A Nonprofit Community Service Agency

Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) agencies like ours can give you straight answers about your debt management problems. Our agency is a nonprofit community service organization dedicated to helping people with money problems.

Finding a reputable consumer credit counseling service organization to assist you is critical to the success of your credit counseling session. Our local CCCS branches have memberships in good standing with the following organizations:

• Better Business Bureau
• National Foundation for Credit Counseling

How Consumer Credit Counseling Service Agencies Can Help You

You may be considering alternatives such as filing bankruptcy or borrowing against your home. But for most people in your situation, there may be a better way to get out of debt. Our consumer credit counselors receive training and accreditation from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling to provide the most helpful counseling services. Over the last 25 years, we have helped individuals and families in our local communities regain control of their financial lives through credit counseling and financial education programs.

By contacting a professional consumer credit counseling service like ours for a credit counseling session, you will learn to:

• Budget effectively
• Set financial priorities
• Efficiently pay down debt
• Reduce financial stress
• Achieve financial stability

If a debt management program is right for you, our credit counselors can also help you:

• Develop a debt repayment plan for your personal unsecured debt
• Lower monthly payments to your creditors
• Reduce or eliminate fees
• Reduce calls from bill collectors

Your personal credit counselor will stay in touch to make sure you stay on track, and that you have all of the best information and money savings tips to build your financial future. Clients also receive our award-winning educational materials at no charge, including our quarterly Common Sense newsletter and our comprehensive publications.

History in Counseling and Education

Our Consumer Credit Counseling Service agency has served the public as a nonprofit agency with quality budget and debt counseling education since 1980. We have counseled and educated more than one million consumers in basic money management.

Consumer Credit Counseling Services

Our CCCS agency develops and delivers counseling education as a means of solving consumer debt problems. Through local CCCS branches across the country, we provide consumer credit counseling by phone, internet and face-to-face. Consumer credit counseling services integrate one-on-one money management education into a comprehensive credit counseling session for each client. Our consumer credit counselors are certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and receive ongoing professional training. We are committed to the quality of our counseling services and consumer credit education through a continuous Quality Assurance Program.

Community Outreach and Education

Our local CCCS branches around the country provide consumer financial education in the communities they serve. Our consumer credit counselors are always looking for opportunities to improve financial literacy efforts. If you would like to contact one of our CCCS offices to request an educational workshop, click here to find the CCCS location nearest to you. Topics can be custom-fit based on the knowledge levels of your group, and here is a list of our most requested presentations:

• Understanding Credit
• The Wise Use of Credit
• Learning to Budget
• Preparing for the Unexpected

To learn more about how Consumer Credit Counseling Service of St. Louis is serving the community, click here.

Spotlight on CCCS of St. Louis

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of St. Louis initiated the development of the nationally known Personal Finance Economics curriculum for teachers of children grades K-12. The curriculum, aimed at bringing financial education into the nation's schools, was developed in partnership with the National Council on Economic Education. The curriculum quickly became the NCEE's all-time biggest "best-seller."

CCCS of St. Louis then sponsored Dollars and Decisions workshops in partnership with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education, University of Missouri-St. Louis. The workshops provided training to more than 700 teachers in how to implement the Personal Finance Economics curriculum in the classrooms. With each of the teachers expected to then teach the curriculum lessons to 25 or more students annually for the next ten years, more than 175,000 students will eventually be instructed in how to make knowledgeable spending, borrowing, saving and money management decisions.

This effort evolved into an even more far-reaching educational program through a $3.2 million grant to the NCEE from the Bank of America. The grant is being used to expand and enhance the Personal Finance Economics curriculum and sponsor teacher workshops.

How Consumer Credit Counseling Service Agencies Operate

Most of our funding comes from voluntary contributions from creditors, grants, and small monthly fees/contributions from clients. Since creditors have a financial interest in getting paid, most are willing to make a contribution to help fund qualified, non-profit consumer credit counseling service agencies like ours. These contributions are usually calculated as a percentage of payments a client makes if they enroll in a debt management program. This is generally up to 10% of the payment received.

Your account with your creditors will always be credited with one hundred percent of the amount you pay those creditors through us, and we will work with all your creditors regardless of whether they contribute to our agency. Our debt management programs serve the dual role of helping you repay your debts and helping creditors collect the money owed them.

What Clients Say

Here's what some of our local Consumer Credit Counseling Service agency clients have to say about our service.

"I was having severe money problems. With the help of your counselors I am finally able to pay off this credit card. Thanks to you I found hope at a time I had very little to hope for."

"Your pleasant, helpful attitude has been a great inspiration to me."

"My husband and I want to express our undying gratitude in helping us to pay off our consumer debts. With this letter we include our last payment! We could not have done it without your service. I am sure that we should have had to file for bankruptcy otherwise."

"You've done more for me than you'll ever know; my self-respect and esteem have returned."