Debt consolidation loans?

[grumpyduck]

I keep getting all these offers in the mail about these loans. Low interest, blah blah blah. Banks, USAA, the lot.

Anyone here using them? Any thoughts?

[2naSalit]

1. The only stuff...

That I respond to that shows up in the mail is Bills and correspondence from people I know.

[Bev54]

2. The only loan you should be getting should be a known banking/financial institutions - they do

consolidation loans as well.

[Meadowoak]

4. yes, I did my consolidation loan with the credit union that I had already been with for a number of

years.

[Meadowoak]

3. I have in the past, if they are offering a good rate, I'd consider it. Consolidating and then

quickly paying off several old loans really shot my credit score. It went from 720 to 805 in just a few months.

[werdna]

5. I would trust USAA

It's explicitly for ex-military service personnel and family. Any commercial bank is strictly for profit and will have numerous provisions which are easy to transgress so they can raise your interest; such as a single late payment on any other loan you hold or your rent and your interest will sky rocket. so read the fine print.

[FBaggins]

6. Is the problem mathematical or psychological?

That is… if the debt was caused by temporary circumstances that are now past… then they make mathematical sense. Likely lower interest can save a significant amount (accelerating getting out of debt) - and the single monthly payment is convenient.

But here’s the thing. Consolidation loans normally go to people who have several loaded-up credit cards not from an unexpected need but rather from prolonged excess spending. In too many cases, the lower payment and non-revolving debt means that they can now qualify to borrow more from someone else (even the same credit cards if closing them was not a requirement of the consolidation loan). If the spending habits haven’t changed, the debt problem will just get worse.

And I agree with werdna above. USAA is a class act and won’t be taking advantage of you.

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. This is a math question, pretty much

If the loan being offered means less interest charges than just paying the existing debt, then sure, why not?

Many credit cards offer zero interest debt consolidation programs that will require paying back in a specific time frame, say 18 months. A loan from a bank or financial institution will possibly cost more in fees and interest rates than such an offer. Look at the numbers carefully, is the point.

I used such a loan in the past and it worked out fine. It saved me about $500 in interest over the life of the loan vs what I would have paid the CC companies.

Also, if you have debt spread across several cards or accounts, paying them all off in the span of a few days looks really good to the credit rating agencies. Using that loan boosted my credit score significantly over time.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

8. Is this in relation to credit scores, or just reducing the interest you're paying?

There are (not common) possible circumstances where it won't help your score.

That sitch is unlikely to apply for people of a certain age, but for people who's credit is young, they can actually cost you points by lowering your average age of accounts.

Other than that, just use a good outfit like USAA and there's not much downside.

[progree]

9. Check with the BBB if its some spammer or radio advertiser you've never heard of

Most of those are shady at best.

[3Hotdogs]

10. BBB is a useless as my left nut. If you research anything on BBB, go back about 10 pages to learn

the true business practices of the company you plan to work with.

Caveat, that doesn't mean that every business you research on BBB is a bad company. Rather, some companies hire drones to post positive reviews on a company. You have to scroll through about 10 pages of bullshit to get the true picture.

Also, check your state attorney general's office for records of complaints and actions against particular companies.

[progree]

12. I wouldn't take a positive grade from the BBB as an all clear, everything's great sign

but if what I saw at BBB was negative, I would definitely stay away.

And yes, I would scroll down and check all the links before I do business with anybody for something serious like a debt consolidation loan, or one of those tax relief companies. And I'd also do Yelp, Google, attorney general's office (we have a good one in Minnesota).

Always realizing that reviews, whatever the source, and wherever they are found, are often very biased (paid for reviews, or competitors posting negative reviews). This isn't my first rodeo.

[3Hotdogs]

11. There are credit card companies that offer 0% consolidation loans for 12 to 18 months.

These can be beneficial if you are not taking that loan and racking up new debt on the card on which you just consolidated.