Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) and most other credit counseling agencies are accredited by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Each is a non-profit organization funded by the clients they serve, and by fair-share arrangements made with creditors for their help in the collection efforts. These organizations may offer their services at no charge or for a nominal fee.
CCCS and other agencies work with the client (debtor) in the following areas:
- Counseling – Plans for becoming debt free, by doing more with what you have.
- Debt Management Plans – Helping those severely in debt to work with creditors to reduce the monthly payments of debt service and stop collection efforts.
- Money Management Education – Teaching the wise use of credit, budgeting and setting financial goals.
CCCS will not do credit repair, or anything else that might be frowned upon by the credit bureaus.
Resorting to a debt counseling program will be a red flag to prospective credit grantors. If you leave CCCS before you have completed their program, they may list your failure to complete the program as a negative listing on your credit report.
Paying your debts, through whatever method, is a step in the right direction, but it will not restore your credit.
For the Consumer Credit Counseling Service nearest you, write to the National Foundation for Consumer Credit, Inc.,8611 Second Ave, Silver Spring, Maryland, 29010, or call 800-388-CCCS.
