Accredited Debt Relief Review

Accredited Debt Relief can relieve up to 40% of your debt. 1000s of clients like their great service. Is it worth it? Find out in this review.

If you ever feel hopeless about your debts, Accredited Debt Relief may just be the help you need. This debt relief company can help you pay debts for less than what you originally owe.

You can be debt-free in less than 48 months. The catch is that you must satisfy the minimum debt requirement before you can enroll. Not to mention, you may need to pay potentially large fees.

Are the fees worth the debts you will pay off? Or are they more expensive to maintain? That's exactly what you'll find out at the end of this review. Read on.

What is Accredited Debt Relief?

Accredited Debt Relief is an arm of Beyond Finance, a fintech company. It has been in business since 2011 and offers debt relief services to help you reduce and pay off your debts.

Accredited Debt Relief primarily offers debt settlement and debt consolidation options. But they may also refer you to credit counseling agencies for debt management plans (DMP). You'll read more about these services later on.

In addition, Accredited Debt Relief has helped over 300,000 clients pay off more than $1 billion worth of debts. You can settle your unsecured debts in as fast as 24–48 months, and you may end up settling only 55% of what you originally owe.^[1]

Although Accredited Debt Relief has helped hundreds of thousands of clients, it's not for everyone.

Who is it best for?

Accredited Debt Relief is best for those with over $10,000 worth of unsecured debts (debts not backed by collateral).

It can especially help you with:

• Credit card debts
  
• Personal loans
  
• Department store credit debts
  
• Medical debts

You can set an appointment to find out which of your debts qualify for a debt relief program.

Who should skip Accredited Debt Relief?

If you have less than $10,000 in debts or you only have secured debts (debts with collateral), it's best to skip Accredited Debt Relief.

Also, signing up for a debt relief service can drag down your credit. So you should skip it if you plan to fix your credit or build credit by adding on-time payments to your payment history.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• No credit requirements
  
• No upfront payments
  
• 12+ years industry experience
  
• Reduce large debts, interest, and other fees
  
• You can pause your monthly deposits
  
• Referrals to lenders with lower-interest consolidation loans
  
• A+ rating and accreditation from BBB^[3]
  
• AADR^[4] and IAPDA accreditation^[5]

Cons

• $10,000 minimum debt requirement
  
• Unsecured debts only
  
• Creditors may file a lawsuit against you
  
• Severely impacts your credit score
  
• Creditors are not obligated to settle
  
• Unpaid debts continue to accrue penalties and interest

How Accredited Debt Relief Works

You will have a consultation with Accredited Debt Relief to review your finances and discuss debt options. Specialists will create a personalized program based on your budget, debts, and timeline.

Here's the process:

1. Schedule a free consultation.
   A specialist from Accredited Debt Relief will create a personalized program for you.

2. Open a dedicated savings account.
   Your savings account is where you will make your monthly deposits. Your monthly deposits are based on the amount set in your program.

3. Accredited Debt Relief negotiates with your creditors.
   This can take weeks to months to get you the lowest settlement amount for your debt.

4. Decide if you agree with the new debt amount.
   If you agree with the new debt amount, you can pay off your creditors with the accrued amount in your dedicated account. Otherwise, Accredited Debt Relief can renegotiate for you.

5. Keep making your monthly deposits.
   Do this until Accredited Debt Relief negotiates for all your enrolled debts.

Note that before Accredited Debt Relief can negotiate with your creditors, you need to miss your payments first. This way, your creditors will more likely be open to negotiating your debt and getting back some of the payments.

The entire program can take 24–48 months.^[6] If you want to settle debts faster, however, you can ask Accredited Debt Relief to adjust your program during your free consultation.

This process refers to debt settlement. But Accredited Debt Relief offers more than one way to help you settle your debts. Read on.

Debt Relief Services

Accredited Debt Relief offers several debt relief options when you sign up for a free consultation:

• Debt settlement
  Accredited Debt Relief specialists negotiate with your creditors to decrease your debts. This lets you settle your debts for a much lower amount and save as much as 40% or more in total.

• Debt consolidation
  If you're qualified, Accredited Debt Relief can refer you to its affiliates for debt consolidation loans. You can borrow up to $100,000, with a lower interest rate (compared to your current debts) and better terms. This lets you pay off several debts at once.

• Credit counseling agencies
  If you have less than $10,000 in unsecured debts, Accredited Debt Relief may refer you to credit counseling agencies. You can opt for debt management plans instead of debt settlement or debt consolidation loans.

If you opt for debt settlement, how much will it cost you?

