Archive for the ‘credit counselling Brantford’ Category

Every few months my associate, Howard Hayes, and I meet with the credit counsellors at the Family Counselling Centre of Brant. Their office is at 54 Brant Avenue, which is about a five minute walk down Brant Avenue here in Brantford from our office at 218 Brant Avenue. They are a not-for-profit agency that specializes in helping residents of Brantford find solutions to their financial problems. They can often work out a debt management plan where you repay your debts over a period of time, with a reduced interest rate, so you can avoid bankruptcy.

We discussed some of the new bankruptcy rules that came into force on September 18, 2009. Some of the new rules are complicated, and I was impressed by their knowledge of the implications of many of the new rules. They truly want to find the best solution for their clients, and to do that they take the time to explain all of the options.

(As an aside, there are some “for profit” debt consultants who pretend they are acting in your best interests, but often they will charge you a fee and NOT explain all of your options. At the Family Counselling Centre of Brant, and here at my firm, Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc., we explain all options so that you can make an informed decision).

They told me that there are a lot of people in Brantford having financial problems, and I agree; we are also very busy. However, the good news is that there is help available, so if you want a trustee’s advice, call my office in Brantford at 519-770-4440, or contact the credit counsellors at the Family Counselling Centre of Brant for a no charge initial consultation.

Today Howard Hayes and I had lunch with Michelle and Sue from the Family Counselling Centre of Brant.

As readers of the Bankruptcy Brantford Blog know, the Family Counselling Centre of Brant is the only not-for-profit credit counselling agency that personally meets with clients in Brantford, and I highly recommend their services.

Since we last met for lunch in September, Sue and Michelle tell me that they are seeing more clients than ever. With the recession in full swing, and with debt levels at record high levels, and increasing number of Brantford residents are finding themselves in financial trouble.

Their approach is the same as my approach when meeting with someone for the first time: we review your assets, who you owe money to, and what you earn and spend each month. Based on that we recommend solutions.

Brant Family Counselling specializes in working out Debt Management Plans, where they negotiate a plan to repay all of your debts, in full, over a two to five year period, at often a reduced or zero rate of interest. In the past these plans were only used for unsecured debts, like credit cards and bank loans. Sue tells me that now they have even had some success negotiating extended payment arrangements on car loans.

So, if you are having debt problems, and you don’t want to talk to a bankruptcy trustee, give Brant Family Counselling a call in Brantford at 519-753-4173, and they will be happy to walk you through your options.

Earlier this week Howard Hayes and I had lunch with Michelle, Sue, Nina and Terri from the Family Counselling Centre of Brant.

(Totally off topic, we had lunch at Cafe Andreou on West Street; I had never eaten there before and we wanted to try it. I was told the food was great but the owner is a bit unusual. Sure enough, the food was great, but when the waiter made a small mistake on Terri’s order, the owner, rather than apologizing, came out an basically said “you have no choice but to sit and wait until we fix it.” Maybe it’s just me, but perhaps an apology and a free appetizer might have been a better approach).

The Family Counselling Centre of Brant is the only not-for-profit credit counselling agency that personally meets with clients in Brantford. I have worked with their team for many years, and highly recommend their services.

They work with many other agencies in Brantford, as well as with employers and schools. Their main focus is on prevention.

I think their focus on preventing financial problems is great, because no one else is doing it. (The credit card companies want you to borrow more, not less).

Their Brantford credit counsellors are experts in helping you create a budget. Creating a proper household budget is the first step in assessing and preventing financial problems.

In addition to giving advice, the credit counsellors at Brant Family Counselling can also negotiate payment arrangements with your creditors through a debt management plan. For example, if you owe $20,000 on four different credit cards they can probably negotiate a plan where you pay $400 per month for 50 months to pay off your debts in full, and the credit card companies in most cases will waive all future interest, so you can get out of debt faster.

If you think a debt management plan may be the correct solution for you, call Brant Family Counselling in Brantford at 519-753-4173, or call my office in Brantford at 519-770-4440, or e-mail me and I can explain credit counselling and your other options for dealing with your debts.