Debt relief question

Thief of Silence

Just wondering if anyone here knows of any experiences with debt relief companies.

Due to me being jerked around by my employer (leaving me without a paycheck since January and me being too proud to get on welfare) and self-medicating to a fairly considerable degree, I now find myself over $30,000 in debt with no credit left to draw upon. I basically decided that I had to do something to change things and ended up moving back in with my parents - leaving the job (?) and friends behing in another city.

My family have made it clear that at 29, that me living at home is not something they are going to entertain for very long. So, I'd like to get my debt paid off as quickly as I can and get back on track; however, it will take a bit of time since good jobs aren't easy to find right now. I've gotten behind on all my bills and am very much considering going to a debt settlement agency for help and time to get things together.

I've read some bad things about these companies, so I'm hoping to get some advice on whether they're a viable option versus just leaving things as they are for a bit and ignoring the creditor's calls.

If it makes any difference, I'm in Ontario, Canada.

Thanks.

chadwick

welcome to the hood
poor town
no big deal
im a regular resident

nice to meet you
cheer up
it aint no thang

i know nothing of debt relief companies
do i care?
fuck no

medical bills can blow me
do i care if i have shit credit?
not a bit
i sleep like a baby

matter of fact
i am king

~the end~

Who Princess

I have read that some companies take advantage and you actually end up with more indebtedness. I've known a few people who went through Consumer Credit Counseling Service to resolve their debts and who told me that it's a good organization. It probably helps that it's a nonprofit organization. Don't know if they have CCCS in Canada but I think it would be worth looking into. Good luck.

chime

I know in the UK they recommend to only go with the charities and not with debt management companies. We also have CCCS in the UK so there is a possibility they may also be based in Canada.

SPEEDY MCCREADY

RD96430 wrote:

Just wondering if anyone here knows of any experiences with debt relief companies.

Due to me being jerked around by my employer (leaving me without a paycheck since January and me being too proud to get on welfare) and self-medicating to a fairly considerable degree, I now find myself over $30,000 in debt with no credit left to draw upon. I basically decided that I had to do something to change things and ended up moving back in with my parents - leaving the job (?) and friends behing in another city.

My family have made it clear that at 29, that me living at home is not something they are going to entertain for very long. So, I'd like to get my debt paid off as quickly as I can and get back on track; however, it will take a bit of time since good jobs aren't easy to find right now. I've gotten behind on all my bills and am very much considering going to a debt settlement agency for help and time to get things together.

I've read some bad things about these companies, so I'm hoping to get some advice on whether they're a viable option versus just leaving things as they are for a bit and ignoring the creditor's calls.

If it makes any difference, I'm in Ontario, Canada.

Thanks.

$30K in debt? No job?

I would file for bankruptcy and start from scratch. Call a lawyer, pay him $500, and file for bankruptcy.

RKCNDY

Honestly, I would NOT file for bankruptcy. You are 29, and that will be on your credit for 10 years or more (maybe in CAN they do it different?). I assume you may want to buy a house someday? If no, then go ahead and file. If a creditor wants to find something, they will...and now they are scrutinizing everybody and being really selective.
I don't need to talk about my finances here publicly but I was in a similar situation as you...if you want, PM me and I will tell you what Consumer Credit Counseling did for me.

Good Luck

nuffingman

4and20 wrote:

Honestly, I would NOT file for bankruptcy. You are 29, and that will be on your credit for 10 years or more (maybe in CAN they do it different?). I assume you may want to buy a house someday? If no, then go ahead and file. If a creditor wants to find something, they will...and now they are scrutinizing everybody and being really selective.
I don't need to talk about my finances here publicly but I was in a similar situation as you...if you want, PM me and I will tell you what Consumer Credit Counseling did for me.

Good Luck

Sounds like good advice. My step daughter has a county court judgement against her and that will cause her problems in the future. I imagine bankruptcy would cause even more.

Good luck!

SPEEDY MCCREADY

4and20 wrote:

Honestly, I would NOT file for bankruptcy. You are 29, and that will be on your credit for 10 years or more (maybe in CAN they do it different?). I assume you may want to buy a house someday? If no, then go ahead and file. If a creditor wants to find something, they will...and now they are scrutinizing everybody and being really selective.
I don't need to talk about my finances here publicly but I was in a similar situation as you...if you want, PM me and I will tell you what Consumer Credit Counseling did for me.

Good Luck

How long will it take to pay off 30K in debt? Honestly? 7-10 years?

Im thinking this guys credit is probably screwed up anyways. Right?

know1

Check out Dave Ramsey's plan and stay away from Debt Relief companies.

