Signs Of A Reputable Debt Consolidation Company - Choosing The Best One

debt consolidation

With hundreds of companies jockeying for your business, it can certainly be a daunting task choosing one. When you incur huge amounts on your credit cards and you become tired of catering to multiple creditors, you immediately think of consolidating your debts through a professional company. There are many debt consolidators who pose to be trustworthy companies but once you sign up with them, they start showing their true colors. Either they charge you hefty upfront fees, or ask for frequent payments or avoid reporting your payments to the credit bureaus, thereby leaving you with a tarnished credit score. If you don’t want to face such consequences after signing up with a debt consolidation company, you should perform some checks so that you don’t end up choosing a wrong company. Here are some of them.

 

BBB registration

1. Check their BBB registration: If you are shopping around for debt consolidation companies and you get some that seem to be good, all that you need to do is to type their name in the official website of BBB or the Better Business Bureau. There are instances where one among 13 debt relief companies in San Francisco is registered with the BBB, that too without any rating. Likewise, there are many companies that are not rated, due to lack of information. If you come across such a debt consolidation company, you should avoid seeking help of them as there are possibilities of you getting scammed.

AICCCA

 

2. Check their AICCCA registration: Apart from the BBB registration, you should also check if the company that you’re about to work with is registered with the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counselling Agencies or the AICCCA. Even if the hold a NFCC or National Foundation of Credit Counselling certificate, you may take it as a positive sign towards measuring its authenticity. If they’re registered, check for some feedback about that company. 

 

ftc

3. Check the fee structure of the company: Did you know that apart from the BBB registration and NFCC accreditation, the fee structure of the company is yet another factor that can speak about the trustworthiness of the company? According to the FTC rules, no for-profit company can charge you any kind of unnecessary charges or upfront fees before reducing or revising a certain portion of your debt. So, if you see that the company that you’re working with, charges advance fees, you can be sure that they’re going to scam you.

 

4. Check their non-profit status: If you wish to get help of a non-profit debt consolidation company, you should first verify its status. The debt consolidation consultant should be able to show you their non-profit certificate awarded to them by the IRS. It is called by the 501(3) (c) certificate and if you don’t get to see such a certificate, don’t work with that company.

 

Hence, when you’re not being able to cope up with your surging debt burden, you can get help of the reputable debt consolidation companies. Perform the above mentioned checks to stay off the cycle of further debt and secure your financial life.

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