Has anyone tried CCCS and Debt Management Plans?

[jj26]

hooloovoo, I can recommend a CCCS company that is pretty good that I am using if you want to look into going that route. I have been with them for 2 years and they have been nothing but good. I had total reservations finding a CCCS from all the horror stories you hear and it has worked out incredibly well.

Never had any issues and the creditors I have in CCCS (cap one, chase). They don't list you being in credit counseling, my credit reports I pulled recently just show the accounts as open. You can't use the cards as a part of the program, but it didn't show up negatively on any of the 3 bureaus. I have a separate payment plan with BofA on my own and those show as closed with a balance.

The negative was I was able to negotiate a better rate for my BofA cards going directly to BofA than they could, but it has been no big deal using both CCCS and dealing directly with BofA.

I can private message you the name if you are interested.

[CatsInTrouble]

WE did a CCCS called Greenpath for about 1 year. It is non profit I believe and was the one company recco'd by Suze Orman.

They reduced a lot of our interest and therefore reduced our payments somewhat. However, we were still paying $2000 per month (about 100K of cc debt) and it killed us. So after "wasting" that much for a year, we ended in BK anyway.

If we had stayed on it for 5 years, supposedly we would have been all paid off.

The place we went to was on the up and up and etc. The administation cost was very low. They sent 99% of the payment directly to the CC companies in some kind of pre-determined order. WE paid THEM the 2000, they paid the CCs.

I guess it's do-able for some people.

[hooloovoo]

Well I think I might still give it a try.

I just talked with my ex wife, and despite my assurance (and several lawyers) that my filing would not affect her, she insisted that if I filed it would ruin her credit. The only joint account we have is a second mortgage on a house we are renting out. I told her, worst case I'd be wiped off the second and it would have no affect on her credit unless she stopped making payments. Same as if I was still on it... Also as some lawyers pointed out, our divorce agreement states that I am responsible for half of the costs of the house regardless of who is on what title/mortgage so it's pretty much a moot point.

But the up side of this is, because she's convinced that me filing would lead to her credit being ruined, she agreed to let me sell the motorcycle we share (complicated, but basically in the divorce we each kept a motorcycle, I needed money and sold hers because she liked mine better and didn't want me to sell it, so we were going to share it). And further, she agreed to let me use all the money from that sale and pay back her share of it at a later date.

So, I should be able to get at least $3k (probably $3500 if I'm patient) from that. That should give me enough cash to get out of my lease. Then if I can get into a $5,000 used car, with the lower payment and insurance that will free up about $500 a month, which is enough for me to live frugally on. In addition, unlike if I file BK, if my bonuses resume I'll keep all of that and can just set it aside to build an emergency fund.

So if that works out, then the CCCS would be a benefit even if it only frees up a little money each month. The biggest thing killing me right now is the several cards at 28%. If they can get those down to something reasonable, and with freed up income from getting out of my car, I could pay what my minimums are now and be out of this in 3 years with my credit intact.

Let's hope it works out. I'm a little worried about what kind of concessions creditors are making in this economy. I've heard about how they are much more willing to settle when you are behind, but I'm wondering if they aren't desperate to milk us all to the last drop and not willing to negotiate at all if you aren't behind. I know the creditors are also concerned that people are using CCCS to just get lower rates even if they aren't in trouble and wondering if it is really helping the banks out at all. But I figure it can't hurt to contact them and see what they can do.

[Recessionist]

My experience with CCCS is that it worked for my former sister-in-law, for my brother, and so I did enter a plan and it worked until I lost my job and then that was that. When I couldn't pay, no one would re-negotiate, and 18 moths later, I have to file BK instead. Had I known the economy was going to tank so hard I might have filed BK instead of going into debt mgt. In general, I do feel they are a way out for people who want to and can pay the debts, but need a leg up. They also had a lot of other services, classes, and worked with community outreach to help the poor fine health services and what not.

[Reneeinil]

I was deeply in debt and contacted several consumer credit agencies. You have to be really careful, as some add high fees. Most want to do a 3 year plan. Their plans all made my payments higher than I was paying. I chose to contact all my creditors individually. They set up payment plans with me, reduced my interest rates, etc. They really want to help you pay your bill. The only company I had trouble with was HSBC. They were rude and ignorant. Good luck