Credit Cards » Credit Card News » Demand for credit card help as debt rises

Demand for credit card help as debt rises

By Leni Parrish on Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 at 12:43 am

The average credit card customer according to latest surveys has over 15000 dollars in credit card debt. This could be quite depressing, although, it isn’t something that wasn’t expected. Owing to the economic crisis a large number of people lost their jobs or held onto ones that underpaid. A lot of such people use credit cards to help them out with their daily expenses and the debt could accumulate over a period of time. Therefore such credit card customers are in need of credit card help.

Credit card help was required by a large number of credit card holders even prior to the Great Recession. A lot of people were already in credit card debt. The average card holder in the country was adding to the credit card debt fat too quickly for one’s comfort owing to the many credit card accounts. The Great Recession in fact enhanced this pain especially for those credit card customers who were already under the burden of the credit card holders.

There is in fact help available for credit card customers. For instance, credit card customers can turn to non-profit agencies for credit card counselling. These agencies will help customers by negotiating with the lenders while helping to cut down on the debt of the credit card customers. This can be achieved by identifying ways to cut down on overspending. These counselling agencies help cash strapped customers to change their extravagant habits to ensure that they don’t build up their credit card debt and instead find ways of knocking off the debt.

Credit card customers can also go for debt consolidation in which case a debt consolidation company will help them combine the overall debt of the card holder. This could then be paid out as one loan. Card holders can make a minimum monthly payment to eventually come out of the debt. However, the problem with this solution is the excessive interest rate that is charged by the debt consolidation company. There might be service fees on the loans too. The high interest rates can in fact, affect the credit report of the consumers in an adverse way.

However, credit card customers are always better off seeking help. If nothing is done, the debt is likely to increase. Only by taking the right action can customers take care of their debt and also their credit history, with the credit card debt dwindling eventually.