Debt & Credit Help

Accredited Debt Relief Review [2025]: Help Getting Out of Debt

If you need to negotiate your debts with creditors to pay them off faster, Accredited Debt Relief may be able to help.

By Becca Borawski Jenkins
and Kate Underwood

Edited by Gabriela Walsh

Updated Sept. 29, 2024

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4.2

Accredited Debt Relief

OUR VIEW

Accredited Debt Relief is a debt settlement company, which means you put them in charge of contacting creditors and trying to negotiate the terms of your debt. This often means a reduction in balance, reduction in interest rate, or change in loan terms to help you make payments more easily.

I like that Accredited Debt Relief has high ratings from past customers and that it follows the rules for debt settlement companies (namely, that they don’t charge you anything until and unless they’re able to settle some of your debt).

It’s also a good sign that Accredited Debt Relief doesn’t only offer settlement, but also works with you to determine if consolidation or a personal loan might be the better choice. You should always look into your options, but overall Accredited Debt Relief does good work at assisting people with crippling debt.

Pros

May help reduce your monthly debt payments

Can help you reach debt payoff within two to four years

May avoid bankruptcy or other dire consequences

Cons

Credit score will drop temporarily

No guarantee that creditors will negotiate

Fees of 15%-25% of enrolled debt

How we evaluate products

I know way too many people feel like they're drowning in debt. Often, one bad-luck circumstance or a few seemingly small decisions can result in debt that's tough to dig out of.

Fortunately, there are options for you if you can't feasibly pay off your debt, especially high-interest credit card debt that keeps ballooning the longer you delay repayment.

Debt settlement is one option for helping you make payments that will move you forward, and Accredited Debt Relief may be a partner worth considering. The company also offers referrals for personal loans to certain clients, which you can use to pay down debt.

Accredited Debt Relief at a glance


Minimum debt	Not disclosed
Program length	24-48 months
Fees	15%-25% of the amount of your total enrolled debt
Availability	Not listed online
Accreditation	AFCC, BBB
Best for...	Customers with more than $10,000 in unsecured debt
	Visit Accredited Debt Relief

What is Accredited Debt Relief?

Accredited Debt Relief is a debt management company based in San Diego that offers counseling and personalized debt relief services. This means they may be able to help you if you're struggling to make minimum payments or can't see a way out of your debt.

They contact creditors for you to help you settle your debts for less. They offer debt settlement, debt consolidation services, and credit counseling for clients. The goal is for you to be debt-free within 24-48 months, which is a huge improvement for a lot of people who might be looking at spending the next decade in debt.

How Accredited Debt Relief works

To get started, visit the Accredited Debt Relief website. First, you'll need to answer how much debt you have. Next, you'll provide basic information and learn about the best options for debt relief.

Once you get started, Accredited Debt Relief's program follows these five steps:

Complete a free consultation. You'll talk with a debt specialist on the phone about your financial situation and work together to develop a budget and debt settlement payment plan.
Make your monthly deposits. Once agreed upon, you'll make monthly deposits into a designated savings account. Accredited Debt Relief then distributes that money as monthly payments to your creditors.
Stop using your lines of credit. If you entered a credit card or loan into the debt settlement program, you'd have to stop using it so Accredited Debt Relief can negotiate with your lenders.
Begin the negotiation process. Debt negotiators work with your creditors to come up with a settlement plan to reduce your total balance and come up with a manageable payment.
Settle your debt. If the creditor agrees to a settlement, you have to approve it. Once you've paid off the agreed-upon amount, the debt is considered settled, and you'll no longer owe money to that creditor.

Warning

Since you stop making payments when you work with a debt relief program, you will likely see a temporary drop in your credit score.

I can think of family members who have faced massive medical debts they couldn't pay off, or friends who accumulated debt while unemployed. This kind of debt can feel impossible to pay off without some sort of huge salary bump or windfall, but working with a company like Accredited Debt Relief may be able to ease your debt burden.

Unsecured debt may include credit card debt, medical bills, student loans, personal loans, and more. Unlike other providers with limited reach, clients often qualify for debt management services regardless of location within the country due to the company's expansive reach of partnerships.

What we like about Accredited Debt Relief

No upfront fees: You will pay nothing until after your enrolled debt is settled.
Personalized service: You will work with one certified debt specialist who knows your situation.
Trustworthy service: Accredited Debt Relief is accredited by the AFCC and rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau.
Successfully reduced debt: Accredited has successfully negotiated and reduced client debt with several credit card companies (see below).
Reasonable fees: Accredited Debt Relief's prices align with many other competitors.
Positive reviews: Clients have left reviews wishing they had started the process sooner and commended the company's knowledgeable staff.
Money-back guarantee: Accredited does not take payment until your enrolled debt is settled.

