01/27/2026
PSA:
Every year after Christmas, we see a flood of customers dealing with borrower’s remorse after spending or borrowing too much during the holiday season. At the same time, the general public is bombarded with advertising from debt-relief companies.
If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
These companies often advise you to stop paying all of your creditors and let them “settle” your debt. Their business model typically relies on your creditor charging off your account as bad debt due to nonpayment, then offering settlements that some creditors may accept.
While you’re paying into their program, some of your money goes toward administrative fees, and the rest is supposedly used to negotiate settlements. As a creditor, I haven’t received anything from any of these companies in the last 20 years. The only reputable organization that operated in this space was Consumer Credit Counseling Service, and it is no longer operating.
Talk to your creditors directly. Don’t put your trust in these companies. This approach can cost you your (now ruined) credit, more interest, and possibly legal fees.
Please share to help someone!
