What are credit counsellors and debt settlement companies not allowed to do?

They’re not allowed to:

  • say they are a charitable or not-for-profit organization if they are not
  • claim that their programs are approved by the government if they are not
  • promise results that are better than what they actually got for other clients within the last year
  • promise results that are not in their control, for example, promising they can stop a creditor from trying to collect a debt

They’re also not allowed to charge you:

  • an up-front fee for a making repayment plan, except for a $50 set-up charge
  • more than 10% of your debt in a single payment plan
  • more than 15% of your debt for each debt payment in an instalment plan
  • any fee before they have made an agreement with your creditors and made payments to those creditors

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