Debt consolidation?

Question

Hi,

My partner owes around 20k to misc creditors as unsecured debt with some overdue etc. He has a steady job and has his budget under control now since his family situation changed and could provide a $200 monthly payment. His credit rating needs improvement but turns around 533 which isn't too bad.

Avoiding the bankruptcy path, what other solutions could you guys recommend for him to consolidate and renegotiate his debts into a single monthly payment or something without going into sky-high interest rates institutions?

I may be interested by pro offers too but please I am mainly looking for real people advice.

Thanks you all!!!

Andie

Answer 1

I'm going to let you know something that Consolidation groups probaly don't tell you. I used to be a bill collector and I basically called people all day and bugged them to pay their debt, with that I dealt with people who would tell me they were consolidating their debt, and it was my job to talk to the consolidation group and find out what they were going to send on the debt on behalf of the consumer, a lot of these companies get about $300.00/month from a consumer and the Consolidation group will pocket $150.00 and pay off the creditors with about $30.00/month to each creditor the consumers owes a debt to, at that rate you'll never get out of debt....what a rip off! These consolidation groups just do what consumers can do themselves. That is order your credit report from the 3 major credit report agencies and then call the collection agency that now owns your debt, once you find the collection agency (on each debt) it is now time to negotiate, this is where you want to be very nice to the bill collector that assist you (even if they are very rude, they are trained to be like that to get payment), and I say this because that bill collector will be the one who makes the decision on what type of settlement offer they can give you which can be an amount that is up to 60% off the current balance of the debt. Most collection agencies will accept that in 3 payments within a 3 month period with a payment on the account every 30 days. Keep in mind that settling your account will get you a lower credit score than paying the current balance in full. The other thing to keep in mind is that these collectors work off a goal structure, no matter what they say!!!, so obviously they are not going to let you settle for the lowest amount off the back. (And watch for these collection tactics they use just remeber they have to meet a goal each month and their job depends on it) Another option you can go with is just contact the collection agency and set up a payment plan that is good for you .First thing you want to do is find out how much the interest is on the account and the current balance, figure what you can afford and make payments every month, bi weekly, or weekly. also keep in mind that a bill collector tactic when you are not willing to accept a settlement offer, is for the collector to tell you they require something like 10%-30% as a down payment on a monthly payment plan and then you can pay like $200.00/ month on the account until it is paid in full, this is a lie, check your collection laws(Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) for your state and more than likely you will find that if a consumers owes a debt and wants to make a payment on the account than the creditor by law cannot deny that payment even if it is just $1.00, Hence, do what you can afford and if interest is still occurring make sure that your monthly payment covers the interest occurring on the account every month. I know this is a lot of info, but I know a lot of people wonder the same question and if you don't use this info someone else probaly will, Hope it helps you and your boyfriend. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Bad credit is one of the worst problems to have... however there exists a solution.



I will hereby talk from my personal experience.



I did debt consolidation a couple of years ago, however If I had to do it again I would pay to some minor details,

if someone wants to get out of debt today it is pretty easy with a debt consolidation plan, however it may get a bit tricky at times, I suggest you get as much information as possible online on this first,



a good place to start in my humble opinion is a straight to the point ebook with question and answer I found :



http://umgarticles.atspace.com/debt-consolidation.htm



if it helps kindly remember me in your voting!.. cheers!

Answer 3

Based on that debt amount, he would likely be looking at $500 a month to be debt free within 5 years.



A 533 credit score will not earn him loans with reasonable interest rates. He may wish to meet with a credit counselor to find out what options he might have.

Answer 4

the problem with consolidation is that it hinders your credit more than helping....AT FIRST. I'm currently working with a program called credit solutions (www.creditsolutions.com), wherein they settle the credit card accounts. You pay a small fee each month and you basically put money aside until you have enough to pay off each settlement. Go to that website and it will explain it much better. Dont consolidate if you can help it.

Answer 5

500$ month...



A debt consolidation loan or debt loan is a method to repay all debts incurred by overuse of credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans, store cards, or any other unpaid bill and allows you to make a single monthly payment. It is a viable alternative to bankruptcy and is an excellent method of bettering your payment history, leading you to a debt free future. The reason to choose the debt consolidation loan is pay lower rate of interest. Paying only one creditor is much more convenient. You can pay your creditors on time and prevent them from threatening you.

Answer 6

I think the only thing that you partner can do is to call the creditors and make arrangements to pay off the debt. As long as you make an attempt to pay something they will work with you. If you have an additional $200.00 to use to pay these debts, just divide it among each creditor. It will take a long time, but you will soon see the debt go down.

I hope this will help you out. Good luck.

Answer 7

First off all-- -533 is TERRIBLE.



Second, debt consolidation is not the answer. It will lower your credit score for quite some time. Continue to chip away the best you can. As long as you can make your min payments your score will go up over time.

