The goal of a credit card consolidation programme is to help you improve your credit score. Your credit worthiness is based on how well you pay back your debts. It also shows lenders how willing and able a person is to pay back loans, which helps them decide how much credit to give them.
A bad credit history can hurt borrowers in many ways. But a bad credit score can be fixed by making a few payments on time. The best way to get along with lenders is to pay your bills on time and not take on more debt. If your credit scores aren't great and you already have a bad rating from the credit bureaus, it will take work, time, and patience to turn them into good scores.
BEWARE. A company that helps you combine your credit cards can also hurt your credit and make your situation ten times worse.
- They might not pay your creditors when they are due;
- They might charge a lot of money;
- The fact that you're using one will show up on your credit report, and
- Using one might make you feel like you can now go into even more debt without getting in trouble.
There are a lot of private counselling services that can help you figure out where you stand and how much work you need to do to get back on track with your credit. You can join a programme like this to learn more about how to deal with your debt.
These credit repair services will also talk to the lending agencies to get you a better repayment plan, which will help you manage your money better. A credit card consolidation service also gives you the power to talk to the agencies about what kind of report to send to the credit bureaus.
Credit bureaus are very important when it comes to figuring out your credit score and making a report based on it. When you apply for any kind of loan, creditors can look at your report. Get a copy of your credit report from the bureau and look it over for errors. You can also keep track of your progress by getting a free copy of this report every month.
People who are just starting out with money, like students, can use consolidation programmes from a number of credit card companies. People like this get into debt easily because they don't know how to handle their money or have been taught how to. If you're not sure if you want to consolidate your credit card debt, you can go online and fill out the prequalification forms that are on many websites. This doesn't take long at all. In exchange, you'll get quotes from different companies, which you can then compare to find the most affordable option.
Want some help? Go to http://www.cccs.co.uk; they are truly independent. The rest are salespeople for private debt-management firms.