Credit and Debt Counseling

"No, most reputable credit counselors do not charge a fee. Instead they look at your debts, monthly payments, and income and help you make a budget that will allow you to get back on you feet."

American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) is one of the nation's most trustworthy charitable credit directing organizations. Since 1991, we have been committed to helping people and families assume responsibility for their funds and make an arrangement to escape obligation. debt redemption.

Consumer credit counseling is a process which should educate consumers about how to avoid incurring debts they cannot afford and helps establish a method of debt relief, usually by negotiating with creditors to establish a debt management plan for a consumer which helps him repay his or her debt at reduced payments fees and interest rates. Credit counselors receive their fee from the creditors for their services. Consumers should educate themselves to all possible options and counselors should help them do that. You should choose a counseling service that offers a full range of services and one that has wide range of informational material you can search through on your own. Your initial consultation should be free and you should not feel pressured as if you were talking to a salesman.

If you think you need bankruptcy advice, get it immediately. Free guides to Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy are widely available online. The average person filing for bankruptcy is $25,000 to $30,000 in debt. Get advice if your debt is less than this, there may be other ways to manage your debt. Bankruptcy stays on your credit for 10 years and should be considered when there are no other options that make sense for you. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and consumer Protection Act of 2005 made it a requirement for consumer debtors filing for Bankruptcy in the United States to complete a program with an approved non-profit budget and credit counseling agency during the 180-day period preceding the filing of bankruptcy. A good counselor should help you take a look at your assets. What do you have that you can live without? You might consider borrowing money from a pension fund if you have one. Usually you can borrow up to 50% at very low interest rates. Do you have valuables you can do without? Pulling together as much money as you can, may allow you to make lump sum payments on your credit cards. Sell the second car, big screen TV, and old clothing. Consider getting a temporary second job.

If you are falling behind on your mortgage, do not wait for help and advice. One of the best places to educate yourself and find help is at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website. You can find a HUD approved counseling agency and should do so immediately when you are one payment behind. If you are having problems paying off your student loan there is help available. A federal program can limit monthly payments of federal student loans to 15% or your income. There are many resources for both federal and non-federal student loan help available. You can also ask your lender for a hardship forebearance (this can be up to 3 years), or a deferment for unemployed if you have lost a job. This will also suspend your payments for time periods of up to 3 years, thus allowing you to use the would-be student loan payment funds to pay off high interest credit cars or loans.

There are a number of reliable credit counseling agencies that are reviewed very well online. Some reliable credit counseling agencies are CareOne, Springboard, American Consumer Credit Counseling and American Financial Solutions.

"There are a number of online sites that offer this service. Of the sites I found, Advantage Credit Counseling Services is free and puts you in touch with the proper person based on how you answer a few questions."

In general, when dealing with a non-profit credit counseling service their services are going to be free or low cost which can be a huge benefit to the consumer. The assumption would be that the non-profit is more interested in helping you than in making themselves a profit. They are still required to abide by all other laws and regulations that govern businesses. However, they can be run as efficiently, or as poorly, as any other organization. When searching for a non-profit you can look for the same accreditation from organizations such as the Better Business Bureau, etc. Most non-profits have websites that can be found online. You can tell by the website name which almost always ends with .org (which stands for "organization") rather than .com (which means "commercial").

A non-profit status for an agency does not mean they do not make a profit. It means the profit they make is used to fund their ability to provide more services to the public. The surplus money does not go into the pockets of its shareholders or management. Having a non-profit status means they are certified by the government as non-profit and therefore exempt from paying taxes. The reason they are granted that status is because they are providing services to the public that the government would otherwise be providing or paying for. The government is willing to make them tax-exempt because they are actually saving money for the services they do not have to provide. Non-profits provide benefits to the public and they are usually the first place you turn if you have an emergency and need food, shelter, clothing, education, or medical care. The American Red Cross is a good example of a non-profit agency.

When checking out a non-profit's website be as careful as you would with any other organization. Scan their home page; search for other organizations they are affiliated with; and search for national organizations from which they are accredited. Look for many articles that explain or educate you about credit counseling and their services. If you are educated before you contact them, their job is easier and so is yours. A list of approved credit counseling agencies by state and judicial district is available on the U.S. Trustee Program website and will also tell you where to take the courses to prepare for bankruptcy. To help you choose an approved credit counseling agency, the Federal Trade Commission offers facts for consumers that provide helpful suggestions for finding the best counselor for you. They also offer a list of "must do" items for anyone who is on a debt management plan most of which are appropriate for anyone in credit counseling.

