Best Debt Consolidation Loans

Review & Comparison, Last Update January 13, 2024
Trying to repay your debts may sometimes seem like an unmanageable task. But by taking a debt consolidation loan, you protect your ...Read more
PROS

Low payment rates make services from Prosper one of the most affordable ones on the market. Moreover, the company allows you to skip payments without interest penalties.

CONS

Customers with a bad credit score may not be eligible for payment programs.

OUR VERDICT

The consolidation of debt from Prosper will be suitable for customers with a moderate credit score and small businesses, thanks to the unique methods of tackling financial issues with your banks or creditors. An absolute care-free solution for liquidating your current debt.

detailed parameters
Average Fee

2% - 5%

Services

Debt consolidation, Debt liquidation, Financial counseling, Credit card repayment

Monthly Fees

Yes

Repayment Period

3 - 5 years (on average)

PROS

On top of the regular debt consolidation, Oak View also provides you with one of the best in class legal assistance. What is more, the process of refinancing your debts takes less time, compared to other companies.

CONS

Not suitable for secured debts and mortgages.

OUR VERDICT

Oak View debt repayment programs will be right up your alley if you owe your creditors more than $1000. The things that make them appealing are short repayment periods and low-interest rates (compared to similar companies). Definitely a must in case you don't want to ruin your credit score.

detailed parameters
Average Fee

Fixed flat fee (depending on debt amount)

Services

Debt consolidation, Debt liquidation, Credit card repayment, Legal assistance

Monthly Fees

Yes

Repayment Period

2 - 3 years (on average)

PROS

DebtCC owns one of the biggest financial forums in the USA. On top of that, the firm's website also features a free blog that will be helpful for your financial well-being.

CONS

The review of your case needs to go through several stages, which slows the process.

OUR VERDICT

The pioneers of financial counseling - DebtCC will become your best wingman in tackling tricky financial situations. First-class assistance and relatively small monthly fees make this service a good pick for customers with small to medium debts that wish to get a personal loan with lower interest rates.

detailed parameters
Average Fee

Fixed fee (depending on debt amount)

Services

Financial counseling

Monthly Fees

Yes

Repayment Period

Counseling only

PROS

The ADE assigns a team of financial advisors right after the first payment in order to tackle all the issues with your creditors. Additionally, the firm will find you a suitable personal loan with a lower than average APR.

CONS

The search process may take some time, which might not be suitable for customers with urgent cases.

OUR VERDICT

American Debt Enders will be a top pick for customers with medium to large debts that are seeking a personal loan with a lower interest rate. Additionally, the company provides a special credit score restoration service that will increase your chances of getting another loan in the future.

detailed parameters
Average Fee

Fixed fee (depending on debt amount)

Services

Financial counseling

Monthly Fees

Yes

Repayment Period

Counseling only

PROS

The company has one of the best financial search engines on the market, which can be used to find the proper way to liquidate your debts fast, easy, and without damaging your credit score.

CONS

The service may not be suitable for users who are not students.

OUR VERDICT

The services from Credible work best for graduates and for former students that are having troubles repaying their student loans. On top of the financial counseling, the company has exclusive offers from personal loan companies that deal only with college-related debts.

detailed parameters
Average Fee

Fixed fee (3% - 9%)

Services

Financial counseling

Monthly Fees

Yes

Repayment Period

Counseling only

Best Way to Reach Financial Stability

Formed in San Francisco back in 2005, the Prosper Marketplace founded the peer-to-peer lending market and since then has become one of its true leaders. Today, the company offers a lot of options for debt consolidation to their customers that will be suitable for settling private and business loans. Thanks to the peer-to-peer technology, there is no need for personal interviews or basically any interaction with the lender. The whole process of taking and applying for a loan is automated for the most part and will take just a couple of hours to complete (in some cases it may take a day or two).

Alternatively, the company provides personalized financial guidance and assistance. The financial experts from Prosper will help you in planning your payments, fixing bad spending habits, as well as giving you tips on how to achieve financial stability even before you apply for a loan. The first consultation is free, however, all consecutive ones will require an additional fee.

