Do all debt management programs destroy your credit rating?

As far as I can tell "debt management programs" are really just friendly faces of creditors that aren't interested in helping you as much as they are creditors. My wife was using one when we first married and they screwed everything up. It also destroyed my wifes credit for 7 years and charged her monthly to do it!


Are there any ones that are actually out for the little guy?

Do all debt management programs destroy your credit rating?
There are plenty of credit repair companies that have no affiliation with creditors. They are simple out for their own gain. CCCS is afiliated with creditors, but they are actualy decent. It's some of the independent companies that you have to watch out for.





Credit repair companies charge large fees, which, if put toward debt repayment would improve your situation.





The three main tactics that they use are:





(1) sending letters to initiate disputes about errors on your report. You can do this for free.





(2) sending letters to initiate disputes about things that are derogatory, but are not errors. Some creditors will not verify the debt and this gets deleted. Good. Now the bad news. You can get tagged as initiating frivolous disputes, impairing your ability to fight real errors in the future. You can end up unable to borrow because you won't have a credit score. A lender who requests a score will get a message back "Unable to process - too many lines in dispute". Try and borrow with no score.





(3) They have you route your money for bill payment through them. No creditor will negotiate if you are current, so the creditors stop paying on your good bills so they go into default and then negotiates a settlement at less than face value. This saves you a few dollars now, but makes you look like a chronic deadbeat to all lenders in the future.
Reply:Contact your local Red Cross for a referral to the local Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS) in your area... FYI: Anytime you enroll in this or any debt management program....this will be noted in your credit file....While enrolling in a debt management program won't specifically damage your credit, it will greatly affect your ability to obtain new credit or to a new mortgage...but then, that's the point of the program...to keep you out of getting into more debt.
Reply:Hi,


I used "Credit Solution" to settle my debt and improve my credit score.They managed to reduce my debt up to 58%.It's legitimate.I came across this company on NBC News Special Edition.Check it out here:


http://shurl.net/5oX
Reply:You want a DMP from a NFCC accredited firm [ do a web search on this or CCCS in your locale]. Plus, they should give you options.





DMPs though are for people who can't make daily expenses without using debt. If you can, just try to manage your expenses better and pay more than the minimum. Plus pay your cards 2x month [ so if you owe $100/mth pay $50 every 2 weeks....trust me, this helps]