Accredited Debt Relief Review

Pros Explained

• Proven client results: Accredited Debt Relief has excellent online reviews from past clients and helps the average client reduce their debt by roughly 55%.
• No upfront fees: You’ll only pay for Accredited Debt Relief’s services if it successfully reduces your debt balances.
• Offers a free consultation: Accredited Debt Relief offers a free consultation, meaning you can learn about the process and ask questions with no risk.

Cons Explained

• Not available in all states: Accredited Debt Relief currently only offers its services in 30 states and Washington, D.C.
• Only available for unsecured debt: You can’t use Accredited Debt Relief’s services for secured loans like mortgages or auto loans.
• Potentially high settlement fees: Accredited Debt Relief’s fees range from 15% to 25%, which can amount to many thousands of dollars, depending on your debt balance.

Types of Debt Addressed

Accredited Debt Relief specifically helps its clients resolve their unsecured debt, which means any debt that isn't backed by collateral. According to the company’s website, here are some debt types the company can help you with.

Credit Card Debt

Accredited Debt Relief can help you settle your credit card debt for less than you owe. Whether your credit card debt is with a major credit card company or your local financial institution, Accredited Debt Relief may be able to help lower your balance.

Personal Loan Debt

A personal loan is an unsecured installment loan offered by a bank, credit union, or online lender. If you have a personal loan that you’re struggling to pay off, Accredited Debt Relief may be able to resolve your balance.

Department Store Credit Debt

Department store credit debt refers to debt you’ve accrued on store-issued credit cards. These cards often have high interest rates compared to other credit cards, which can make it easy to rack up a balance. Accredited Debt Relief can help you settle it for a lower amount.

Medical Debt

Medical debt, such as doctor and hospital bills, can become overwhelming, especially if you’ve suffered a major illness or injury. Because medical debt is unsecured, Accredited Debt Relief may be able to help you settle it.

Client Onboarding Process

The first step to becoming a client of Accredited Debt Relief is getting on a free consultation call with someone from the company’s team. You can either complete an online form and wait to hear from someone or you can call directly. During this consultation, you and the company representative will review your finances and discuss your relief options.

After your free consultation call, the Accredited Debt Relief team will match you with a debt relief product that best suits your financial situation, your needs, and your budget.

Customer Service

Accredited Debt Relief has customer service representatives available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET, and Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET. You can reach the company via both phone and email. There’s also an FAQ page that provides answers to some of the company’s most frequently asked questions.

Company Reputation

Accredited Debt Relief has overwhelmingly positive online reviews. The company is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, has an A+ rating, and has a BBB average customer rating of 4.73 out of 5 stars.

Accredited Debt Relief also has a 4.9 out of 5 star rating with Trustpilot. Out of more than 5,200 reviews, 90% of people gave the company a perfect store, while less than 2% gave either a one-star or two-star rating.

Accredited Debt Relief hasn’t been subject to any regulatory action, nor has it received any complaints through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint database.

Expected Relief Amount

The amount of debt relief you can achieve working with Accredited Debt Relief depends on many factors, including the type of debt you have. According to the company, clients ultimately end up paying about 55% of their enrolled debt balance. For example, if you had $25,000 of unsecured debt, you might expect to pay back just $13,750.

Expected Time to Complete the Program

According to Accredited Debt Relief, most clients are able to pay off their enrolled debts within one to two years. However, the amount of time it takes you to complete the program will vary depending on your financial situation and the amount of debt you have.

Expected Cost

Accredited Debt Relief charges a success-based fee, which means you don’t pay for debt relief services unless the company helps you to save money on your debt.?

When you enroll in an Accredited Debt Relief program, you’ll pay a monthly fee and will ultimately end up paying between 15% and 25% of your debt balance in fees, which is on par with other debt relief companies. So if you have $25,000 in debt, you could pay between $3,750 and $6,250 in fees.

Compare With the Competition

Final Verdict

If you have a large amount of debt that you’re struggling to pay off, Accredited Debt Relief could be a good option. The company has an excellent reputation and overwhelmingly positive reviews, meaning prospective clients can feel comfortable trusting it with their finances. And because the process starts with a free consultation, you can ask as many questions as you want about the process with no risk or downside.

Is Accredited Debt Relief Legit?

Yes, Accredited Debt Relief is a legitimate debt relief company. It’s been in business for more than a decade, is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and American Association for Debt Resolution, and has overwhelmingly positive reviews from past clients.

Does Accredited Debt Relief Hurt Your Credit Score?

Using Accredited Debt Relief or any other debt relief service is likely to hurt your credit score, which the company clearly states on its website. Debt relief generally requires that you stop making payments on your debt, which will adversely affect your payment history and, therefore, your credit score. It may take several years to come back from this negative impact.

How Does Accredited Debt Relief Work?

Accredited Debt Relief provides a service called debt settlement, which means it negotiates with your creditors to try to settle for a lower amount. During the process, you’ll make payments to Accredited Debt Relief instead. Those payments will go into a dedicated account and will be used to pay off your reduced debt balances.

How Much Does Accredited Debt Relief Cost?

Accredited Debt Relief charges a fee that’s between 15% and 25% of your debt amount, which is on par with the typical debt relief cost. You’ll only pay if the company is successful in settling your debt, and the fee will be charged as a monthly payment as you go through the program.

Methodology

Investopedia completed an independent study that compared eight top debt relief companies based on their customer service, their company reputation and rankings, product offerings, pricing, and transparency. We looked for debt relief companies that have positive reviews and customer testimonials, customer service accessibility, and the important information about their plans clearly posted online, as well as firms with excellent rankings from third parties.