Credit Counseling

If you do decide to seek help from a consumer credit counseling agency be very careful. Some agencies claim to be nonprofits but charge you big fees and make promises they can't keep. Any company that makes these promises is probably lying:

We can eliminate your debt
Pay us and we'll pay your bills
Pay us a percentage of the bills we get rid of;
No company sues over unpaid bills
We can have bad credit taken off your credit history
Use our system and you'll avoid bankruptcy
Don't talk to your creditors any more

If you hear any of those promises, steer clear of the company. To check out a consumer counselor, the best thing to do is to contact your state attorney general (http://www.fraud.org/info/links.htm). The Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fiscal.htm) has more information on how to tell if a credit counseling company is on the level.

aa

Email Page | Print Page