Here are the essentials of his plan:

You make a budget of all of your income and you stick to that budget.

You make a list of your debts from smallest to largest and make minimum payments on all of them except the smallest. For that one you throw ALL of your extra money outside of the budget that you need to live. As soon as that one is paid off, you take all of the money you were paying there and throw it at the next smallest. As you go along, you'll pick up momentum from the additional cash of not having those other minimum payments.

If you're really dedicated, you should be able to pay it off in 3 years with a decent/average income.

SPEEDY MCCREADY

know1 wrote:

Check out Dave Ramsey's plan and stay away from Debt Relief companies.

Here are the essentials of his plan:

You make a budget of all of your income and you stick to that budget.

You make a list of your debts from smallest to largest and make minimum payments on all of them except the smallest. For that one you throw ALL of your extra money outside of the budget that you need to live. As soon as that one is paid off, you take all of the money you were paying there and throw it at the next smallest. As you go along, you'll pick up momentum from the additional cash of not having those other minimum payments.

If you're really dedicated, you should be able to pay it off in 3 years with a decent/average income.

10K a year and you have it paid off in 3 years....depending on what his interset is and what type of loans he has.

10K a year is a ton of money. But if he can stay at home with his parents and live rent free without having to buy groceries, or clothing, or pay for transportation to get to and from work, I guess he can pay it off in 3 years.

But if he decides to get a job, move out to an apartment, buy groceries, clothing, and get himself to and from work every day. 30K in 3 years is not going to happen.

The Juggler

know1 wrote:

Check out Dave Ramsey's plan and stay away from Debt Relief companies.

Here are the essentials of his plan:

You make a budget of all of your income and you stick to that budget.

You make a list of your debts from smallest to largest and make minimum payments on all of them except the smallest. For that one you throw ALL of your extra money outside of the budget that you need to live. As soon as that one is paid off, you take all of the money you were paying there and throw it at the next smallest. As you go along, you'll pick up momentum from the additional cash of not having those other minimum payments.

If you're really dedicated, you should be able to pay it off in 3 years with a decent/average income.

dave ramsey is awesome. 3 years is not too likely though

Flagg

Do stay away from debt relief companies though. They don't do anything you can't do on your own. All they do is call the creditors and ask them to change the terms or lower the interest rates or consolidate the bills. You might be surprise by how much creditors will work with you if you call them. Debt relief companies do not have any more pull or weight than you do. They just do what people don't think of/or don't care to do on their own.

RKCNDY

I paid off my debt in 2½ years...interest free. CCCS can help some...Dave said it in his book, yes, I have it.

81

30K is all realative to what you make. i know lots of poeple that could pay that in cash. and even for a lot of people 10K a year isn't that tough to do unless you are working minimum wage. it's about being hungry and wanting it.

imo, be a man and pay your debt. call you creditors and discuss your situation. they might be able to work with you. i wouldn't call those for profit debt people, but if you have a not for profit service, than talk with them.


you may not like my views on the topic, some people think i'm cold and heartless.

know1

SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:

$30K in debt? No job?

I would file for bankruptcy and start from scratch. Call a lawyer, pay him $500, and file for bankruptcy.

It's just so easy these days, huh? What if it was YOU who he borrowed the money from? Would you be so quick to suggest that he not honor the agreement to pay?

he still stands

here is what you do:

STOP paying your credit card bills!
realize that you're not going to be able to buy anything on credit for about 20 years.
if you have any assets that could be taken by the law sell them and keep the cash in a safe place, but not a bank.
only pay the bills that you absolutely need, i.e. your car, shelter, utilities.
Once they take you to court (in 1 to 3 years) make sure that you have no tangible assets, except your (secret) cash.
The credit card companies will look at you like they're trying to squeeze the blood out of a rock and give up.
Your credit score will be shit for at least 10, maybe 20 years. Oh well. Who needs fucking credit anyway? It is like a cancer.

blackredyellow

know1 wrote:

Check out Dave Ramsey's plan and stay away from Debt Relief companies.

Here are the essentials of his plan:

You make a budget of all of your income and you stick to that budget.

You make a list of your debts from smallest to largest and make minimum payments on all of them except the smallest. For that one you throw ALL of your extra money outside of the budget that you need to live. As soon as that one is paid off, you take all of the money you were paying there and throw it at the next smallest. As you go along, you'll pick up momentum from the additional cash of not having those other minimum payments.

If you're really dedicated, you should be able to pay it off in 3 years with a decent/average income.

Never saw Dave Ramsey's plan, but I did that sort of thing with my school loan debts, and it's amazing how well it works (and you actually feel that you are making progress with each loan that gets paid off).

