A Reliable Debt Consolidation Company Will Provide The Desired Debt Relief
As per the
finance laws and regulations, all financial institutions, lines of
credit and private money lenders are allowed to charge you interest
on the amount loaned as their income .This interest is actually the
payment of the debtors in gratitude for getting the desired financial
help when they needed it the most.
However, if
you are not very careful about your rights and the amount of interest
charged on your specific loan, you may end up finding yourself in a
situation where your debt amount will be difficult if not impossible
to repay. It is then you will have to consider and look for
alternative ways
to get relief from your debts.
When you
carry a large load of debt and feel that you can never get out from
it like the thousands of Americans, you will need to find a reliable
and trustworthy debt consolidation company to get off the debt laden
boat.
This leads
you to the next important question: how to find a reputed debt
consolidation company so that your purpose is solved and you are not
left in the same stressful and vulnerable position.
Selection
steps to follow
There are a
few helpful ways in which you can find an honest and trustworthy debt
consolidation company.
To start with, you must do some research about the
company and go through the debt consolidation reviewsof a few of their previous clients. Choose
the ones that have the most number of positive reviews. This will
ensure that you are in the hands of a trusted company and expect the
same positive results.
Apart
from that, you must also know the FTC regulations regarding debt
relief, debt settlement, and consolidation and negotiation
companies. This will allow you to know what they can legally do and
should abstain from doing, their liabilities, power and much more.
Always
make sure that you locate and work with a local consumer credit
counseling companies because they are the least harmful out of all
the debt consolidation companies. Choosing and working with a local
company is a good idea because the local authorities will have
jurisdiction over them which they will have little if the debt
consolidation company is out of state.
Look
for such companies at The NFCC.org as this is perhaps the best place
to search for such companies that are nearest to your zip code.
These listed companies will provide the desired relief to you and at
the same time not harm your credit.
Also
make sure that you check out with Better Business Bureau about the
debt consolidation company. You can visit the official site of BBB
online or even can call the consumer protection agency of your state
for such matters. You may also call up the state attorney general’s
office to find out whether there has been any complaint lodged
against the company by their clients in the past.
All
companies want to gain business through ads and marketing and some
of this can be tempting and even misguiding. Check out their ads for
any pressure sales tactics or anything that is too good to be true.
If you gut says it is, then probably they are and it is good to
avoid them in the first place. Remember while evaluating an ad that
big advertising budget does not necessarily mean that the credit
counseling company is good.
Check
for referrals and referral programs because honest and successful
debt consolidation companies will rely on referrals more to gain
more business rather than relying on sending those “out of the
blue” emails to the inboxes of any Tom, Dick and Harry. They
actually do not need to solicit their business through continuous
television ads, infomercials, spam e-mails, and telemarketing. They
will believe more in ‘word of mouth’ marketing campaign.
Also
check their membership with any reputable debt consolidation
organization such as the National Foundation for Credit Counseling
mentioned above or the Financial Counseling Association of America,
FCAA. If they are, they will always adhere to the strict standards
of providing debt relief showing absolute professionalism. If they
are accredited they will use only certified credit counselors and
follow the best practices.
Also
check the qualifications of their counselors and select a debt
consolidation company that has counselors who are certified by NFCC.
Since debt consolidation monthly payment fees varies according to
the state law ask them about it as this is the best way to test the
counselor’s knowledge about the specific regulations for the state
of your residence.
Make
sure that you steer clear from those companies that pay their
counselors a commission as that will surely influence the number as
well as the nature and type of services they will decide and offer
to you for the best of their interest and not yours.
Make
sure that all their services are personalized and designed according
to the need and financial situation of the each debtor. A ‘cookie
cutter’ or a ‘one size fits all’ approach will surely not
address your specific financial situation both at present as well as
in the long run.
Privacy
and security is another assurance that the debt consolidation should
provide to you because financial data is sensitive and confidential.
If this is lacking, select another agency.
Lastly and
most importantly, you should get it all in writing and any company
that hesitates to do so should be summarily rejected. This should
include:
Name of
the counselor, business, address and contact information
Ways in
which the payments will be distributed to your creditors and much
more.
It is also
good to know about the ways in which the agency is funded. If the
agency claims that it is not-for-profit or tax-exempt, double check
their status with your state charity official because it is illegal
to claim so when it is actually not.
To sum up,
look for their accessibility, availability apart from their license
as well as whether or not they provide budget and credit education.