Must be 250 or more words and cite if you find any of this information from a so
ID: 1162773 • Letter: M
Question
Must be 250 or more words and cite if you find any of this information from a source.
Do some Internet research on nonprofit consumer credit counseling organizations and discuss two advantages of using the services of such an organization for a person who is having serious financial problems in paying their bills because of high medical bills required to be paid for a serious illness of a family member. Think of these advantages as an alternative to filing for personal bankruptcy. The advantages you discuss should be related to some of the legal issues related to personal bankruptcy and some of the disadvantages for an individual to file for personal bankruptcy.?
Explanation / Answer
Credit counseling organizations provide valuable services to the public. They educate consumers about better money management techniques, promote debt reduction strategies, and help their clients avoid bankruptcy and its financial consequences. However, some credit counseling organizations prey on the vulnerability of the clients they are supposed to be helping.
The nonprofit consumer credit counseling industry took root in the middle years of the 20th century, in response to escalating levels of consumer debt that resulted from the increasingly widespread use of credit cards. In the early 1950s, major card issuers established the earliest independent, nonprofit counseling agencies as a means of reducing the number of defaults among their cardholders. Additional agencies began sprouting up over the next two decades, often as spin-offs of existing social-service organizations.
Today, nonprofit consumer credit counseling agencies serve nearly every corner of the country. Some operate independently, but most are connected by membership networks that provide training and advocacy services. By far the largest, best-known, and longest-established of these networks is the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), which represents nearly 100 member agencies that deliver counseling at more than 800 locations throughout the U.S. The NFCC's membership roll includes the largest counseling providers in the industry, such as GreenPath Debt Solutions, Money Management International, and agencies that use the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) name.
NFCC member agencies come in different shapes and sizes. Some are stand-alone entities with just a few employees. Others are regional or national operations with dozens or hundreds of counselors across multiple branches. No matter what form they take, all NFCC member agencies must meet rigorous quality and accreditation standards. In addition, all financial counselors at NFCC member agencies must become certified by passing an industry-standard, six-module course on credit and personal finance. Many counselors complete additional coursework to gain certification in foreclosure, bankruptcy, or reverse mortgage counseling.
Ten NFCC member agencies are currently operating in the Ninth District. Most of them have provided credit counseling for 30 or 40 years, and some have histories as social-service agencies that date back much further. For instance, The Village Family Service Center, headquartered in Fargo, N.D., began offering credit counseling in 1975, but its full history dates to 1891, when it was established to help children who arrived in the Northern Great Plains on the orphan trains.
A number of NFCC member agencies in the Ninth District supplement their one-on-one counseling services with other offerings, such as financial education seminars and first-time homebuyer workshops. Some also engage in policy advocacy, coursework development, and other activities in support of consumer financial education. CCCS of Montana, the largest provider of financial counseling in that state, is one example. The organization was one of the main proponents of a recent initiative to cap the interest rates that payday lenders in Montana can charge. Another example is CCCS of the Black Hills, located in Rapid City, S.D. It houses the American Center for Credit Education, a publisher of widely used financial education curricula.
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