America Debt Consolidation

Working With A Credit Counselor

When working with a credit counselor you should know what you have a right to expect.

Firstly, if you’re worried about your credit report, make sure the credit counseling agency you’re using specializes in keeping to an absolute bare minimum the negative effect that credit consolidation may have on your credit report. In order to do so, the credit counselor needs to close all relevant accounts properly before beginning the debt consolidation process. A lot of non-profit agencies will insist that the debtor close all credit accounts. If you need to keep some of your credit cards sign up with a credit counselor that specializes in consumer options.

Your credit counselor should include in the consolidation plan only those accounts were the creditor agreed to better repayment terms, such as improved interest rates. The credit should then follow through by efficiently preparing all necessary paper work and altering due dates for payments. If the credit counselor fails to change payment dates, some payments made to your creditors can be viewed as late and therefore further damage your credit rating. It is also crucial that your credit counselor not only submits proposals to your creditors, but also checks up on them by phone. Credit card companies receive thousands of proposals a day, and you don’t want yours to fall through the cracks.

After the consolidation plan has been processed, you should look into how often your payments are being disbursed to your creditor. Make sure the payment schedule and payment amounts are consistent with the terms that you established with your credit counselor.