What would be a credit consolidation company to use?

Has anyone use a nonprofit debt consolidation company? if it makes a dif I'm in PA- plz give me warnings too!?

• IN 2005 I discovered that my sister (who had been living with us at the time for a few years) had gotten a few credit cards in my name. It was a little out of control- but we paid it all off....3 years later I heard my sister speaking with a man who had knocked at the door and she told him I wasnt home- when I asked her what it was about she was really evasive...I continued to push the topic and it turns out she opened ANOTHER credit card and never paid it off and I was being sued for it. We went to court, explained the circumstances (shes a jerk), negotiated the amount and I paid it off. I knew it would be at least 7 years before my credit would be worth looking at so I never did. OMG was that the second biggest mistake I ever made! (First was letting that crack head live with me). I have 3 judgements against my house totalling almost $11,000. I did somewhat learn my lesson- i haven't spoken to that idiot in 3 years- good riddance to bad rubbish-shes my sister and I love her and I hope she does something good with her life but she ONLY does BAD with MY life so shes out. But I'm still not willing to press charges or anything like that (I'm not even sure I could this late in the game). How do I pay these off? Is there any chance I can get the amounts reduces? I have SOME of the information- the name of the company that owns the debts and the account numbers, but when I looked up the name of one of the companies to get the number so I could just pay them I read AWFUL things about them. For starters- they will treat me horribly, which I understand- as far as they are concerned I'm just some deadbeat who didn't pay my bills and am probably an only child making up this sister just to not look like such a scum-bag. Secondly- from what I've read they don't notify the credit bureau once they get paid! Its bad enough that I have to pay financially for HER ignorance- I shouldn't have to pay with such emotional strain as well! Is there anyone out there who has accumulated some debt then used a consolidation company to help them get there credit affairs back in order- a company that treated them with respect and dignity? Thats what I am looking for...a company that doesn't need to know all the background info- just willing to help me from this point forward. Ive never done this before, so if you have ANY advise for me please feel free to pay it! Horror stories are totally welcome- the last thing I need to do is pay some other company $11,000 only to find out they kept it for themselves thru some crazy loop hole! Thank you everyone!!

• Answer:

  First, freeze your credit with all three credit bureaus. That way your sister will never be able to open another account in your name. You should have done that the first time you discovered the ID theft. As a minimum, you should have at least checked your credit reports on a regular basis to make sure there weren't more accounts opened. Forget about debt consolidation companies. Legitimate credit counseling services, like NFCC members, really can't do much with defaulted debts and judgments. Their debt management programs are for paying off credit card debt by negotiating lower interest rates. Any consolidation company that says they can help you, will only be interested in giving you a very large loan to use to pay off the defaulted debts. Paying off these debts will NOT improve your score. The damage is done and will remain for the balance of the 7 year reporting period, whether paid or not. I strongly suggest that you check with an attorney: http://www.naca.net/ . If you never received summons for those judgments, you may be able to get the judgments set aside. You will then have to push the ID theft situation. Otherwise, you will have to pay off those 3 judgments plus any more than come up. There is no reason why you should eat all this costs while the criminal walks away scott free. Don't be shy about filing charges. Frankly, it is unlikely that any police dept or local DA will actually go after your sister anyway.