Credit counseling services have acquitted a stigma in the United States. To blame for this negative perspective on these services rests on those credit repair counselors who have deceived and misled their clients.
General advice is that you should repair your credit on your own if you can. Do not visit a credit repair counselor if you can avoid it, with one reason being that you will need to share information which may be mishandled later. Credit consolidation or working with creditors to reduce your interest rate on credit cards of credit loans may be good options to pursue, but should be researched thoroughly to determine if it will actually help your credit situation and not damage it further in the long-term.
Most creditor counselors do little to help your credit score while most offer debt reduction. This is not the same as improving your credit score. The reality is that your credit counselor may actually reduce your credit rating if they do not submit your payments on time, which sometimes does occur. Your credit report will include a note such as 30 days late which could be avoided if you are submitting the payments yourself.
Some credit repair...