How Do I enroll?
Can I keep my credit cards?
Is there a fee to enroll?
How can our program Help you?
Is there any effect on credit reports?
Can you reduce interest payments?

How Do I enroll?
If you answer "yes" to most of the following questions, our "Debt Management Program" is designed especially to you:

Would cutting your monthly credit payments by 15% to 59% help?
Do you want to pay off your credit cards and get out of debt?
Do you owe more than $2,000.00 in credit card and unsecured debts?
Are you being charged late fees or other punitive charges?
Can you afford your regular monthly payments, but not past due amounts?
Are you getting calls or dunning letters from collectors.
Are you usually falling behind on your payments?

The next step is to fill out our enrollment form. By completing this form, one of our certified counselors will contact you and analyze your financial situation, absolutely free of charge, and without obligation. We will assess your needs and determine whether or not you qualify for our program.

Can I keep my credit cards?
All credit cards from accounts placed in our Debt Management Program must be destroyed and returned to the creditor. This should be regarded as a prudent course to take, it was probably the ease of using these credit cards that caused the current financial situation. In most circumstances, however, clients may be allowed to retain one credit card and not place it in the program.

Is there a fee to enroll?
Our program is designed to save our clients money. There is a one time setup fee to enroll you and set you up with your creditors and a basic monthly service fee of $5.00 per debt enrolled (depending on the creditor) or $25.00, whichever is greater. For our typical client, however, this fee is insignificant when compared to the overall savings our program provides. These savings are achieved through the process of re-aging accounts, thus eliminating expensive late fees, and reduced or waived interest charges.

Additionally, clients need only draft one check each month, reducing the cost of checks, money orders, envelopes, stamps and other miscellaneous expenses. Since each client has a different mix of creditors and debt structure, the actual savings vary among clients. For our typical client, however, these savings greatly exceed our service fee. During the entire enrollment to liquidation process, our program can save clients thousands, and for heavy debtors, tens of thousands of dollars.

Note 1: There is no cost for our Debt Counseling Services and we offer a FREE financial analysis. There are no fees unless an applicant qualified for our Debt Management Program elects to enroll.

As a non-profit charitable organization the major costs of our services are voluntary funded and supported by participating creditors. Some creditors will donate a small percentage of each payment to us. Creditors contribute because we are assisting our client to better manage their financial affairs, thereby allowing clients to fulfill their payment obligations, thus saving the creditor expensive collection costs and legal expenses. Also, we are an IRS designated 501(c) (3) non-profit charitable organization. Any donation that a creditor grants to our organization is tax deductible. Bear in mind that while some creditors donate a percentage of each payment to the organization, the client is always credited the full amount of their payment. While we are always working in the best interest of our clients, our program is a win-win-win situation, where all parties, our organization, the creditor, and our client all benefit.

How can our program Help you?
Debt Management Programs are primarily designed for those who have accumulated a fair amount of unsecured debt and find it difficult to make the required monthly payments. What usually happens is that some people fall behind on some of their payments, which tends to increase their minimum payment. Interest charges builds up and then, when you go into arrears, late charges are added monthly, increasing your debt. A lot of times it becomes impossible to catch up. Our organization can help by contacting all of the unsecured creditors and notifying them that the client has enrolled in our Debt Management Program.

Creditors must accept that the client has enrolled in our program. Realizing that the client is financially over-extended and is seeking professional help from a qualified non-profit consumer credit counseling organization, most creditors will work with our organization and offer some form of relief. Usually we can stop late fees and other punitive charges, reduce or stop interest charges, lower the required monthly payments and re-age accounts to bring them current. We negotiate all unsecured debt, such as credit card accounts, medical bills, service charges, personal and signature loans, installment loans and student loans. Once enrolled, correspondence from creditors regarding past due accounts are directed to our organization. In addition to these benefits, our program puts an end to upsetting collection calls and offers our clients a new financial lease on life.

