Creative Consumer: In Debt? Consider Counseling

April 14, 2008 — -- Nobody wants to say the "R" word for recession, but my letters certainly suggest people are hurting out there. Here are a couple of samples. For folks like this I suggest credit counseling, but the key is to seek help from a reputable firm. Details below.--Elisabeth Leamy

I am self-employed. I find myself currently in a large amount of debt. My credit is good and I pay all my bills ON TIME. My credit scores went down in the past year due to buying too much with deals at 0 percent. I know I owe a lot of money and I can pay it back, but I am now finding credit card companies charging me up from 19 up to 27 percent.

I call and they tell me that they cannot do anything. What can I do? If this keeps up and other companies do the same to me -- I will be PUSHED into not paying my bills and then I have a bigger problem. It's like they are throwing me to the wolves. Is there a consumer company that I can contact locally or can you give me some advice?-- BL, Marana, Ariz.

I have two credit cards and owe a total of $2,217.21. One month I decided to sign up for online bill pay; it took longer than I thought, so I mailed in my monthly payments. It got there late so I was charged a late fee. The late fee caused me to be over the limit and was charged another fee totaling $78 plus my monthly amount.

I called the next month when I received my statement and asked them to look at my payment history and explained what happened. No luck. The APR went up to 39 percent, and my payment went up. I keep getting o.l. (over-limit) fees. I called again asked what can I do, was told what to do to get caught up, and paid it. And still every time I received a statement, it got higher and higher. They refuse to help. I've asked them to waive and lower the APR, which will help my monthly go down. They wouldn't do it. I can't afford the high APR. What do you suggest I do? Help please.-- MH, Pasadena, Calif.

If you're trying to lose weight, and dieting on your own hasn't done it, you may sign up with a diet counselor. That counselor will give you pep talks, help you develop a menu, even weigh you to measure your progress. If you're trying to shed debt, and doing it on your own hasn't worked, you can go to a credit counselor. That counselor will give you pep talks, help you develop a budget and crunch the numbers to measure your progress. Credit counseling is a lifesaver, as long as the counselor you choose is reputable.