You would be surprised but depending on who you have credit cards with, they may not only be receptive to hearing from you, they will often reduce past fees and stop future ones if you stick to the deal you agree to with them. Some will offer deal like if you pay $100, they will waive $100 of the fees they have charged you. That is obviously preferable to using a debt consolidation company. Having said that, I don’t share the feelings of others that it is like filing for Bankruptcy. If it were, I would say go ahead and file for Bankruptcy! Of course it will hurt your credit, but the upside is they may be able to negotiate lower payments, reduced rates and once you are all caught up, the credit offers will start streaming in again! Also, I believe but am not 100% certain that once you sign up with one of the debt consolidation companies, the creditors are not allowed to call you so whoever implied that because they still have your number you will still get calls is incorrect in my opinion.

A big consideration is your current housing and auto situation. If you plan on applying for a mortgage or car loan in the next 12 months or so, you may want to avoid the debt consolidation companies since this will definitely have an immediate impact on your current credit score. Of course, if you credit is already very poor, it probably won’t make that much of a difference.

Hope this helps.

the second part, and most important part… then you have to PAY them to get them to stop calling you

you could do it and they might stop calling, but you will hurt your credit rating. first try to negotiate with the creditors yourself before going to a credit counseling agency. it goes on your credit report and lenders view it similar to doing a bankruptcy. try to avoid it if you can.

I have been hearing that it is equivalent to bankruptcy on your credit report. Try making payment arrangements with your cc companies first and stick to it best you can. It only takes a couple years of hard work to turn it around.

CareOne’s credit card consolidation program is very close to bankrupting as far as your credit scoring goes. It may help, but the creditors still have your phone number and address. It would be best to try a negotiated settlement with each creditor and/or a payment plan that would permit you to pay less and not pay all the fees that are normally charged when not paying the full payment. It may take a year or two or three, but paying off your debt is the key as once you do start these new schedules with the various creditors your scores will begin to improve, slowly but surely. It you really want out file a chpt. 13 bankruptcy as after being in it for one year it will start improving your credit, and it will certainly stop all the phone calls and harassment.

You should work with a reputable credit agency to help lower your rates and get a payment plan so you can have your debt paid off sooner. You will be restricted on the credit you can obtain but it is a way out. I know someone who did this and it worked for her. It was tough but she got through it.

If you’re being called daily and harassed for missing payments, then your credit score is already in the toilet.

I’d certainly look into a good debt consolidation program. CareOne may be a good one, I don’t know about them.

I do know that debt consolidation is one of the biggest SCAM industries on the internet, so be careful who you deal with. It is better to find a local agency where you can go in and sit down and deal with a real person. One that’s been around in your town for a while and you know is legit.

And yes, the calls will stop.