. You may have cancelled one or two of your credit cards yet you have maxed out the remaining cards. You may even have gone beyond the credit limit of your cards. If you cannot do it alone then maybe it is time to consider credit counseling.
A credit counseling service can help you make a debt repayment plan. If that credit counseling service is a reputable organization, your creditors may be willing to accept reduced payments. This way, you can be on the road to making good credit scores once again. These plans that you make with a credit counseling service will have you deposit money each month with them. The money that you deposit will be used to pay your creditors according to a payment schedule that is developed by your counselor.
While in the program, your counselor may ask you to agree not to apply for or use any additional credit. Your ultimate goals are to modify your behavior, reduce your credits, and to raise your credit score. This is why your repayment plan can only be successful if you make regular, timely payments though it could take you 48 months or longer to complete it. You can ask your counselor to give you an estimate of the time it is going to take you to complete the plan.
Credit counseling services are sometimes in partnership with creditors to help consumers make good credit scores and be responsible payers. If this is the case, a credit counseling service will charge you with little or nothing at all for their services because they are funded by contributions from creditors. Some may charge a monthly fee that could add up to a significant amount over the course of managing the plan.
Remember that you are responsible for every debt that you made and a repayment plan can only help you pay your debts with a manageable scheme. The negative credit history that you made will stay on your credit report for up to seven years. Nonetheless, a demonstrated pattern of timely credit will help you get credits in the future. Keep in mind that you have to pay other creditors who are not included in the plan. You are also responsible for reviewing your monthly statements from creditors to make sure that they are receiving your payments. Credit counseling will reduce the stress from dealing with debts but it does not entirely solve your debt issues. In the end, it all depends on you.