Juggling multiple debt payments can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t feel like you have an ending in sight. The truth is that your debt isn’t a life sentence, and there are debt relief tools out there to help you on the way to financial freedom.
Sign up for the BestReviews newsletter: Exclusive deals and expert picks, in your inbox.
Like any financial tool, debt relief services come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Learn what it is, how it could help, and some of the best services available.
Debt relief is a type of strategy that's designed to help you restructure the way you pay your loans, or reduce the amount you'll owe to your lenders.
Different strategies include:
Why debt relief? It can give you some much needed breathing room. If you’re in the throes of major life transitions like divorce, moving across the country or getting married, juggling multiple debt payments can get harder. Or, you’re making the minimum payments and there’s barely a dent in your loan balances.
Debt relief typically is the most effective when you can prove that you’re unable to pay back what you owe. Lenders would rather work out a plan and recoup some of what they’ve lent out, rather than none at all.
While you can negotiate with your lenders on your own, working with a debt relief service can help you leverage the expertise of a financial expert to help negotiate on your behalf. You may also be able to work with the debt relief company to create strategies to help you manage other debts on your own.
Subscribe to BestReviews on Substack for the top trending product news of the week.
Not all debt relief services are the same. It’s important to first understand the types of debt relief options you're interested in before looking at services that might be a good fit.
Depending on the level of service you want, here are some common types of debt relief:
Freedom Debt Relief offers you a free consultation with no obligation to use its services or advice. The company claims to have resolved over $20 billion in consumer debt for over 1 million clients nationwide. Essentially, the company negotiates with your lenders on your behalf and attempts to lower the total amount you owe. You pay them a service fee once your debts have been successfully negotiated.
Accredited Debt Relief is highly rated on third-party sites like Trustpilot and offers a whole host of debt relief services, either directly through the company or its partner networks. Those who want to work with this company need to have a minimum debt balance, typically at least $10,000.
National Debt Relief helps negotiate on your behalf to lower the amount of debt you owe to your lenders. According to the company, those who complete their debt settlement program typically lower their debt by around 20%.
How it works is that once you agree to work with them, National Debt Relief will establish an escrow account in which you'll make monthly payments. As the balance goes up, the company will negotiate with your lenders to lower your debts. If you’re successful, you’ll pay the lender one lump-sum amount, plus any service fees to National Debt Relief.
Like many of the other companies on our list, Americor only charges a service fee if the company successfully helps you settle your debts. Or, you can choose to enroll in its debt consolidation service with terms ranging from 12 to 60 months.
Like many of the other companies on our list, Americor only charges a service fee if the company successfully helps you settle your debts. Unfortunately, the service isn’t available nationwide, so you’ll need to contact Americor to see if it’s able to help.
Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales.
