debt counseling service

Credit counseling (known in the United Kingdom as debt counselling) is a process offering education to consumers about how to avoid incurring debts that cannot be repaid. This process is actually more debt counseling than a function of credit education.

Credit counseling sometimes involves negotiating with creditors to establish a debt management plan (DMP) for a consumer. A DMP may help the debtor repay his or her debt by working out a repayment plan with the creditor. DMPs, set up by credit counselors, usually offer reduced payments, fees and interest rates to the client. Credit counselors refer to the terms dictated by the creditors to determine payments or interest reductions offered to consumers in a debt management plan. Don't let Debt Control Your Life.

History of credit counseling

The first credit counseling agencies were created in 1951 in the United States when credit grantors created The National Foundation for Credit Counseling, or NFCC. Their stated objective was to promote financial literacy and help consumers avoid bankruptcy.

In 1993, the "Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies,” or AICCCA, was founded, citing a need for "industry-wide standards of excellence and ethical conduct. ” This formally organized the NFCC’s competition. The AICCCA was formed from the group of counselors who favored telephone delivery of debt management programs.