Are your credit card bills getting out of control? Are creditors charging you late fees and penalty charges? If you're not able to make payments on your credit cards and other bills in Illinois, you should try an Illinois debt consolidation program or loan in order to get out of debt.

Illinois debt consolidation program - How does it work?

This type of program is offered by an Illinois consolidation company. When you approach the company for help to manage your bills, they'll ask you to attend a free counseling session. In this session, a company representative will analyze your finances. Based on your situation, the company will offer you an Illinois debt consolidation program or help you to settle the debt.

The consolidators at the Illinois consolidation company will speak to your creditors/CA and help you to:

  • Get reduced interest rates on your bills
  • Minimize or eliminate late fees and over-limit charges
  • Consolidate your bills into one monthly payment

With an Illinois consolidation program, you can repay your obligations within 4-6 years. If you continue with the regular repayments, it will take longer.

What are the types of Illinois consolidation programs?

The relief programs offered by Illinois consolidation companies are:

Credit card consolidation

This is meant for those who are overwhelmed with credit card (cc) bills and wish to get rid of late payments, penalties and over-limit fees. Learn more....

Payday loan consolidation

program helps you to consolidate payday loans and avoid paying high interest charges.

Medical bill consolidation

This enables you to consolidate several medical bills into a single monthly payment that you can afford.
State of Illinois (IL)
map of Illinois state in USA

Avg credit card debt: $5,497
Delinquency rate on (credit card): 1.36%

Mortgage debt: $173,319
Delinquency rate on (Mortgage): 2.41%

Auto loan debt: $17,528
Delinquency rate on (Auto loan): 1.12%

Unsecured personal loan debt: $9,894
Delinquency rate on
(Unsecured personal loan): 4.44%

Payday loan laws >>

How does an Illinois debt consolidation loan help you?

Unsecured consolidation loans are personal loans offered by financial institutions. With an Illinois debt consolidation loan, you can repay your bills with one large payment. Consolidation loans are available at low interest rates, but the term of the loan is quite long. So you will end up paying more in interest over the life of the loan.

What is Chicago debt consolidation all about?

Chicago consolidation solutions include both debt management programs and consolidation loans. With Chicago consolidation options, you get reduced interest rates on your bills and can roll over multiple bills into one manageable payment each month. However, Chicago consolidation companies are likely to charge you a different amount of fee in comparison to the charges required by debt relief companies in other states.

How does Chicago, Illinois debt settlement help?

A Chicago debt settlement program offers an easy way to get rid of excess debt, especially for those who're experiencing financial hardship and are looking to reduce their bills. In a Chicago, Illinois debt settlement program, you can trim your outstanding balance, thereby getting rid of bills faster. Chicago debt settlement is one of the best ways to get rid of your debt. Learn more....

Law on debt settlement in Illinois

On the 3rd of August,2016 , Illinois Governor Pat Quinn introduced a bill as law which outlines some rules and guidelines for the debt settlement scams. According to the Governor, many debt settlement companies take undue advantage of people in debt. Thus, he introduced this law to protect consumers trying to get rid of debt.

This law will be known as the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act, and will also set up a fund and the money from that fund will be given to those people who have lost money through debt settlement companies. This law aims at curbing the business of the scam companies, and thus saving the people from losing more money.

The law includes provisions like

  1. The debt settlement company cannot make any false promises to get a person enrolled in their service.
  2. The law provides Illinois the power to issue administrative penalties, suspend, fine, investigate, revoke, deny, and even issue a cease and desist order to the debt settlement company.
  3. The law limits the upfront fees to $50.
  4. The law also mentions that the settlement agreement fees cannot exceed the principal amount.
  5. The settlement fees have been capped by the law at 15% of the consumer’s savings.
  6. The law gives the consumer the power to cancel the contract at any time, and also makes him eligible to get a refund of the fees in such a case.

Case study

Scenario At this moment, 6 creditors are asking me to pay for bills that are nearly 30 days due. So far, I haven't given any reply or returned their calls. But, I've decided to work with a BK in Naperville, IL and put my creditors on a retainer before speaking to them directly. Meanwhile, I wanted to find out whether or not someone here has any experience regarding creditors knocking at your door or talking to your neighbor to catch-up with you? If yes, then how long you didn't make the payments while you've eluded their calls before they came to your door knocking for payments?
Solution Creditors can come to your house for their payments. But, the timing of their visits should be reasonable and shouldn't be at an awkward time like 2 am. However, if you're being harassed by a debt collector and your creditor hasn't informed you about it, then you can sue your creditor on the grounds of FDCPA violation. Moreover, they can't malign your reputation by revealing about your debts and the balances, you owe them, to your neighbors. Such an act is also considered as harassment committed by the creditor. You can check for more information about collection harassment here: https://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/handle-collectors.html
However, make sure you've paid off your debts or else your creditors can take you to court.

How much
you can save
in Illinois

FAQ on consolidation and settlement in Chicago, Illinois?

I want to get a few accounts off my credit report. I missed payments on several of my debts, and now I'm getting calls from creditors and CAs about obligations I'm not sure I owe. What should I do? Will Chicago debt consolidation help?
Ans:The first thing that you should do is ask the creditors and collection agencies to validate or prove that you owe the money. Validation will help you to find out you owe the debt that the creditors and CA have asked you to pay. If it turns out that you owe the money, then you can take help from a Chicago consolidation company and repay your bills within a short time span.
I've missed payments on my student loan taken out in 1994. A few days back I got a call from someone asking me to pay off the bills. The lady also threatened to garnish my wages if I didn't pay. I've just missed a few payments because I lost my job. Now that I have a new job, I'd like to pay off the loan but in small repayments. Can Illinois debt consolidation loan help?
Ans:Whether an Illinois consolidation loan will help depends on the type of student loan you are talking about. Loans through a private lender can be consolidated with an Illinois debt consolidation loan. Federal student loans taken out through the Department of Education should be consolidated through one of their programs. Find out more....
I have 8 installment loans and credit card bills in Illinois. Recently collection agencies have started calling me because I've been unable to make payments on some of the bills. I am afraid they may call my workplace and harass me. I know it is my fault and I've been trying to pay as much as possible. What should I do? Can an Illinois consolidation or settlement company help?
Ans:Illinois debt consolidation companies can help reduce your high interest rates and consolidate installment loans and credit card bills into an affordable monthly payment. If you can't afford to pay your creditors monthly, you may settle the bills. An Illinois debt settlement company can negotiate to have your accounts settled for less than what you owe. Find out more....
I had several cc charge-offs in late 1990's. Since then I haven't made payments on the accounts. In the past few days, I'm getting collection calls about payments on the charged-off accounts. Do I need to pay? What is the SOL for cc bills in Chicago, Illinois? Can Chicago consolidation companies help?
Ans:The SOL for closed cc bills is 10 years in Illinois. If the SOL has expired, then the creditor or collection agency cannot sue you for the debt. If you come to an agreement with the creditor or CA and breach that agreement, the SOL will restart.
If you can't manage all the accounts separately, you may consolidate them into a single payment per month. It is better to contact Chicago consolidation companies and get their help in consolidating your cc bills. These companies negotiate with creditors and collection agencies to reduce high interest rates. This will enable you to pay off all your bills with lower monthly payments.