Are Credit Card Debt Consolidation Companies For Real?

Some people seem to think that credit card debt consolidation companies are all scams started by agents of evil to bankrupt consumers who have debt payment problems. In this once in one hundred years recession, there are too many families who are burdened by excessive credit card debt.

Credit cards are unsecured loans to people. Since there is no collateral to back up or secure repayment of the loan, credit card issuers are allowed to charge a higher interest rate to compensate their assumption of higher risk. This means that when card holders have a monetary hardship such as job loss, reduction in paycheck amount or unforeseen medical expenses, their credit card balances can quickly avalanche to a very unmanageable amount. Refusing to face the reality of an excessive credit card(s) balance(s) is a very swift trip to bankruptcy.

This is where credit card relief agencies come to the rescue of overwhelmed holders of these ones. They become the advocate of the distressed holder one. They contact the card issuers and negotiate on behalf of the card holders. In most cases, the agencies can convince the card issuers to waive some of the fees and penalties as well as stopping the interest, fees and penalties from driving up the balances even further. The relief agencies also receive the monthly payments from the card holder and pay them out to the card issuers.

This protects the card holders from harassing collections calls. It also allows the card holder to write just one check a month, simplifying their record keeping requirements. Best of all, it lets the card holder stop the tsunami effects of interest, fees and penalties on their accounts. They can breathe a little easier and get on with their lives, rebuilding their credit rating with every payment they make.

All in all, there are reputable companies for consolidating debt you just have to do the due research and comparison.

Oregon Debt Consolidation Companies

There are many debt consolidation companies that are only out to take your money. Sure, they'll do what they say they'll do, by sheer literal language, but you may not be getting what you were hoping for, and you'll end up with a worse credit rating than if you had handled it yourself in some circumstances.

Unlike most financial institutions, not all debt consolidation companies are under as close a scrutiny as they need to be. Rules for what they do are sketchy, if they exist at all, in most places because no one saw the kind of crush that's ended up coming because of the bad economy coming. It used to be you might see one company on TV commercials once a week; now it seems like you see those commercials at least once an hour, if not more than that.

Oregon, one of those states suffering from high unemployment, decided to try to do something about it, as more and more of its citizens were getting duped by nefarious companies. The Oregon House of Representatives created a law in favor of requiring debt management agencies to register with the state Department of Consumer and Business Services. That law also limits fees that these agencies can charge, caps the amount they're allowed to take for settling people's debt, regulates the type of advertising they're allowed to do, and adds some other consumer protection language.

These protections were needed because some debt consolidation companies had fees as high as $1,000 just to be represented, taking it out of money they wanted their potential customers to pay them to help pay down debts later on. Also, on the back end, if they were able to make deals with some of your creditors (after trashing your credit), they'd take another big chunk from you.

This bill set a one-time maximum of $50 to open a file; reasonable costs for counseling up to $50; and up to 15 percent of funds consumers deposit in trust accounts, not to exceed $65 per month. And debt consolidation agencies can't take more than 7.5% of the difference between the original debt and the amount paid in settlement at the end of the process. This last point is crucial because the amount of debt is different than the amount charged off, which includes interest and other fees, and that would have resulted in a much bigger kickback to these companies.

Other states will be following suit, along with some assistance coming from the federal government. Sometimes, we do need help protecting ourselves from someone who's saying they're going to help us.