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Advantages of Consolidated Credit Counseling

By plrprousers | March 11, 2010

Consolidated credit counseling is a service given to people encumbered with several loans and the primary technique is to convert them into one debt that has a lower interest rate.  The duration or term of the new loan may be longer than the previous ones but the amount that you need to come up with each month will be substantially reduced when compared with the total amount that you previously had to pay with the previous debts.  Another advantage of the loans that could be had through the help of consolidated credit counseling is that it would be easier for you to manage a single payment and deadline every month in contrast to having several due dates and payments to monitor with the older loans.  However, it is important to be careful about the consolidated loan because it usually requires a collateral such as your home.  If this is the case, you could lose your home in the event that you can no longer come up with the monthly payments and you default on your loan.

Another important service provided by consolidated credit counseling companies is their ability to negotiate with creditors, such as those in charge of credit cards, so that the total amount due is reduced.  This is possible because the creditors know that they would not be able to collect anything if the borrower opts to file for bankruptcy.  However, consumers have to be careful because there are some unscrupulous companies and individuals who are exploiting this trend to surprise people with such kinds of promises for their own benefits.  Some of them may even ask for an upfront fee that could be as high as $3,000.  And a number of these companies and individuals have no intention to really provide the service that they are offering but instead they will soon vanish with the money that they have collected.

Another potential disadvantage of getting the services of consolidated credit counseling companies is the possibility of degrading your credit rating.  This is because a number of lenders report you as late or delinquent even after you have negotiated a settlement with them through the assistance of these companies.  Luckily, some of the lenders simply report to the credit bureaus that borrowers who have negotiated settlements are undergoing credit counseling.  Moreover, credit bureaus no longer take into consideration the report that the borrower is undergoing credit counseling when computing credit scores.  Thus, the possibility that your credit score will be affected will depend on your particular lender because a number of them do have the practice of reporting you as delinquent or late even after they have agreed to settle. More information can be found by clicking here

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