Pricing and Fees

Accredited Debt Relief usually charges 25% as settlement fees based on your total enrolled debts. These fees are already included in your monthly deposits.

You don't need to pay any fee upfront. Accredited Debt Relief will only get paid after you agree to a settlement and pay your creditors.

Given the cost of these services, how do you know if it's worth it?

Is Accredited Debt Relief worth it?

Accredited Debt Relief can be worth it if you have large unsecured debts—debts that aren't backed by collateral. This debt relief company has a solid 12-year track record and can negotiate almost half of your debt off.

This lets you save a significant amount, especially if you owe large debts that continue to accrue interest and fees.

That said, you need to have at least $10,000 in debt. And Accredited Debt Relief's fees are percentage-based. 25% of your enrolled debts can be really pricey.

Think it's worth it? Here's how you can get started.

How to Sign Up

You can sign up for Accredited Debt Relief in 3 steps:

1. Sign up for a free consultation.
   
2. Select the amount of debt you have.
   
3. Enter your first name, last name, ZIP code, email, and phone number.

How trustworthy is Accredited Debt Relief?

Accredited Debt Relief has helped over 300,000 clients settle over $1 billion worth of debts. It has been offering debt settlement services and debt consolidation options for over 12 years.

Accredited Debt Relief also generally has positive reviews and ratings. It has an average rating of 4.87 out of 5 stars from over 700 reviews in BBB. What's more, it has an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars from over 6,500 ratings in Trustpilot.^[7]

The Better Business Bureau has also given Accredited Debt Relief an A+ rating and accreditation since 2021—in addition to accreditations from AADR and IAPDA.

You can find more about these ratings below.

Customer Reviews

There are both positive and negative reviews from Accredited Debt Relief clients. Most positive reviews include a smooth sign-up process, effective service, and approachable specialists.

In the case of Ryan, his personalized program came with much more affordable monthly payments compared to his original monthly payments for his debts.

Unfortunately, Estella didn't have a good experience herself. Accredited Debt Relief unenrolled a debt from her program because of an unsettled credit card debt.

Results vary for each person who signed up for debt relief. Your credit may drop, and creditors may file a lawsuit against your unpaid debts.

If you encounter issues of your own, here's how you can contact Accredited Debt Relief.

Customer Service

If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach Accredited Debt Relief through:

• Support team: 800-497-1965
  
• Corporate office (toll-free): 800-282-7186
  
• Email: customerservice@acrelief.com

You can call Accredited Debt Relief from Monday to Friday, 08:00 AM to 11:00 PM EST, or Saturday to Sunday, 08:00 AM to 10:00 PM EST. You can also visit Accredited Debt Relief's offices at the following locations:

• 4370 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 920 San Diego, CA 92122
  
• 7322 Southwest Freeway, Suite 1200, Houston, Texas, 77074

How Accredited Debt Relief Compares

If Accredited Debt Relief does not fit your needs, there are other debt relief companies you can try.

Accredited Debt Relief vs. National Debt Relief
National Debt Relief is a reputable debt relief company in the industry. It's a little older than Accredited Debt Relief, with over 15 years of experience. Whereas Accredited Debt Relief has been in business for over 12 years.

National Debt Relief also usually charges 15 to 25% for its fees.^[8] However, the minimum debt to apply is a little lower at $7,500.^[9]

In addition, National Debt Relief covers more types of unsecured debts. It's a better choice if you have eligible student loans, qualified business debts, or installment loans.

Imagine Living Life Without Debt

Click Here to Apply for Debt Relief

• Get a free savings estimate today
• See how quickly you can be debt free
• No upfront fees and no obligation

Accredited Debt Relief vs. Freedom Debt Relief
Freedom Debt Relief has been in the industry since 2002 and offers debt settlement services like Accredited Debt Relief. You qualify for these services if you have $7,500 worth of unsecured debts.^[10]

What's more, Freedom Debt Relief partners with the Legal Partner Network in case your creditors take legal action against you.

However, the drawback is that you need to pay additional fees for your dedicated account. There's a one-time setup fee of $9.95 and a monthly account servicing fee of $9.95.^[11]

Bottom Line

Debt relief is a good option if you are deep in unsecured debts. Accredited Debt Relief has a solid reputation and has proven success in creditor negotiations. They can make your debts more manageable and easier to pay off.

However, the settlement fees and minimum debt requirement are no joke. 25% is quite expensive and you can use that amount to pay off some of your smaller debts.

That said, Accredited Debt Relief can help you better if you owe more than the minimum debt requirement. The larger your debts, the more you can potentially save during creditor negotiations.

References