No Hidden Fees

The application for the Prosper loan is quite simple and won’t take a lot of time. All you have to do is submit the needed information on Prosper’s website. This data may include housing payments, income, and status of your employment. After that is done the company will process this information and will make a soft credit check, if necessary.

The only real issue with the service is that your minimum credit score must be equal to or higher than 640. So, it is not suitable for regular loan programs and will work best for credit card debt consolidation, and for clients with a moderate credit score that submit their applications. Once applied and approved the monthly payment plan cannot be changed. In case you don’t have enough funds when the date of payment comes you will be charged a small fee without an interest rate applied, which makes the missed payments less damaging to your wallet. With that being said, the more months you skip the more additional fees you will have to pay at the end of the loan program, so it is recommended to not miss payments in order to avoid being charged twice.

On the bright side, however, contrary to the credit card debt rates, the payment rates of loans from Prosper are fixed and reasonable for the most part. The average fee fluctuates between 3% and 5%, which makes it one of the most appealing options for personal loans on the market today.

Liquidate Your Debts

By offering the best debt consolidation loan options to its customers, Prosper still remains one of the most legitimate and reputable companies on the market. However, the services provided will not be suitable for everyone out there.

Summing up, the Prosper services will be suitable for clients with a moderate-to-good credit score who want to borrow funds and for general business debt consolidation purposes. The low-interest rates on long-term repayment periods combined with top-notch customer service will definitely make a difference when picking the right company. Reliable and effective are perhaps the best way to describe the ways Prosper provides to their clients in order to liquidate their loans.


Tackle Your Financial Issues

Trying to get out of debt and staying away from taking another loan can be tricky sometimes. Fortunately, the Oak View Law Group know how to tackle problematic debts and will definitely help you out on your voyage to financial stability.

First of all, the company provides some of the best in class payment methods and will be a good alternative to more renowned companies. Thanks to the standardized flat fees, the debt consolidation plan from Oak View Law Group will be a great option for refinancing smaller debts and loans.

After applying for a loan, the firm will offer you a debt-free settlement program that includes a payment plan ranging from 6 months to 4 years. Although the latter is always an option, the regular consolidation program usually takes 24-32 months, on average.

Legal Assistance

More often than not, in order to fully clear your debt, you need to perform a pay-to-delete operation. The issue with it, though, is that you have to pay an interest rate that is usually higher than the sum you actually owe to the creditor.

The thing that you should be cautious about is the additional monthly fees that the firm employs on every payment plan. The total fee is no higher than 15% of the reduced debt, which results in 40% to 50% of debt reduction in the long-term. Albeit being higher than fees applied by other companies, you will end up paying way less as a result.

The minimum debt amount required to enter a debt reduction program from Oak View is $1,000. This makes the company’s payment plans one of the most affordable options on the market today. However, Oak View will also aid you in filing for bankruptcy if your situation is desperate.

Since Oak View is a legal firm more than it is a lender, it can also provide you with legal advice and assistance, so don’t be in a hurry to file bankruptcy just yet. The legal advice will be more than handy if you need help with calls from collectors or potential lawsuits from creditors. These and many other extra features will definitely help you to stay afloat. Nevertheless, the firm provides legal assistance for a fee that can vary in cost depending on your particular financial situation and the amount of debt you owe to creditors.

Top-Pick for Businesses

Although the firm provides great options for settling debts, there are a few debt types that are not eligible for consolidation. These include secured debts, mortgages, and any debt that is secured by a significant number of assets. To put simply, the company will not provide its services to medium or big business ventures due to the maximum debt limit.

To wrap things up, the debt resettlement programs from Oak View Law Group will be a great option for small businesses and personal debts. Albeit some additional fees are applied, the firm's services are a great way to deal with your financial issues, especially if you have a hardship case of credit debt.

Thanks to the additional services such as legal assistance, bill restructuring, and personalized payment plans, Oak View is simply the best debt consolidation loan you can get for settling bills of small and medium sizes.


