What pre-bk counseling service did you use

[so-beyond-broke]

Hello

For all of those bk filers who already filed under the new laws or plan to soon such as myself, I am trying to get an idea of what counseilng service that you used which is approved so that you can start your bk filing? I am looking for an online service because I really don't have 90 minutes or so to spare of time on the phone to do this especially when my family (esp. can't give me 5 mins of "breathing room"). Do you know of any companies that are free or relatively cheap or will waive the fee if your income falls under a certain level. I have checked the DOJ website for the NY area which in fact uses companies outside of NY to do internet counseling, but it would be nice to get some feedback from others here with some exp.

Thanks,

so-beyond-broke

[teegeezfun]

I just did my online counseling yesterday

ccc of greater atlanta. totally on line. they did waive the fee for me as my only income is SSDI. I had to fax them proof.

i started the process at about 11:30 am yesterday morning and it took about an hour to type in all the info that they wanted. they imported my credit report so i didn't have to list each debt. I checked my email last night at about 8:00 pm and the completed packet and certificate were there for me . pretty painless.

[SinkingFast]

We used CCCS of Atlanta for a "professional" evaluation of our finances. They were a bit backlogged at the time and it took about a week for us to get our evaluation done. We weren't getting the Cert at that time, tho. We didn't wanna fix any sort of date for when we'd even thought about filing BK at that point.

The attny we selected to use requires the CC session take place in his office with a company he's made arrangements with to handle his clients. Don't know who they'll be.

Some attnys we met with were "in the office" counseling session types. Others didn't care where you got your Cert. Maybe check with your attny, if you aren't going Pro Se to see which way the attny wants it done.

I don't think the attnys that want it done in office are making any money on the deal. I think it's just an ease of process for them. If you know the attny you're going to be using, you can enter your attny's ID code and the Cert get's sent directly to their office. Maybe that's why some are requiring it be done in their office.

Wanted to add a note about the 90 minutes on the phone.

From articles I've been reading, the actual phone counseling session only takes about 30-45 minutes for people who are in obvious need of BK. Counselors say the 90 minute requirement was really kinda stupid in those cases. The counselors will spend the rest of the "required" time chatting about other things. I read where one said, "How 'bout them Dodgers??!!" as an example of time filler conversation.

[kydiv]

Me

I used CCCS at www.cccsinc.org because everything could be done online. I've done the pre- and the post- counseling through them, both pretty painless except for the test on the post session - I had to take notes! Both parts cost $50, which you may be able to get waived. And I thought the information that they provided was helpful and really informative.

[NASCAR20FAN]

ccc of greater atlanta. totally on line. they did waive the fee for me as my only income is SSDI. I had to fax them proof.

i started the process at about 11:30 am yesterday morning and it took about an hour to type in all the info that they wanted. they imported my credit report so i didn't have to list each debt. I checked my email last night at about 8:00 pm and the completed packet and certificate were there for me . pretty painless.

I used them too! Man that extra money they charge $50

[Michelob]

My wife and I are getting started on this process. We used Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Kern & Tulare Counties. I liked them and, GULP, if I had to use them again, I would.
We are looking at debtor edcuation placese now.
Any recommendations?

[Anassa613]

I also used cccsinc.org, they charged me 50 and it was very simple and fast

[fellowpoorman]

Well I used them too, $50 each, The money management I agree was informative and I did learn from it, It took an hr for me on the second course, which remember you must do after filing so be ready to do it, painless quick and not difficult. Good Luck

[iupui1299]

I think I am going to use cccsinc.org. I am in Indiana can I still use them even though their offices are down South. I know that sounds like a stupid question but I just want to make sure.

[SinkingFast]

Yep.

Some of the approved offices are local independents. We have one about an hour and a half drive from us. But we'd have to make an appointment. Hubby would have to take off work. So we decided to use one of the internet organizations.

One attny here refers her clients to Hummingbird. Our attny had not problem at all with our Certs coming from CCCS of Atlanta.

Some attnys have a specific CC agency they want you to use, and they want the session done right there in their office. Instead of paying the CCA, you pay the attny. From what I could tell, the attnys were jacking the fees a bit. Like $10-$15/session. One attny, I know, physically sits in on the sessions with his clients. Another has his paralegal do it for him. But that way, the CCA knows exactly what attny to send the Certs to.

CCCS of Atlanta has a way for clients to email direct from them to their attnys' office. That's what we did with our Certs.

[aa06a47]

I did my pre-bk cert in cccs of springfield mo. It was painless. I spent about 30-40 minutes with her on the phone. Probably an hour or so filling out the stuff on the internet. I used Hummingbird (lawyer had that set up) to do the pre=discharge counseling. I kinda thought that was premature since I haven't even had a 341 meeting, but did it last weekend. It was actually informative. The first session was to just tell me I was broke, the second gave me some useful tools.

[editordwc]

I used Cricket Debt Counseling...It was online and went very smoothly, you call after the online test is complete for a brief consulation and they email you your certificate..

http://www.cricketdebt.com/

[TEW]

I usedhttp://cccsinc.org also
my lawyer gave me a card with a number on it and it sen the cert to her.
$50.00

[outofluck07]

in charge education. (personalfinanceeducation.com) It was $30 for both my husband and I, completed easily online, then just had to call in, talk to an operator for about 5 minutes (Basically just tell them that BK is your only option) and they are done. You can print off your certificate and that's it. I'm totally using them for the pre-discharge course as well.

[boiler704]

i used incharge.org for the pre $30
and a24-7class.com for the post $17.50

both were online and you just click on through