232 – Are Not-For-Profit Credit Counselling Agencies Now Just Debt Collectors?

A debt collector does just what the name suggests: they collect on unpaid debt. They won't review all your debt relief options with you or give you a plan that makes debt repayment realistic and affordable. Their only goal is to recover as much debt for the creditor as possible. That's how their business makes money.

You might be shocked to learn that some big not-for-profit credit counselling agencies are now operating the same way. In fact, they are registered with the Ontario government as debt collection agencies. Credit counselling agencies have changed. Many are no longer registered charities. Credit counselling agencies don't do a lot of budgeting or actual in person counselling anymore either. Credit counselling organizations in Canada today are often big, national call centers. Now when you call a credit counselling call centre, you may be sold a debt management plan (DMP), where you repay 100% of the debts you owe, but with a lowered interest rate. Credit counselling companies sell this regardless of whether that's the right course of action for you because they are sponsored by financial institutions to do so.

We take a deep look at why not-for-profit credit counselling agencies have become nothing more than debt collectors. We also examine the implications for you as a debtor in need of help. 

But it's not all bad news: We believe that there is a very important role that not-for-profit credit counsellors can play in helping Canadians with money problems, so we end the show by laying out our solutions and recommendations.