I honestly don't recommend it. Free Companies (more than likely don't exist).. u may not pay up front.. but u are certainly paying in the payment plan.
For example:
If you have 10k in credit card debt and unsecured debt (mainly the things they can consolidate.. not car loans/mortgages/current customer cell phone bills or utilities/cable company..etc so its CC debt mainly.. and maybe some bank loans unsecured.)
They will do this.. say your 10k is spread out over 4 cards at 2500 each with a minimum payment of around $80 (this is just for talking purposes).. this would more than likely only pay the interest and no principal on a 18.99% credit card or higher and so there is no payment plan.
well they take 4 of those 80 X 4 = 320$ and call the card companies for u ( u can also do it yourself and not mess with these companies) and settle to end the card and payoff the debt now for potentially less due to financial hardship or u cannot pay the debt ever.. of course the companies will agree. and possibly settle for 50% of the debt in some cases.
so they take 10k in debt.. get it down to 5k.. and then take a fee of anywhere from 10-50% depending on the case (lets say 30%) and so total debt is now 6.5k
6.5k over 3 yrs payment plan = $180 per month which is 140$ per month less than what you were paying and your debts will be paid (in full, but with asterisk because of the settlement)
On your credit report it will be damaged for the 3 yr payment plan AND about 1-2yrs afterwords to repair your credit worthiness.. this is why I highly recommend NOT doing it.
if you are going to do it anyway consider calling the companies yourself first and trying to negotiate the debt for 50% or you cannot pay the bill any longer.. some companies will fold and agree after a few calls and asking for decision makers. Also you can threaten bankruptcy and that might entice them to pull the trigger.
if this doesnt work.. honestly if u have a lot of unsecured debt (talking 20k+) and u have a home and/or car that has either no equity in it or u are making payments and plan to continue with them (re-affirming debt) AND if your job loss is potentially long term AND you have roughly 850-1000$ then I would consider chapter 7 bankruptcy LONG BEFORE I would consider debt consolidation...
why? because chapter 7 erases the debt and although it is detrimental to your credit rating.. u still will be refreshed within 1 yr and start building up credit again.. believe me on this.. whereas with debt consolidation u have to get creditors to settle for less (or the debt consol company does) and they mark that on credit report never to come off and during the 3 yr long consolidation your credit rating will be destroyed literally and then 1-2 yrs after it will start rebuilding again..
so from a credit report perspective only - Bankruptcy (start repairing credit within 1 yr after filing) or Consolidation ( start repairing credit 3-5 yrs after beginning)
From a money perspective - Bankruptcy ( pay an attorney and court filing totaling around 1k and your debts are gone Forever) / Consolidation ( debts cut in half and you pay a monthly payment over 3 yrs including a payment to the company consolidating which will still equal about 60-100% of the debt u have anyway.. just no longer building up/gaining interest)
Also during the time AFTER BK Chapter 7.. you could begin saving that same amount you were about to pay to credit card companies and build yourself a savings plan instead of sending it to a debt consolidator... this would be smart because over 3 yrs even that $180 = 6480 which is probably 4-5 months of your house payment banked which will help you in the future should a problem arise again due to job loss..etc
just some food for thought and that is my real recommendation... to follow those steps and make the right choice with everything thought and included I mentioned.
I worked in mortgages as a loan officer for several years and seen thousands of credit reports.. so I know the direct reflection of each and every action I wrote about. As far as bankruptcy I know that even government backed loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can be gotten within 2-4 yrs after a bankruptcy for a new house/refinance..etc which means that even if you filed a bankruptcy you would still be eligible to buy your dream home once you get job back/save money/etc in 2-4 yrs.. that is amazing isnt it
Gl buddy :toast:
-murph
For example:
If you have 10k in credit card debt and unsecured debt (mainly the things they can consolidate.. not car loans/mortgages/current customer cell phone bills or utilities/cable company..etc so its CC debt mainly.. and maybe some bank loans unsecured.)