There are some for-profit business that offer non-profit debt consolidation. CreditGUARD of America, Inc. is an independent, non-profit credit counseling agency that provides debt counseling to consumers throughout the United States. The agency you choose does not have to be local to you, but if you do not have ready access to a computer it should be.

When looking for credit repair counseling in Toronto, it is advisable to first see the Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services, or, OACCS, who set the standards for the qualifications and hold a database of approved counselors. Another useful organisation is the 'Financial Consumer Agency of Canada'.

The best, but little known resource for credit improvement can be found at Family Credit, a fully accredited credit counseling non profit organization based out of the United States. If you qualify for their services, Family Credit will work with your past creditors to lower your fees and improve your credit score. Family Credit receives an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, the leading consumer review organization in the United States.

The most popular place for one to get a consumer counseling credit would be at American Consumer Credit Counseling. There are many types of businesses that offer credit counseling including Money Management and Debt Counseling Corp.

The American Consumer Credit Counseling company can be found at 130 Rumford Avenue, Suite 202, Auburndale, Massachusetts, 02466-1371. They offer a number of services including credit counseling and debt management programs.

The income of a mental health counselor (as opposed to a psychiatrist) depends largely on the position, which in turn may depend on the individual's level of education. In general, salaried counselors might make from ~ $25,000 US (entry level) to $60,000 for a PhD with lots of clinical experience and a good reputation. Anything above that would almost certainly be an administrative position.

Founded in 1951, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) continues to grow and provide free credit counseling. NFCC is a non profit organisation that provides free or low cost individualized, confidential counsil crediting in person, by phone or by email

I don't know but she's a cutie.

You would need to have some accounting or credit training. You would probably need to have an associates degree in business or finance. The company could train the right person so you may not need any prior education or experience.

Researching information regarding non profit credit counselling has provided little information. The National Foundation for Credit Counselling site appears to have some very good information regarding this topic. They are known to represent a number of agencies that provide free or low cost credit counselling.

Someone would use a consumer credit counseling service if they are finding it hard to pay down the debt that they have and still live with out creating more debt. The service would help you come up with different options and find the best payback option for you.

While traditional debt counseling usually cost money, being paid to the organization and/or person that is providing their time to you. In Christian debt counseling, you can get invited to sessions of financial education, all for free. They are a non-profit debt relief organization.

The Credit Guard of America offers many different services for customers. In particular, it offers credit counseling, debt consolidation, and debt management services.

A free credit check can be obtained at a debt counseling center. If you have bad credit, they can help you get back on track to raise or keep your credit rating with budgeting help.

CIBIL is a bureau who gives you a credit rating between 300 and 900. 300 being the lowest and 900 is the highest score which you can get.

To avail a loan or a credit card you need to have minimum 750 score. If your CIBIL score is below 750 there are high chances that your enquiry will get rejected.

To improvise your cibil score you need to concentrate on the below important parameters :

1 Payment History

This section talks about your past credit utilisation and repayment and negative remarks, this needs to be tracked so that no errors happen on this section of report. This is the most important parameter for Bureau score calculation.

2 Amount Owed

This parameter is for monitoring your usage pattern and outstanding on your accounts, excessive use on your assigned credit limit will hamper your score.

3 Length of Credit History

The longer history you have in your report the better your score becomes, please ensure you do not close any active credit card.

4 New Credits

Taking too many new credit facility in short time span proves you to be credit hungry, so do not apply for a loan or credit card if it is not absolutely necessary.

5 Credit Mix (Secured & unsecured)

Your credit history should have a good mix of unsecured and secured credits, and high secured credits compared to unsecured are good for you.

6 Overdue amounts

If you can restrict all your accounts from being overdue all the above five parameters are taken care off, so no overdue account is equal to good credit health.

7 Debt burden ratio

This section talks about the total emi burden you can afford basis your current earnings, this keeps on changing as per your income.

8 Income and Expense ratio

It is very important to have a positive income to expense ratio as this will help you save some money which will increase your debt repayment capability and thus would impact positively on your credit health.

Following are the weigthages of these parameters on your score:

Payment history: 35%

Amounts owed: 30%

Length of credit history: 15%

How many types of credit in use: 10%

Account inquiries/New credit: 10%

Credit counseling services are more than likely a scam in the majority of cases, which is unfortunate. In the Cleveland area, there are very few credit counseling services at all, but most of them are illegitimate.

My opinion: the best you're going to get is "semi-legit". They may do what they say, but only for huge fees. The industry as a whole doesn't have a good reputation due to companies no paying your bills on time and charging huge fees for the "privelege".