Answer 8

He would be better off getting rid of the cards or at least putting them away, and working diligently on the debt. If the amount due is $20, he should pay $40 per month. He should work on one at a time if he has to, starting with the lowest amount on an account. That way, he would build his credit back up by example.

Answer 9

Payday loans often have an particularly severe activity value, and is only sensible in case you % it desperately for an particularly short volume of time, and are helpful which you will pay the activity value on the mortgage

Answer 10

Consumer Credit Counseling Services are free and will work with your partners creditors to lower both his monthly payments and interest rate. I used them several years ago and was debt free in 36-months.

Answer 11

Although $20,000 is a lot of money, it's not a huge amount and not enough to go bankrupt for. I recommend that you explore all other options and the best way might be to seek help from a credit counseler.



There's some very useful information on this website on this topic and this may help you research all your options.



I hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 12

I would advise you purchase a 3 in 1 credit report so that you two can form a battle plan. Then once you line up the accounts then dispute the ones that you feel are inaccurate. Make you payments on time...but you two know that. May I suggest a web site that can help you.

http://www.thecreditrepairmanual.com it contains advice on how to dispute, and great form letters you can use plus much more.



Good Luck,

Answer 13

A friend used DebtXs. He said, they will contact each creditor and make arrangements with debtor and creditors, for payment. The debtor never talks to creditors, DebtXs does everything.



The debtor is assigned to a consultant at DebtXs with whom the debtor can contact regarding questions and or status of anything in reference to what is going on with creditors, as far as negotiations for payment of debt.



My friend was happy with the service, especially not having to get calls from creditors, and is out of debt.



DebtXs.com

Answer 14

PLEASE pick up Dave Ramsey's book "The total money makeover." It has a step by step process for getting your money to do what you tell it to do. That is the best advice I could ever give you.

Answer 15

A 533 credit rating isn't too bad...it's horrible. National average is 650, but still, that is not all that great. I would suggest to contact all of your creditors that are delinquent, defaulted etc, and negotiate a payout, most creditors will settle out at about 70% of your debt, which is more than fair. That alone will reduce your debt by 30% of the top. The next step would be to get approved for a non secured consolodation loan, most likely high interest because of that credit score. However, keep in mind, a high interest loan sure beats the defaulted interest each creditor is allowed by state law...which is through the roof. Also, if you can negotiate a settlement, for any portion off of the bill by 30% or more, your on the win /win track. Get these offers and negotiations in writing as well to keep as a part of your records, READ the terms and adhere to them once you are approved have the consolodation loan representative cut checks per the terms of each creditors letters and overnight parcel them to insure safe and recordable delivery of the checks to pay out each creditor to a zero balance. Make sure you follow up with each creditor to get your credit report adjusted, and a letter of release from the debt showing it has been satisfied. Federal law states they must adjust your credit report within 90 days anyhow. Therefore your $200 per month that you can provide will pay off the consolodation loan on much better terms than dividing amongst defunct creditors who will still hold the liability over your head since you are not following original terms anyhow. Stay out of harms way, do not ignore creditors attempts to contact you, and by no means ever get cocky or snide on the phone with a creditor or collection agency or attorney, that is the biggest mistake that a lot of people make.....let their ego get in the way. Use a search engine for the best rates for consolodation loans....and most importantly STAY AWAY FROM DEBT CONSOLODATION AGENCIES that RIP YOU OFF!

Answer 16

Hi Andie - There is a really cool new debt consolidation alternative that is available on a web site called Prosper.com. Prosper.com is a peer-to-peer lending alternative that removes the big banks form the mix and places people who need money in contact with people who are willing to lend it. The way it works is that people who need money request it, and other people bid for the privilege of lending it to them. Prosper makes sure everything is safe, fair and easy.



On prosper.com my partner and I have established a group called Addventure Capital. We are two professionals with 20+ years experience in the financial services industry. It is our goal to help people like you by creating debt consolidation loans and helping you get your loan funded. We will personally endorse your loan request and consider investing in your loan ourselves. Follow our guidance and you’ll have the best chance of getting your loans funded. We have clear – mathematically proven – strategies to maximize your chances of getting the money you need.



In order to take advantage of our services you need to follow the link below and join our group. Through analysis we have found that the most important factor in whether a loan gets funded on prosper.com is a group leader endorsement. If you join our group and apply for a loan through prosper.com via our group we will endorse your loan and help you get it funded.



For more information follow the link to:



https://www.prosper.com/groups/group_home.aspx?group_short_name=AddventureCapital



Click on “Join Group” on the right side of the screen and everything else should be self-explanatory.

Answer 17

http://www.gogetoutofdebt.net

Answer 18

welcome !!!



http://all-aboutfinance.blogspot.com