Debt Consolidation Programs

I also used GreenPath. My credit union suggested I use them when I asked them for help.
I was very happy with them. And highly recommend using them.
They have a website that was helpful. And they are (or last I knew) have an office in Troy.

We were in the same situation with credit cards and went with GreenPath approximately 3 years ago and have had great success, two more years to go and we will be debt free! GreenPath is a non-profit organization, debt couseling and they work with the creditors to lower interest so that the payments are more manageable. Good luck!

We went through a similar situation in August. We ended up with CareOneCredit. It was a little rocky in the beginning, what with getting all of the creditors on board with the proposals. The people you get when you call are extremely nice, polite and helpful.
Good Luck!

H.,
2 1/2 years ago we were in the same boat as you are. We signed up with TAKE CHANGE AMERICA. They contacted all of our credit cards for us and negotiated them down to the lowest apr. We pay take charge monthly and they make all the payments to the credit cards. We had it set up as an automatic withdrawl from our checking account. They let us pick the withdrawl date and if I need to adjust it due to my pay period I just call and they change it no questions asked. They have been amazing! In fact in 2 1/2 years my credit score has gone up 150 points!! We have about 6-7 months left and we are credit card debt free!!! We just started applying for a morgage and the bank told us we had picked a wonderful consilidating service and it is going to even work in our benifit to get o% interest rates on a morgage. It was the best financial decision we ever made after a long long list of bad ones. I am not going to say it hasn't been tough..in the begining that $500 a month coming out of the checking account all at once was hard, but overall it was less than we were paying in minimum payments getting nowhere. I am so glad we did it. It may seem like a lot of work at first, but collect all of you credit card bills and do it as soon as you can- you will be so happy you did!

Hi H.,

We did not use a company, but instead worked directly with the companies to lower our interest rates. I called each company and explained that I was looking to lower my rates. I was polite, patient and persistent. I talked to a manager and had good success with many. Then my husband and I watched all the offers coming in the mail and found the best - we used these to transfer debt with companies that would not work with us. Look for offers that have low interest rates for life, not 0% for x amount of months and then shoot back up.
Remember to not miss a payment or be late - that will shoot your interest rate back up in a hartbeat.
Good luck.

We are working with Debt Settlement USA. The FTC and others have warned against companies that settle your debts for you, but this was one that the FTC uses as a good example and they have a good report at Better Business Bureau as well. Be wary of companies that have changed names or locations recently and check the internet for bad feedback before going with them as in order to settle through one of the companies you actually have to default several months on your cards.
Scary times huh.......
If all works well, we will be paying less than $27,000 for $50,000 worth of debt(including fees from the settlement company for their services), and be free and clear in 3 years.
Good Luck,
C.