Take Charge America Review
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Bills.com's Review
Take Charge America's website presents a wide range of information, emphasizing the counseling they offer for consumer, housing, and student loan debt. The specialty in student loan counseling is unique among the credit counseling firms that Bills.com researched.
The debt management plan (DMP) that Take Charge America offers has a set up fee of $39. They charge a monthly service fee, too.
Take Charge America offers a flexible start date for the DMP, so consumers can choose the date that is best for them. Consumers can choose to exclude any account they don't want to enroll.
TCA presented a detailed working agreement for their DMP. Presenting a plan in black and white makes it easy consumers to easily compare it with proposals from other credit counseling firms. A written proposal that shows the interest rates in effect in a DMP also makes it easy for consumers to decide whether or not to enroll a specific credit card that has a lower interest rate than the DMP can obtain.
About Take Charge America
Take Charge America (TCA) is a non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling Service with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona.
Take Charge America has been operating since 1987 and have helped over 1.6 million consumers. TCA is are open for business Monday through Friday with account information available 24 hours a day through an automated system.
TCA is licensed to operate in all 50 states and in US Territories, as of November 2018. They are an accredited member of the BBB, with an A+ rating, also as of November 2018. Their website states that they are "the only credit counseling agency to have received the BBB Business Ethics Award, recognizing ethical business practices and integrity."
TCA's credit counselors are certified by The Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Education
Take Charge America offers a budget review that can be done over the phone.
TCA also offers a debt management plan to consumers who can benefit from it. They enroll unsecured debts greater than $100 for debts such as credit cards, personal loans, and medical bills. They accept accounts already in collections.