AKPK Saves Yet Another Credit Card Debt Woman Who Is Under RM200,000 In Credit Card Debt August 15, 2009
Posted by Vedis in : Debts / Credit Card Debts , trackbackHi, CEO, just saw the comments left by you about AKPK. Congratulations! I am happy for you too. Thank God that AKPK has saved yet another credit card debt woman from being sucked dry all of her income by expensive interest rates, late payments fees, over-limit charges and many other ridiculous payments put up by banks and creditors 
I feel that your story should be read by many many out there who are still deeply in debt and don’t know where they can look for help to get out of debt, especially credit card debt.
First of all, A BIG THANK TO YOU FOR THIS BLOG. You are not only a woman of courage to reveal all that detail, but you have helped me tremendously.
I just got out from the AKPK office, and they proposed to reduce my monthly commitment from nearly RM10,000 to just RM2,000 p/m.
I got into a heavy credit card debt 5 years ago when a friend asked me to join him in a business. Trusting him, I quit my job, funded the business with my credit cards, supported HIM with a supplementary credit card (which he took only 1 month to swipe up RM20k), and lastly he just ran away, leaving me to pay everything.
Finally, the economy hit my career, and this month I had to accept a drastic paycut. It scared me at first, but I decided that maybe there was a silver lining.
I found your blog. I read and re-read it until 3 am.
I thought — maybe, if I go to AKPK, and they reduce my monthly repayment, I can actually start seeing some SURPLUS from my smaller income. Better to have a small income but with extra money, than having a big income but nothing to show for it. Of course, with my previous 5-figure salary, AKPK would just kick me out, but now I had the advantage of the situation.
Last Monday, I braved myself to go to AKPK. It was the hardest thing to do, to be SEEN walking into debt counseling. I have appeared in the media before, television, magazines and newspapers. Didn’t know where to hide my face. I arrived at 11.45, and was put immediately into the intro class.
I was surprised to see quite a few “corporate people” in the class, dressed in their office attire. I don’t know if they were as ‘embarrassed’ as I was to be there. I sat down for 1 1/2 hours, after which I immediately went to Bank Negara to collect my credit report.
I made the earliest possible appointment to see a counselor. In the meantime, I went to each bank and collected any missing statements.
I went to see the counselor this morning. She was polite, comforting and never did anything to make you feel small. She said she would try to negotiate it down to RM1,800 a month for the first 2 years then RM2,200+ thereafter. I said never mind, let’s make it RM2,000 flat.. I’m sure by the time the economy rebounds, I will be able to afford the RM2,000 easily.
She even guided me to fill up the application form properly (to fill the correct figures so the application can be approved easier). In short, she was there to help, and I mean REALLY help.
I got close to RM300k at first, but over the years, paying slowly, I have managed to bring everything down to under RM200k (which makes your RM60k something to smile about, actually!).
I have been earning 5-figures every month from my salary, yet I never get to taste my own money. My children have to settle for cheap clothings like poor kids.
Every month, I pay pay pay pay… I try to keep myself motivated, but it is tiring to wake up every morning, thinking to yourself, “I am running every day, only to stand still.”
She asked for the first payment to be deposited (RM2,000), which I will do next week as the banks are closed today. From there, processing will take approximately one month. She says no need to pay the creditors, if they call I just need to tell them I have submitted an AKPK application (and fax the deposit slip if necessary).
Fortunately I am not yet under any legal problems, and most of my loans are still current. If you are thinking about doing it, do it now. It is important to take action at THIS stage before the banks start harassing you.
I do not really care that I will not be able to get any new loans until the 10 years are up. I am selling my house and just live with the car. Maybe not now, but when the economy goes back up, and my salary climbs back to normal, I should be able to save up for a couple of years, and pay for a new budget-priced apartment in cash. The important thing is I will now have a positive income and room to breathe, and I HAVE YOU TO THANK.
God bless you. Please keep up the good work.
God bless you too. It feels good to have finally be able to breathe again without getting harassing phone calls and warning letters from banks and personal visits by third party collection agencies, right?
And I am always grateful to be given another chance to bring my financial back on track.
Comments
Well I’m not a woman! LOL! But regardless, I still thank you for leading me to my first step. My counselor called me this week and told me about my DMP approval:
RM2000 for the first 3 years
RM2500 for the next 6 years
Compared to nearly 10K all these years, this is peanuts and I am finding myself much less stressful…
I told my friend about this and he went to AKPK too this week, got counseling the next day, and has been asked to make the 1st payment (good sign!).
I said there is no need to be shameful about it. People land themselves in debt for many different reasons. Getting help is the right thing to do. I am just following the example you set.
All thanks to you! And all the best to you and your husband.