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 proposed a debt restructuring plan that is very appealing (much lower interest rate). Pay off all my debt in 5 years.
So far, I haven’t found anything concrete online that’s a bad strike against MMI. But I just want to double check with you.
Leanna
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MMI have been using illegal Robocalls to phone my cell phone. They call 1-2X’s per day, every day, each it’s a recorded message of nonsense.
They have Robocalled me at least 30 times.
I had no idea who they were, but I am in the middle of refinancing my mortgage.
No lie, they told me that they were Fannie Mae!
I don’t know where they got my info. from to begin with, or they’re just searching addresses or what.
I don’t need Credit Counseling, don’t appreciate them lying, and have now stated in no uncertain terms to STOP calling me.
I’ll see if that works, if not I’ll be filing a lawsuit.
I can’t believe MMI is getting favorable reviews. I contacted them several years ago. The lady asked me several questions, including how much cash I had in my wallet at that moment (it was less than $10). In the end she suggested I get an additional job. I told her I was already working a full time job plus a part time job. She said, “well, just fit another job in there and you should do okay”. SERIOUSLY!?!?!???!? This is a TOTAL B.S. group. I paid them $50 for this POS advice. Worst money ever spent in my life.
I was just told about MMI today and i’m thinking it may be an option for me but although i’m drowning in debt i’m not actually late on anything other than cable and utilities. Do you think MMI is still a decent option for me?
It is definitely an option for you. That doesn’t mean it is the BEST option, but it certainly cannot hurt to call and find out. We were not late on our bills, either, but simply had too many. As you see from some of the comments above, you need to be sure to include an emergency fund in your budget when you prepare it. You will give them your numbers and they will work a payment plan. If you are uncomfortable with the monthly amount they offer you, ask if they can lower it. You should expect to cut back on your spending so you can get back on track. MMI is a great tool to help you, but you need to put in a lot of effort. You didn’t get into debt overnight, and you won’t get out of debt very quickly, either. You will need to put yourself on a budget and learn to live within your means. You can do it!
Thanks for your input.
Don’t forget you also have to include retirement savings in your budget as well. See https://getoutofdebt.org//52478/get-out-of-debt-guy-easy-steps-eliminate-debt-checklist
MMI and other debt counselors get money from the credit card companies. It has been my experience that in certain situations they can be VERY helpful. However, if you are very deep in debt, they will enable you to prolong the inevitable…
My experience has been that they have put me on a DMP which while better than what I was doing on my own, was still unsustainable. It did not allow me any wiggle room in my budget. I was not able to save a single penny while I was on this plan. So when the inevitable surprise car repair, or medical bill or home repair would occurr, suddenly I was getting behind in the program. They would not fight for me, even though I was doing my best to make up the payments. They have strict guidelines after you are late on payments some number of times they kick you out and you are on your own.
If they can work out a DMP where you have room to save money each month – I would do it. If the DMP simply is allowing you to just get by… you need to really think about it.
Don’t be afraid to retain a lawyer to deal with the credit card companies.
Just saying…
You sounds like me. It’s what I’ve been saying for years now. If a debt strategy does not give you room to save and get out of debt at the same time it is a time bomb.
In those situations, the logical approach is to dispatch the debt quickly and get back to doing better.
Hello everyone. Let me explain my story I had with Money Management International. My creditor called me late in the afternoon and was asking me for a payment. I said I would mail it, but he said that the company needed it TODAY. I was like ok well I can drop it off at the mmi office and you can go pick it up? He said will do just drop it off at there main office in Madison, Wi. So I went there and a friendly lady says who is this for? I say it is for my creditor he will come and pick it up. They put it aside and waited for my creditor to come. The next day I get a call from my creditor. He says that there was no payment there. I said did you go to the Madison office? He said yes. I was like well I gave it to some lady there. Great. Now I have 10,000 dollars missing. I called the office. They said that some guy did come in but there was no money. The lady that I talked to was there yesterday and I got to speak to her. She said that she put it in my file folder and that she didn’t tell anyone else about it. I talked to the supervisor and owner of this place and there was nothing that they could do. So now I am working 2 jobs trying to get this money back. The company keeps calling me non stop and I told them the story over and over. I knew that the lady probably STOLE my money and I’m pissed with money management international. Don’t go with them. They steal your money.
