Tuesday, 6 October 2009

Smart Debt Consolidation

By Layla Vanderbilt

Debt consolidation companies are boons to suffering humanity. But all companies are not that helpful. There are companies which are not legitimate. Therefore, there is a need to identify companies that are really serving people as they claim to be. We have to take certain precautions on this matter.

Beware Of To Good To Be True Monthly Payments. All debt consolidation companies are given the same lower interest rate when they go to the credit card companies to try and lower your interest rates. Keep in mind though that they cannot get your minimum payments reduced. Knowing this information should make you leery of any to good to be true sounding monthly payments. Instead of finding out what kind a monthly payment that a company can offer you, check and see what their fees are.

Insist On All Debts Being Included - When companies insist that all of your debt's be included in a program, it isn't because they are about your financial situation. Some debts, credit union loans for example, are ineligible for lower monthly rates, while other debts, such as student loans, may already be at a low interest rate. The truth is these companies stand to gain more in fees for handling more accounts, and try to do so by insisting you include all of your debts in their program. Consider your debts first, and chose which of these debts you feel have a better chance of being eliminated before you enter a program.

When a company wants you to include all of your bills in your monthly payments, usually what they are actually wanting is to charge you a larger handling fee. To keep this from happening make sure that you look through all of your bills and decided ahead of time which bills you would like to be included. Beware Of High Upfront Fees. Turn and run when a company tells you that they charge an upfront fee. Though most will promise you a refund of the fee upon the completion of the program, very few people actually finish the program which means they keep the money.

Flat monthly rates are charged by non profit debt consolidation companies, as these companies are often subsidized by financing companies. Companies taking a profit from debt consolidation services will usually charge a competitive fee along with their flat monthly charge.

Offer Debt Settlement And Other Services: There are companies who promise you to offer other services like debt settlement, credit repair, and other programs. They are all sugar coated venoms. They will only swallow your money and you will face utter disappointment. If you really need to make a debt settlement, you have other valuable option, that is, declaring bankruptcy. This will be a better financial choice, I would say.

Beware Of A Request For Your Account Numbers. If a company requests your Account numbers, Social Security Number, or other personal information in order to provided you with a quote, hang up the phone or walk away. You are making yourself vulnerable to identify theft if you provide them with this information. All you truly need for an accurate quote is your creditors names, balances, and interest rates.

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