IMGCAP(1)]
A group of credit card issuers, along with MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., today launched Help With My Credit, a resource intended to assist consumers having difficulty making credit card payments. When consumers call the service using a toll-free number, the service will transfer the call directly to the issuer's customer-service representative if the card issuer is a participant in the program, says Joe Ganley, spokesperson for Help With My Credit. If the issuer is not a participant, the resource will provide the phone number to the correct department within that institution. "If they have multiple credit cards or financial issues that are broader than struggling to make their credit card payments, … it may be more appropriate for them to speak to a credit counselor who can help them take a look at their whole financial picture," Ganley tells CardLine sister publication Collections & Credit Risk. The resource is a joint venture between Bank of America Corp., Capital One Financial Corp., Citigroup Inc., Discover Financial Services, MasterCard and Visa. Accredited nonprofit credit-counseling agencies Take Charge America Inc., Money Management International and Novadebt also are participating. A national advertising campaign will support the initiative, according to program organizers. Consumers also can obtain information online. Organizers hope to maintain the resource for as long as it is needed. "We are going to see how it goes and see what the call volume is," Ganley says.
