The consumer credit counseling business is a huge industry in America, since the average American is a mere three paychecks away from facing huge, potentially devastating financial difficulty. Each year, more than a million Americans turn to credit counselors to try to help themselves regain control of their financial burdens. But just how the credit counseling business works is a mystery to most consumers. What’s involved when you hire a credit counselor?

It may come as a bit of a shock, but the first thing you need to understand is that consumer credit counselors don’t work for YOU! That’s one reason their ads on television, radio, and in your email box shout, “Our services cost you nothing!” However, any business needs to derive income from somewhere, so if they’re not charging you, who does pay them? In truth, they work for the lenders. Here’s how it works:

Regardless of what their commercials would have you believe, credit counselors don’t renegotiate the overall amount of your debt–that is, the total principal balance you owe to your creditors. Instead, they negotiate with the various lenders to decrease your interest rates. For instance, let’s say that you’re paying somewhere around 18 percent on the charge card you want help with (some stores still charge as much as 21 percent). A credit counselor will contact the cardholder and negotiate a lower interest rate–sometimes as much as half the original rate.

That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that your minimum payments will still be based on a 90/10 split, meaning that 90 percent of your monthly payment will still go toward paying interest on the card. That means, as is the case with any credit card payment, it will be well worth your while to pay a little more than the minimum each month, in order to whittle down your principal. It will save you significant amounts of money in the long run.

But how can credit card companies continue to make money by cutting interest rates in half, and what do they have to gain by doing so? The first reason is because they know that it’s better to get something, which they’ll do if you continue to pay them, even at a reduced interest rate, than to risk having you default on the entire amount. The second reason is because, even at the reduced rate, the lender is still making a healthy profit. They have borrowed that money at a significantly lower rate–sometimes as much as 66 percent less than the rate they’ll be charging you. (That’s why the financial institutions have big buildings; they make huge amounts of profit.)

Credit counselors CAN save you money, there’s no doubt about that. But don’t be fooled into thinking that they work for YOU, because they don’t. In the end, credit card companies love credit counselors, because the counselors truly work for them. That’s why you don’t pay for credit counseling services. The credit card companies are happy to pay them for you.

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Credit counseling agencies offer debt management programs that can you get back on track. They exist to help people when they are at their most desperate in their financial situations. Their purpose is to negotiate with your credit card companies to get a lower interest rate on your credit cards. This will ultimately allow you to pay a lesser amount each month and can help you get back on your feet. They can also negotiate options where late payment fees and over-limit fees are wiped off your record. This last item usually happens after you have been making consistent payments for 6 months or more.

To have a successful experience with a debt management program, you need to have enough income to pay your bills and not miss a payment to the credit counseling service. This is another form of debt consolidation as it consolidates all your credit cards into one payment which is then paid to the credit agency helping you, who in turn makes your payments to your outstanding credit card companies.

If you make it through the program successfully, you will find that all of your debt is paid off and your creditors will appreciate the fact that you have paid off your accounts. You will be required to close your credit card accounts; however, this may be a wise decision. After a period of time has passed, you will be able to get a new credit card – just remember the warnings.

If you have ever made late payments or had over-limit fees, your credit card companies have probably raised your interest rate as high as they are allowed to. They now consider you to be a credit risk. This means that your rates could be as high as 28-32%. If you are in a debt management program, you will be able to have those high rates lowered substantially – probably in the 6-8% category. This is a reasonable expectation when working with a debt management program.

Be advised that it can take a long time to pay off all your debt through a debt management program. There are faster options, such as bankruptcy or debt negotiation, but joining a program can be more emotionally heartening and you will get the results you seek.

Another important factor in using a debt management program is the effect it will have on your credit report. It will show as a negative mark and will stay there for up to 10 years. As you start making steady payments, you will be slowly rebuilding your credit and your score will start to rise. This, however, takes time.

A final note, make sure before joining any type of program, that it offers the services you need.

Depends…

On, how much debt you have.

What your intentions with counseling are.

On whether you understand how CCC on your credit report appears to a lender or underwriter.

On what an attorney advises you of.

On why you are even considering them in the first place.

Let’s begin with what “exactly” CCC is.

CCC’s are treated as non-profit entities whose goal in life is to assist a prospective home mortgage borrower or overwhelmed consumer manage their “out of control” debt. All CCC’s are governedy the FTC and anyone can own one. They are NOT a Federal Agency.

Credit card, auto loans, personal loans, school debt. By themselves these debts can be managed. However, when combined with increasing interest rate adjustments and dwindling personal income, they can quickly and easily become an alligator from which there is little hope of escape.

Many consumers are conditioned to react with knee-jerk responses to bankruptcy due to being innundated with attorneys advertising how easy it is to file bankruptcy.What they fail to disclose to the consumer is the changes in bankruptcy laws.Those laws were changed to prevent consumers from simply abusing credit. Charging astronomical amounts of goods and services with the intention of never paying them back – via bankruptcy.

Uninformed consumers who arrive at an attorneys office expecting this loophole to still be available are surely in for a disappointing shock. At that point morality steps in. Pay it back or not? Bankruptcy or CCC? Legalman pursuades a high percentage to go the route of bankruptcy.

Since I’m NOT an attorney, I cannot provide legal advice, however, I can provide information on why you might consider CCC.

