Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp.

A couple of years ago, I went with Cambridge for debt consolidation. They explained everything and they were transparent. There was good communication, and the application process was easy. They seemed flexible with the payment plan too. I switched it at the very beginning because I only get paid once a month. That's a harder thing for people when you only get paid once a month. Your budget is completely different.

I was 3,000 in debt and my income had drastically gone down, so I couldn’t keep everybody happy. They told me that I would pay 35 back and at the end of it, I ended up paying 6,000. I was like, “I wish I could have borrowed the money, because that’s a lot of extra money." Other than that, the program helped me get out of debt. I would call them for my balance periodically through the years and they were helpful. Knowing what I was gonna pay, it was easier for me to pay one small fee. But it was stretched out and there was extra money and that was kind of disturbing.

Cambridge is a good company to work with, and they were responsible. Anytime I had to call to ask questions, they were very knowledgeable and helpful. They had good customer service. Also, I was able to log online and see my progress, which I liked. I had a person that told us about the program and set us up. He also talked to us about what will happen and the timeframe that it would take to pay off our bills, and gave us instructions on what to do. He was very thorough.

We spoke with an advisor and then we gathered up the most recent statements from all of the credit cards that we wanted to consolidate into the program. Then they negotiated down those interest rates and set us up with a single payment. We've been getting it auto-debited ever since. We were paying over $800 a month just in minimums to the cards that we put into the program. Our payment after they negotiated everything down was just over $450. So we were able to free up almost $400 in cash every month, which was a bonus.

Cambridge is easy to work with. They look at the total that you have then set you up with a payment plan. It’s an affordable payment, too, versus trying to pay six or seven things at different rates. They don’t pressure you. You can do it in a way that helps pay things off without feeling overwhelmed. They also offer education. One thing that I learned was waiting to pay your bill when you get the bill is already too late. If you use a credit card and you pay it off before the statement date, you avoid interest. They don’t bombard you with emails. But when you get those emails, if you click on them and watch the little video, it does help. They do what they say they're going to do. If they say they're going to call you back, they call you back. I had trouble with one of my companies sending me a collection letter but the rep took care of it. I had an overall very good experience.

The rep I worked with at Cambridge answered all my questions. The program was self-explanatory, and they explain to you how it's gonna happen, what payments were gonna be made and how they were gonna make it and their fees. They would send an email statement every month of how they broke down the payments, what I owed, their fee, and the amount. All the fees every month were the same, and nothing was hidden. There was nothing for me to worry about. The payment was always the same every month. The estimated time they gave me didn't change much from that day as well. It went a bit over, but it's not like I would worry about it. It was about four years ago when we first started, and overall, it was a good experience. It went smooth for the duration of my time with Cambridge, and working with them helped a lot. I got to pay all my bills.

To have to give up four credit cards during enrollment was quite shocking to me. But overall, it was awesome and a great experience with Cambridge. I had questions regarding my accounts on the last two credit cards that got paid off and they were very helpful as far as giving me the information and a contact person to get ahold of Citibank. They also came to me with a payment that was very affordable. Four years later, here I am, debt-free. They said, originally, would be a five-year program. But as I came in to have some extra money, I threw it right on the cards.

The cost is a little high but getting all those credit cards paid off is less stress. Also, their communication throughout the process was good.

I sent out the paperwork and they handled contacting the companies. I gave them a budget that I can afford each month and they set things within that budget. Then, if I had to add anything new, it was fairly simple to call up and get everything added on.

Everything was very good with Cambridge. I was able to pay my debt like I wanted to and everything worked out perfect. I like the fact that they took out my monthly payment out of my account automatically, which made it easier to pay. Also, a counselor called me every six months and I was able to call or email them if I had questions.