THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 35 lines
Sharon Neuhaus' clients call her the plastic surgeon. Her operating tools are scissors, not scalpels. What she cuts are her clients' credit cards.
Actually the clients are encouraged to do the cutting, but many can't stand the pain. ``We have a little ceremony,'' is how Neuhaus puts it.
Neuhaus is a counselor for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Virginia Inc., a nonprofit, free consumer counseling service with 25 offices in Virginia and North Carolina, including eight in Hampton Roads. She works in the Chesapeake office.
The counseling service's average client owes 11 creditors a total $19,880.
Neuhaus or another counselor consolidates the client's debts, so there is one monthly payment for all unsecured accounts. It is made to the counseling service, which in turn pays all the client's bills. The client agrees to a budget. The client's credit cards are destroyed, and typically the client's bills are repaid in three or four years.
The counselors often work deals with creditors. For example, a credit-card company might lower interest rates or, in some cases, charge no interest at all. Monthly payments may be reduced. Overdue accounts may be remarked as current.
Last year, 8,814 people were enrolled in the program, which is funded by creditors and businesses. Last year the creditors got back $38 million, much of which they might not otherwise have seen. The clients got free advice and help, which they could take or leave.
``People get into desperate situations and are embarrassed to come here,'' Neuhaus said. But often, she said, the alternative is bankruptcy.
For more information about Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Virginia Inc., including the phone number of the office closest to you, call 424-2060. by CNB