Things have been so much different when it comes to collecting debts by banks and applying for Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit‘s debt management plan.

Banks. Back THEN in 2008, there were no third party collection agencies collecting credit card and loan payments on behalf of the banks. Or were there but I didn’t know??

But NOW, there are so many real cases where third party agencies appointed by some local banks call and send text messages day and night to collect overdue payments. They yell, scold, threaten or humiliate the debtors when they are unable to collect the outstanding payments they want. ^ ^!!!

The third party collection agencies and maybe the banks do not seem to be interested in collecting 1/3, 1/2 or 3/4 of the owed minimum payments anymore. Instead, they want full minimum payments owed by the debtors.

AKPK. Back THEN in 2008, it seemed to be less complicated when it came to applying for its debt management program. Thank God there were not so many applicants at that time.

First, I gave AKPK Ipoh branch a call at 05.242.8319 for an appointment to meet a credit counselor. Next, met the counselor at Unit B-2-1 Greentown Square, Jalan Dato’ Seri Admad Said, 30450 Ipoh, Perak.

The counselor went through last 3 months’ payslips and the latest statements for EPF, EA, credit cards, personal loans, house and auto loans before he calculated/worked out to see if there was a positive source of income.

Then, he explained the pros and cons of joining a debt management program. Once the counseling session was over, I went home to fill in the application form and attach a photocopy of all documents needed (watch my video of Documents to Bring When Meeting the AKPK Counselor or AKPK’s video. Oh, AKPK got the credit report called CCRIS (Central Credit Reference Information System) on behalf of me at that time!

Lastly, submitted the application form and waited for more than a month for approval. Once I was notified that my application was successful, I went to deposit the first payment at Maybank. After that, faxed the bank in slip to AKPK’s office and waited for the approval letter. (For the complete story of my application, please read my post of A Credit-Card-Debt Woman is Under AKPK Debt Management Program Malaysia

Let’s talk about NOW if you want to join AKPK’s debt management plan. First, call its toll free number 1800.88.2575 to attend its briefing for 30-minutes. After the briefing, make an appointment within 7-10 days to meet a counselor.

Before seeing the counselor, you have to go to BNM (Bank Negara Malaysia) personally to print out a copy of your CCRIS. With all the documents/statements needed by AKPK, go meet your counselor.

Submit your form, together with the first payment bank in slip and wait for 2 weeks for approval.

As for me, my credit card debt (hubby and mine) was caused by excess spending and insufficient income. There was always not enough income (from both of us) to pay the credit card payments, daily expenses, car and home loan instalments.

Whenever there was insufficient money to pay the minimum credit card payments, withdrawing cash advance from credit cards was always the solution to settle the payments.

As a result, more credit card debt incurred due to cash advances, cash advance fees, late payment charges and other miscellaneous fees imposed by banks.

Just as I thought filing for bankruptcy was the only way out to get rid of staggering credit card debt and harassing phone calls and warning letters from the creditors and credit card companies, AKPK saved me (and hubby) from declaring bankruptcy.

Regardless of why you are in debt, you need to know that there is a way out without resorting to bankruptcy. You can get out of your situation through AKPK’s debt management plan if you are a Malaysian.

The AKPK’s debt management program is individually designed to provide you with a unique solution for your financial situation; it keeps you from having to take out a debt consolidation loan or file for bankruptcy.

If you think that a debt management program is right for you, it is important to make sure that you know perfectly well the pros and cons of enrolling in a DMP.

AKPK’s debt management plan is a way out to get rid of credit card debt without filing for bankruptcy for me, but it does not necessarily suit you.

You yourself have to attend the credit counseling briefing to know the ins and outs or the pros and cons of the debt management programme before making a decision.

Debt management program, also known as debt management plan, is individually designed to consolidate all your multiple credit card payments into one lower payment.

The debt management repayment is often made affordable to you so that you can pay all your credit card payments.

Of course, a debt management plan is NOT an option for you if you are already at advanced litigation process or involved in bankruptcy.

If you find that a debt management program is right for you after a credit counselling session, your credit counsellor will start negotiating with your creditors to lower the credit card monthly payments, reduce the interest rates, and waive late payments and over-the-limit charges.

Often times, your creditors or banks will agree to the affordable repayment plan just so they can receive any amount of payment towards the balance you owe them.

As a credit card debt woman who is now in a free debt management program, I must admit that it is a great solution for helping me get rid of my credit card debts.

The DMP not only allows me to pay ONE lower repayment every month, it also stops the wave of annoying or even threatening phone calls or warning letters from the banks and credit card companies.

Signing up for a debt management program is easy; it’s a matter of finding a credit counseling and debt management company you feel comfortable with that is difficult.

Make sure you find a credit counselling and debt management agency that will work best for you. Remember, you want the right debt management program to put an end to your pestering debt problem, not creating more debt.

I mentioned that I would set up emergency fund in February 2008. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

At that time, hubby’s income was meagre and unstable. My income was barely enough to pay the credit card payments, utility bills and car and home loan instalments.

February 2008? I didn’t even know there was such a credit counseling and debt management agency called AKPK and its debt management program (DMP).

