Credit Counseling Services Checklist

This credit counseling services checklist should be used to make sure the service you decide to use to develop your debt reduction plan is appropriate and qualified for the job.

You should use it to ask questions to a potential service so that you can figure out exactly what you get for you money. If a credit counseling service doesn’t cover the following areas, you may want to look elsewhere until you find one who does.

Our Credit Counseling Services Checklist

✔ Acceptable Fee Structure

Since you’re obviously having a hard time financially, the fees and how they are charged by a credit counseling service will play a big role in your decision. Typically you will be expected to pay a monthly fee. Some companies have account opening fees and others don’t. Ask yourself how long you expect to be using the service, and then decide if any upfront fees are worth it over the long haul. These upfront fees may be a better option if the company provides higher quality service and you plan on using them for an extended period of time.

✔ Reasonable Pricing

You should know what the standard pricing is for the services you wish to employ and whether or not there are recurring payments and start-up fees involved. In general, monthly fees should be somewhere around $30 or $40, with any start-up fees not exceeding around $60. If you come across pricing which goes above these numbers, you’re probably best to keep looking.

✔ Non-Profit Status Verification

✔ Friendly Service

Being in financial trouble is no reason to put up with poor treatment from a company you paying to help service your debt issues. If the customer service is below par, look elsewhere.

✔ Confidentiality

Always make sure you have a clear written agreement with the counseling service that your financial information won’t be shared or sold to any other parties. This ensures you won’t get bombarded with junk mail and “special offers” relating to credit services in the future.

✔ Quality Credentials

Check out their qualifications and any formal credentials before you sign up. This can be done by verifying their possession of a certificate from a trusted and respected accreditation body. If they can show accreditation from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling—this is a big thumbs up.

✔ Member of the BBB

You should also see if the company is a member of the Better Business Bureau. It may also pay dividends to check a couple of the major scam-watch websites for any mention of the company. If you find any indication they are not completely legitimate, steer clear.

✔ Willingness to Understand Your Situation

Some credit counseling companies are have better customer service than others, and this can be displayed through their willingness to get a comprehensive grasp on your individual debt situation so that a plan can be tailored to suit your needs. This includes letting you know if you’re in fact too deep in debt for a recovery and should be looking at more drastic options such as bankruptcy. Many people waste a lot of time and money with debt counseling and debt management, only to end up declaring bankruptcy anyway. Don’t let that happen to you.

✔ Flexibility to Change

If a credit counselor recommends putting together a debt management plan, you should make sure they are flexible enough to alter it as needed should you experience any change in your life. Life won’t always wait patiently for you to pay off your debts, so you don’t want to find yourself locked into a budget that you can’t maintain if a major change or crisis takes place.

✔ Education

This is an important point to consider for the future: Does the service provide you with education opportunity for you to learn more about credit use so that you don’t make the same mistakes twice.

Carry this credit counseling services checklist with you when you check out potential companies and keep an eye out for any red flags that pop up.