hey all. i've got some pretty serious credit/loan payoff problems - basically, it's become impossible to pay monthly minimums in the hopes of one day being debt-free. so, i've recently been giving some serious thought to using a debt consolidation service like ameridebt, etc. (i no longer use credit cards, btw)

have any of you done this? what kinds of things should i watch for? can you negotiate a monthly payment rate or are you pretty much saddled with what they offer?

i don't want to get sued because i can't afford to pay everything off in one fell swoop...

thanks.

-kev.

I'm no financial expert, but, many of these debt consolidation services have such bad reps.

You constantly hear about people who's situation worsens once they get involved in these things.

Some make you pay a huge upfront fee.

Many basically ask you to sign over total control over your finances. Not good especially when many times these services that are supposed to help you DON'T PAY THE BIILS on time and you get hit with MORE FEES.

Do you own a home? Maybe look into a home equity loan. Or you can refinance your property for greater than the amount you owe and use the extra cash to pay off debt.

Refinance your car?
Personal loan?

Contact The National Foundation For Credit Counseling. Branches throughout the country. Consultations are free. You can consult with them over the phone if you are embarrassed(not that you have anything to be embarrassed about)

Last resort-File Bankruptcy.

Good luck! I've been there

Steve

I have heard that you can sometimes work out payment plans with credit card companies. If any of your debt is because of school loans you can claim economic hardship and get out of paying them for a bit.

Credit Cards are the spawn of the devil. NEVER EVER EVER EVER get or use one.

I say this as someone with credit card debts.

I wouldn't go with Ameridebt. I don't think they have a good reputation through the Better Business Bureau. You should check with the BBB to see which ones have a good rating and then go from there.
I'm in one right now which is kind of expensive but I just want to get this shit out of the way and get rid of this debt. You have to check which ones will allow college loans to be included too. I was just offered to pay off half of a credit card bill in full and I would've been done with them but I didn't have that much $$$ lying around so I think I'm making payments on it (it hasn't started yet) and I think it still gets cut in half.