If you are planning to consolidate your loans, you have the option of doing it yourself or hiring a debt consolidation company. Most of you have trust issues when it comes to lending companies, which drives you to find ways to solve your financial problems on your own. This is not an impossible task. You may transfer the balances of your credit card debts to just one bank to have a single rather than multiple loans. You may also take out an unsecured loan to pay off all your existing debts and just manage a single debt as a result. These sound easy, but there is one pitfall, in order to have a lower interest on loans you would need to have a good credit score, which is not the case if you are already drowning in debts.

This is why it is still practical to deal with a consolidation company because you will save on interest rates in the long run even if they do charge fees for their services. You can follow these guidelines to help you search for the right company to deal with.

-Check the company’s Better Business Bureau rating.

The Better Business Bureau provides reliable ratings on consolidation companies and other financial institutions. From them, you can see if a company has violated any federal law or if any cases have been brought against them. Aside from this, you can also see the complaints that have been aired against the companies. If a company has been doing business for many years, it is unavoidable for it to have some complaints so do not hastily judge. Instead, see if the complaints have been resolved because this will show if the company has taken necessary actions to satisfy their customers and keep their good reputation.

In terms of ratings, find a company with an “A” rating or higher. This is an over-all assessment of the company in terms of reliability and compliance.

-Read reviews

There are websites that offer reviews of different lending companies. These reviews came from first-hand experiences of people who have acquired debt consolidation loans from these companies. From them, you can learn if they have been satisfied with the kind of service they received and if the company has truly been helpful in getting them out of debt. You may also ask friends or family who have gone through debt consolidation. You will find their testimonies to be more reliable and dependable as you assess different consolidation companies.

-Look for accreditation and licenses.

Once you have approached a consolidation company, ask them for a copy of their licenses and accreditation so you will be sure that you are dealing with a legit company to avoid being scammed. Even their consultant needs to be licensed if required by the state.

-Transaction Fees

These companies are not allowed to charge advance fees before you even get into a contract with them, or before you acquire your debt consolidation loans.

-Sign a contract.

To have a written document to seal the deal, always have a contract between you and the company. All necessary details of the loan, repayment plan, and confidentiality agreement should be included in that contract.

This article is written by Robin Smith behalf of debt consolidation 247 that is a UK leading debt consolidation company.

Robin Smith is an expert debt advisor. He has written several articles on debt consolidation program. For more info visit: http://www.debtconsolidation247.co.uk/

Author Bio: This article is written by Robin Smith behalf of debt consolidation 247 that is a UK leading debt consolidation company.

Category: Finances
Keywords: debt consolidation, debt consolidation loans