I only got to know AKPK in April 2008 while I was watching a biz program. But even then, it didn’t cross my mind that I wanted to enrol in its debt management plan.

I was still trying to pay down the credit card debt without wanting to get help from the credit counselling and debt management agency. I kept telling myself that I just needed to work a little harder to increase my income and cut down a lot more on expenses and spending, then my credit card debt would be gone.

Well, God always has something better for us, right? I must say that it’s God who gave me the chance to bring my financial havoc back to the right track. God heard my desperate prayer for financial help and led me to the AKPK debt management programme (DMP).

My AKPK DMP was approved in October 2008. Since then, I have been making one low payment to AKPK by the 30th every month.

Paying lower monthly repayment to AKPK also means that it’s possible to save money as emergency fund.

As of today, the amount in my personal savings account has reached RM1,000. There is still about RM700 from Amazon.com; it takes more than a month for the check to clear.

Added up, I will have had more than RM1,700 in my personal savings account pretty soon.

If the envelope budgeting system or the Canada credit counselor and personal money management expert, Gail Vaz Oxlade’s magic jars works on hubby, it’s likely that there will be more money saved as emergency fund.

I am sure they are of the same reasons given by others who were or are in debt management plans.

Let me share with you top 10 reasons why people with credit card and personal debts, including myself, have turned to debt management programmes to pay off the debt.

May the reasons stated below help you make up your mind whether a debt management program is the right debt relief option for you.

1. You have tried out self repayment plan but it doesn’t help much to decrease your debt balance. I did try out self credit card debt reduction from April 2007 to August 2008 and managed to bring down my credit card debt from RM63,809 to RM40,344. But since then, the amount of debt balance didn’t decrease much.

2. You are so deeply in financial crisis that you need to get rid of your debt before any legal proceeding such as being sued for bankruptcy starts. Although I was able to bring down my credit card debt through self debt reduction plan, I still decided to turn to AKPK debt management program.

Why? Well, I couldn’t bear with the late payment fees and over-limit charges imposed by banks anymore; the amount of late payment fees and over the limit charges was so much that it made my efforts of paying down my credit card debt a waste of my hard-earned money.

3. You don’t want to be disturbed by irritating and harassing phone calls from debt collection agencies. Ask anyone who has been behind their payments or has missed a few credit card payments, they will tell you how stressful and depressing it is when it comes to handling calls from banks and collection agencies, and also piles of notices and warning letters.

4. You would like to lower the interest rates on your outstanding balances so that you are able to save money. From 18% interest rates to 6% or 7% interest rates, I must say that it’s a huge saving.

5. You don’t want to pay extra charges due to late payment. One day in August 2008, I told hubby that I had had enough of paying the never-ending late payment and over-limit fees charged by banks that brought us to nowhere, but increasing credit card debt!

6. When your budget is too tight, a debt management plan allows you to lower your monthly payment. Due to economy downturn, hubby’s meager income and my decreasing online income made us opt for lower payments for our credit cards.

Previously hubby and I had to pay more than RM2,500 for the credit card minimum payments. But with AKPK’s debt repayment plans, we are allowed to pay much much lower payments to our creditors. My DMP is RM320 per month while hubby’s DMP is RM360.

7. You have no idea about managing your own debt at all and you need proper guidance.

8. You have multiple bills and you can’t manage them efficiently.

9. You find that you need a professional credit counselor to assist you to work out a budget based on your income and commitment.

10. Your credit score is in a bad shape and there is a need for you to rebuild it through a proper debt management program.

There were several reasons why I enrolled in a debt management programme and not debt consolidation or debt settlement. Debt settlement? I wonder if there is any debt settlement plan in my country.

First and foremost, it’s FREE to join the AKPK debt management plan. You are not charged any enrollment fee or monthly service fee. Yes, the DMP provided by AKPK (Agensi Kaunseling Dan Pengurusan Kredit) is free; it comes with zero enrollment fee or monthly service charge.

Since the program is free to join and at that time I had had enough of my piled up credit card debt, I made an appointment with a senior credit counselor in Ipoh branch.

Did I do any DIY debt management to get rid of credit card debt? Of course, I did. In fact, I began budgeting and cutting spending starting April 2007 to pay down my credit card debt before finally signing up with the AKPK program.

In a span of almost one and a half year, I managed to pay down my debt from RM63,809 ($18,000 plus) to RM40,344.

Just as I thought I could slowly pay off my credit card through budgeting and cutting back on spending, bad things crept in one by one.

Firstly, hubby and I were not able to generate more income to pay the bills. Money was always not enough when it came to making payments to credit cards, home and car loans, utility bills and personal expenses.

We started being in late in payments or skipping some of the credit card minimum payments. As a result, late payment fees, penalty charges, over-limit fees, and other miscellaneous fees began piling up and added to my already piled up credit card debt.

One day after watching the AKPK’s TV commercial ad, I decided to pay a visit to the agency and enroll in its debt repayment plan to help me get out of credit card debt without stress.

Often times, the term “credit counseling” is used in the same sentence as debt settlement, but actually, it’s a completely different process.

