Will Enrolling in Synergy Debt Group Affect My Credit Scores?

WILL ENROLLING IN SYNERGY DEBT GROUP AFFECT

YOUR CREDIT SCORES?

Enrolling in Synergy Debt Group’s debt management program, or any credit counseling service,  will not affect your credit scores.  So the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) clearly states on its web site: http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/WhatsNotInYourScore.aspx   

“Frankly, we think consumers who participate in credit counseling shouldn’t be punished in their FICO scores,” says Craig Watts, public affairs senior manager  for Fair Isaac Corp.

Synergy Debt Group’s debt management program could actually improve people’s credit standing, and ultimately their scores.

A little fact about how the credit reporting bureaus look at credit cards, and one which most people are not aware, is that  when a credit card account has a high balance relative to its credit limit (35 percent and higher), it starts to lower the holder’s credit scores.

Why?

Because the reporting bureaus’ models, not the banks’, consider you're living more on credit than income, thus placing you in a higher risk category and lowers your scores. Charge up to the card’s maximum credit limit will affect  the scores even more, regardless that the minimum payments have always been made on time. Charge over the limit, and the affect is even more dramatic; the bank itself may deem you too high a risk and deactivate the card, further lowering not only just your scores, but  negatively affecting your credit profile overall.

So, by the time you realize you need help with debt management, you should know  your credit scores have probably already taken a hit, maybe even big one. Especially if making just the minimum payments becomes a hardship, and the  fear of potentially falling behind.

Being a few days late and paying a late fee does not reflect on your credit. Only if you’ve gone 30 days past due, and longer, will it hurt your scores.

Synergy Debt Group designs personalized programs for each client that helps them free themselves of credit card debt within three to four years, not decades. Also, as the debt decreases, so too does the clients’ debt to income ratio, improving their credit risk.

You may may not always have the cash, but  good credit will help you get it when we need it.