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HOW WE CAN HELP Credit Counselling Sudbury, a division of Sudbury Community Service Centre Inc. provides free, non-biased, confidential counselling and debt management services to any interested persons residing within the Greater Sudbury Area as well as the Espanola and Parry Sound areas. Our professional counsellors will complete a detailed financial assessment with you, and will help to identify all possible solutions to your financial problems. We can assist you by:
In each circumstance, we can help to explain what rights you and your creditors have and what the implications will be to you. We will then give you any needed direction to help you reach your goals and resolve your debt and money management issues. HOW TO GET STARTED: The first step is to come in for a free, no obligation, confidential appointment which will take approximately one hour. A professional credit counsellor will sit down with you and work out a detailed financial assessment looking at your income, expenses, assets and debts. Once your financial situation has been reviewed, the counsellor will discuss the financial options available to you and the implications each option will have. The next step is to choose the best solution based on your goals. SOLUTIONS: 1) Debt Repayment Program This program is designed for people who cannot realistically afford to pay their creditors the required monthly payments. We will negotiate with your creditors and attempt to arrange for your payments to be reduced to meet your ability to pay. Our goal is to have your debts repaid in four years or less. Many creditors will help you to achieve this goal by reducing or eliminating your interest and accepting lower payments every month. You will be asked to make one payment to the Centre and we will disburse the money on your behalf, directly to your creditors. Creditor support for this program is very high as they believe in our assessment skills and know that our debt repayment programs work well for the client, the creditor and the community as a whole. The end result is that you are able to pay your creditors back, you do not have to declare bankruptcy and you will have enough money to adequately cover all of your necessary living expenses. Clients report that their stress levels drop dramatically after entering a repayment program and that their sense of well being is restored. 2) Help To Resolve Creditor Problems Your counsellor can contact a creditor you are having trouble with and attempt to negotiate a successful resolution on your behalf. With this program, you will continue to pay the creditor directly and the Credit Counselling intervention is short term. 3) Money Management / Budget Counselling No one is born with the ability to manage money effectively. Managing money is a skill. Like most skills, it requires learning and practice. If required, your counsellor will assist you in; planning for the future, setting financial goals, assessing your current situation, developing a realistic budget, ensuring expenses do not exceed income, developing a savings plan, distinguishing between needs and wants, developing a means of tracking where all your money goes, learning how to use credit wisely and avoiding its pitfalls. This entire process is very individualized and based upon your needs and goals. 4) Other Solutions If the above programs are not appropriate to resolve your problems, we will help you to identify other possible solutions that are available to you. We can discuss the effects of bankruptcy, court action, collection agencies, credit ratings, or any other area that may be applicable. |
