For those of you with bad credit

If you have had it or have it now, where do you go to get it fixed up? I am thinking of calling a credit counselour here in Arkansas...what exactly do they do to "fix" your credit? consolidate all in like one bill or something?? I am just curious......tia!
Yes, I am embarrassed to say my credit stinks.....but I will fix it!! I am determined to do this so I can buy myself and the kids a house someday....maybe not soon, but someday....

I know this problem And it´s so frustrating to be paying a lot of money just for not having any money...If I wouldn´t have to pay all those interest rates(isn´t that the word that is used???), it would be a lot easyer to pay the depth...

Do you have a lot of credit card debt? Some of those credit counseling services can get your interest and finance charges stopped and consolidate everything into one monthly payment. You want to use a non-profit one, though. The one that my ex and I used charged us a $4 per month "donation".

The places that advertise they "repair" your credit are rip-offs. The only way to repair your credit, is to pay off your debts.

None of them are credit card bills..we don't use credit cards..most of this is just medical bills that we aren't able to pay for....from like the past 2 or 3 years ago....

I will not name a company but awhile back Mike and I decided to try a credit fix company (His ex-wife had ruined his credit) We joined one that we had seen advertised on television- (first mistake) They wanted $400.00 up front- they said they would be "spreading it around to creditors" (they lied) They kept our money, and contacted all the creditors too- Set up payment arrangements (or so they said) We sent in the money to them every month considered it "handled" and come to find out they were not sending it anywhere, but keeping it! It got really ugly and downright scary there for a bit, until finally the right letter written to the right person threatening the correct legal action got us out of our *contract*

When I ended up telling this story to our creditors (one by one) NONE of them were surprised, said that they had heard it all before. Then the creditors started working with us instead of against us, and we made some deals, and today our credit is just fine.

It makes me really angry now when I see these ads on television, and i think about all the people who get suckered into the program. There are probably legitimate companies out there that can clean up your credit- but in my view the best one to deal with is the one you owe money to. You need to get past the first person who answers the phone and speak to their boss, then you ask to speak to their supervisor and so it goes until you have someone whose check is not dependant on whether you make that $25.00 a month payment.


Good luck

I agree, go straight to who you owe the money to - its much easier in the long run and you know where your money is going. We repaired our credit by doing that, and now its okay. Good luck Kathy!

Just to add - please dont be embarrassed to say that your credit stinks - there are millions out there with bad credit. I too had a problem with my medical bills, which was the result of a confusion - I thought my insurance covered everything for my sons birth (c-section) but when we started getting letters, we called up the credit company, and they made an agreement with us that we could pay them at $10 a month, and its all paid off - it doesnt have to be the full amount, just tell them how much you want to pay, etc, and they will most likely go along with it, as long as they get their money back

(hugs)

Yea, I know alot of places where I need to pay, but there was a miscommunication at this allergy place where I use to get my allergy shots once a week..well, I had gotten tested for allergies, and I am allergic to everything under the sun, but what I gathered is the insurance was paying 80% of it so I didn't think I was going to be having to pay as much as I did...I was not referred to this place, and now we owe them over $400..they already sent it over to a credit bereau(sp?) and we have so many other things we are paying on, wecan only make certain payments at a time each month...
like I have to pay my parents $25 a month for helping us pay for our van, then we have our van payments every month, insurance for van, and a couple others I can't think of right now.....

Kathy - contact the credit bureau and ask them if you can make the payments at say $10 a month - thats what happened to me - I thought the insurance covered everything but it was 80% and they gave it to the credit bureau and so we called them and told them we couldnt pay the full amount and would it be okay if we paid in monthly payments of $10 and they were fine with it.

Originally posted by Kiwideus
Just to add - please dont be embarrassed to say that your credit stinks - there are millions out there with bad credit. I too had a problem with my medical bills, which was the result of a confusion - I thought my insurance covered everything for my sons birth (c-section) but when we started getting letters, we called up the credit company, and they made an agreement with us that we could pay them at $10 a month, and its all paid off - it doesnt have to be the full amount, just tell them how much you want to pay, etc, and they will most likely go along with it, as long as they get their money back

(hugs)

Click to expand...

I was just wondering, how much did you pay for your sons birth? And do you know how much it is you would have had to pay for a "normal" birth?

Here we don´t pay a thing for all the medical care regarding the pregnancy checkup, or the birth, not even the c-section.
I have to go to plastic surgeant now, to fix the scar, since it is making trouble and growing out of control, and then I only pay a part of it, since it is a post-opuration thing.

It is different from NZ here as well - I was shocked - but luckily we had insurance - Im not sure how much the whole thing costs, but I would assume someone here would know.
NZ covers everything - after care is included.

I know it's been mentioned, but it's good to first try and go directly thru your creditor if you can. Most places will attempt to help you out because they realize that otherwise they may not get their money. Every year they get a certain percentage of people who they have to write off because they won't EVER pay, and they don't want to increase that number by adding you to it, so if they can have some kind of assurance that you WILL pay, even if it takes a long time and is only $10 a month or whatever, most companies will work out a payment plan suitable for your needs.

If they can't do what you need for some reason, u can try credit counseling but u have to make sure they are reputable and non-profit. All they really do is bargain with your creditors to make interest, payments, whatever, lower for you, but I think if you don't have a bunch of creditors it's easier to just do it yourself. It doesn't seem like you have a problem with overspending, but if you did, credit counseling services provide you with information and help on budgeting and planning and stuff. Some places will even set you up with an email support group of people in debt.

And there are TONS of people in debt, you shouldn't be embarrassed, we've all been in situations that aren't the best, but the important thing is you're not giving up and you're trying to change your situation. I wish you luck and keep us updated!

If your bill has already gone to collections, try to come up with a lump sum payment and make an offer. My s/o owed about $800 to the hospital, he offered $400 and they took it and agreed to close the account. Just make sure you have an agreement from the creditor in writing, and keep the cancelled check or the money order receipt.

Especially if it has gone to collections, the creditor has already told the collection company what the minimum they will take as a settlement, usually as a percentage of the full amount owed. BUT, if you ask about it be ready to pay it right then. In some cases the stipulation of the settlement is that once they offer it (or accept your offer) you have 24 hours to pay it (or at least a large part of it, like 30% and a limited amount of time to pay it off totally like 60 days). Depending on how hardball they want to play. Hopefully they won't be that bad with yours, but all you can do it try to talk to them and find out.

Since it isn't credit cards, I don't know how much the credit councelors can do for you. Their main thing is to reduce the interest, which shouldn't be there on medical bills. I tried them once too, with not-so-good results (although they were paying my creditors, it just didn't work out well). Just always remember they aren't working for you - they work for the credit card companies. That's who pays them.