They will do this.. say your 10k is spread out over 4 cards at 2500 each with a minimum payment of around $80 (this is just for talking purposes).. this would more than likely only pay the interest and no principal on a 18.99% credit card or higher and so there is no payment plan.
well they take 4 of those 80 X 4 = 320$ and call the card companies for u ( u can also do it yourself and not mess with these companies) and settle to end the card and payoff the debt now for potentially less due to financial hardship or u cannot pay the debt ever.. of course the companies will agree. and possibly settle for 50% of the debt in some cases.
so they take 10k in debt.. get it down to 5k.. and then take a fee of anywhere from 10-50% depending on the case (lets say 30%) and so total debt is now 6.5k
6.5k over 3 yrs payment plan = $180 per month which is 140$ per month less than what you were paying and your debts will be paid (in full, but with asterisk because of the settlement)
On your credit report it will be damaged for the 3 yr payment plan AND about 1-2yrs afterwords to repair your credit worthiness.. this is why I highly recommend NOT doing it.
if you are going to do it anyway consider calling the companies yourself first and trying to negotiate the debt for 50% or you cannot pay the bill any longer.. some companies will fold and agree after a few calls and asking for decision makers. Also you can threaten bankruptcy and that might entice them to pull the trigger.
if this doesnt work.. honestly if u have a lot of unsecured debt (talking 20k+) and u have a home and/or car that has either no equity in it or u are making payments and plan to continue with them (re-affirming debt) AND if your job loss is potentially long term AND you have roughly 850-1000$ then I would consider chapter 7 bankruptcy LONG BEFORE I would consider debt consolidation...
why? because chapter 7 erases the debt and although it is detrimental to your credit rating.. u still will be refreshed within 1 yr and start building up credit again.. believe me on this.. whereas with debt consolidation u have to get creditors to settle for less (or the debt consol company does) and they mark that on credit report never to come off and during the 3 yr long consolidation your credit rating will be destroyed literally and then 1-2 yrs after it will start rebuilding again..
so from a credit report perspective only - Bankruptcy (start repairing credit within 1 yr after filing) or Consolidation ( start repairing credit 3-5 yrs after beginning)
From a money perspective - Bankruptcy ( pay an attorney and court filing totaling around 1k and your debts are gone Forever) / Consolidation ( debts cut in half and you pay a monthly payment over 3 yrs including a payment to the company consolidating which will still equal about 60-100% of the debt u have anyway.. just no longer building up/gaining interest)
Also during the time AFTER BK Chapter 7.. you could begin saving that same amount you were about to pay to credit card companies and build yourself a savings plan instead of sending it to a debt consolidator... this would be smart because over 3 yrs even that $180 = 6480 which is probably 4-5 months of your house payment banked which will help you in the future should a problem arise again due to job loss..etc
just some food for thought and that is my real recommendation... to follow those steps and make the right choice with everything thought and included I mentioned.
I worked in mortgages as a loan officer for several years and seen thousands of credit reports.. so I know the direct reflection of each and every action I wrote about. As far as bankruptcy I know that even government backed loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can be gotten within 2-4 yrs after a bankruptcy for a new house/refinance..etc which means that even if you filed a bankruptcy you would still be eligible to buy your dream home once you get job back/save money/etc in 2-4 yrs.. that is amazing isnt it
Gl buddy :toast:
-murph
What have you been doing in the 3.5 years since you posted this?
http://www.therxforum.com/showthread.php?t=692889
__________________________________________________________________________________
Best way to get rid of 70K in Debt?
40K in school loans
20K in truck loan (trucks only worth 15)
10K credit cards
I make 48K a year ...30 years old.
I can easily make my payments but I am fucking TIRED of being imprisoned to this shit job that I HATE and in this shit city because of these debts. I can easily make these payments but I am just sick of having my life controlled by this shit. I cant get a new job that pays more and yes..I do have another part time job. I need to get rid of this debt ASAP.
Thought about bankruptcy but that doesnt get rid of the school loans....
Allright Rx ..there is a reason this is the best forum on the internet..let's hear some of your thoughts...I know there are some smart people here.
http://www.therxforum.com/showthread.php?t=692889
__________________________________________________________________________________
Best way to get rid of 70K in Debt?
40K in school loans
20K in truck loan (trucks only worth 15)
10K credit cards
I make 48K a year ...30 years old.
I can easily make my payments but I am fucking TIRED of being imprisoned to this shit job that I HATE and in this shit city because of these debts. I can easily make these payments but I am just sick of having my life controlled by this shit. I cant get a new job that pays more and yes..I do have another part time job. I need to get rid of this debt ASAP.
Thought about bankruptcy but that doesnt get rid of the school loans....
Allright Rx ..there is a reason this is the best forum on the internet..let's hear some of your thoughts...I know there are some smart people here.