Jearlpam0925

he still stands wrote:

here is what you do:

STOP paying your credit card bills!
realize that you're not going to be able to buy anything on credit for about 20 years.
if you have any assets that could be taken by the law sell them and keep the cash in a safe place, but not a bank.
only pay the bills that you absolutely need, i.e. your car, shelter, utilities.
Once they take you to court (in 1 to 3 years) make sure that you have no tangible assets, except your (secret) cash.
The credit card companies will look at you like they're trying to squeeze the blood out of a rock and give up.
Your credit score will be shit for at least 10, maybe 20 years. Oh well. Who needs fucking credit anyway? It is like a cancer.

This is by far some of the dumbest shit I've ever read.

know1

he still stands wrote:

here is what you do:

STOP paying your credit card bills!
realize that you're not going to be able to buy anything on credit for about 20 years.
if you have any assets that could be taken by the law sell them and keep the cash in a safe place, but not a bank.
only pay the bills that you absolutely need, i.e. your car, shelter, utilities.
Once they take you to court (in 1 to 3 years) make sure that you have no tangible assets, except your (secret) cash.
The credit card companies will look at you like they're trying to squeeze the blood out of a rock and give up.
Your credit score will be shit for at least 10, maybe 20 years. Oh well. Who needs fucking credit anyway? It is like a cancer.

I HATE that people think it's acceptable to buy things on credit and then just not pay them back. That's stealing in my book.

markymark550

not trying to be an ass here, but why did you wait so long to quit the job?

after the first missed paycheck I would have been searching for another job....even taking a min. wage job if it came down to it....any income is better than no income, right?

anyways, check into the not for profit companies mentioned already...

good luck to you

chime

blackredyellow wrote:

know1 wrote:

Check out Dave Ramsey's plan and stay away from Debt Relief companies.

Here are the essentials of his plan:

You make a budget of all of your income and you stick to that budget.

You make a list of your debts from smallest to largest and make minimum payments on all of them except the smallest. For that one you throw ALL of your extra money outside of the budget that you need to live. As soon as that one is paid off, you take all of the money you were paying there and throw it at the next smallest. As you go along, you'll pick up momentum from the additional cash of not having those other minimum payments.

If you're really dedicated, you should be able to pay it off in 3 years with a decent/average income.

Never saw Dave Ramsey's plan, but I did that sort of thing with my school loan debts, and it's amazing how well it works (and you actually feel that you are making progress with each loan that gets paid off).

A similar plan is to pay minimum on all except the one with the highest interest rate until it's paid off and then move on to the one with the next highest interest rate. Known as snowballing.

There is a calculator (it's a UK website but you can change currency) for calculating it all out http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

blackredyellow

chime wrote:

blackredyellow wrote:

know1 wrote:

Check out Dave Ramsey's plan and stay away from Debt Relief companies.

Here are the essentials of his plan:

You make a budget of all of your income and you stick to that budget.

You make a list of your debts from smallest to largest and make minimum payments on all of them except the smallest. For that one you throw ALL of your extra money outside of the budget that you need to live. As soon as that one is paid off, you take all of the money you were paying there and throw it at the next smallest. As you go along, you'll pick up momentum from the additional cash of not having those other minimum payments.

If you're really dedicated, you should be able to pay it off in 3 years with a decent/average income.

Never saw Dave Ramsey's plan, but I did that sort of thing with my school loan debts, and it's amazing how well it works (and you actually feel that you are making progress with each loan that gets paid off).

A similar plan is to pay minimum on all except the one with the highest interest rate until it's paid off and then move on to the one with the next highest interest rate. Known as snowballing.

There is a calculator (it's a UK website but you can change currency) for calculating it all out http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

That makes the most sense financially, but I liked the progress of knocking off individual loans... It kinda kept you motivated to get the next one paid off and then the next one, etc...

If your highest rate is your biggest loan, it might take a long time to get the first one paid off...

he still stands

Jearlpam0925 wrote:

he still stands wrote:

here is what you do:

STOP paying your credit card bills!
realize that you're not going to be able to buy anything on credit for about 20 years.
if you have any assets that could be taken by the law sell them and keep the cash in a safe place, but not a bank.
only pay the bills that you absolutely need, i.e. your car, shelter, utilities.
Once they take you to court (in 1 to 3 years) make sure that you have no tangible assets, except your (secret) cash.
The credit card companies will look at you like they're trying to squeeze the blood out of a rock and give up.
Your credit score will be shit for at least 10, maybe 20 years. Oh well. Who needs fucking credit anyway? It is like a cancer.

