The payment your counselor has provided during the initial consultation is typically based on a percentage of your account balances. Before your first payment, our Customer Service staff verifies the current balances on your accounts and adjusts the payment accordingly. 

If your account is past due, you may make a payment to the creditor to bring the account current. All other payments must be sent through DRS. If you pay the creditor directly, they may take this as an indication you are no longer a client, which can result in increased interest rates, payments, fees, and previously deferred interest being added back onto your account. 

Absolutely, and we encourage it as you find an increased ability to apply more funds to your account! You have the ability to shorten the length of time your accounts are on the program by doing so. You may send in a money order, cashier’s check, or contact us to assist you in adjusting your automatic withdrawal.

The DMP is designed to pay off your debts within 60 months. Lowering the payment will lengthen your time on the debt management plan and potentially push your repayment terms beyond our 60 month maximum. If a hardship occurs please contact us so we can advise you of your options. 

Notify us immediately by phone if possible. A missed payment may affect the arrangements we have in place with your creditors. Our customer service can advise you on how to proceed. 

Fair Isaac Company, the pioneer in credit score modeling and still the overwhelmingly most commonly-used credit score, clearly states that they do no take participation in a credit counselor’s debt management program into account when calculating an individual’s credit score. It should be noted, though, that any of the following may occur: 
*Creditors may place a temporary notation on the individual’s report stating that they are enrolled in a debt management plan. This is done for the purpose of preventing any further credit card accounts from being opened while the individual is paying off current debt. The creditor is obligated to remove the notation once the individual is no longer enrolled in the debt management plan. 
*When an individual enrolls in a debt management plan, their accounts are closed (either by the individual or by the creditor). Because of how a credit score is calculated and depending upon the balance of the individual’s account(s), such closings may initially lower the individual’s credit score. However, FICO’s credit scoring model relies mostly upon a history of on-time payments and lower balances, which is also what we strive to help our clients achieve. 

Your creditor due dates need to coincide with your disbursement date with DRS. This will help your payments post to your accounts without penalty. Creditors will not allow DRS to request due date changes on your behalf. 

Yes. Please contact us for details if you want to add accounts to the program. 

If you’re new to the program you may receive calls from your creditors until they have approved the consolidation proposal. We encourage you to take these calls and notify our office of any important information that you and your creditors discuss. 

You have access to view your account online 24/7/365. Please review your creditor statements each month and match them with the balances that show in your online account with Money Fit by DRS, Inc. and notify us of any discrepancies. We do not mail statements unless required to.