Credit Counseling Services Checklist
There are credit counseling agencies that rescue people from the deepest financial holes. There are also credit counseling agencies that just shovel in more dirt. How do you tell them apart? by Joel Walsh
Signs of a Reliable Credit Counseling Agency __Better Business Bureau Membership The service's website should have a BBB logo and a link to their record on the Better Business Bureau website. Click through the link to check that there are no unresolved complaints against them. Many people only think about the Better Business Bureau after they've been cheated, but by then there's not much you can do. Working with a credit counseling agency that is a member of the Better Business Bureau means that you can go to them to help mediate any dispute you might have with the service provider.
- Accreditation Reputable credit counseling services will be accredited by an independent nonprofit, just as many schools are. One such accreditation body is the National Institute for Financial Counseling Education.
- Fees A good credit counseling agency will charge a small, reasonable monthly fee, usually around $30. Some also charge a fee upfront, though this fee should be reasonable (around $50 tops). It may be possible to get a hardship waiver of these fees if you truly do not have the $30-50.
- Clear Application The application must clearly say what the fees to be paid are, what the services to be provided are, and in what timeframe all of this will be provided.
- Reasonable Promises Run far, far away from any organization that proposes to "wipe out" your debt for you, rather than simply helping you to repay the debt. Short of your creditors just deciding to forget about the debt (unlikely), there is no way to erase debt-even bankruptcy leaves a huge mark on your credit report for ten years.
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