Working with Consumer Credit Counselors - Questions to Ask

So you’ve begun vetting consumer credit counselors and are narrowing down the particular agency you want to go with.  It’s important to be well-informed and ready by the time you go in for your first meeting.  In addition to being the person who can help you lay out a budget and establish some financial discipline, the consumer credit counselor is also your direct liaison to your creditors, collection agencies or mortgage company.  

Your First Visit with a Consumer Credit Counselor…Where To Start?

When dealing with someone whose role could be so important to your financial future and putting your current problems behind you, you need to have a good set of questions to get the ball rolling.  Below are questions that you need to ask during your inital consultation and the answers you want to hear. You can also get quick help by inquring into Care One Debt Consolidation solutions.

• Are you licensed to offer services in my state? Requirements vary from state to state.  Don’t use a service that’s not licensed for where you live.
• Do you offer free information or seminars? Avoid any services that charge for simple info.
• Will we have a contract? Don’t sign up for anything over the phone or on a handshake; get it in writing.
• What are the qualifications of your counselors? Try to find counselors who were trained and licensed by someplace other than the agency itself.
• What are your fees? This is very important.  Thoroughly feel out the organization’s monthly fees, as well as any setup fees they might require.  If you’re sufficiently bad off that you can’t pay a startup fee (and they won’t work with you), go elsewhere.
• How are your employees paid? Many services will pay a bonus to counselors who can get a client into a debt management program.  Oftentimes creditors will also pay a kickback for such plans (not surprising, since many credit counseling agencies are set up and funded by credit card companies).  If you’re stonewalled on this question, find another agency.
• What safeguards do you have for consumer information? Your confidentiality is important.  Make sure the consumer credit counselors have the proper procedures to keep it secure.

Once you’ve done your homework and properly vetted your credit counselor with questions such as these, you can feel confident about moving ahead with them.