has anyone tried debt mediation?

[yoshald]

Has anyone here tried any of those debt mediation deals? I have very good credit, but I maxed up all my credit cards for various reasons, and now can only pay monthly minimums. It'll take like 40 years to pay off at the rate i'm paying off principal.

What they say they do is negotiate a low rate with all your cards, they deactivate your cards till it's paid off, and you make one payment which includes a $40 payment to the mediator per month. I can pay off everything in about 4 years.

Does anyone know if this affects your credit report negatively? All opinions welcome, but real experience is better.

 

[NetworkDad]

When i turned 18, i got a credit card right away (stupid me) and maxed it out real quick. I ended up settling on the account at a lower amount - I think i paid $400 to close it, i owed around $600. I've learned a lot since then, that will never happen again.

As for renegotiating - you can go through a credit counseling agency if you owe a lot of money, and want to avoid bankruptcy. It will show up on your credit report that you went through credit counseling. Some lenders will see this as a downfall, others will be pleased that you worked to pay off your debts. If you have more specific questions, i listen to Tom Martino on talk radio frequently, but you can go to his website and they can recommend a good counseling agency.

 

[yoshald]

Thanks.

 

[aphex]

I work for a debt consolidation company... Its actually VERY helpful to alot of people... If you turn on your PM's, i can send you over the phone number you can contact one of our consultants for free. As for showing up bad on a credit report, ours is a little different. If will just show that a '3rd party' paid your debt, not specifically a credit consolidating company... PM me if you want more info.