There are plenty of "services" out there that will do FREE counseling and work with your creditors without taking any fees out of what you put into the plan unlike what murph talks about.
The ones that murph talks about are shysters and they prey on those that are weak in understanding their options. They typically prey on minorities, college kids and seniors.
You have many options, you just need to know what they are.
First and foremost, call your "secured" lenders and find out what they are willing to settle your balances for. Explain your situation in full and don't leave out any details.
When you first get into the negotiation stage of a settlement you are going to be talking to a front line employee. Their role is to help you, however they are only allowed to settle for a certain pre determined percentage based on their employee level. For example a front line employee may be allowed to offer you 10% off, you balk and ask to speak to someone higher, they send it to the next level they may be allowed 15-20%, you balk and ask to speak to someone higher. At this point depending on the companies layer of employees, you will either speak to the third level tier team, a team lead or a supervisor.
A supervisor can take off much more however their boss can take off even more and finally their boss has the ability to waive the entire balance.
Don't be rude, don't down talk, be as sorry and sad sounding as you can without sounding like a liar. It's ok to stretch the truth but not all of it.
Typically after you strike a deal they will send you out a letter with the terms and tell you how long you have to pay the settlement for it to be still enforce.
Find a way to get the money to make the deal and save your credit. It's better to have a settlement on your credit bureau than a repossession, a default or a bankruptcy.
Most debt places won't be able to do too much for you on a car/home because the bank has a lien and can foreclose or repossess and get money back on collateral. Right now repossessed vehicles are selling for much higher on the auction block than years past due to the high demand of used vehicles.
So if you need your vehicle, do all you can to keep it.
With credit cards as you know they are unsecured and you can do the same as above with the creditor. They however can put you on a hardship plan to lower your monthly payments and in most cases put your interest to 0%. This serves two purposes, the money you pay all goes towards your balance. If you have your line still open and available to you, it will be closed and you won't be able to use it again.
If you go with an agency such as CCCS, they get paid, but not out of your payment. What I mean is if you are having $100 go to a credit card, then you get credited with $100 towards your balance from the bank. The bank in turn pays CCCS out of their own funds and you are losing out nothing and they still get funds for doing the work for the creditor. This is vastly different than the scammers that murph was talking about.
Typically a debt settlement company will contact your creditors and try to work out a deal. Once they have a deal in place they tell you what your monthly payment is to them and you keep paying until you build up a large amount of cash. At that point they start calling back your creditors and offering a deal, if the creditor balks they say, ok we have "x" amount of others to call, you likely won't be paid. Then they call the next creditor and keep going until someone takes what they offer. Once they get all the companies to agree to some amount, they keep the rest of the money and tell you that your debts are paid and thank you for doing business with them while all the while you think of them as your savior. Steer clear of these at all costs.
As for bankruptcy it's not as easy as it once was. Due to bankruptcy abuse you have to go through counseling first before it will be considered and most find that bankruptcy isn't the best route.
Not sure of your situation in full as you were very generic, I'd be glad to help steer you in the right direction, just send me a pm.
The ones that murph talks about are shysters and they prey on those that are weak in understanding their options. They typically prey on minorities, college kids and seniors.
You have many options, you just need to know what they are.
First and foremost, call your "secured" lenders and find out what they are willing to settle your balances for. Explain your situation in full and don't leave out any details.
When you first get into the negotiation stage of a settlement you are going to be talking to a front line employee. Their role is to help you, however they are only allowed to settle for a certain pre determined percentage based on their employee level. For example a front line employee may be allowed to offer you 10% off, you balk and ask to speak to someone higher, they send it to the next level they may be allowed 15-20%, you balk and ask to speak to someone higher. At this point depending on the companies layer of employees, you will either speak to the third level tier team, a team lead or a supervisor.
A supervisor can take off much more however their boss can take off even more and finally their boss has the ability to waive the entire balance.
Don't be rude, don't down talk, be as sorry and sad sounding as you can without sounding like a liar. It's ok to stretch the truth but not all of it.
Typically after you strike a deal they will send you out a letter with the terms and tell you how long you have to pay the settlement for it to be still enforce.
Find a way to get the money to make the deal and save your credit. It's better to have a settlement on your credit bureau than a repossession, a default or a bankruptcy.
Most debt places won't be able to do too much for you on a car/home because the bank has a lien and can foreclose or repossess and get money back on collateral. Right now repossessed vehicles are selling for much higher on the auction block than years past due to the high demand of used vehicles.
