I can speak with first-hand knowledge of one of them, probably the biggest:Ameridebt

Sure, they say they are non-profit.  That's because they pay their employees very, very well.  Ameridebt admits that they have a $57 million advertising budget.  Also, the CEO had served time for fraud, TWICE!!

I watched them take a relative for $1,000 up front.  Her first two payments they were to distribute.  The credit card companies never saw that money, not a cent of it.  So, I would say they made a $1,000 profit up front off of her.  Not bad for a non-profit company.  She owed about 20 grand to cards.  In two years, she managed to pay off 5 grand using Ameridebt.

Another thing they don't tell you.  Afterwards, your using them is viewed as a bankruptcy by almost all potential creditors!!

Screw these people!!!

If you have alot of debt.  Talk to Dave Ramsey, he WILL help you!!

Yes, all not for profits must open their books for examination.  They do not have to publish them on-line, although they must allow you to examine them at their location.  They need not provide you with a copy, merely allow yoju to examine their copy.

As far as the debt consolidation services, some are on the up and up, some are sheisters.  After graduate school and racking up a hellacious amount of date that my public servant salary could not cover I was left with two choices - bankruptcy or a credit counseling service.  After speaking with my attorney I chose a credit counseling service that he recommended.  The following is my experience, your mileage may vary.

I was not required to put down a deposit.  I was asked to prepare a monthly budget and the counselor figured out what I could afford to pay while making sure all my bills were paid and I could still buy groceries and have a little left over as a cushion.  He never asked for bank statements and I had to sign no papers allowing him access to such.  They did everything based on my word.

They charge $25 a month to process my bills and pay them.  That may seem steep, but they got my credit card interest rates down from 21-22% to 6%.  I used to pay more amonth then I do now and was not knocking down any principle.  Today I am seeing about 80% of my payment going to principle.

Had I declared bankruptcy that would have all disappeared, save for my federal student loans.  If I stayed the course I was going I would likely be further in debt.  After a year and a half I have seen about a third of my debt paid off, and I can breathe easier.

Maybe time will show I made a bad decision, but for now I am feeling pretty good about myself.  By the way, I get credit card offers in the mail again, some bogus like Providian, but some are legit with fair rates like citibank.

Not to get off on a rant, but ...

Few things in life piss me off as much as individuals declaring bancruptcy.  Not only do I find it outrageous that now I (and all other responsible people) now have to pay higher rates on our credit to cover the losses that creditors incur from these assholes, but it just infuriates me to see people walk away from their responsibility.

I understand that occasionally something bad and unexpected happens to people that could not have been anticipated, and they are in such a situation where bancruptcy is the only viable option - that's fine.  That is the intent of allowing people this out.

But I see so many people who just spend money like it's free - and then declare bancruptcy because they don't feel like paying the bills for their fun ride.  My brother-in-law, for example, declared bancruptcy last year - walked away from $75,000 in credit-card debt and got to keep his house!!!  

That kind of stuff makes me angry.  If someone is man (or woman) enough to spend money, they've got to be man enough to be responsible for it.