When you get behind with your financial obligations you need to make the right choice when trying to consolidate your debts The first one is to try to contact your creditors and work a payment plan with them. The second one is to contact a debt settlement company which will work on your behalf to lower your debts. The third place to try is by using a peer to peer lending site.
Working with your debtors is the first action anybody should take. This way you keep open lines of communication with them and let them know about your situation. Doing this will improve your chances of having some of your debts lowered or forgiven with a lower interest rate. If this happens then you should feel lucky. Do not get upset if this does not work. There was a contract signed by yourself that you should have known about. Your creditors are in business to make money not lose money.
If they will not work with you then it is on to option two. Its time to call a debt settlement company. They will take a look at all of your debts and let you know which ones they have a chance of lowering for you. They will in turn contact your creditors and start negotiating on your behalf. Many lawyers run these types of companies and are experts in negotiating. They are not free and expect to earn a flat fee or a percent of the amount of debts forgiven. If they succeed in lowering your debts your credit report will show it as so. Your credit scores will drop a little but so will the amounts you have to pay every month. One of the more successful companies is called Cura Debt.
If you have no luck working with your creditors and the thought of ruining your credit is not going to work for you then a peer to peer lending site might work for you. These sites are a community of people who are looking to invest their money with. You make a listing of yourself describing what you need the money for. Normal people, not banks, will pool their money back until the amount you are asking for is reached. When the amount is reached the interest rate at which you first listed yourself up for starts going down as people bid against one another. The more bidding means the lower the rate you will pay. After the bidding is done you will be given the money and have to pay it back over a set time period which is usually three years. Your monthly payments back to the loan get divided back to the people. Every body wins here because you get a low rate loan, no dings on your credit report, and normal people earn money for helping you. Many people enjoy working with the Lending Club for these types of scenarios.
All of these will help you with your debt problems. Each has their risks and rewards and some are better than others. When it is all said and done just remember to never get yourself in this situation again.