Debt Management plan

[bigjoey38]

Has anyone tried a Debt Management Plan from a company?

[aa06a47]

I looked into it, they basically wanted about 300/month more than the min payments I currently was paying....I think that was there monthly fee....they really wasn't offering any help. I told them the payment they were proposing was about 600/month more than I was making, they just said sorry, that was the best they could do.

[bigjoey38]

Thanks

[lrprn]

We tried a credit counseling plan for eight months last year through a very reliable credit counseling company. We were paying them about $800 a month. At the end of eight months and oaying out $6400, we were only $900 ahead of where we started. Credit counseling didn't help us at all.

[Minnymouth]

Most credit counseling and debt management agency are in the "money making business" and most do at your expense......

By the time they add on their charges, fees, etc..... you have actually paid your creditors very little as some have found out that finally went and filed a Chapter 7 or 13........

I would hate to think I spent over $6,000 and my creditors only saw $900 of it...... how discouraging is THAT........

Financial plannning can be a good thing..... but a lot of these companies are ruining the debt management programs............ they are the ones coming out smelling like a rose......

Just another financial loan company in a round about way..........

[lrprn]

I would hate to think I spent over $6,000 and my creditors only saw $900 of it...... how discouraging is THAT........

Let me tell you, Minny - it's VERY discouraging. All our last-ditch attempt to avoid bankruptcy did was delay us filing Ch 13. If the credit counselors would have been straightforward with us, we could have filed before the Oct 05 changes in the BK law which would have helped by allowing us to use our real expenses rather than being forced to use the IRS figures for housing, expenses, and transportation. Oh well, we are on the 13 road now - just arrived a little later than we should have.

[anonymuse]

You really wish there were some out there that you knew you could trust!

[bigjoey38]

Thanks everyone for the info. Guess I will lean toward a 13.

[aa06a47]

Thanks everyone for the info. Guess I will lean toward a 13.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is stressful, pain in the keister, keeps you up at night, gotta deal with the legal system, trustee, judge. But, what you get by dealing with the legal system is protection from the creditors. There is no negotiation, they get what the court gives them. You don't have this protection with a debt relief company.

In my opinion, if your at a point of calling no joy, then these organizations probably cannot help. I try to think of an example where they might help, but I cannot. I figure if someone is bad enough to consider them, they have probably reached a point that BK is the best business decision they can make.

[anonymuse]

Hopefully, with this other thread I started, we can see when the experiences are positive or at least non-eventful:

http://www.bankruptcyforum.com/showthread.php?p=49881

[bigjoey38]

Well I got some good news.. I interviewed for a position that is dayshift monday-friday weekends/holidays off. There were about 12 people that interviewed for that position. I just got a call and I got it.. The only bad news I will lose my shift differential ( about 200-400 dollars) a month. I work swing shift with Sunday/Monday off. I haven t filed BK yet, but just waiting because now pay will drop.

[bwebb2006]

I used...

I used http://www.cccsinc.org and was very pleased with the service provided.