This is by far some of the dumbest shit I've ever read.

Well, it works... especially if you have a spouse who keeps his/her credit intact. Stealing? Maybe (probably)... but I didn't intend to espouse the ethical qualities of the plan. Maybe I should have said "here is an option for you if you don't feel bad ripping off the credit card companies who've been charging you 22% interest and huge fees for years and who make billions of dollars every year through usury and shady business practices."

And if you have $4,000USD or less in credit card debt you can just walk away and they won't do anything except call you and send you letters. They won't bother going after you for that amount of money because it isn't worth the expense.

Me? I've never run a balance on a credit card but used to have one. They recently started charging me $150 / year just to OWN the freaking card so I cancelled it... I still had to pay them $40 or so for this fee. I do need to get one just to have if I travel abroad.

The irony? I'm an accounts receivable manager and call on bad debt every week.

blackredyellow

he still stands wrote:

Jearlpam0925 wrote:

he still stands wrote:

here is what you do:

STOP paying your credit card bills!
realize that you're not going to be able to buy anything on credit for about 20 years.
if you have any assets that could be taken by the law sell them and keep the cash in a safe place, but not a bank.
only pay the bills that you absolutely need, i.e. your car, shelter, utilities.
Once they take you to court (in 1 to 3 years) make sure that you have no tangible assets, except your (secret) cash.
The credit card companies will look at you like they're trying to squeeze the blood out of a rock and give up.
Your credit score will be shit for at least 10, maybe 20 years. Oh well. Who needs fucking credit anyway? It is like a cancer.

This is by far some of the dumbest shit I've ever read.

Well, it works... especially if you have a spouse who keeps his/her credit intact. Stealing? Maybe (probably)... but I didn't intend to espouse the ethical qualities of the plan. Maybe I should have said "here is an option for you if you don't feel bad ripping off the credit card companies who've been charging you 22% interest and huge fees for years and who make billions of dollars every year through usury and shady business practices."

I always hear about these terrible credit card fees and ungodly interest rates, but having credit cards for 15+ years, I've never been assessed any sort of fees, except once when I didn't pay my bill on time, but a quick call got that taken care of.

nuffingman

blackredyellow wrote:

I always here about these terrible credit card fees and ungodly interest rates, but having credit cards for 15+ years, I've never been assessed any sort of fees, except once when I didn't pay my bill on time, but a quick call got that taken care of.

+1. It's amazing how flexible they become when you say you're going to transfer to another banks card if they charge you for being a little bit late.

81

he still stands wrote:

here is what you do:

STOP paying your credit card bills!
realize that you're not going to be able to buy anything on credit for about 20 years.
if you have any assets that could be taken by the law sell them and keep the cash in a safe place, but not a bank.
only pay the bills that you absolutely need, i.e. your car, shelter, utilities.
Once they take you to court (in 1 to 3 years) make sure that you have no tangible assets, except your (secret) cash.
The credit card companies will look at you like they're trying to squeeze the blood out of a rock and give up.
Your credit score will be shit for at least 10, maybe 20 years. Oh well. Who needs fucking credit anyway? It is like a cancer.

disagree 100%. they will take you to court, get a judgement and garnish your future wages.

81

he still stands wrote:

And if you have $4,000USD or less in credit card debt you can just walk away and they won't do anything except call you and send you letters. They won't bother going after you for that amount of money because it isn't worth the expense.

oh, they will come after you for $4k. don't kid yourself.

The Juggler

he still stands wrote:

Jearlpam0925 wrote:

Well, it works... especially if you have a spouse who keeps his/her credit intact. Stealing? Maybe (probably)...

god forbid your spouse ever lost her job or was forced to take a pay cut and needed your income to qualify for something down the line...jesus man. way to pull your own weight in that relationship.

jamburger

Good website to peruse... http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/help.html

Lots of do-it-yourself advice and moderated forums.

he still stands

81 wrote:

he still stands wrote:

And if you have $4,000USD or less in credit card debt you can just walk away and they won't do anything except call you and send you letters. They won't bother going after you for that amount of money because it isn't worth the expense.

oh, they will come after you for $4k. don't kid yourself.

according to the Collections Law class I recently took, you are wrong.

he still stands

The Jeagler wrote:

he still stands wrote:

Jearlpam0925 wrote:

Well, it works... especially if you have a spouse who keeps his/her credit intact. Stealing? Maybe (probably)...

god forbid your spouse ever lost her job or was forced to take a pay cut and needed your income to qualify for something down the line...jesus man. way to pull your own weight in that relationship.

I'm not talking about my personal life here... why would you NEED credit anyway? Don't you save money?