Our Trip to the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS)

Life and the CCCS

We had our pow-wow with the CCCS (Credit Card Company Services, ahem, Consumer Credit Counseling Services) today……for a measly $692 per month we can pay off our credit card debt and doctor bills in as little as 46 months. OK, first some background for those that are unaware as to what the CCCS is.

The CCCS is the only US of A accredited pre-bankruptcy counseling service. If you ever want to file Chapter 7 or 13, guess who you MUST see twice? Yep. OK, with that said, who helps maintain the CCCS as a 503-non profit organization. According to the yellow piece of paper that I signed, the CREDIT CARD companies apparently are the #1 source of money flowing into the organization (more on that in a bit). So, we have a non-profit company that is certified by the US Federal Government……that is propped up by the credit card industry……..isn’t that nice?

The visit/appointment went well in a sort. I learned that, yes, we are “over-budgeted” (I prefer to call it “over burdened). Basically, we are losing a minimum of $43 per week. In order to get into a DMP (Debt Management Program), you can not be losing money as a familial unit……so what happened? The counselor basically changed our budgeted numbers to ensure we had a small, but positive number at the end of the form. Through her Clinton-esq finagling, we ended the day as having a $22 surplus. OK, why would she have done that? Well, if your company was set up by the credit card industry, do you think that the industry would want you to recommend someone declare bankruptcy? Nope and neither do they. Overall, the CCCS model is a good one on paper, but if you are in over your head and are expecting help, go somewhere else. BUT, that is simply my opinion.

Her first recommendation was laughable at best…..increase your pay. I told her “Look, we both work in excess of 65 hours per week, we are NOT working more than that. If the credit card companies REALLY wanted their money, they would be willing to work with us.” Of course, that is not what she wanted to hear, lol. Basically, our debt is simple to analyze: $26k in unsecured (credit cards and medical bills), $21,500 in secured car loans and $38k in student loans. Of all of these loans, the student loans are non-dischargeable in any arena. We had the student loans on the books before the car loans. Then we had the student loans and the car loans on the books before the first credit card was issued. Apparently, that does not matter to the credit card industry (naturally), the Federal Government (where do you think they get their money?) and the CCCS. See where I am going with this? We were already in over our heads before the first credit card was issued……how in the heck was my wife approved for more than a $5k card, much less FOUR of them? Because, without the mortgage and student loans, she could afford them……oh boy….basically, that was the answer that we received from the counselor yesterday.

OK, bottom line, at this point, I still do NOT know what we are going to do yet. I really do not have a clue……but bankruptcy is looking more and more like a real possibility. I mean, I understand that WE created the debt. We knew (or should have known) what we can and can not afford. We were ok until my wife’s salary was cut by 33%, then she got salmonella and lost 10 days of work (no pay) and then we all got the funky virus that is floating around the Southeast. While we did manage to put back a (small) emergency fund, that is now gone. We are back to square one again. At times, it feels as if we are beating our heads against the wall. At the same time, we were afforded a credit amount that was obviously higher than we could afford. When we asked the credit card companies for help, only one stepped up to help us: Home Depot. Capital One, Chase and HCBC all told us “NO”……repeatedly. When we went to the CCCS office yesterday, we found out that yes, we can get you into a DMP…..for $692 a month for 46 months. OK, that is basically what our payments come to in the first place, BUT the interest is lower……LMAO. Yeah, most of the companies will be willing to drop their rates to 9.9-15% after 3 months of on-time payments…..? HUH? OK, we got behind, our bad. We asked for help and was denied. Now that we are looking at possibly entering a DMP, we can basically get our old rate back? What a freaking scam. That alone makes me want to flip ‘em off and say screw it. What do we do? I have no clue at this point because this is going to take some thinking, but at the same time, we are on the edge of default so the clock is ticking. Yeah, this debtor is getting angrier……more later (rant done lol).