What would be a credit consolidation company to use?

Is it bad for your credit to use a debt consolidation company?

• I owe more than $15K in credit card debt with mostly high interest. This doesn't even include my student loan payment, car payment and all of my living expenses. I'm living paycheck to paycheck trying to pay them down and it's moving so slowly - almost barely at all! I have really good credit (still have available credit on the cards and pay more than minimum well before the due date) but I let myself get into way more debt than I can pay back. Should I consolidate? If I do, I'm assuming the consolidation company will pay off my balances at an agreed upon "settlement" - which would hurt my credit, right?

• Answer:

  STAY AWAY from "debt consolidation" company that promises to cut your debt in half through debt settlement....This is a risky tactic of deliberately ceasing all payments to creditors and forcing your accounts into default to attempt settlements. You pay a monthly fee to a debt consolidator....this entire fee goes towards building a settlement account and to the consolidator's fees to “settle” your accounts in the future. Your credit card companies will deliberately not be paid so that all the accounts will default/charge-off so that they can attempt settlements at around 50%. If you are current on your accounts, this process will ruin your credit rating for sure. Debt settlement is like a roll off the dice with your finances...You can never predict how your creditors will respond to the deliberate defaulting of your accounts...they might settle at 50%...or they might serve you a summons, take you to court...and if they win, you could be looking at wage garnishment. None of these “debt consolidation” firms have the power to force your creditors to accept settlements. Your creditors have the right to refuse these terms and take you to court. A better option is entering a Debt Management Plan (DMP) with a non-profit credit counselor like CCCS (Consumer Credit Counseling Services). Contact your local Red Cross for a referral. They can negotiate lower payments and interest rates. They do not negotiate settlements. They will require you to stop using all credit and to cut up your cards. Your credit report will be updated to "enrolled in debt management." This does not damage your credit, but it may make it impossible to obtain new credit while you are enrolled in their program....so don't use this service if you anticipate applying for a new apartment, car loan or mortgage anytime soon, as you would probably be denied while you're enrolled in the CCCS debt management program.... Otherwise, it can be a very good way to deal with your debt.