Break free of debt.
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[url http://my-credit-counseling.com/]Debt Counseling[/url]

A close friend of mine went bankrupt and had a new car and house a year later. 6 yrs since i got on the CC plan i still can't get overdraft with my bank.I would only recommend it to someone as an absolute last resort to bankruptcy.if they could not negotiate or work with their debtors personnally.I did not owe enough to go bankrupt so I signed up in 2005 with a credit councilor. If i had to do it again i would have done it without them and tried to do it on my own. I went with them because i though it would be done in 2-3 yrs. They never mentioned the 2 year period for the comments to come off my report until i was making my last payment and my file changed hands several times and some accounts i submitted originally were not paid by them so i ended up having to let them lapse until the statute of limitations was met.Lets just say i had a less than stellar experience with these guys. Again, I cannot even get a $50 overdraft on my bank account because of the R7/PP notes on my credit files. I NEVER missed any of my payments while on the plan but none of that matters as long as these comments exist.

It's not a matter of one being as bad as the other it really depends on your situation. In Ontario the credit bureau is cleared 2 years after you complete a credit counselling program, but not having any credit showing is a negative also. It's really important to reastablish credit asap. Most credit counselling agency can help with this.

If you debt is so high that a repayment plan can take over 6+ years a bankruptcy or consumer proposal may be a better option. They are all different and you have to weigh the pros and cons of each.

DO make sure that ALL the entries have been changed to R-7 (many are reluctant to change it) and that they show a zero balance owing.

Also, obtain a secured credit card (either Capital One or People's (Horizon) to kickstart your new credit.

You'll probably need to complain to get your removals done when the 3 years is up.

DO EVERYTHING IN WRITING!

Not sure what you are referring to but definitely ANY type of consumer proposal or orderly payment of debt (O.P.D.) will negatively affect your credit report and score big time. In fact, many honest debt counsellors (I hope that's not an oxymoron) will tell you you're as far - or even further ahead in some cases - by declaring bankruptcy as potential creditors know you are currently free of, at least most, encumbrances.

The Equifax Bureau handout lists a further 3 year year reporting period from the COMPLETION DATE of O.P.D.'s during which time you're still judged R7. This holds true for all the provinces. Not sure if they've changed that exact adjudication, but R7 isn't much better than R9. Whatever; no one is going to give you a loan anyway.

TransUnion doesn't disclose the OPD period on the info section of their credit reports; nevertheless, it's also 3 years for all 10 provinces.

You can see the summary below taken from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's website.

http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/publications/CreditReportScore/UCreditScore-eng.asp

Direct Quote from your website:
"Unlike bankruptcy, using a debt counselling agency might not show up on your financial documents. Hence they will not affect your credit history. Even if they do show up, it would probably be interpreted as a positive sign.
This is because the creditors will see that you are willing to make payments rather than filing for bankruptcy. This means that when you apply for future loans, you will be seen as someone with a good credit history although you might have delayed on the payments a little."

End Quote.

Oh, these programs show-My own experience has been OPPOSITE to the statement on your site. I have completed my program 2 years ago and i still have the comments on my credit report and I can't get any kind of loan because lenders have told me its considered NEGATIVE to them, not positive as the website says. They all tell me to try again when these notes are off my file.They do not make the leap of faith that i am responsible, they just see i could pay when it was due.