American Financial Solutions Reviews

American Financial Solutions is a nonprofit agency offering credit counseling, financial education and debt management services. While it operates in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., not all services are available in all states.

Its counselors are certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as approved by the Executive Office for United States Trustees (EOUST) for bankruptcy counseling.

American Financial Services says it has assisted more than 500,000 people to pay off over $10 billion in debt to date.

To work with American Financial Solutions, you’ll first call its toll-free number or fill out its online application to connect with a counselor. You’ll then speak with a certified counselor who will review your credit report, assess your situation and help you plan next steps.

From there, you may choose to pursue one of its focus areas, such as housing, student loan or bankruptcy counseling or enroll in a debt management plan (DMP) to help pay down your debts.

If you pursue a DMP, you’ll consolidate all your unsecured debt into one monthly payment (secured debts typically aren’t eligible) while your credit counselor helps you to negotiate lower interest rates or reduced minimum payments with your creditors.

Note that unlike debt settlement, in which you stop paying your bills while negotiating for a reduced debt amount overall, a DMP still requires you to pay off the full amount. As such, a DMP is better for your credit score than debt settlement.

American Financial Solutions offers the following services for people struggling with debt:

• Debt management plans (DMPs): Debt consolidation into one monthly payment with a lower interest rate and fees
• Credit counseling: Review of your finances by certified credit counselors, who help you decide on the best course of action
• Student loan repayment counseling: Repayment plans, loan consolidation and forgiveness options for private and federal student loans
• Bankruptcy counseling: Pre-filing counseling and post-bankruptcy education, approved by EOUST
• Credit report reviews: A review of your Experian credit report and score and support with correcting any inaccuracies
• Housing counseling: HUD-certified counseling to help ensure you’re ready for homeownership
• Foreclosure prevention: HUD-certified counseling to help you understand the foreclosure process and how to avoid it

American Financial Solutions also offers resources such as online classes, calculators, budget templates and articles to help you with your money management.

American Financial Solutions doesn’t charge for most of its services. However, it says fees may apply for some services, such as its DMPs.

With a DMP, once you sign up, you usually pay a small enrollment fee and ongoing monthly fee, both up to $75. State law often dictates the maximum that can be charged. American Financial Solutions doesn’t say how much it charges per service. However, credit counseling, online classes and foreclosure services are free of charge.

Be sure to get confirmation of what the fees might be before you commit to any plan with any credit counseling organization.

American Financial Solutions is a legitimate nonprofit credit counseling agency and a division of the North Seattle Community College Foundation, with counselors certified by the NFCC and HUD, as well as approved by EOUST for bankruptcy counseling. In Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska and New Hampshire, it operates as AFS Credit Counseling.