I am considering debt reduction. Can somebody give me credit report feedback on their experience once they completed the prgram?

miapod,

Welcome to the board.

If you're considering a debt consolidation program, see what you can do on your own first. Some of them are scams. There are many resources & people here to help you.

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Are you referring to a cccs-type program?? If so, we were on Genus until Feb 2002. We did have a bit of trouble getting cccs statements removed. All statements have been removed now. However, we are still stuck with two closed by credit grantor and one pays by partial payment arrangement statement on our credit reports. Those accts still appear in positive section. I guess because we have several years of on-time pymt now (joined in 1998).

Anyway, do your research before joining any cccs type company. Good luck!

I've done some research and it seems that debt reduction is a better solution for me then debt consolidation. My concern is of the two companies I am considering, one will negotiate with my creditors to remove themselves once my debt is paid, the other boasts of a high fico status, yet cc will remain on my report. I'm concerned how quickly you can repair your credit status if I choose to go with the high fico company

Deleting your accounts once paid will LOWER your score as you will then have no history of positive accounts. Be careful.

Dancer

I started with a company called Christian Credit Councelors. Basically there was some confusion as to when my first payment was supposed to post, so it started out late. All of the deals they made with my creditors were lost immediatley, so they didn't really do anything that an Internet bill pay service couldn't do. They suggested a $20 a month donation, so I gave that.

It ended up I was paying $20 for them to pay my bills. I just decided to do it myself with my online bank account for $4.95/month.

Also, the deals they were supposed to make with my creditors didn't pan out the way they said they would. Only one or two creditors actually got rid of the monthly fees and a lower interest rate.

The "lower" payment they came up with wasn't exactly lower either. I ended up paying out more every month. I went along with it because I thought it would reduce my debt in 5 years vs. never. But when the deal was off with the creditors, so was that 5 year plan.

So... That's my experience with them. For them to work, you can't be late on even one payment.

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I couldn't agree more! These firms cost so much, and few do anything for you. With a little education, and resolve, you can be much further ahead doing it yourself.

Debt reduction is all about lowering money out versus money in; often you can negotiate the "relief" and terms yourself, just ask!

If you have specifics, just post, there are many qualified people here willing to help and advise (for free!).

Not too mention that a debt consolidation program is much akin to bankrupcty in terms of credit reporting. More often than not, creditors will report a notation that references the payment plan. Bankruptcy, debt consolidation, same thing . . . they all say you can't pay your bills.

Try to handle this yourself and avoid the headache.