Not all credit counseling services require that consumers participate in a debt management program, and not all consumers who need credit counseling also require a debt management program.
A debt management program is a program that helps consumers with their existing debt. Qualified credit counselors will take a look at your debt and income levels, discuss options for getting out of debt, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a debt management program with you.
If it is determined that a debt management program is the appropriate plan of action for your situation, the credit counselor will develop a payment schedule with each of your unsecured creditors, in an attempt to lower the total amount of money owed, decrease your interest rates, and have over the limit and late fees removed from accounts while you are participating in the credit counseling debt management program.
How Debt Management Programs Work
When you join a debt management program, you will begin making a monthly payment to the credit counseling agency. The agency then takes those deposits and uses them to make payments on your behalf to your student loans, credit cards,...