9 in 10 Consumers Who Met With a Credit Counselor Wish They Had Received Better Information, New Data Shows

Debt Disclosure Project/Harris Poll finds 77% of debt management plan enrollees faced a listed financial setback during or after their plan.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Debt Disclosure Project, a free public-records library for people deciding what to do about debt, today released an analysis of data from its survey examining how consumers experience credit counseling and debt management plans (DMPs). The survey of 1,504 U.S. adults who are currently enrolled in, previously enrolled in, or seriously considered a DMP in the past five years was conducted by The Harris Poll August 28 to 31, 2026.

Education is the core service credit counseling offers: a counseling session, typically free, in which a counselor reviews a consumer’s debts and explains the options for resolving them. The analysis finds that 91% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor wish they had received more or better information on at least one topic regarding debt management plans, including total cost (34%), credit score impact (32%), how the agency is paid and whether this may affect the options recommended (27%), and other more affordable options (23%). Only 6% recall hearing about all four of the main options for resolving unsecured debt: a DMP, debt settlement, a debt consolidation loan, and bankruptcy. More than half (52%) recall hearing about no more than one of those four options.

The survey also documents what happens after enrollment: 77% of current and former DMP enrollees experienced at least one listed financial setback during or after their plan, ranging from late fees or penalty interest (23%) and a revoked reduced interest rate (17%) to collections (23%), lawsuits (15%), and bankruptcy (8%).

Key findings at a glance
– 91% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor wish they had received more or better information on at least one topic regarding debt management plans
– Only 6% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor recall hearing about all four of the main options for resolving their debt; 52% recall hearing about no more than one of the four
– 77% of current and former DMP enrollees experienced at least one listed financial setback during or after their plan
– 1 in 5 (21%) consumers who spoke with a credit counselor were not told about creditor-paid “fair share” payments before enrolling or considering enrollment
– 1 in 4 (25%) current and former DMP enrollees saw a creditor revoke the reduced interest rate or remove them from the plan
– 62% of former DMP enrollees paid $1,000 or more in agency setup and monthly fees alone, not counting payments toward the debt

Do consumers get the information they need from credit counselors?
Most do not feel fully informed. 91% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor wish they had received more or better information on at least one topic regarding debt management plans. The gaps cover the core terms of the decision: how the plan affects future credit, what it costs in total, how long it takes, and what other, more affordable options exist. Because the counseling session is the point at which consumers compare their options and decide, information missing from that conversation is missing from the decision.

– 36% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor wish they had better information on how a DMP could affect their ability to get credit in the future; 34% on total cost including all fees; 34% on how long the plan would take to complete
– 27% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor wish they had been told how the agency earns revenue and whether that affects the options presented
– 27% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor wish they had been told whether the proposed outcome was guaranteed or only an estimate
– 23% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor wish they had been told about other options that may have been more affordable
“The full price after all fees, and the interest. It was never brought up during our long conversation.” (Woman, 36, Tennessee, former DMP enrollee)

Do credit counselors inform consumers of all their options?
Rarely. Only 6% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor recall hearing about all four of the main options for resolving their debt, and more than half (52%) recall hearing about no more than one of the four. A DMP, the option the agency administers, was the most common recommendation (38%), and it led at every debt level, whether consumers owed under $10,000 or $25,000 or more.

– 81% of consumers who spoke with a credit counselor do not recall bankruptcy being discussed; 58% do not recall a debt consolidation loan being discussed; 52% do not recall debt settlement being discussed
– Among consumers with $25,000 or more in unsecured debt who spoke with a credit counselor, only 11% recall hearing about all four of the main options, and 74% do not recall bankruptcy being discussed
– Among consumers in households earning under $50,000 who spoke with a credit counselor, 66% recall hearing about no more than one of the four main options, compared with 50% in households earning $100,000 or more; 62% do not recall debt settlement being discussed, compared with 49% in households earning $100,000 or more
“I wish that I knew all the options I had, even the ones they wouldn’t recommend, so that I can make the choice on my own.” (Woman, 36, California, former DMP enrollee)

How are credit counseling agencies paid, and are consumers told?
Credit counseling agencies that administer DMPs are commonly paid three ways: a setup fee, a monthly fee, and “fair share” payments, in which creditors return a percentage of each consumer payment, up to 15%, to the agency. Because fair share revenue is generated only when a consumer enrolls in a DMP and keeps paying, it creates a structural incentive worth understanding: the agency earns from one option and not from the alternatives. Consumers deserve to know how the recommendation they receive is funded.

1 in 5 consumers (21%) who spoke with a credit counselor were not told about fair share payments before enrolling or considering enrollment, and 13% were never told at all.