In 2005 Congress enacted a new bankruptcy law that require consumers to attend pre-filing briefings and financial management skills classes by an approved credit counseling agency. A cursory investigation of numerous CCC websites reveal that while their “intent” is admirable, they do not fully disclose the effects of having CCC appear on a consumers credit report.

They’ll gladly tell you what’s on it and how to “manage” it through a debt management plan, but they won’t tell you how a mortgage underwriter will view their appearance. At best, they might attempt to explain “how” a FICO score works. (Lack of) Full disclosure is partly the reason Congress has investigated many over the years.

First understand that CCCS agencies represent the Credit Card industry – not the consumer. Think about it. When a consumer calls the card issuer, (which is VERY rare) the treatment received is overall demeaning; hence the avoidance of the call. Therefore, the card companies place a “middle-man” between themselves and the consumer. The card companies dictate the acceptable scope of terms and those terms are issued to the consumer.

So, if the consumer does not pay a fee for counseling, how does CCCS make money?

Credit card company subsidies AND the consumer may be presented with a bill for CCC services as well.

The consumer take a HUGE leap of faith in using CCC’s and here’s why. Remember, these are someone’s “business”. Businesses go “out of business” all the time. CCC’s exist to structure a repayment plan between the consumer and the creditor.

The “plan” is this. Negotiated, reduced monthly payments to your creditors.You send in adequate funds each month to CCC to cover the new monthly total.CCC then forwards the designated payment to the creditor. HERE’S the danger:

What if CCC fails to forward the payment? On time? Or in full? Any glich between CCC and the creditor and YOU get the harassing phone calls! Not CCC!

Some abuses have been so rampant, congress has even stepped in. Read about those here:

http://www.cccsnct.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=53″

http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/11/031120testimony.shtm

If you do decide to use a CCCS, investigate them. Ask for references.Ask if they supply you with monthly statements you can compare to your credit card and other debt statements. You need to account for every penny you send them and you need to be aware if those pennies are being received as scheduled.

Once you have accurate information, only then can you make an informed decision.

The emergence on consumer credit counseling over the past few decades is mainly due to the increasing number of Americans who continue to charge their way into unmanageable debt. This is not to say that there aren’t some families and individuals who have ended up in debt due to no fault of their own – whether it is due to high medical bills, illness, death or a change in family status. But most end up in debt because of charging too much on credit cards and store cards and buying things on credit that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. At some point you just can’t keep up with even the minimum monthly payments, which in turn causes a huge amount of the debt to be just the interest owed.

For many individuals and families who find themselves in over their heads, bankruptcy can seem like the only answer. As a result of this consumer credit counseling organizations have emerged to try to deal with this growing problem by helping people manage their debts and make arrangements to get them out of debt. This is often the last step before bankruptcy.

In fact, recent bankruptcy laws have been introduced that require individuals to obtain consumer credit counseling before filing for bankruptcy in an effort to reduce the high cost of lawyers and court fees. Consumer Credit counseling is usually the best option because it allows to you manage and clear your debt without the negative impact of a bankruptcy on your credit report. Bankruptcies can stay on your credit file for up to 10 years and can seriously hinder your ability to obtain any type of credit or loan, and will bring down your credit score which can make it difficult for you to do anything from renting a house to getting a job that requires a security clearance. It can even affect your ability to open a bank account with an overdraft feature.

However, consumer credit counseling is not provided free of charge and not everyone can afford to obtain these services. Some are so deeply in debt that they can’t even afford help to get out of debt. But if you can go this route, you can get relief. Consumer credit counseling agencies can help you by getting your monthly payments reduced, getting interest rages reduced, getting over-limit charges and late charges waived and can help you consolidate all your payments into one payment to them. This will enable you to eliminate your debt entirely and clear your name, as well as rebuild your credit.

One of the many allegations leveled against several consumer credit counseling agencies is that they charge high fees. The high fees drive lots of people away from the service. But instead of running away from this wonderful service, I urge you to consider the non profit consumer credit counseling agencies or companies. As you might have known through the name, this is an agency that helps people get out of their debt problem without necessarily making profit in the process. These organizations are able to charge low fees that can only cover their monthly operational cost because they have major sponsors who them lots of money. So, their main concern is to help people like you who may not have enough to pay the high fees being charged by other agencies or companies.

Most of the non profit consumer credit counseling are religious in nature. They are mainly sponsored by the Christian community. Please don’t misunderstand these agencies. They are not out to get you into their fold. They are not out to drive their tenets of faith into your throat. You are only provided with the service without being forced to join their faith.

One of the services provided by non profit consumer credit counseling agencies includes information. This information comes in the form of educating you on how to get out of your debt problem. You will be taught how to manage the little funds you have in a way that does not make you borrow more money to make ends meet.

Another service provided by non profit consumer credit counseling agencies is renegotiating a better term of repayment on your behalf. You will be helped to get a lower interest rate on your debt and also a better period of payment.

The internet is one place you should check to get lots of reputable non profit consumer credit agencies. However, I must warn you to be very careful. It is not every non-profit organization that know how to handle consumer credit counseling. Be rue to read and understand what they have on their website before signing any paper with them. Also, be wary of companies or agencies that ask you to pay some money upfront.