Monday, October 27, 2008

Credit Counseling Explained

By William Blake

The average person carries several thousand dollars of debt. While this may not be a lot in the grand scheme of things, it does make a difference to a person's creditworthiness if they can't pay. If this is where you fall, credit counseling may be the answer. Here are some facts about the credit counseling process.

If you owe a lot of money and find it hard to manage to pay your bills, you may need to talk to a credit counselor. A credit counselor is very knowledgeable about managing and repaying debt and their goal is to help a person get out from under their debt and how not to end there again.

Counselors work for the customer. They are there to help the creditors get back their money and to help the client get back on their financial feet. A credit counselor will listen to you and come up with suggestions to help you repay your debt.

The debt repayment plan takes into account your assets, earnings, and ability to pay. The monthly payment will be based on what you can pay without causing other bills to fall behind. These counselors have established a rapport with many creditors and know what they will and will not accept concerning payment arrangements. As much as fifty percent or more of your outstanding debt could be forgiven.

Counselors tend to have backgrounds in finance or business. They need to certified in credit counseling in order to counsel people and to be recognized as an expert of this field. They have to go through a training procedure and are tested to becoming a certified counselor.

You will be offered information on how to repair your credit. They will advise you on rebuilding your credit. Reviewing and understanding your credit report is very important part of this. A counselor will talk to you about how to manage your money so that future debt may be avoided.

Credit counselors do not repair your credit. Some people are under the impression that credit counselors will help to fix credit after the repayment plan is completed. You, the consumer, can fix your credit in as much time as it will take them. Ask for advice on how to go about the process, but work on fixing credit on your own. It will be a helpful learning experience.

Credit counseling services may charge a fee. Check into the programs that appeal to you and find out what, if any, fees will be asked of you. If the credit counselors are reputable, go with a company that charges fifty dollars over the one that charges a higher rate. More expensive doesn't mean that the services are better.

Credit counselors are there to aid you and obtain lower payments for consumers. If you've reached the point where you're not sure what the next step is, call and find out how they can help you.

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