Over the last 12 years, this website has evolved to offer extensive information on both debt settlement and credit repair. For most of the time since its incarnation, the request ratio for either types of information was split about 50-50.
During the 2005-2006 housing boom, my calls were almost exclusively from people who wanted to fix their credit so they could “buy a house”. Since about winter 2007, I’ve noticed that type of information people are looking for has shifted from credit repair to debt settlement:
- Traffic on various web pages of creditinfocenter.com. Based on the log files which count the number of times a page is requested, 25% more debt related pages are being requested than credit repair related pages.
- Conversations with people who call in. Most of the calls I get each days are for debt settlement. I would say right now the debt settlement to credit repair calls are 5-1. I’m also getting a significant number of people calling who say that they are being sued for credit card debt.
- Discussion Forum Traffic Credit Repair forum traffic is way down, slipping being the most popular forum on our discussion forums to the third most popular. (The Collections Forum is now number one, followed by the Legal Help section.)
- People with “underwater mortgage” situations. I can’t tell you the number of people I know who are walking away from their homes because they are “underwater”, sometimes to the tune of $100,000 – $150,000. When I ask them if they’ve considered what a foreclosure would do to their credit, the answer is usually a variation of one of two comments:
- “Everyone will have bad credit in the future, so they will change the scoring system. Therefore, this foreclosure won’t hurt me”. Really? I haven heard this news.
- “I don’t care about my credit”. Sometimes it’s because their credit is already ruined.
My theory as to why people are not interested in credit repair? Because now they can’t afford to buy anything – so who needs credit?
I’m worried that too many people have stopped considering their credit. Don’t be one of them! Yes, when you’re drowning in debt, you need to stop the hemorrhaging as much as possible to avoid losing everything – even if it means some sacrifice on the part of your credit rating. It’s a mistake to discount the value of a good credit rating. Good credit can save you a lot of money in the long run and even give you an edge over a competitor during the job application process.
Despite the bad economy, most Americans still have good to excellent credit; I haven’t heard anything that leads me to believe that the credit scoring system is going to be adjusted for people hurt by the economy. The after effects of this bad economy could stay with you longer than most people in the form of credit blemishes if you aren’t careful.
So what are you most interested in? Debt settlement or credit repair? Tell us by leaving a comment!
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Loan consolidation can be a real life saver if you’re really in the position to need it. I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, but if you have recently lost a job and find yourself unable to pay your bills it’s definitely worth looking into.
Hi ,
Thanks for writing such an interesting article. It’s really good to know about the credit repair in such a detail. In finding a loan, the lender usually only processes applicants that have great credit score only. People with bad credit will find it very difficult to get their loan applications approved. We may already know that payday loan or cash advance loan is the only type of loan that could process loan applications from people with bad credit. But payday loan my not able to help every situation such as we need a loan that more than $ 1,500. So we need to get another loan. If we have bad credit score we need to find a credit repair service so our credit score can become better.
Do not wait longer, you should try to visit Skybluecredit.com, this is the smart solution for everyone. Credit repair tips are also provided very helpful feedback so that this becomes useful for you in making a decision to try to re-develop your business.
Thanks,
Sarah Clark
I’m interested in credit repair. I am unable to get a loan, buy a car, or even a credit card due to items on my credit report that belonged to my deceased husband. Even a tax lien on my house, because the state took my money on time, but couldn’t figure out whose tax return to apply it to!
Not all settlement companies are bad. Do your research.
Debt and Credit Repair Resources & Tips
It is a very rare kind of person that does not have money problems at some point in your life. It is important to realize in the circumstances that missing a single payment on your credit card does not make you a bad person, a financially reckless individual or a debt risk. This is not because it is fine to miss a credit payment – ideally, it won’t happen to you – but because there is a way back from credit problems. You need to be concentrated on finding that way back and taking it – but as long as you keep a clear head, this is more than manageable.
what a great site and informative posts, I will add a backlink and bookmark your site. Keep up the good work!
I’m Out!