With credit counseling, you will actually work with a credit counselor to pay off your debt in smaller, monthly payments that you can afford.

So, do you really need credit counseling to get you out of debt? You need it if you have been receiving harassing phone calls from bill collectors or if you are unable to make another month’s high interest credit card payments.

Before you attend any credit counseling briefing, it’s important that you choose a good credit counseling agency so that you are not scammed.

Look for a reliable credit counseling agency that is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) or the National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC).

Once you have identified the right credit counseling agency, you’ll have to meet with a certified credit counselor, and provide him with all of the details of your debt.

After a thorough review of your debt, credit history, and a detailed analysis of each of your creditor accounts, your credit counselor will let you know if there is a need for you to enroll in a debt management program.

Once it is determined that signing up with a debt management plan is right for you, your debt management program counselor will negotiate with all of your creditors to reduce interest rates, eliminate late payment fees and lower payments before creating an affordable debt repayment plan that you can live with.

It’s true that working with a credit counseling service can do some damage to your credit report. But if you are at the stage where your last resort is filing for bankruptcy, you would definitely consider a debt management plan in order to avoid bankruptcy or a report full of charge-offs.

Named literally after the concept, a debt management program takes your multiple debts and merges them so you can worry less about all the different interest rates and minimum payments being charged every month.

Instead of remembering numerous credit card payments due on different dates, you will be happy to realize that you only need to remember one payment due on one date.

You will easily find a great number of debt management program services offered by non-profit and for-profit agencies and companies that provide guidance when applying for a program that will meet all your requirements.

Before you sign up with any credit counseling and debt management agency, make sure you know all the pros and cons of the one-debt-only programs available in the market. Like credit cards, debt consolidation loans and debt settlement plans, debt management programs are also susceptible to scams.

You must always read the fine print in search of hidden fees and surprise charges that can affect your family’s livelihood. This is your responsibility and no one can be held accountable for poor judgment but the choice maker.

It’s of utmost importance that you choose a certified credit counselor that takes enough time to provide you the assistance you need and calculate your monthly expense and income rate to ensure that you will meet payments without having it reflect on your family’s daily life.

You do not want a debt management program counselor who rushes you into signing up a debt repayment plan without giving you a thorough credit counseling service or letting you ask all the questions you need in order to understand how a free debt management program works to help you.

As a credit card debt woman who started my debt reduction in 2007 but failed to make much progress in paying down my credit card debt due to high finance charges and expensive late payment and over-limit fees, debt is a smoother ride for me under a free debt management program.

To make sure that you don’t need any debt relief program or bankruptcy in future, start implementing debt management to properly manage your credit card debt.

Debt management is, simply put, a way of taking control of your debt and finances. You can manage the debt on your own with a little bit of effort without the help from a certified credit counselor.

The first step of debt management is to become familiar with your debt. Make a list of all your credit card accounts – how much is owed on each card and the amount of monthly payment.

Next, make a list of all your expenses and figure out where you can cut down and save money. There is also a need for you to keep track of your daily expenses so that you know where your money is going and see whether you can reduce the expenses in this area. Spending money without realizing what you are spending on and where your money is going to is the main reason you are knee deep in debt.

The next step is the most important and practical step – start making payments. Take the account with the smallest balance and pay as much as you can towards the balance each month while paying the minimum payments on all of your other accounts until the first account is paid off.

When the account is paid off, take the second lowest balance and repeat the process adding the amount that you paid towards the first account to the payment of the next account. You will repeat this process until you have all of your credit card accounts paid off.

Credit card debt management is not rocket science. It’s a simple process that requires discipline and determination in order to pay off credit card debt without having to enroll in a debt management program or declare bankruptcy.

In my opinion, people who don’t possess strong discipline and determination tend to end up enrolling themselves in debt management programs.

To be honest, I am a credit card debt woman who doesn’t have very strong discipline and determination. This explains why I am in need of a free debt management program to help me stop using credit cards totally and pay off my debt without harassment.

The success stories are so touching that you feel that they might be fake stories. They might be made up to lure you, a distressed debtor or borrower, into a debt management program scam.

Trust me. I have been there. I totally understand how a distressed debtor feels when it comes to searching for a debt free relief service.

As a credit card debt woman who is now under the AKPK debt management programme, I think my true story will convince you to get debt relief help from AKPK to restructure your credit card debt. I mean your unmanageable credit card debt.

From making multiple credit card payments every month to making one small payment to AKPK on one date, I am now living more happily and having some extra cash in hand to be saved as savings or emergency fund.

I am now paying down my credit card debt without stress.

My credit counselor managed to negotiate a good interest rate for me, that is 7% per annum. All banks stopped their finance charges and late payment fees after I signed the debt management programme offer letter.

Although it looks like I may need to take more than 5 years to settle all my credit card debt, I can at least heave a relief for some time. According to my credit counselor, I can pay off one card anytime in future when I have extra money in hand.

Let’s say after one year I have $500 in hand and one of my credit cards has a remaining balance of $495, I can make a full settlement for that credit card. Let me call it credit card A.

What I need to do is to inform my debt management counselor. He will then redistribute the amount which is supposed to be distributed to card A bank to other credit card companies.