– Among consumers in households earning under $100,000 who spoke with a credit counselor, 25% were not told about fair share payments before enrolling or considering enrollment, compared with 18% in households earning $100,000 or more
– 22% of consumers 55 and older who spoke with a credit counselor were never told about fair share payments, roughly double the rate among those under 55 (12%)
“I was informed through this app that they get a percentage back through me paying monthly so something seems odd about that… Being paid monthly through the same creditors we made a deal with, it kind of sounds like playing both sides of the fence.” (Man, 49, Arizona, former DMP enrollee)

What happens to consumers during a debt management plan?
77% of current and former DMP enrollees experienced at least one listed financial setback during or after their plan: a revoked reduced interest rate, removal from the plan, penalty interest, accounts sent to collections, a lawsuit, wage garnishment or a bank levy, bankruptcy, taking on new debt or falling behind on other bills to make the payment, or paying fees with little or no reduction in the balance. A DMP’s reduced interest rates are set by each creditor and can be withdrawn, and the monthly payment cannot be adjusted after signing, so a missed payment or a change in income can undo the plan’s core benefit.

– 1 in 4 (25%) current and former DMP enrollees saw a creditor revoke the reduced interest rate or remove them from the plan
– 4 in 10 (41%) current and former DMP enrollees had accounts sent to collections, were sued, or had wages garnished or bank accounts levied; 15% were sued by a creditor or debt collector
– More than 1 in 3 (36%) current and former DMP enrollees took on new debt or fell behind on other bills to keep up with the DMP payment, rising to 42% among enrollees with $25,000 or more in unsecured debt, compared with 29% of enrollees who owed under $10,000
– More than 1 in 3 (35%) current and former DMP enrollees are dissatisfied (19%) or neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (16%) with their plan, and 23% do not feel that their debt management plan accomplished what they had hoped for
“I got hurt and wasn’t working so ultimately it cost too much and they didn’t adjust the payment so I opted out.” (Woman, 43, New Jersey, former DMP enrollee)

How much do consumers pay in credit counseling fees?
62% of former DMP enrollees paid $1,000 or more in agency setup and monthly fees alone, not counting any payment toward the debt itself. Monthly fees are charged for the life of the plan, which typically runs three to five years, so total fees grow with the length of the plan.

– 23% of former DMP enrollees paid $3,000 or more in agency setup and monthly fees
– 21% of current and former DMP enrollees paid fees but saw little or no reduction in what they owed
– 48% of former DMP enrollees did not repay their balance in full; 23% say the balance stayed about the same because payments mostly covered interest, or grew

What do consumers do after leaving a plan or deciding against one?
1 in 5 (20%) consumers who left a DMP before completing it or decided against one stopped paying some or all of their debts, and 21% borrowed from family or friends to manage their debt. Consumers who leave a DMP generally lose the reduced interest rates, and their accounts revert to the original terms.

– 36% of consumers who left a DMP early or decided against one stopped paying some debts, borrowed from family or friends, or both
– 1 in 4 (25%) of consumers who left a DMP early or decided against one turned to another formal option: a debt consolidation loan or balance transfer (12%), debt settlement (11%), or bankruptcy (6%)
– 54% of consumers who left a DMP early or decided against one kept making payments on their own

What should consumers ask before enrolling?
– What will I pay in total, including all fees and interest, over the full life of the plan?
– How is your agency paid, and do you receive fair share payments from my creditors?
– What are all of my options, including ones your agency does not offer, and what would each cost in total?
– What happens to my interest rate if a creditor stops participating or I miss a payment?

Background
Nonprofit status is a federal tax classification; it does not by itself establish that an agency’s recommendations are independent of its funding. In 2006, the IRS reported that it had been auditing 63 credit counseling agencies representing more than half of the revenue in the industry. All 41 audits completed at that time, covering organizations representing more than 40 percent of industry revenue, resulted in revocation, proposed revocation, or other termination of tax-exempt status. The IRS stated that many of these agencies “offered little or no counseling or education and appeared to be primarily motivated by profit.” Source: IRS, “IRS Takes New Steps on Credit Counseling Groups Following Widespread Abuse,” IR-2006-80, irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-06-080.pdf.

Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Debt Disclosure Project from August 28 to 31, 2026, among 1,504 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who are currently enrolled in, previously enrolled in, or have seriously considered enrolling in a debt management plan through a credit counseling agency in the past five years. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ±3.4 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact info@debtdisclosureproject.org.

About Debt Disclosure Project
Debt Disclosure Project is a free public-records library for people deciding what to do about debt, covering what every debt option really costs and how the companies behind them get paid. It explains how each option works, what it costs in total, and what is verifiable about the providers behind them: ownership, fees, funding, and what regulators have found. Every provider record is built from primary public sources, including IRS Form 990 filings where applicable, state corporate and licensing registries, published fee schedules, and public complaint databases, and every fact links to the public document it came from. Learn more at debtdisclosureproject.org.

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