Quality Counseling

Debt Consolidation Care (or DebtCC for short) is a company that provides credit counseling as well as debt counseling for their clients. Unlike most companies in our review, this one is not a debt consolidation loan company. Even though DebtCC doesn’t settle your debt with creditors directly, they provide you with invaluable guidance and counseling at all stages of resettling your bills. This includes finding the best way how to deal with your debts, finding a perfect payment plan, and negotiating a lower interest rate on your bills.

Being one of the pioneers of online consulting, DebtCC has come a long way since its inception in 2003. In the beginning, DebtCC had the goal of helping people dealing with creditor and debt collecting companies, and they have since achieved this goal with a large number of very happy clients.

What the Future Holds

The company has grown significantly since then and now is among the best online consolidation services available to virtually any customer. Today, DebtCC not only helps people deal with their financial struggles but also prevents them from making the same mistakes by teaching them how to not get into debt in the first place, as well as how to keep their finances healthy, among other things.

What makes this service unique is the fact that the first consultation with company representatives is completely free, which is, perhaps, the biggest selling point of their services. The thing is, even if you don’t actually need consolidation of your debt, you can apply for a free interview that will help you in assessing your financial situation, its issues and ways to fix them. And all that is available completely free of charge, unlike seeking help from other companies that provide the same kind of service for enormous extra fees. The only fee the company employs can fluctuate depending on the payment program of your choice. The latter can vary from state to state and the sum amount of what is owed.

Biggest Financial Hub

On top of the professional financial experts, DebtCC has a large community that features a number of experienced contributors that will gladly provide all information about dealing with collectors and lenders. This will be extremely helpful for customers that can’t wait several days for customer support to review and assess their support tickets on the DebtCC website. Although it is a common practice and pretty much every company runs their support services that way, sometimes, you just don’t have that time.

The DebtCC Wiki page is one of the largest hubs for financial solutions, articles, blogs, and much more. The platform allows experienced users to reach out to the customers that may need guidance in dealing with their debts correctly. In addition to the forums, the website also has a blog section that often features tips on how to keep and encourage habits that contribute to your financial well-being, as well as how to avoid common traps you may fall into while dealing with banks and creditors.

In the end, Debt Consolidation Care provides one of the best in class guidance plans out there that will be a great way of dealing with your financial struggles and diminishing your current debts such as medical bills, personal loans and long term credit disputes with both banks and debt collection companies.


How to Enter the Program

American Debt Enders allow customers with a debt of $2000 or more to enroll in a program that will consolidate your debt without financial consequences or significant damage to your personal credit score. In addition to that, the company also provides its customers with a free debt counseling service, once they enter a debt repayment program. The only tricky thing with AME, though, is the fact that they act as a referral only.

The company will find the payment schedule and a special debt liquidation plan that will be the best for your particular situation. The professional assistance and guidance for a large range of debt-related issues is completely free aside from a monthly fee that varies depending on the debt size. What makes this option great is that if you didn’t like the services AME provided to you, you can always apply for a guaranteed money back option.

How Does It Work?

Since declaring bankruptcy can severely damage your credit score, the consolidation of your debt is, perhaps, the best way of dealing with unpaid bills. The consequences of bankruptcy are, for the most part, unpredictable. However, the only thing that is certain - you won’t be able to take another loan or credit from a bank for at least 5-7 years. Scary, isn’t it? So, what is the best way to tackle your debt? Some customers will gladly apply for a debt settlement, however, it is not the easiest solution out there.

Unlike debt settlement programs, the consolidation of your bills using a program provided by ADE will not damage your credit score. Although the two terms are often being interchanged, they are not the same, since the reduction of your debt using a personal loan doesn’t include paying off your regular credit card fee at the last possible moment.

Debt consolidation loans, on the other hand, can be a great way to tackle the interest rate applied to the owed sum or to clear the debt completely. The former will be especially useful in situations when paying off the debt with current interest rates seems unmanageable.

