Debt management service

Let this debt-management plan rescue you from a haunted past

IT WAS IN TAN GOODJIONES' SENIOR YEAR AT ATLANTA'S MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE IN 1983 that the high-interest department-store credit cards started pouring in. She received Macy's, J.C. Penney, and Sears cards. Even a Rhodes Furniture card came in the mail, although she lived in the dormitory and did not need it. She happily, and nonchalantly, ran all of her credit cards up to their limits. Although Goodjiones worked, she earned minimum wage working for merely 10 hours per week in her college's work-study program.

"Due to youth and immaturity, I felt that I could pay my bills when I got ready. If the minimum due was $20, I would pay half that or nothing at all--not realizing there was such a thing as a credit report," says Goodjiones, now a counselor for Brown's Mill and Dunaire Elementary Schools in DeKalb County, Georgia. "At one point, when my friends and I `maxed out' one of our credit cards, we just threw it in the trash."

Upon graduating from college, Goodjiones proceeded to acquire additional debt with other credit cards at Rich's and Bloomingdale's department stores. According to Myvesta.org (formerly Debt Counselors of America), a nonprofit financial service organization, the youthful Goodjiones was hardly alone. Its November 2000 Credit Card Survey revealed that the average 18- to 24-year-old owes $827 on two credit cards.

Goodjiones never realized the ramification of having negative credit until nearly a decade later when she attempted to get a major credit card in 1992 and was turned down. Soon after, she inquired about purchasing a home and was informed that she didn't qualify because of her credit rating. She finally internalized and understood the magnitude of her youthful mistake.

"I felt like the system was to blame for marketing to college students who barely know how to handle their own personal lives," Goodjiones contends. "It was a struggle to get past that. I thought, `Now I know what to do. Can I get another chance?'"

Her question is one that many consumers find themselves asking as a result of being plagued by similar debt issues. Whether you have a negative credit report because you "maxed out" your credit cards during your college days, or you had your home foreclosed, or your car repossessed, or you are currently in arrears on your student loans--you no longer have to be haunted by the creditors in your closet. We've polled experts in credit counseling organizations and companies that extend credit to consumers for answers on how you can face your past and address your former credit mistakes so you can make major purchases, such as a home and a car in the near future. Here's what they suggest:

OWN UP TO YOUR MISTAKES

By now, you've probably found out that you can't keep hiding from your past. Admitting that you have a problem is the first step toward making a change. After coming to terms with your credit problems, you should be proactive. Search the Internet for articles on credit repair and read books, such as Mary Hunt's Debt Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free (Broadman & Holman Publishers, $14.99), for suggestions. Also get in the habit of opening your mail and answering your phone--even when you know it's related to a bill. The only way you can start repaying some of your creditors is to know what you owe.

Although Goodjiones mistakenly avoided seeking advice from a financial advisor because she feared the expense, she still conducted her own research. "I realized I needed access to self-help literature," she says. "So I went to the library to do research, read money management magazines such as BLACK ENTERPRISE, and joined an investment club."

GET YOUR CREDIT REPORT

As our experts stated in Part 1 of this series, every consumer should order a copy of his or her credit report at least once a year. You can call, write, or go online to the three major credit bureaus (see "Creepin' Credit Errors," September 2001).

"Be in control of the situation. Get a new credit report several months before you apply for credit and know what it looks like. That will give you equal footing with the lenders," says god Griffin, manager of public affairs for Experian. "Talk to various lenders and get rates. Don't apply at that point. Get pre-qualified, as opposed to pre-approved. The process is less complicated and gives you an idea of what your interest rates will be."

CHANGE YOUR PAYMENT HABITS

Goodjiones soon learned that paying the minimum on the credit cards she did manage to obtain was getting her nowhere fast. She took large portions of her paychecks and IRS returns to pay off and to close each of her credit cards. Soon afterward, she was debt-free. She currently has a single VISA credit card, a brand new 1999 Toyota Camry, and the beautiful home that she's always wanted in the King's Glen subdivision of Decatur--all at the prime interest rate.

As with Goodjiones, you must bring all of your late payments up to date if you want to establish a positive credit history. This requires that you continue to make timely payments on your monthly accounts and pay off your delinquent debts. "The good news is, just because you have negative credit on your report, such as a repossession, doesn't mean you're a horrible risk," assures Griffin. "Lenders do look at the amount of time that has passed since you had late accounts. While your credit report is not perfect, that doesn't mean that you will not get credit."

SEEK EXPERT ADVICE

According to the National Foundation for Credit Card Counseling (NFCC; www.nfcc.org), 1.3 million American families filed for personal bankruptcy in 1999. Do not prejudge your credit. Before taking the drastic step of filing bankruptcy, seek the counsel of hordes of consumer assistance organizations that can help you lower your debt and reclaim control of your own financial destiny.

The Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS; www.cccsintl.org) offers consumers free counseling sessions in person that include how to reduce spending, use credit wisely, manage money, build a savings plan, and develop and balance a budget. It has merged with Money Management International (www.mmintl.org) to offer clients the same counseling sessions by telephone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"If you choose our debt management plan, we will contact your creditors and have them lower or eliminate your interest rates, reduce your monthly payments, and stop collection calls," says Brenda Freeman, education specialist for community affairs for CCCS on the Gulf Coast. "We are helping you to restructure your credit when you enter counseling and make on-time payments for six months to a year. The creditor will see that you've made a commitment to change your rating; this is how you reestablish positive credit." There is a monthly charge for the debt management plan that ranges nationally from $0 to $50, according to income.

CCCS has partnered with two car dealerships and 14 mortgage companies in Houston. As a result, clients are able to purchase new cars and homes as they complete the program at lower interest rates than most lenders will extend to high-risk borrowers. "It is wise for dealerships and mortgage companies to partner with CCCS. Our clients are very valuable because they have proven themselves responsible and are debt-free," says Freeman.

Myvesta.org and Capital One Financial Corp. have partnered to distribute a free publication to young people entitled Plastic Power for Young Adults, which offers strategies on using credit cards. You can download a copy from www.myvesta.org.

"I think that we, as consumers, especially young people, should be educated about our credit report so that we will be empowered," says Goodjiones. "Churches, fraternities and sororities, social and civic organizations should have a credit counseling specialist to come out and speak to them. It should definitely be included in high school curricula. It is my goal to become a high school counselor. I will definitely advise the students about credit. If it were taught in my high school, I would be a different person."

The Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA; www.aiccca.org), having 50 member agencies, can also assist you. Its member agencies offer various educational programs. One is arming its clients with the tools to avoid deals with unscrupulous lenders.

"It is common practice that predatory lenders have consumers believe that their credit is actually worse than it is," says Joel Greenberg, a board member of AICCCA and president of Garden State Consumer Credit Counseling Inc. "They do not make their credit scoring guidelines available to individuals since they are not required to do so by law. It is best to shop around for the best interest rate and to go into the process armed with knowing what's on your credit report."

RECLAIM YOUR CREDIT