So if you need your vehicle, do all you can to keep it.
With credit cards as you know they are unsecured and you can do the same as above with the creditor. They however can put you on a hardship plan to lower your monthly payments and in most cases put your interest to 0%. This serves two purposes, the money you pay all goes towards your balance. If you have your line still open and available to you, it will be closed and you won't be able to use it again.
If you go with an agency such as CCCS, they get paid, but not out of your payment. What I mean is if you are having $100 go to a credit card, then you get credited with $100 towards your balance from the bank. The bank in turn pays CCCS out of their own funds and you are losing out nothing and they still get funds for doing the work for the creditor. This is vastly different than the scammers that murph was talking about.
Typically a debt settlement company will contact your creditors and try to work out a deal. Once they have a deal in place they tell you what your monthly payment is to them and you keep paying until you build up a large amount of cash. At that point they start calling back your creditors and offering a deal, if the creditor balks they say, ok we have "x" amount of others to call, you likely won't be paid. Then they call the next creditor and keep going until someone takes what they offer. Once they get all the companies to agree to some amount, they keep the rest of the money and tell you that your debts are paid and thank you for doing business with them while all the while you think of them as your savior. Steer clear of these at all costs.
As for bankruptcy it's not as easy as it once was. Due to bankruptcy abuse you have to go through counseling first before it will be considered and most find that bankruptcy isn't the best route.
Not sure of your situation in full as you were very generic, I'd be glad to help steer you in the right direction, just send me a pm.
I will respond to the key points made and try to elaborate more on my experience and exactly what I meant, as well as some other things.
Hotpizza - green / murph - blue
that is everything I have input on and I respectfully will encourage you to take what I have said into consideration and most importantly do research as you have by coming here and call the companies first-hand yourself to begin this process.. if you cannot work things out with them and still feel you have large financial burden which cannot be taken care of, then consider the other options with everything said about them and explained by others here.
gl and I hope you make it through this tough time bud <label for="rb_iconid_463">
</label>
-murph
Hotpizza - green / murph - blue
There are plenty of "services" out there that will do FREE counseling and work with your creditors without taking any fees out of what you put into the plan unlike what murph talks about.
I am sure there are.. but as I said before and even you stated yourself.. doing it yourself means that every dollar possible that the cc company is willing to settle for will be paid to them.. when having a discussion with a free/non-profit/etc debt consolidator they still realize that they have to pay them out of their own money (the bank) and include that in the settlement figure they will agree upon..
Pretend they will settle for 2k no matter who you are on the phone - John Anthony/Boiler Room/CCCS/etc.. they will tell you that 2k bottom line figure on their own.. whereas with a Non-profit they accommodate that into the settlement as they will not accept any less than that amount as I stated above NET.. it is their complete floor... no less ever (is the example I am using).. so in order to get to that floor and still get the 2k they deserve, they may settle with the consolidation company for 2400 already planning on sending the company 400 of the 2400 sent which still nets them = 2k.. so if that is their bottom line.. trust me it is their bottom line no matter who talks to them.. they won't eat into whatever they hold firm on to a company/individual/etc..i will elaborate further in a moment
Find a way to get the money to make the deal and save your credit. It's better to have a settlement on your credit bureau than a repossession, a default or a bankruptcy.
I agree, if you can make a deal yourself personally for a "settlement" then it will not adversely affect your credit report any more than paying it off in arrears. Once the debt is done.. it is truly done.. BUT what I disagree on is if you use a company whether it is Non Profit/FREE/scammers/ETC it all reports the exact same on credit report..
trust me I have seen Thousands of them first hand and analyzed them for banks on a processing level. ALL BANKS/GOV LOANS/ETC will follow similar criteria when undergoing approval for a large loan like a mortgage/home loan...Debt Consolidation appears on the report to protect the consumer themselves from further being exposed to late reports/missed payments/etc and it clearly is in plain writing in the report that you are currently undergoing consolidation.....as I explained earlier.. this will typically take 2-3 yrs for the consolidation and payoff to be completed.. during that time your credit report is virtually frozen on those accounts involved and from the very 1st day after your consolidation is complete, no bank in the world will touch you for 1-2+ yrs. so in effect, you are postponing any further credit repairing for 3-5yrs if you go through any type of company no matter how non profit they are.. they all have to report to equifax/experian/transunion in the same way in order to protect the consumer from those accts being reported inaccurately.. this is part of the deal that is made with the banks in question once again to PROTECT THE CONSUMER.. so if you have 3-5yrs to burn before you ever want to be approved or even considered for anything again.. by all means
If you go with an agency such as CCCS, they get paid, but not out of your payment. What I mean is if you are having $100 go to a credit card, then you get credited with $100 towards your balance from the bank. The bank in turn pays CCCS out of their own funds and you are losing out nothing and they still get funds for doing the work for the creditor. This is vastly different than the scammers that murph was talking about.