Was it a check? And if so, who cashed it.
I have been working with MMI since 2009. There are certainly NOT a scam. I have seen my debt go from $40K to $8K. There have been 2 occasions when I just could not make the MMI payment. They worked with me and my creditors. I will have all my debt paid off in the next 6 to 8 months. I couldn’t have done it without them.
Hi, thanks for your post, very helpful to me to decide the best credit counsellors.
This article is top-notch and arrived at the right time for me…
Leanna, In my personal experience MMI is a scam. I signed up before my CC payments were due. I believed I was doing the proactive responsible thing because I had become disabled and therefore on a fixed income. The online enrollment process seemed to be a great tool but it didn’t work. I had to email/fax the documentation with numerous follow up calls to ensure everything went smooth. I gave a sigh of relief but later I discovered that they did not pay one of my creditors. When I called MMI, I was given a ridiculous reason that “credit card company **** does not accept credit counseling proposals unless you are at least 60 days behind. We will save your payments until this time.” What a load of crap. There was nothing mentioned in the numerous times I contact them during the enrollment process nor within the DMP contract I signed. Furthermore, I have since found class action lawsuits against MMI for fraud (abatclass.com among others) and not disclosing their close relationship with Chase Bank. Can you say conflict of interest?
Do yourself a favor and call your creditors. They have their own DMP’s that are quite reasonable (don’t have to pay them a fee every month). If you show vested interest in paying them back they will work with you. They want their payments every month so use that to negotiate. Why pay someone a fee to do what you can for free? Plus, how do you know that they will represent you fairly?
I tried to explain to these people on the phone why I was cancelling and they didn’t seem to grasp the problem. Better to move on and not waste another dime and my time with nuckleheads like MMI.
Your experience is not consistent with the majority of stories of MMI clients that you will find. It is entirely possible that one of your creditors would not accept the DMP until certain conditions were met, such as being 60 days behind. They don’t have to accept the DMP at all. How is this MMI’s fault?
Leanna, money management international is a fat scam!
Leeana,
If you decide that a credit counseling solution is right for you then MMI is certainly a trustworthy and major credit counseling organization.
You might want to take a look at all of your options before you jump so you can feel confident you have made a fully informed decision.
Use the free How to Get Out of Debt Calculator to review your options.
Additionally, you might want to review the success rates of the various options as well. You can read The Truth About The Success Rates, Failure Rates and Completion Rates of Credit Counseling, Debt Settlement, and Bankruptcy.
I will have to look into MMI myself. Thank you for all the work you do and the information provided Steve!
You are welcome.
You might also be interested in using the free How to Get Out of Debt Calculator to review your options.
Keep me posted about what path you decide to follow.
MMI helped us get out of debt by negotiating lower interest rates, encouraging us not to take on additional debt, and by helping us learn to budget.
When we started the program in 2008, we received a document that we had to sign to enroll that has a “Client Guide to a Successful DMP” which lists what you need to do the first 30 days, at 60 days, at 90 days, and every month. This information is also spelled out in the document in other places. The key is communication with your creditors and with MMI. We needed to change a few due dates so they fell 10 days or more after we paid MMI each month. We did not have to pay any double payments when we started because we paid our bills on time one month and started the DMP the following month.
Yes, some creditors put a note on our credit report that we were on a DMP, but since we agreed not to get any new credit while on the plan, it is fine. We have paid off over 90% of our $85,000 unsecured debt, and even though some creditors wrote DMP on our credit report, we have great FICO scores (high 700’s).
MMI is a great tool to help you get out of debt, but it is not going to do all the work for you. You have to follow their plan by contacting creditors, keeping up with payments, abstaining from borrowing more money, cutting back on spending (if that is your reason for the debt), forcing yourself to put money aside for emergencies, and learning how to budget successfully.
Leeana,
If you decide that a credit counseling solution is right for you then MMI is certainly a trustworthy and major credit counseling organization.
You might want to take a look at all of your options before you jump so you can feel confident you have made a fully informed decision.
Use the free How to Get Out of Debt Calculator to review your options.
Additionally, you might want to review the success rates of the various options as well. You can read The Truth About The Success Rates, Failure Rates and Completion Rates of Credit Counseling, Debt Settlement, and Bankruptcy.