In analyzing an applicant’s financial profile we determine whether or not you have sufficient income to sustain an acceptable budget based on a "revised" payment plan. If you qualify for enrollment, we set up a contingent budget which accommodates all of your creditors. Only unsecured debts, however, are placed in our Debt Management Program. We do not contact secured creditors, utilities, or insurance companies. These expenditures, however, are accounted for in determining an acceptable budget. This budget includes a "fixed monthly consolidated payment" to cover accounts placed in the Debt Management Program. Upon enrollment , based on this budget and our experience negotiating with creditors, we draft and mail proposals to each creditor placed in the program. We are recognized by virtually every major bank and finance company nationwide and regularly develop affirmative relationships with new creditors as our client base expands and new unfamiliar creditors become an issue. In nearly every case, our organization is accepted for the benefit of our clients.

Is there any effect on credit reports?
This varies in relation to our clients current credit rating. For our typical client, enrollment in our program improves their credit rating. Most creditors report delinquent accounts as "current" after receiving one to three consecutive payments as arranged by and paid through our agency. The process and time frame varies with each creditor and type of account. Some creditors, however, do not re-age accounts and may continue to report accounts as delinquent. This is most often true on personal loans, note accounts and lines of credit. Of course, accounts that have already been reported as "charged off" or "written to profit and loss" will not change. In these cases, you may seek help from a professional Credit Repair company.

Some creditors may report accounts as being paid by debt management, credit counseling or under arrangement. Such a report may be considered derogatory on accounts in good standing; however, on delinquent accounts it may be considered more favorable than being reported as delinquent or past due. How this is regarded by potential lenders in the future is entirely dependent on the client’s financial situation at that time, the client’s payment history, and the particular views of the lender. While some lenders may regard such status as derogatory, others may regard it as a sincere and professional means of satisfying the client’s financial obligations. You should also note that this status should be removed once the account is paid off. Some creditors will even re-open the account with a small line of credit for those clients who successfully pay off the account as arranged by our agency.

Our organization deals with hundreds of creditors nationwide, each creditor maintains their own policies and procedures. Therefore, we have no control over, nor do we make any guarantee, regarding how creditors my elect to report a client’s account.

In general, however, assuming past due accounts are re-aged and the client remains current in our program, the only time a creditor’s report may be less favorable to our client is when their accounts are current or marginally past due upon enrollment. This is true when it is assumed that the client would have the ability to maintain a current status without seeking the relief that our program offers. In any case, clients should be aware that consumers have a legal right to add a short explanation to their credit report which may help clarify the circumstances. On must always remember, however, that there is no substitute for perfect credit.

Can you reduce interest payments?
Creditors’ policies regarding interest reduction vary dramatically, ranging from no charge to freezing interest. With interest rates typically at 15% to 25%, interest reduction can save a client thousands, and for heavy debtors, tens of thousands of dollars. Obtaining interest reduction on just one or two accounts my warrant enrollment in our program. Let’s look at the following example:

A credit card account with a $3,000.00 balance at 18% interest with a "fixed" monthly payment of $85.00 will take 4 years and 4 months to amortize. The total interest paid over the interim will amount to $1,303.48. Typically, creditors will allow interest reduction to one of the following rates: 10%, 8%, 6%, or 0%.

If a client has two accounts, each with a $3,000.00 balance, and one creditor allows an interest reduction to 10% and another stops interest, over the interim the client will save a total of $1,888.21 ($584.73 + $1,303.48)

The information is presented only to illustrate a possible scenario. It does not take into account service fees, nor does it consider other savings and benefits a client may gain. You should also remember that the above calculations are based on "fixed" monthly payments, as is the case for clients enrolled in our program. However, debtors experiencing financial hardship typically only pay the "minimum" payment due required by the creditor.

When consumers only make the "minimum" payment due, liquidation could easily exceed 10 years, and in some situations, the account may never liquidate. This is especially true when late fees, over-limit charges and annual fees are assessed. In reality, the actual interest paid by the typical debtor making "minimum" payments is vastly greater than the amounts listed above. The combination of "reduced" interest and "fixed" monthly-consolidated payments is the real benefit of our Debt Management Program. Exactly how much our program saves a client depends entirely upon the client’s mix of creditors, debt, and other circumstances.

NOTE: Creditors typically initiate reduction after receiving one to four consecutive payments as arranged by and paid through our agency. The process and time frame varies with each creditor and/or type of account. Also, some creditors will only stop interest, or offer interest reduction, by special request by the debtor under a special hardship plan.