Care One Credit Reviews - Debt Relief and Credit Counseling

Care One Credit Counseling was founded in Columbia, MD in 2002 as "The Freedom Point" -- it is unclear if or when the company changed its name to Care One Credit Counseling.  Careone Credit is a for-profit company that charges fees for services, including credit counseling services and debt settlement services as well.  

Care One is a large and established provider, primarily of debt management plans.  

Care One and several related companies are owned by Ascend One Corporation, a set of credit counseling companies that include Care One and unrelated computer services firms. Ascend One claims to have 400 employees.  From their Glassdoor profile, it appears that a subset of their employees are work from home employees.  From what we could gather online, Care One claims its service providers have helped 4.5 million people, and also claims to have relationships with 249,000 creditors.  If you are an actual consumer, you can share and write reviews of your own experience below in the comments section.

Care One offers two primary services to consumers: credit card counseling services (CCCS) and debt negotiation. Care One calls its CCCS a Debt Management Plan (DMP). In a DMP a consumer makes a single monthly payment to the counseling agency. The agency keeps a portion of each payment for its fees, then distributes the consumer's payment amongst the individual creditors. A typical DMP aims to repay the entire debt, along with accrued interest, over the course of five years.

Care One calls its debt negotiation a "Settlement Plan." Debt negotiation is generally viewed as an aggressive approach for consumers than credit counseling, and although it can be more risky, the potential savings achieved in debt settlement are often much greater, because the debt settlement firms negotiate with creditors to reduce the actual principal balance of their clients' debts. Because debt settlement firms negotiate on the principal debt, not the interest rate, many consumers will have their debts resolved in three years or less.

Below the review, we will cover the different debt and credit solutions available as well as the pros and cons of each.

Care One, like other debt negotiation firms, does not operate in all states. It offers a referral service to a third party law firm for clients who reside in one of the states where it is not legally allowed to operate. 

Care One is a member of the Better Business Bureau but CareOne is not a member of the American Fair Credit Counsel (AFCC), which requires that its members conform to industry standards on disclosures to customers, no fees before results and resolutions are achieved, and industry best practices. There is no indication that Care One's debt consultants have passed International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA) certification, but we don't know that for certain, so do your own homework.  There are certainly many debt scams in existence, and Care One Credit is not a scam type of credit counseling firm.   Since our initial review we have received many comments on their services, including complaints, so it is important for each consumer to do their own homework before choosing a debt counseling provider. 

Now, Let's Cover ALL of Your Debt Resolution Options

Since you asked about your debt settlement options, I will discuss your options below. But first, allow me to mention that Bills.com makes it easy for you to apply for traditional forms of debt relief.

The four primary concerns for most consumers are: i) monthly payment, ii) time to debt freedom, iii) total cost, and iv) the credit rating impact of the resolution program. Be sure to evaluate each program relative to your prioritization of these factors.

Since there are a variety of debt resolution options, including credit counseling, debt negotiation/debt settlement, a debt consolidation loan, bankruptcy, and other debt resolution options, it is important to fully understand each option and then pick the solution that is right for you.

Credit Counseling

Credit counseling, or signing up for a debt management plan, is a very common form of online debt consolidation. There are many companies offering online credit counseling, which is essentially a way to make one payment directly to the credit counseling agency, which then distributes that payment to your creditors. Most times, a credit counseling agency will be able to lower your monthly payments by getting interest rate concessions from your lenders or creditors.

It is important to understand that in a credit counseling program, you are still repaying 100% of your debts -- but with lower monthly payments. On average, most online credit counseling programs take around five years. While most credit counseling programs do not impact your FICO score, being enrolled in a credit counseling debt management plan does show up on your credit report, and, unfortunately, many lenders look at enrollment in credit counseling akin to filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy -- or using a third party to re-organize your debts. As mentioned above, CareOne calls its CCCS a "debt management plan."

Debt Settlement

Debt settlement, also called debt negotiation, is a form of online debt consolidation that cuts your total debt, sometimes over 50%, with lower monthly payments. Debt settlement programs typically run around three years. It is important to keep in mind, however, that during the life of your debt settlement program, you are not paying your creditors. This means that a debt settlement solution of online debt consolidation will negatively impact your credit rating. Your credit rating will not be good, at a minimum, for the term of your debt settlement program.

However, debt settlement is usually the fastest and cheapest way to debt freedom, with a low monthly payment, while avoiding Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The trade-off here is a negative credit rating versus saving money. CareOne also offers debt settlement.

Debt Consolidation Loan

Many people think first of a debt consolidation loan when seeking online debt consolidation. This option typically means a second home loan (or home equity line of credit) or refinancing your primary mortgage. In a debt consolidation loan, you exchange one loan for another. The most frequent form is taking out a mortgage loan, which carries a lower interest rate and is tax deductible, to pay off high interest rate credit card debt.

It is important to be aware that shifting unsecured debt to secured debt can create a volatile situation, if there is ever a chance that you cannot afford the new mortgage payment you are now putting yourself at risk of foreclosure! In the case of a debt consolidation loan, most mortgages are 30-year loans, which means that the total cost and the time to debt freedom could be very high, but the monthly payment will be lower than other options and there is no credit rating impact.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy may also solve your debt problems. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a traditional liquidation of assets and liabilities, and is usually considered a last resort. Since bankruptcy reform went into effect, it is much harder to file for bankruptcy. If you are considering bankruptcy, I encourage you to consult with a qualified bankruptcy attorney in your area.

Default

You may be curious what may happen if you do nothing. If you stop paying your unsecured debts, creditors have the right to collect the debt. First, you will likely receive collection calls and letters from the creditor directly. If you are still unable to pay the debt after several months, the creditor is likely to refer the account to a third-party collection agency.

Third-party collectors are known to be much more aggressive in their collection tactics than original creditors, so do not be surprised if the calls become more persistent, or even threatening. Thankfully, the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act has rules governing the behavior of collection agents. However, unscrupulous debt collection agents do not follow these rules.

In some cases, when all other collection efforts fail, a creditor will decide to file a lawsuit against the debtor. This is not a frequent occurrence, but it is within a creditor's rights and a possibility about which you should be aware. If one of your creditors sues you, the court will likely issue a judgment in the creditor’s favor. Depending on your state's laws regarding the enforcement of judgments, the creditor may be able to garnish your wages, levy your bank accounts, place a lien on your property, or take other action to enforce its judgment.

Regarding a credit report, default damages a credit score severely. In addition, default is a warning flag for many lenders, who will refuse to deal with a potential customer with a default on their record. As a result doing nothing and allowing default is a poor option for most consumers.

Summary

Although there are many forms of online debt consolidation, many people with good to perfect credit who own homes should look into debt consolidation loans, while consumers with high credit card debt and poor credit may want to explore debt settlement or debt negotiation. However, each consumer is different, so find the online debt consolidation option that fits for you.

Lastly, here are some fast tips for your own quick Debt Consolidation Evaluator:

1. If you have perfect credit and have equity in your home -- consider a Mortgage Refinance.

2. If you can afford a healthy monthly payment (about 3 percent of your total debt each month) and you want to protect yourself from collection and from going delinquent -- consider Credit Counseling.

3. If you want the lowest monthly payment and want to get debt free for a low cost and short amount of time, AND you are willing to deal with adverse credit impacts and collections -- then evaluate Debt Settlement.

4. If you cannot afford anything in a monthly payment (less than 1.5 percent of your total debt each month) -- consider Bankruptcy to see if Chapter 7 might be right for you.

I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.

Best,

Bill

bills.com