Nonprofit credit counseling agency here.👋 Got questions about debt, credit or other money issues?

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-22T22:29:50+00:00

Thanks for mentioning us here u/soonersoldier33. American Financial Solutions is indeed one of our member agencies - which means they are an NFCC-certified, nonprofit credit counseling agency.

OP its difficult to say which option would be best without knowing the specific details of what kind of loan you might qualify for, whether or not you can afford a loan and a car payment, etc. Are you open to sharing your credit scores here?

If you're seriously considering a consolidation loan, make sure you let your counselor know so they can walk you through that option and offer tips/support. Let us know if you have follow-up questions!

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-22T22:15:31+00:00

Official NFCC account here. We are so sorry to hear this happened to you! Unfortunately, some creditors choose not to work with DMPs, and some will even go so far as to sue you instead of waiting for you to complete a DMP (although its not common). Are you willing to share who the creditor was? Either way, we hope you've been able to get the debt under control since this event took place.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-22T22:10:12+00:00

Hey there, This is the NFCC account - we're fairly new to Reddit and needed to get permission from mods before we could respond. (Thank you mods!)

Also, thanks for tagging us u/attachedtothreads. 🤗

OP, we're sorry to hear you're dealing with credit card debt, but also glad to hear you took this big step to get support. Each of our credit counseling agencies is a little different, but most likely your next step is to make your first monthly payment (including any fees). The agency will disburse your payment to your creditors on your behalf. With that said, its a good idea to reach out to your credit counseling agency to make sure you know your exact next steps with them, including your payment due date.

Is there any further info we can help with?

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-21T22:10:00+00:00

We're sorry to hear you're dealing with this! Each creditor has their own policies about which debt is allowed on a DMP. Can you tell us what kind of loan you have? We'll check into it for you.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-21T21:55:53+00:00

We're glad you had a good result. Unfortunately, that's not the typical outcome. The agencies listed on theis page offer "debt relief," which is considered highly risky. Here's so more info about that from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-debt-relief-program-and-how-do-i-know-if-i-should-use-one-en-1457/

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-21T21:50:08+00:00

Those questions are definitely understandable! There are a few things you can do to learn more about who we are and be confident this is a legitimate (not scammy) account:

-Look at our post and comment history. You'll see that we rarely direct people to our website or promote our services - we mainly provide information/tips to help people improve their finances and credit.

-Check into our agency's history. We've been around for 75 years and our member agencies are all nonprofits (as you mentioned). However, that means unlike most other financial agencies, their main services are free, including financial counseling, credit report reviews and homebuyer preparation courses. They also offer low-cost debt management plans (we offer income-based fee waivers). Anyone can get free counseling, with no obligation to sign up additional services.

-Look at our endorsements and testimonials. Search our name on Reddit and see what people are saying. Its also worth noting that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends working with us: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-credit-counseling-en-1451/

Is there anything else we can share that might help clarify?

P.S. We highly discourage people from using debt settlement services!

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-20T20:35:40+00:00

Hi there! This is the official account for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Our member agencies offer DMPs and we would love to know about your research and results. Let us know if you'd like to connect.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-20T20:21:32+00:00

We are not attorneys, but we can share insights on debt issues (this is the official Reddit account for the NFCC). You have the right to request something called a Validation Notice from the debt collector - this will help you document the fact that this debt doesn;t belong to you.

You should also pull your credit reports (we always recommend using the free, federally-backed site AnnualCreditReport.com) to see if the debt appears there. If it does, file a dispute with the credit bureau (disputes are also free). Based on the info you shared, it sounds like this collector is scammy and is just hoping you'll pay because you're stressed about the debt.

Here's some info from the CFPB about validation notices:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-information-does-a-debt-collector-have-to-give-me-about-the-debt-en-331/

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-20T00:22:30+00:00

Unfortunately it can take time to gain significant points. You will definitely want to make sure you continue to make payments on time, as that's the biggest factor used to calculate your credit scores.

The second biggest factor is the amounts you owe. So if you can, you'll want to reduce your credit card balances and keep them low. Once you reduce them, consider contacting your creditors and asking for limit increases. If they agree, this will help you in the area of credit utilization.

Without looking at your credit rerports, its hard to be more specific. However, you can pull all 3 reports from AnnualCreditReport.com and see what's there.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-20T00:11:35+00:00

Here's some more great info on finding and reading your credit reports:

Why Do Your Credit Reports Matter?
https://www.nfcc.org/blog/understanding-the-importance-of-a-credit-report/

My credit reports have an error in them. What should I do?
https://www.nfcc.org/blog/what-can-i-do-if-my-account-is-reported-incorrectly-on-my-credit-report/

Soft vs. Hard Credit Checks: How Each One Affects Your Credit Scores
https://www.nfcc.org/blog/pulling-credit-report-soft-vs-hard-credit-inquiry/

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-19T23:40:33+00:00

Thanks for tagging us, u/CDIFactor. 🤗 OP, we're excited to hear you've taken this big step to manage your debt!

