite a few of these so called debt consolidation places that have you send them the payment and they supposedly distribute the funds to your various creditors. Quite a few of them have collected the funds and then just vanished of the radar screen leaving the people that trusted them holding an even bigger bag than when they were paying the bills without help.

[Gouki]

That's one of the reasons why I'm asking about it here...looking for good and bad experiences ppl have had from different companies. So I'll have an idea of which ones to take a closer look at...and which ones to avoid.

[lights]

vass is correct on recamending ccc.org consumer credit counsaling is what you need they will work with you on the now dept meaning the dept you go in there with.
they don't charge for it make sure of that before you sign anything. if there is a fee look for one that doesn't charge

good luck

lights

[vass0922]

the one I linked to you does NOT pay off your creditors.. they just make it easier to pay them off. (ie. lower the interest rates, and I believe they work with you to lower the min payments)

[Hey-Todd]

I've been using Colsolidated Credit Counseling Services for two years now and I have already reduced my debt from $40,000 to $20,000. There is no way that I would have been able to reduce my debt so fast on my own because I was paying so much in interest every month!

You can check them out here: www.debtfree.org

Good Luck!

Todd

Edit: This is a really good site, too... it has a lot of excellent information so you can do your homework before you sign up for a consolidation program: Credit Infocenter

[WingWizard]

If you're going back to school, is it possible to get student loans? The interest rate is amazingly low right now; maybe that will be the best way to go?

[Gouki]

My parents are helping me out as far as school goes...and the rule is that I have to take at least 9 credit hours (3 classes) before I'm eligible for Financial Aid. That includes loans and grants. This summer I was only only able to get into two classes (6 hours) so hopefully this fall I can get hours. The kicker is that until you take a semester of at least 9 hours...you gotta pay the costs out of pocket.

My biggest problem right now is credit card debt...when I had that loser of a room mate they got out of hand and now when I make payments I'm not making any headway.