Repair Your Credit

In case your credit score has been damaged already, American Debt Enders offer a special credit restoration program that will increase your chances of getting a new loan after the consolidation period ends. Although it sounds a bit too good to be true, the firm will take your situation under control and will lend you a hand in finding the best company that can give you a personal loan with a lower interest rate than your creditor. Alternatively, the company is capable of finding a specialist that will appeal your case directly to the creditor or bank in order to lower the interest rate, which may be the best case scenario in some instances. Though the personal loan is definitely helpful, it may not be applicable to your current debt.

All in all, the solutions from American Debt Enders will be suitable for those seeking to cut medical bills, business debts, student and personal loans. Virtually anything you could ask for - ways to consolidate debts, credit repair, unsecured loans, AME will be willing to help you with in a dire situation.


Issues with Student Loans

According to surveys, 7 in 10 college students left school with loans averaging $37,000 in student debt in 2016. However, for those students who switched majors, went back to school, or pursued higher degrees, that number can be much higher and can easily reach $50,000 or even $100,000. A student loan is a necessary aspect for the majority of people studying at college and universities. Most of the time, customers consider these loans as a tool that can be used now and be dealt with after graduation. However, most of them can fall into the trap of overwhelming debt that takes time and effort to be paid in full.

In other instances, customers don’t take all the advantages of student loans and that is when they can get in real trouble with creditors. By not taking advantage of a grace period you risk ending up in a situation where you will pay more than you owe to the bank. It doesn’t matter what the cause of your debt might be, the only thing that is important is how to liquidate that debt and how to liquidate it fast. That said, even if you have found yourself in a similar position, don’t be discouraged, Credible is the right company that is eager to help you out.

How to Qualify

Although it is advertised on the company’s website that you don’t need any qualifications for entering personal loan, refinancing, and consolidation programs, there are some core requirements. To be eligible for the loan refinancing program from Credible your debt must be no less than $5000 while your minimum credit score should be no lower than 600.

Even though Credible doesn’t provide you consolidation services directly, the company has one of the best financial counseling programs out there. The company’s experts will guide you through all stages of refinancing from assessing your financial situation to repaying the debt in full. On top of the financial counseling, the firm provides you with exclusive offers from quite a few loan refinancers. These review companies include Citizens Bank, College Ave, iHelp and Risla among several others.

Smooth Repayment Process

When you have chosen a lender company that you are comfortable and ready to proceed with, the company will ask you to import the loan information you had provided earlier. Depending on the amount of your debt, the company will pick the best possible personal loan with an interest rate that is lower than your local bank or credit company can offer. Additionally, the company’s partners offer concrete and realistic repayment plans that can be paid off in 5 to 20 years depending on the debt amount and the desired loan rate. More importantly, unlike many other similar services, you are free to end the Credible counseling program once you have found the company that is ready to provide a personal loan.

All things considered, the Credible services will be suitable for students who have already gone through education and want to get rid of their loan in the fastest way possible. When discussing the debt interest rate with a bank or taking an additional loan are not viable options then this firm is a prime choice for you.


Infographics


What Is a Debt Consolidation Loan?

There are many different types of debts and sometimes people are simply not capable of repaying them. Lack of funds, a bad credit score, or the inability to pay off credit cards can all cause problems in our financial life. When there are no other ways, debt refinancing can help save the day. Debt consolidation services help people manage one, two, and even multiple loans at the same time by extending the payment period, which takes 3-5 years, on average.

The main benefit of a debt consolidation plan is that you pay a much lower interest rate, compared to other loan programs or by paying off a bank credit card. As a result, you pay way less than you would by paying off your bills normally. The only hiccup with most consolidation services is you can only be approved for refinancing of your debt if you have a good credit score. The APR of personal loan companies can be rather high but it is usually lower than the unfair credit interest rate from your bank or creditor that you have to pay anyway.

Although it is often seen as a last resort, most of the time these services are one of the few options clients have when their creditors are unwilling to lower their loan rate or negotiate a debt consolidation program.

In case you are searching for additional ways to improve your financial stability we also recommend taking a look at auto insurance and credit repair services.

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