You may have seen a recent television commercials for Credit Counseling Company's that offers Immediate Debt Relief. Before one selects this course, it is important to have a good and full understanding of what Credit Counseling can accomplish for your particular case.

Consumers need to be especially cautious when considering using the services of a credit-counseling firm because it has led to an alarming number of cases in which a consumer's debts skyrocket through no fault of the consumer.

According to the Better Business Bureau, as the number of Americans seeking assistance from credit-counseling firms has increased, so has the number of complaints against credit-counseling firms. In 2003 alone, the Better Business Bureau reported six times the number of complaints over what it received in 1999, a mere four years earlier. Consumers need to be especially cautious when considering using the services of a credit-counseling firm for something as serious as correcting one's credit problems!

Currently, the Federal Trade Commission, as well as Attorneys General from a number of states, are investigating and prosecuting a number of credit-counseling firms for engaging in deceptive business practices. The U.S. Senate is holding hearings on what one insider terms "predatory practices" in the credit-counseling industry. In certain cases, the firms are said to have misled their clients regarding their fees, as well as whether the fees would offset the individual's debts. In other cases, credit-counseling firms are charged with accepting consumers' payments but neglecting to pay their bills in a timely manner.

According to financial experts in the field, some credit-counseling firms will offer you a free financial review and will not begin to discuss a debt management plan with you before examining your situation with due care. Other credit-counseling firms may charge you a small upfront fee, as well as a monthly transaction fee, but you need to ensure that the firm's payment cycle coincides with the due dates for your original debts. If the credit-counseling firm does not pay your bills on time, you can be held liable for any accrued interest and late charges. Once these charges begin to mount, your chances of escaping from your debt will decline sharply.

And what can you do? Consumers need to look beyond the appealing commercials that promise debt relief via immediate credit counseling. A consumer's failure to investigate a credit-counseling firm can result in actually increasing his debt ratio to the point that only bankruptcy can be an answer - even after paying hundreds of dollars for counseling!

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