ago. I had too much debt.
Q. I filed an incomplete financial disclosure with
consumer credit counseling online about six days
ago. I had too much debt.
They never called.
But I got a call back from a 'shark' consolidation
firm that wanted to take me on as their project for
a fee of $1,000. With no reduction in monthly payments
but the interest rate would be cut in half.
Looks like CCC brushed off my crummy application and
gave it to someone else who wanted to nab the business.
Did I miss anything? What else happened?
Thanks.
A. Why do you call them "sharks"? If the interest rate is cut in half,
that's a good thing. Your debt would be paid off much sooner.
(Granted, if the issue is that you can't meet the monthly payments
now, lowering the interest rate for the same payments doesn't help
you. But it's hardly predatory.)
Consumer Reports had a writeup on debt consolidation two or three
issues ago. (Look in the index of the current issue, which extends
back for 12 issues.) That will give you some idea of what to look
for. In general you're better off with a nonprofit consumer credit
counseling service than a for-profit debt consolidator.