I addressed this above in my first BLUE statement.. to go a bit further.. this does vastly differ from a scam company as HotPizza states but it still has the exact same scenario involved as I put in statement 1in Blue... if a company is willing to settle for 2k and that is the very bottom floor amount.. they will still consider that figure when negotiating with an actual company in order to reach their bottom line.. so even if the company is not "charging the customer".. the bank still is in the bottom floor figure...also as far as credit reporting and what is reflected.. it won't matter if the company is a "scam" / FREE/ non-profit/etc they all must report the same thing to the bureau or you are not in effect doing debt consolidation at all so it would be as if I called you and got you to send me money in the mail
As for bankruptcy it's not as easy as it once was. Due to bankruptcy abuse you have to go through counseling first before it will be considered and most find that bankruptcy isn't the best route.
this is true but its also a bit misunderstood. Bankruptcy is still tougher to get approved for.. but it still is very accessible for the person who truly needs it.. someone who is in financial trouble beyond help from their own abilities should consider bankruptcy and at least discussing their options as you have stated yourself.... just because there is bankruptcy abuse does not change a thing about your own personal matter if it is legitimate and you need to file bankruptcy the "counseling" as he stated will give you that option after you have seen it laid out in plain explanation. - in other words if YOU are NOT a scammer or trying to abuse bankruptcy...the numbers will not lie and you will be approved as the system is made to deter the ABUSERS.. not the people in real danger of financial crisis....
furthermore about the "counseling" that is mandatory as you also know and pointed out... It can be done online with 1-2hrs of reading and answering questions and in the end you will completely know all your options including going the route of hiring a debt consolidation company / filing bankruptcy / restructuring your debt yourself...etc - basically you don't need to call or contact any non-profit agency to tell you this as the course online which takes a couple of hours and slowly (with answering questions) reports the findings for you very clearly.
that is everything I have input on and I respectfully will encourage you to take what I have said into consideration and most importantly do research as you have by coming here and call the companies first-hand yourself to begin this process.. if you cannot work things out with them and still feel you have large financial burden which cannot be taken care of, then consider the other options with everything said about them and explained by others here.
gl and I hope you make it through this tough time bud <label for="rb_iconid_463">
-murph
Not the same poster.
S vs Z on always.
THe post count is also different unless this is a ghost of the poster your linked
Your credit will be ruined for the rest of your life if you go this route. They will tell you to stop paying credit cards. The calls will be nonstop... it will drive you insane. You are better off calling the CC companies directly and work out a deal with them. Simply explain to them your situation and they will set you up with a small monthly amount... hopefully interest free.
DC is a worse hit, more expensive, and longer lasting then bankruptcy.
I would suggest doing what you have to do to pay off what you owe.
You would be amazed what you can pull off if you a little want to.
Im a firm believer in "if there is a will there is a way".
Pull up your bootstraps a little bit higher and will yourself out of this mess.
Create your own reality distortion field like Steve Jobs use to have.
Good luck
I would suggest doing what you have to do to pay off what you owe.
You would be amazed what you can pull off if you a little want to.
Im a firm believer in "if there is a will there is a way".
Pull up your bootstraps a little bit higher and will yourself out of this mess.
Create your own reality distortion field like Steve Jobs use to have.
Good luck
interestingly to say the least.. 1.5 yrs ago I even told him not to buck the system and create a "ghost" account.. to simply contact the mods and inquire about the Post Review.. it wasnt shutdown or whatever he called it by any means I am quite sure.
AlwaysRight
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AlwayzRight
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whereas this thread where he said his account was Shutdown was posted 1.5 yrs ago http://www.therxforum.com/showthread.php?t=848037&p=8694350&viewfull=1#post8694350
Well feel free to contact me here Murphy8276.rx@gmail.com and I will explain whatever you need clarified as you cannot have 2 active accts on the RX at once and you have been Active on BOTH recently...
!/-murph
