Dealing With Debt Collectors Through Debt Consolidation

If you’re considering dealing with debt collectors through debt consolidation, it’s important to be informed about how to select the right credit counseling service and how to avoid those that value profit over people. In other words, you have to be careful that the credit counseling service that you choose is working on your behalf and in your best interest to help you to resolve your financial challenges.

Make the Right Choice

Money worries can cause even the most prudent individual to act on impulse if he is anxious to get his finances—and his life—back on track. Don’t let less than scrupulous debt consolidation agencies take advantage of your vulnerability. Carefully research different agencies and ask hard-hitting questions that will guide you to an informed decision. For example, find out if the debt consolidation agency is:

Affiliated with a national organization such as the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) that imposes strict standards on its members, e.g., annual independent audits and written action plans for clients;
Accredited by an independent third party such as the Council on Accreditation (COA) that will ensure a system of checks and balances;
Experienced in providing debt counseling for individuals who need professional help in negotiating with creditors;
People-motivated rather than fee-driven, i.e., not charging more than a reasonable monthly fee, which is typically $50 or less, for services rendered;
Staffed with certified consumer credit counselors, which means that they have been rigorously tested to ensure their financial knowledge;
Willing to work collaboratively with all of your creditors, and not only with those that will make payment to it; and
Accountable for the timeliness and full disbursement of any and all payments that you make towards debt to pay off your creditors.

In addition, check with the Better Business Bureau and your state’s Attorney General to determine if the debt consolidation service that you’re considering has had complaints filed against it. Learning from other people’s mistakes may help you from making one of your own.

Don’t Believe the Hype!

Finally, you have to remember that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is! Avoid “quick fix” ways of dealing with debt collectors through debt consolidation, like hard-money loans that will most likely come with the catch of stratospheric interest rates and balance transfers to low-interest credit cards that will eventually make you look like a bad credit risk. You may find your situation worse than when you started if you go with the seemingly easy way out rather than being smart from the start.

Your debt issues will take time, commitment and hard work to overcome, but nothing’s impossible. If you thoroughly investigate agencies and are careful to watch out for red flags, dealing with debt collectors through debt consolidation can put you on the road to financial freedom.

Getting Help

One of the best ways to approach debt consolidation and to protect yourself when dealing with debt collectors is to get the help of an experienced attorney. Unlike a debt consolidation company, an attorney is legally and professionally bound to charge fair fees and to put his client's interests first- otherwise he can lose his license to practice law. This means you can rest assured your lawyer will help you to find the best method of consolidating debt and dealing with collectors.

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