Credit Counseling/was: Long Term Goals

[Guest]

Someone wrote:
“Paying your bills slowly at a lesser monthly payment doesn’t help
your credit rating and surprisingly using a Credit Counseling
service hurts your rating as much as bankruptcy.”

I just wanted to clarify some information based on my contact with several
credit counseling services (both FOR profit and NOT for profit) over the
last couple of months. Depending on your situation, a credit counseling
service can actually BETTER your credit rating by increasing your debt to
income ratio. The right credit counseling service will have established
relationships with creditors and work to negotiate your amount owed and/or
APR. Further, the service sees to it that your bills are paid in a timely
fashion thus maintaining your “credit” (actually bettering it in some
situations). Some services even offer incentives and programs that pay you
back money for being a “good payer”.

I had my doubts about credit counseling services and not every service is
the same. It took MANY a phone call and internet search to find the right
company and it was the help of this group that lead me to find the right
service.

I just wanted to put this information out there in the event someone is
considering using a credit counseling service. As with any personal and/or
financial decision, just do your homework and investigate until you’re blue
in the face — knowledge is power!

Thanks,
Michelle in DE

[Author]

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