People in debt are often desperate, and debt consolidation is a complicated subject. This means that there are companies out there that thrive on taking advantage of people down on their luck, raking in money for vague or even non-existent services. Don’t be a victim. Learn the signs to tell a good debt consolidation company from a bad one, and you’ll be in safe hands.
For instance, don’t be lulled into a sense of false security by a company that proudly shows off its non-profit status. While non-profit sounds good, in reality the only difference between a non-profit and a for-profit company is how they do their taxes. Some shockingly large fraudulent companies that victimize debtors work under non-profit status. At the same time, though, there are good non-profit companies out there. Some of them are subsidized by creditors to keep costs low for their customers. Companies that specifically market to people with bad credit histories often function in this fashion.
Companies that operate with the intention of making a profit prefer to concentrate on customers with good credit scores who are having immediate financial problems for some reason or other. As with non-profit companies, they can reduce your rates for many kinds of unsecured loans, to ease the process of repayment. They’re not necessarily greedy, but they do have a bottom line to watch, and you need to deal with them with that in mind.
For people with a good credit rating, but who are still struggling with their bill payments there are many legitimate for-profit debt consolidation companies, which charge comparable rates. Just like the common non-profit companies, these companies will help to reduce the interest rates charged on your unsecured loan relieving you the payment burden.
One of the best ways to establish if a debt consolidation company is credible is to request a monthly payment quote. For instance, you can provide them with information on your creditor?s name, account balances and interest rates. Once you get their quote, you can compare it with payment quotes from other companies. All the quotes should have very little difference since your creditor will give a similar interest rate to all the companies. If any company should have a very low quote, take it as a sign of fraudulent activity.
Services Provided – Every debt consolation company has additional services that they should provide to you such as closing out old accounts, deleting or lowering late fees, and lowering percentage rates on the balance. If a company does not offer information on these services, you should be bleary about their motives.
Be very wary about companies 0ffering things like debt settlement or aid with bankruptcy, too. If they were doing a good job of debt consolidation, you wouldn’t need those kinds of services to begin with. With these red flags to steer you away from bad choices, you can easily find a good company that will do the right thing for you as a customer. A little effort now will save you a lot of trouble later on.
Susan Reynolds is the webmaster for a leading South African Debt Consolidation provider. For more information visit: http://www.debtconsolidation123.co.za/