Joker wrote: I'm always being contacted by these people, but as you know now, there are many of them that simply don't have the reliability that one requires for handling such things. I'm with Tisbell about trying to do this on your own. If you have a good relationship with your bank, they should be able to find some way to help you get your debt under control.

If the relationship is with a credit union, they are usually more helpful than a traditional large bank.

I'm always being contacted by these people, but as you know now, there are many of them that simply don't have the reliability that one requires for handling such things. I'm with Tisbell about trying to do this on your own. If you have a good relationship with your bank, they should be able to find some way to help you get your debt under control.

Very interesting technique and smart as well! I have never heard that before, but I liked their approach.

I thought this was relevant to the thread, but I know someone who has just effectively done their debt consolidation without using a firm. They're bank offered an offset mortgage so they moved to that and then used the overdraft on that to pay down their credit cards. It's swapping unsecured debt for secured, but their interest rate has been slashed and they've finally started being able to pay the debt, not just the interest.

That reminds me of the book, Paper Boys. Its about the personal/consumer debt industry.

FrugalFran wrote:

Lexie wrote:

FrankN wrote: There are a lot of these credit consolidation service companies out there, some are great, while others can be extreme scams. Make sure you do your research of the company before you select one. I have had a few friends who have had success using these types of companies though.

Mark me down as one who got scammed. In addition to the debt I already owed, I ended up losing an additional $10,000 with no recourse to get it back. In the end bankruptcy was the only choice.

Wow, Lexie! I'm very happy that you came out of this and once again have your head above water. If you don't mind me asking, though, how did they get an additional $10,000 from you? I'm just wondering what kind of scam they pulled to acquire that much money.

We're not sure if it was a scam or it really happened. At any rate, my husband contacted a debt reduction company in Florida which seemed to be very legit. If we were to send X amount of dollars to this company, they would begin to pay off our debt and handle all the ugliness that goes along with it. At some point, the private investor associated with this company passed away and his partner took everything and skipped. I contacted everyone I could think of at the local, regional and state level trying to get our money back and they all told me the same story. (passed away, partner skipped). Proud to say we did come out of this by going with a bankruptcy attorney on the local level and all is well now. Live and learn. Never, ever, ever, ever again!!!!

Lexie wrote:

FrankN wrote: There are a lot of these credit consolidation service companies out there, some are great, while others can be extreme scams. Make sure you do your research of the company before you select one. I have had a few friends who have had success using these types of companies though.

Mark me down as one who got scammed. In addition to the debt I already owed, I ended up losing an additional $10,000 with no recourse to get it back. In the end bankruptcy was the only choice.

Wow, Lexie! I'm very happy that you came out of this and once again have your head above water. If you don't mind me asking, though, how did they get an additional $10,000 from you? I'm just wondering what kind of scam they pulled to acquire that much money.

You can take comfort in the life lessons you acquired along your journey to the new world of debt freedom. The feeling must be somewhat overwhelming as you can sleep at night, not worry did I forget to pay and you know where you are at financially! Congrats on living through to the end. I do understand your challenges (walked the walk) and the good feelings afterwords

FrankN wrote: the secondary debt market and credit consolidation companies are filled with scam artists. I am really sorry to hear that LEXIE. I know from previous posts you made it out of bankruptcy so I am happy for you.

We did make it FrankN but it was a long hard road. I was so ashamed that we had to do that but it was the best thing. As I have said in other posts on here, we are very careful with credit cards now and make sure they are paid off at the end of each month.

Lexie wrote: Mark me down as one who got scammed. In addition to the debt I already owed, I ended up losing an additional $10,000 with no recourse to get it back. In the end bankruptcy was the only choice.

That is not a good thing to happen, and I'm glad to hear from FrankN that you got out of it. This is one of the cases where more regulation might be needed on the market as it is so very easy for someone to scam people who are desperate for help.

the secondary debt market and credit consolidation companies are filled with scam artists. I am really sorry to hear that LEXIE. I know from previous posts you made it out of bankruptcy so I am happy for you.

FrankN wrote: There are a lot of these credit consolidation service companies out there, some are great, while others can be extreme scams. Make sure you do your research of the company before you select one. I have had a few friends who have had success using these types of companies though.

Mark me down as one who got scammed. In addition to the debt I already owed, I ended up losing an additional $10,000 with no recourse to get it back. In the end bankruptcy was the only choice.

Sometimes it depends. If your payment is equal to what it was before, but you are paying down much more principle, that is a very positive thing. Other times they will try and extend and reduce your monthly payment out to help you in the near term.

How do they make your payment equal to what it was before you went to a debt consolidation company. Isn't the whole point of these places to help bring down the monthly payment?

There are a lot of these credit consolidation service companies out there, some are great, while others can be extreme scams. Make sure you do your research of the company before you select one. I have had a few friends who have had success using these types of companies though.