Choosing a Credit Counselor
Credit counseling agencies and credit counselors offer a valuable service to consumers who are overwhelmed in debt. While it is important to learn how to get out of debt, it is equally important to learn how you can stay out of debt once all of your debtors have been paid. It will also be important to learn how you can repair your credit report to avoid future credit and debt problems in the future.
For people who need help with these problems, it may be beneficial to work with a credit counselor who can help you see where you’ve gone wrong, and they can help put together a plan to get you out of debt and stay debt-free. Although selecting a debt counselor may seem like the simplest task (all things considered), it’s important that you choose the right counselor for your needs.
According to the State of Illinois Division of Banking, “people who have received unprofessional credit counseling services complain that:
- They owe more debt after the counselor’s services.
- Bankruptcy was the best option for their financial situation, but they were steered into a debt-management program.
- The counseling agency did not make sure creditor payments were sent within the billing cycle, so consumers received late fees.
- In some cases, the credit counselor took consumer money but did not pay creditors at all.”
Finding a reputable credit counselor may not be as easy as picking one out of the phone book. There are many questions you need to ask the counseling organization and ask yourself before making your selection. Choosing the best credit counselor for your needs can make the difference between becoming debt free or going further into debt.
For your convenience, there are 9 questions you should ask before committing to a credit counseling organization.