Has anyone actually used one of those debt consolidation companies? If so, how did it work for you? Is your credit completely destroyed? Are you better off filing bankruptcy? Any info would be appreciated. JR
JUST WHAT I HAVE HERD...some people have not been able to get credit after payment in full with C.C.C.S. TWO YEARS LATER!!! Other people have been able to get a mortgage and a car TWO YEARS after BK. NOTE: I AM NOT ENCOURAGING EITHER...
Thanks for the input George. Anyone else have some comments on their experience? Your help is greatly appreciated.
I don't have any personal experience. The only advice that I can offer is if you are going to do debt consolidation, after paying off your accounts you need to close them to prevent getting immediately back into debt. A friend of mine owed on several credit cards totally about $10k or so and he did debt consolidation but did not close any of his accounts. He maxed out his cards again after less than a year! Stupid if you ask me. I'm not even quite sure how debt consolidation works. Is it like basically getting a personal loan to pay off your cards? Or do they pay off your cards and you make payments to them?
I worked with a debt consolidation company a few years ago and it was the biggest mistake. Most creditors close your accounts (with the balance outstanding) when they receive communication from the debt consolidation companies. Therefore, it says account closed at grantor's request with the balance- which does not look good. Bankruptcy was never an option for me- I beleive you got yourself into debt- you get yourself out. I have paid off about half of my debt in about a year and a half on my own. Good luck.
