Maxing out your credit cards in a troubled economy is all too easy, especially when you are forced into using credit for things you never would have thought of before. Perhaps your spouse has accused you of becoming a shopaholic because when the bills come in there are pages and pages of new charges. But in reality all you’re doing is buying groceries, an occasional cup of coffee on the way to work, and maybe even finding the need to pay other bills with a credit card. If you are seriously thinking of some counseling, check out consolidated credit counselling services, but watch out for scams.

Consolidating credit is nothing more than including all your monthly bills into one payment and then in turn paying a service to pay your bills. A reliable service will do this as you freeze your accounts and allow a professional to manage your bills. This might be your last chance of recovery before being forced into bankruptcy.

First, check out some local non profit agencies that specialize in this kind of credit counseling. Many companies exist, especially online. Do your research, though. The thought of having all your bills lowered and consolidated is sometimes such a driving force that many consumers end up signing on with companies that do thing more than cause further problems.

One of the scams involves companies that actually do absolutely nothing for you. These are usually online sites that have very professional looking information, testimonials from supposed clients, and lots of disclosure information about what they do and how this could affect your credit – all things one would expect to see in a legitimate business of this nature.

However, what they do is take your money and run. They simply take your application, perhaps communicate via email or even a few phone calls, wait an appreciate period of time, and then tell you everything has been fixed. They then give you a new figure for what your monthly payment will be, and you are instructed to send them this money.

Of course, the assumption is that they will, in turn, be paying each of your creditors the amount they have allegedly negotiated for with this agency. In reality, the company hasn’t contacted anyone at all, there is no new lower payment, and your money is doing nothing but fattening the bank account of the scammer who set up the website. By the time you realize there is a problem, which is usually about two months, these people are gone. The website is down and back up under another name, doing the same thing.

You find out what has happened only because your creditors start calling wondering why you haven’t paid your bill! Then you discover they have never been contacted by any company acting on your behalf in order to reduce your payments.

At this point your creditors have probably either cancelled your credit cards or even increased your APR to unmanageable heights of near 30% or more, in accordance with your original agreements with each lender.

See More Guidance on Consolidated Credit Counseling at Consolidated Credit Counseling and Consolidated Credit Counseling Services Info