Debt Management Program
Looking for a safe way to get out of debt?
A debt management program might be right for you.
Our debt management plan offers a way to help you pay your unsecured debt. Unsecured debt is debt that is not backed by collateral and includes credit cards, medical bills and student loans.
During your meeting with one of our certified counselors, we will review your monthly income, monthly living expenses (budget), and debts. We’ll work with you to craft a debt management plan to begin paying back your debt.
We will work with your creditors to reduce your monthly payments.
Pay off debt within approximately 5 years
Reduce or stop finance charges
Easy, consolidated monthly payments
Typically, payment plan schedules allow you to pay off your debt within three to five years. In some cases we can help reduce or stop finance charges (interest).
With a debt management plan, you will be able to make one monthly payment to Consumer Credit Counseling Service instead of payments to multiple creditors. We will distribute your payment appropriately.
Call today to schedule an appointment or make an online submission.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The appointment time varies depending on the circumstances. A typical appointment takes 60 to 90 minutes. During the appointment, the counselor will review your current income and expenses, debts, financial concerns and your goals.
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Certified credit counselors are experts who can tailor a program for your specific needs. They will help you understand the current situation, discuss all possible options and help you develop a plan to move forward towards financial freedom.
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No. Creditors do not require a client to be delinquent in order to do a Debt Management Plan.
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No. A creditor will normally close the account once the credit account is set up on a Debt Management Plan.
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Our goal is that you pay off the debt in the DMP in 60 months or less. You are welcome to pay off the debt faster! Our program works like the snowball method. If you pay off one of your debts early, we ask that you continue to send the same amount to our office each month and the funds that were going towards the paid off debt will now go towards paying the remaining debt off faster.
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Yes. Our certified credit counselors will help you review your current monthly budget, look for areas to adjust as needed and develop a monthly spending plan.
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You will need to have your creditors’ names, their full account numbers, current balances, interest rates, monthly payments and contact information. It is helpful if you have current statements or a copy of your creditor contract.
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Most creditors will stop late fees and overlimit charges once they have enrolled in the DMP.
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Some individual creditors may offer a hardship plan, but their plan would only be focused on their particular debt. The Debt Management Plan reviews the whole budget and all of the debts. Many of the creditors already have policies in place where they are more inclined to offer concessions through our DMP.
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No. With a DMP, you make one monthly payment to our agency and our agency disburses monthly payments that same month to your creditors that are on the plan. If you were receiving monthly statements from your creditors before the DMP, you should continue to receive monthly statements after the DMP starts. Your statements will show that your creditors are still receiving a payment each month.
Online counseling: convenient, secure, ready when you are
Our online counseling module is a convenient and confidential way to get started. You will be asked to enter information about yourself, which will assist us in better understanding how we may be able to help. After we assess the information you provide, a certified counselor will contact you in order to complete the credit counseling session — either by phone or in person.