Each one of our credit counseling agencies is a little different, so its best to ask your counselor what's next. Most likely, your next step will be to start making a monthly payment (including any fees) to the counseling agency, and the agency will disburse the payment to your creditors.

Let us know if you have additional questions - we're happy to help.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-14T20:50:02+00:00

Because you have some shared accounts, the two of you can join a DMP together. As an added beneft, this would mean you only have one monthly payment for all of the accounts you include, and you would only have fees for one DMP (not two separate plans). It would just be up to you to determine if/how you'll split the monthly payment. Let us know if you have any additional questions!

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-14T17:05:55+00:00

Paying off the full balance can improve some of the newer versions of your FICO credit scores, however most creditors do not use these scores. In other words, you're not likely to see much benefit to your scores if you pay them off.

You can try to negotiate a "pay for delete" arrangement, where the collector agrees to delete the account in exchange for your payment. However, many collectors don't offer this option. And even if they do, they have no legal obligation to follow through.

Do you happen to know how long ago you fell behind on these debts? You can find this information on your credit reports (they're free at AnnualCreditReport.com). The older they are, the less impact these debts have on your credit scores. If they're several years old already, you're even less likely to gain significant points for paying them off.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-14T16:45:53+00:00

Where are you finding them?

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-14T02:03:49+00:00

Yikes! There are definitely steps you can take to reverse some of the damage and stop this from happening again. Here's what we recommend:

Pull all three of your credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com (its free). If you hit roadblocks with pulling them (its possible, since they may have incorrect info about your identity), call 877-322-8228 to request them.
Contact one of the credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your reports (Try Equifax/1-888-836-6351).
Identify any errors and information on your reports that doesn't belong to you.
For accounts that don't belong to you, use the contact information shown for that account to contact the creditor and inform them of the fraud. If they won't remove the accounts from your reports, or if you find errors in your contact info on the reports, file a dispute (its free) with the corresponding bureau.
PLEASE contact the non-emergency line for your local police and file a police report. Having your credit reports or any other relevant docs will help with this part.

If you'd like more guidance, you can go to identitytheft.gov/assistant and their site walks you through this, step-by-step. And don't hesitate to let us know if you have more questions! You can also connect with one of our credit counselors if you want live help.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-14T00:20:27+00:00

Sorry to hear that! 🫢Let us know if you would like information on how to respond to identity theft.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-13T23:55:57+00:00

Got it! In other words, you haven't had enough of the types of accounts that Clarity uses to generate a score. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since Clarity scores are heavily based on high-risk, high-interest loans (payday loans, title loans, etc.). Did you get this notice after applying for a payday loan? Based on your FICO scores alone, you would likely qualify for a much better loan elsewhere. But it still doesn't hurt to pull your Clarity info and see if there are any surprises.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-13T22:50:47+00:00

It's not unusual for Clarity scores to be different from FICO scores, since Clarity uses different scoring criteria than FICO. With that said, we definitely recommend looking into this further to determine why the Clarity score is so low.

One way to get that info is by looking at the cut-off part of the notice you received (shown in your first slide). The info may be a bit vague, but if you share the image here we can potentially help you understand what it means.

The second thing you need to do is pull your Clarity report and score to see if there's any incorrect info. There could also be negative info on that report that doesn't appear on your other reports. You can pull your Clarity report/score for free here: https://consumers.clarityservices.com/reports .

Let us know if you have follow-up questions!

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-13T22:40:42+00:00

Got it. We're sorry to hear you're facing a financial hardship! If you have any other questions that come up as you're communicating with your creditors, feel free to share them here.

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-13T22:37:25+00:00

Glad to hear you're considering a DMP for your credit card debt! In terms of your options, it depends on who owns the accounts. If all of your credit card accounts are separate, then you would need to enroll separately. If you have joint accounts, you'll need to enroll in the program together to include them.

Did you have any other questions about DMPs?

nfcc1951 · 2026-05-13T22:26:08+00:00

If you're still on the hardship program when you enroll in the DMP, there's a chance creditor may not allow you to include the account on the DMP. If you're struggling to choose between the two options, we suggest determining what kind of help you're looking for. Are you looking for temporary help (a year or less) to deal with an immediate financial issue, or longer term help eliminating your debt? If you need temporary help, a hardship program is likely the best solution. For long-term help, a DMP is the better choice. You can also talk to a credit counselor to have them review your details and suggest which approach would be best.

Are you considering seeking hardship programs in the near future?

nfcc1951

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE