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March 31, 2000
Are creditors calling your house day and night because you're behind on your payments? Is it hard for you to manage and control your financial obligations? Well, if you answered yes to either of these questions and you are having the credit card blues like thousands of other students, help is just a click away.
In the past few years I have had trouble receiving financial aid and grants through school because I still live at home, so my tuition has had to come straight out of my pocket. Juggling a part-time job and classes was hard enough without having to worry how I was going to pay for my credit card bills (click here to see my previous article). Before I knew it I made a few late payments here and there, while the late fees seemed to cancel out my payments, tacking on additional finance charges. My credit card blues were becoming a constant struggle, so I had to admit to myself that I needed help.
There are numerous credit card counseling services out there that can help you get your financial problems under control. Most offer promises of lowering payments, annual percentage rates (APR), and the amount of time it takes to pay off your bills. But how will these services affect your credit standing? You're young now, but after you complete your education, you may want to get your own apartment or buy a car. In order to determine which services will offer the best help to you while repairing your credit standing, you'll find that research is the key. I've done a bit of the work for you by choosing a few services you may want to look at.
National Foundation for Credit Counseling
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) is a non-profit network that provides a counseling and debt solver program through several debt consolidating services. The NFCC recommends that before you enroll in a program, you should ask the following questions when researching an agency:
- Is this agency a non-profit organization?
- How much will these services cost?
- Are agency services confidential?
- Will they devise a plan tailored to fit your needs?
- Are the counselors certified?
- Are budget and credit education opportunities offered?
- Will my funds be protected?
- Is the agency accredited?
The NFCC educates consumers on how credit works and how to budget in order to become financially responsible. By searching the web site at www.nfcc.org you will be able to find a member of the network that can help you consolidate your bills and lower your payments.
Ammend Credit Counseling
If you are looking for a service that can offer you solutions quickly, home.fuse.net/04Helpcccscreditcounseling/ is a non-profit organization that provides free and confidential debt repayment assistance. The good thing about the site is that it allows the user to fill out an application on-line and the service will give you a quote with a payment schedule within one hour of submitting the application. While this helps you determine whether the service offers you sufficient assistance, the application asks personal information such as you social security number and your credit card account numbers, so if you are uncomfortable with this, it may be wise to fax or mail in the application. This credit counseling service also helps consumers avoid bankruptcy and lower interest rates on outstanding balances.
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of San Francisco
This non-profit counseling service that helps consumers nationwide by phone, is a member of the NFCC and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc. This service has provided money management information since 1969, so if you are worried about trusting a service, these reputable credit counselors are more than qualified to satisfy your financial needs. The service provides free, confidential money management and debt counseling over the Internet (www.cccssf.org) and by phone (1-800-777-PLAN). The debt management plan allows the consumer to make one monthly payment through the service. Although the counseling is free, enrolling in the plan will cost $20 month. The site offers information on debt management, financial planners, a sample of how the service can reduce your debt and an on-line application.
Garden State Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc.
This non-profit organization at www.gardenstateccc.org/ gets the award for best helpful information. The site offered a section on what questions a consumer would have. While many of the other sites left me wondering how the service worked and how it would affect my credit standing, this site answered several of my concerns. Again the counseling services are free, yet the debt management plan costs approximately $3-25 depending on the number of creditors an individual has. The service does not require the consumer to participate in additional borrowing in order to pay off creditors. While the site does not offer an on-line application, you can call 1-800-99-BILLS to talk to a representative.
American Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc.
Also a non-profit counseling service at www.consumercredit.com/, the American Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc.(ACCC) helps consumers find financial solutions to debt problems. While offering an on-line application with money management information, the site also offers a test to determine whether you are facing financial trouble. After taking the test, you may be able to decide whether you should seek financial help. While submitting my information to several credit counseling services, this service was the only one to respond within a few hours to set up a session to discuss my financial situation.
If you a ready to admit that your ever increasing debts are affecting the rest of your life and you need help, consider one of the services I have listed here. Try a non-profit organization with no or low administrative fees. Remember to check with your creditors to determine how using these services will affect your personal credit standing and research the organization you plan to use. E-mail us at and give us your opinions of and experiences with credit counseling services.
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