Credit counseling services
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| Credit counseling services can help you understand what a FICO credit
score is, how it is calculated, how your credit score
compares with others in your region, and how a good or bad
credit score will affect your cost of getting credit cards
or a loan.
Credit counseling services are not credit repair companies
and may not necessarily be prepared to actually fix credit problems. |
Most people don't ever consider financial counseling until
they are burdened with credit card debt or a
problem arises. They are denied credit cards, rejected on an
auto loan, or are turned down for a mortgage. This can be a
frustrating and confusing time, but maybe what feels like an
overwhelming problem is not really as bad as it seems, even
if you are looking at credit repair after bankruptcy.
In these situations you need expert consumer credit counseling about money,
credit, debt, and how all these things can fit together for
you within your current circumstances. Credit help and money management
are
more than debt settlement or credit repair debt consolidation and it is not just for rich people. The number of zeros may be
different but we all need information about setting up a
budget , deciding which bills to pay first in emergency
situations, and having a knowledgeable friend to get between
us and the bill collector.
Once you have decided to get control of your financial life
- and you can make that decision no matter what your current
circumstance - interview several credit counseling agencies,
including some that provide non profit credit repair,
until you find credit services you are comfortable dealing with.
Credit counseling agencies are primarily educational
institutions and although they may have some kind of credit
repair software they are not fast credit repair wizards. They can help you make a plan to deal with
creditors and offer valuable advice on how to handle your
finances so you can learn how to achieve clean credit and avoid credit score problems in the
future, but they are not legal advocates. There is a
practical limit to what they can and will do to
erase bad credit.
You want to know if the counselor has received the right
education and is certified by a national agency, if the
credit counseling agency is a nonprofit corporation and if
it is accredited, and if the services are in-person and
confidential. Consider also an experienced credit repair law firm like Lexington Law Firm
Before making any commitments of time or money you may want
to check with your state attorney generals' office or a
local consumer protection agency to find out if the credit
counseling service has been the subject of investigation or
consumer complaints.
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