I read with interest your article on Filene's report about credit card holders' ability to repay. (CU Times, July 16, page 8.)

While I wholeheartedly agree with the principle and repayment concepts, there are a few flaws that seriously cast doubt on the overall potential success such a repayment program may have. The first issue would be how such a program would impact the member's credit score. Unless there is less negative score impact on choosing the repayment program than there would be by filing bankruptcy, many debt-ridden borrowers will choose the "easier" way out by filing and keeping what little cash they may have. The credit score providers would need to build such leniency into their predictive models.

The second concern would be who makes the determination where the member falls in the ability to repay scale. I have provided numerous members and consumers with basic financial and budgeting counseling over the years, and the majority has no idea where all of their money goes. Given the market in which a member lives, the cost of living will vary widely and thus make it difficult to standardize some of the criteria. As stated in the adjoining article ("Double Bubble Trouble"), housing debt can mask the real impact of credit card debt. Either a percentage of such debt factor or relying on the members being totally honest with the debt repayment provider would need to be known to accurately calculate repayment possibilities.