Helping people with bad credit is a booming business. There's a lot of money to be made helping people get out of debt. And where there's profit to be had, con artists are inevitably going to get involved and try to tap into the stream of cash flowing from consumers to companies.
As this story shows, there are good credit counseling companies and there are bad ones. By "bad," they mean there are companies that are primarily in the business of taking your money rather than negotiating with your creditors. They offer lousy service but charge a premium fee for it.
I call it predatory credit counseling: taking money from the very people who can least afford it, with the false promise of helping them get out of debt. If you really want to get out of debt, you first have to get your spending under control. Only then can you turn to credit counseling companies to restructure your debt payments to creditors.
Do your homework to find the honest firms. A good place to start, as mentioned in the article, is
www.aiccca.org. Read up on this site, too, and stay informed. And be smart about it. Don't just hand over your money because some firm says they'll restructure your debt. In reality, your debtors may not be willing to negotiate with that firm.
There are very good debt counseling firms out there, of course, so don't think the whole industry is full of crooks. In fact, the industry as a whole offers a much-needed service to American consumers who are buried under a mountain of credit card debt. But make no mistake: until you get your spending under control,
debt counseling is just a temporary fix to a deep-rooted problem.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2010, Adams created TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body.
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Sunday, November 09, 2003
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