Non-Profit Debt Relief Agencies Aren't as Educational as They Should Be

*Epic Debt Relief works with debt settlement and negotiation and is in no way a credit counseling agency or related to any credit counseling services. The information provided in this article is strictly for educational use by consumers seeking debt relief solutions*

The failure of non-profit debt relief companies to provide educational resources for their clients is the second most widely noted type of abuse these companies commit, according to the National Consumer Law Center. To earn the non-profit status, the IRS states that an organization has to be operated for charitable, educational, religious, scientific, or literary purposes. There are guidelines that allow non-profit groups to do things beyond this realm, but they are limited and should focus mainly on their non-profit intentions.

While some credit counseling services and non-profit debt relief services are tricky about how they get around the legalities of their tax exempt status, many companies leave it glaringly obvious as to how they are violating their agreement or abusing their abilities as a non-profit organization. There are even many companies where it is quite obvious that their efforts are focused on recruiting new clients and marketing the debt relief programs that they offer, rather than educating consumers on proper money management and debt relief.

When a consumer signs up for a debt management plan, they pay one monthly payment to the debt relief company and the money is then distributed among the creditors as needed. The interest rates are often lowered in this situation, and the monthly payments will often be lower than they were separately. The savings add up thanks to the interest rate reductions, but the programs take 4-5 years to complete.

Any company that offers these services to customers gets a small part of the payments back from the creditors as their fee for doing the service that they are doing. Add that to the monthly service fees that consumers pay, and these ‘non-profit' companies are actually turning quite a profit in most cases. This is why even the ones who started out with the intention of education first have turned to the marketing of their programs to make the profits that other companies are making. Even worse is the fact that some of these companies will suggest their plans to consumers when it really might not be in their best interest.

While the FTC, BBB, and state Attorney Generals have cleaned up a lot of these abusive companies, it is still wise to check twice before signing up for any debt management plan.

To learn more or to find debt relief solutions for yourself, contact Epic Debt Relief today at 877-971-3232.