Category Archives: Credit Counseling

I Signed Up WIth Financial Freedom – Southeast Trust But Want Out. – Michael

“Dear Steve, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM FINANICIAL FREEDOM WHICH TURNS OUT TO BE SOUTHEAST TRUST. I TALKED TO A MICHAEL LEWIS AND SIGNED UP FOR CREDIT CARD DEBT HELP. I CHECKED ON THE INTERNET TODAY APRIL 26,2012 AND SEE THAT I’VE BEEN SCAMED. IF I AUTHORIDZED PAYMENT ON THE PHONE CAN I REDO IT [...]

How Bad Will My Credit Drop if I Use Money Management International? – Dave

“Dear Steve, Racked up credit card debt when I was young I have about $17,000 in credit card debt. I heard about Money Management International because Bank of America recommended them to me because I was trying to get my payments lower. Is this company legit? How bad will my credit drop? Dave” The Answer: [...]

Accredited Debt Relief and InCharge Debt Solutions Advice Needed. Should I Go With Them? – Ashley

I read your article about incharge and accredited debt relief and i acutally have a time set up to speck with a guy named Ted at accredited. Can i send you a copy of the terms and see what you think. My husband and i are trying to determine if we should use them or [...]

Considering a DMP with Cambridge Credit Counseling. – Joann

I currently owe about $21,000.00 between four credit cards. I called Cambridge Credit Counseling and they are able to set up a plan with two of the four. Of the two that they couldn’t do anything with, one is zero interest so they left it out and the other wouldn’t deal. They are able to [...]

Is it Legitimate for MMI to Ask for a Service Fee of $12 a Month and $50 Start Up Fee since they say they are non-profit? – Bea

“Dear Steve, I recently signed up with MMI to lower high interest (29.9%) credit cards that my husband had. I was told that the initial fee for the month would be $50 plus $12, plus another $10 cushion. After that the $12 plus $10 per month would apply. They would then manange and disburse payments [...]

What Can Clearpoint DMP Do for Me that I Can’t Do? – David

I’m considering a Clearpoint DMP for credit card debt totaling $25,000. How can they do what I apparently cannot, have my creditors change interest calculations from compound to simple to fully amortize ‘the loan’ in 4 – 5 yrs? Why can I not do the same myself thus saving $40/mo. in client fees, approx. $2200 [...]

True ownership of CESI. – Thomas

I am a bankruptcy attorney who frequently has clients who have been paying credit counseling companies obscene amounts without receiving any relief. Further, it seems these companies pick-and-choose the creditors to which they will remit payment. What, if any, financial affiliations do these companies have with the creditors? For example, does CESI have a financial [...]

I Want to Check Out INCHARGE.org – Sidney

I WANT TO CHECK OUT A DEBT RELIEF COMPANY , NAMED “IN CHARGE .ORG. THEY QUOTED ME A SETTLEMENT OF $335.OO PER MONTH ON A 13,00.00 CREDIT CARD DEBT. THIS INCLUDES A 35.00 MONTHLY FEE. IS THIS REASONABLE? SIDNEY

Is Money Management International a valid company or is it a scam? – Leanna

I have some balances with Chase. A Chase representative called me when I missed a payment. I told him I have hardship and can not pay. He gave a number to MMI. I called and spent almost 2 hours on the phone with a very professional, trustworthy sounding individual who pulled my credit report and [...]

We Contacted Greenpath for Help But Can’t Afford It. – Gary

After 20+ years of maintaining 720+ FICO scores, my wife and I ran up credit debt of about $15K back in 07 due to some health and employment issues , but this was manageable. We stopped using the cards, began giving them more than the minimum each month and took advantage of 1 year no-interest [...]

I Was Thinking of Enrolling With MMI. – Mae

I have a 48,000 credit card debt and I am seriously thinking about enrolling in Money Mangagement International Debt Management program. I understand that I would be debt free in about 5 years. I am to make my monjthly deposits and they would represent me with my creditors. Are they completly legitimate? I am uneasy [...]

How can I negotiate with a credit card company and get the same type of terms that a consumer credit counseling for fee service might get?

Five years after I lost my job, I find myself with $70k in consumer debt. I am paying approx. $2000 per month and am tracking and forcasting. My debt has changed very little in the eight months tracking due to some high interest rates. I have considered bankruptcy but want to try to dig out [...]

Solid Ground Financial Says They Can Help. I Recently Lost My Job and Have 5 Payday Loans. – Bushra

“Dear Steve, I most recently lost my job, I had taken 5 payday loans and now i have nothing to pay them with. Worried I might be dragged to court because of this , I contacted Solid grounds and asked for help, they quoted me with the payment arrangement that will end in 9 months [...]

I’ve Been With InCharge Debt Solutions But Can’t Make the Payment. – Dianne

“Dear Steve, In May of 2007, I contacted InCharge Debt Solutions to help me pay back credit card debts as I was way over extended. At that time I had a good job. I had to have two different accounts with them as one set of debts were in my mother’s name ( she had [...]

I’ve Got Payday Loans While in My Debt Management Program. – Jim

“Dear Steve, I’ve been in a debt management program for about 2 years. During the last couple years I have also got over my head in e-pay day loans. My wife has gone from a $17/hr full time job to $7.75 part time job. Best way to get out from under about $5000 in pay [...]