Life on a Debt Management Program

Learn How You Can Succeed
with Debt Management Programs (DMP)

Here is everything you need to know about Debt Management Programs. From making payments to dealing with creditors – we'll take some of the guesswork out of the process.

Your partnership with InCharge begins as soon as we receive your Debt Management Program client agreement. Your Certified Credit Counselor will then send proposals to each of your creditors outlining your new repayment plan. Please remember that not all creditors will process proposals immediately – it may take up to a few weeks before a creditor notifies us that a proposal has been accepted. Some creditors may request a slightly higher payment than proposed, in which case, we will notify you immediately. A few creditors do not participate with credit counseling agencies.

The first few months are crucial to your success on a Debt Management Program (DMP). That’s why InCharge Debt Solutions provides special counseling during this period. Your Counselor will partner with you through the start of your DMP to ensure that your proposals are accepted and you are receiving creditor benefits. You can contact your counselor any time to:

• Change your payment method (for example: to enroll in Electronic [E]-Pay)
• Report creditors that are still calling you
• Report errors on your statements
• Get answers to all of your questions

Before your creditors extend special benefits like lower interest rates and waived late fees, you must first be consistent with your payments through InCharge. Most creditors start granting benefits upon acceptance of your proposals. However, some creditors can take up to three consecutive payments before offering full benefits. That’s why it is so important to carefully review your monthly creditor statements – once benefits are granted, they will be reflected on there. You should also check each month to make sure that you are receiving credit for payments made through InCharge.

Once on the DMP, collection calls should stop. However, in some cases it takes approximately three consecutive payments from InCharge, on your behalf, before the calls stop completely. Should a creditor call, please inform them that you are working with InCharge Debt Solutions. If they call again, notify your counselor and they will contact the creditor.

It is critical that you do not make any additional charges on any of your credit cards once you have enrolled in the Program. In fact, if you do incur new charges, you could jeopardize your acceptance into the Program. Any additional charges could also affect your payment schedule and your monthly payment amount, because it is a function of your outstanding balance. As a result, your proposal could reflect an incorrect amount. Payments can be made to InCharge Debt Solutions by E-pay, money order, or cashier’s check.

Payments can be made to InCharge Debt Solutions by E-pay, money order, or cashier's check.

Our E-pay system offers a convenient and secure way to make your payments. We highly recommend using E-Pay, which automatically debits your payment from your checking or savings account on the scheduled due date. This ensures your payment is received on time, every time, and saves you the time and cost of getting a money order or cashier's check.

Please note: The money must be in your account no later than midnight the day before the scheduled payment.

If you choose to send your payment by cashier’s check or money order, you will find the correct mailing address on your client agreement. It is important to send your payments early to allow for delays in the mail. InCharge must receive your payment on or before your scheduled due date to ensure your creditors are paid on time.

When you enroll with InCharge Debt Solutions, you will receive an estimate of the length of time it will take to complete your DMP. It gives you a breakdown of all the debts you owe, the amount owed to each creditor, the proposed payment to each creditor, and the anticipated number of months needed to pay off the debt, with on time, in full payments. As your program continues, you can always contact a counselor to get an updated version of your repayment schedule. Having this timeline is a great motivational tool. It will give you a set-in-stone goal for which to shoot for and with every month closer you get, you will truly see that success is just around the corner!