Why should I enroll in the FFEF Debt Management Program?

What are some of the benefits of being on the Debt Management Program?
Many creditors will reduce the required monthly payment amount, lower or suppress interest, and re-age or bring the account current. FFEF also has a friendly, professional customer service department that is eager to answer your questions and to help you with harassing creditor calls. But the most important benefit of all is called "roll-up". With roll-up, your debts will pay off much faster than if paid normally. To realize the full benefit of the FFEF Debt Management Program, payments should remain the same (or increase) until the last creditor is paid in full. As each of the smaller creditors are paid off, the next smallest creditor will receive the additional payment, thus decreasing both the amount of interest paid to creditors and the time it will take to become debt-free.

How do I enroll in the Debt Management Program?
Gather your most current creditor statements and call the Family Financial Education Foundation office at our toll-free number, (877) 292-8444.

What happens once I enroll in the Program?
Many new clients have questions regarding what happens to their account once they are enrolled. Upon enrollment, your creditor data is entered into the computer and you are assigned a client number. Proposals requesting lowered monthly payments and interest rates are mailed to your creditors. Next our office sends a packet to you that includes a welcome letter, client statement indicating your pre-negotiated monthly payment amount, and Program Guidelines. Within 14 days after this packet is mailed to you, one of our staff will contact you to see if you have received the information and to answer any questions you might have.

How do I pay?
Clients can either pay by an electronic draft through their checking account or by money order / certified check. Due to regulations controlling our Trust Account, we must receive your payment in guaranteed form. We cannot accept personal checks and will return them.

When is my payment due?
One of our enrollment counselors will inform you of how payments are made in our program. The following, however, will give you a basic understanding of how it works.

There are four payment dates in a month. They are generally the 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th (depending on where the weekend falls). You will be asked to pick from one of these days. Every month you will make payments on that same day (if at all possible). If you are unable to meet this due date because of other financial obligations, you may call our office to set up a more convenient payment date.

In addition, you may also send two half payments each month if you wish. Both must arrive at FFEF within a 30-day period so that creditors will receive their full payment each month.

Finally, you should receive a letter stating that your payment arrangements have been finalized and notifying you of any change in your scheduled amount before your second payment is due.

When are disbursements made to creditors?
Family Financial Education Foundation makes disbursements to creditors on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and last day of the month. If your payment arrives late, it is held until the next disbursement date. If the disbursement day falls on a Saturday, or Sunday, disbursements to creditors will be mailed on the following Monday. If the last day of the month falls on a weekend, disbursements will be made the prior Friday.

Partial payments, unless we are told otherwise, will be held until the last day of the month to allow our clients time to send in the remainder of their payment. Clients who move their payment date from one distribution date to another run the risk of having their payments arrive late at their creditors thus resulting in additional charges and fees being assessed.

What if an emergency rises and I cannot send my full payment one month?
It is extremely important that you consistently make full payments before your due date each month. Missing a payment gives creditors the option of canceling negotiated payment arrangements and taking you off their consumer credit counseling program. However, if you cannot send your full amount, send as much as you can and we will proportionally pay your creditors unless otherwise instructed by you. Do not think that just because you missed a payment that you are automatically off the program and thus it is useless to send more payments. This is not the case. If you are going through financial hardships, then send in whatever money that you have when you have it.

Can I send additional payments to my creditors?
If you choose to send additional money to be paid to a particular creditor, please send FFEF a note with the payment instructing us where you want the money to go and we will disburse it at no extra fee. If you do not include a note, FFEF will automatically put the extra money toward the lowest balance to effectively use the principle of roll-up.

Will all creditors stop interest, waive late fees and bring my account current?
Although many creditors will waive late fees, reduce or freeze interest, and bring accounts current once you begin making payments through the Foundation, we cannot guarantee that every creditor will, as each creditor has its own set of parameters and procedures to which it adheres.