Get help to deal with your money!
The only saving grace seems to be that I have taken no loans and I have no liability.
Otherwise I’d be stuck in a debt trap. With no way to know how to get myself out of it. Let’s just say that I am one of the “lucky” ones. What about those who are not so lucky? What can they do when in a debt trap?
One option is to go to a financial advisor or consultant. But, they can be expensive.
The better solution is to approach a credit counseling center. There are several credit counseling centers in cities across India.
Some banks also have own credit counseling centers too, such as the Bank of India-sponsored Abhay, at Dadar in Mumbai. This agency, the first of its kind, also has centers in Gumla (Jharkhand), Wardha, and Chennai.
ICICI Bank’s credit counseling centre, Disha has centers at Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Kanpur, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata.
These centers will help you chart out a plan to repay your debts. You can swap your high cost borrowings for low cost debt. Interest rates may be bought down to as low as 18 per cent for levels such as 36 per cent in some cases.
These centers can also help you restructure the loan portfolios and formulate repayment plans. They may also help borrowers negotiate with banks for restructuring debts.
Here are the addresses:
* Abhay (Bank of India), 61 A, Sadanand, 1st Floor, Above Bank of India Branch, Gokhale Road (north), Dadar (West), Mumbai- 4000 028. Call 022-24221843.
* Disha (ICICI Bank), Prince Apartments, Ground Floor, Karani Lane, Ghatkopar (West), Mumbai 4000 028. Call 65971815/86/87. Visit www.dishfc.org
* Union Mitra (Union Bank of India), Union Bank Bhavan, 239, Vidhan Bhavan Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai- 400021. Call 022-22896502.