What they could improve

Not available in every state: It's unclear from the website how many states offer services, but most seem to think it's around 32-37 states.
Only unsecured debt is eligible: Unsecured debt is different from secured debt. Secured debts, or those with collateral attached, like mortgages and car loans, are not eligible for their debt resolution program. Accredited Debt Relief is also unable to assist with federal student loans.
The website provides limited information: While trying to research this company, I became frustrated because much of the information isn't provided online. Instead, you have to set up a free consultation to get more information, which isn't ideal.

What actual customers are saying

Even though customer reviews can be somewhat subjective, I do like to check online reviews and ratings of companies before doing business with them. You can learn a lot from the experiences of others, so why not use those reviews?

Accredited Debt Relief has a score of 4.9 on Trustpilot, with over 7,000 excellent customer reviews. Users often speak of the company's professionalism, thoroughness, and responsiveness to customers.

I also like that Accredited Debt Relief is accredited by the American Fair Credit Council (AFCC), IAPDA, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This just speaks to the company's professionalism and standards. The company also has an A+ rating by the BBB and customer reviews are positive, at 4.88 out of 5 stars on average.

Alternatives to Accredited Debt Relief

National Debt Relief

National Debt Relief is also a debt settlement company with tens of thousands of satisfied customers. (On Trustpilot, it has over 40,000 reviews and an average 4.7/5 star rating.) As with Accredited Debt Relief, you agree to stop payments on debts while National Debt Relief attempts to negotiate with creditors such as credit card companies.

You make payments into a dedicated account and once it reaches the necessary balance, National Debt Relief disburses the funds to your creditors, and you pay their fee. Fees are typically 15%-25% of the total enrolled debt, which is the same as Accredited Debt Relief.

Freedom Debt Relief

For a very similar alternative to Accredited Debt Relief, you might look at Freedom Debt Relief. This debt settlement company is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot based on over 44,000 reviews. The process is the same: make an agreement, stop payments to creditors during negotiations, pay into a designated account, and Freedom Debt Relief will pay your creditors, charging you a 15%-25% fee.

Each of these three debt settlement companies are rated quite highly, but Accredited Debt Relief edges out both National Debt Relief and Freedom Debt Relief with 4.9 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot. However, that's based on a smaller sample size of just over 7,000 customer reviews, so I think you can decide for yourself whether the rating matters more or the number of customers.

FAQs

How much does Accredited Debt Relief cost?

There are no upfront fees with Accredited Debt Relief. (No reputable debt relief company should charge you before you receive any benefit from them.) Instead, it charges a fee of 15-25% of the total debt enrolled.

For example, let's say you enrolled $20,000 into a program with Accredited Debt Relief. If it manages to negotiate the debt balance down to $10,000, you could still owe 15-25% of the original $20,000. That means you'd have to pay a fee of $3,000 to $5,000 spread out over the length of the settlement program.

Is debt settlement worth it?

In some cases, debt settlement can be worth the cost. I'd urge you to do the math on the fees and potential savings. Consider whether you could make those negotiation phone calls yourself instead of giving up a percentage of your savings to a debt settlement firm.

If a company negotiates to significantly reduce your debt, you could be debt free much sooner.

However, there are risks to your credit since you must cease payments to creditors. It may be most worth it if your alternative is bankruptcy.

How long does a debt settlement stay on your credit report?

Because a settled account shows that you didn't repay your full balance, debt settlement can have a negative impact on your credit score. According to Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus, a settled account will stay on your credit report for seven years after the settlement date.

Is Accredited Debt Relief BBB accredited?

Yes, Accredited Debt Relief meets the accreditation standards of the Better Business Bureau. Accredited since 2014, the company has an A+ rating.

Which credit card companies has Accredited Debt Relief successfully negotiated with?

While there is no guarantee of settlement for every client, Accredited Debt Relief has successfully helped clients settle credit card debt with the following companies:

American Express
Bank of America
Barclays
Capital One
Chase
Citibank
GE Capital

HSBC
OneMain Financial
Sears
The Home Depot
USAA
US Bank
Wells Fargo

Bottom line

If you're currently weighing your debt relief options, you may consider contacting Accredited Debt Relief to see if they can help you get out of debt. They receive high marks for their trustworthiness and efficiency from both customers and consumer advocacy groups. And they offer straightforward debt relief programs helping to alleviate even the most difficult financial hardships — and giving you some much-needed peace of mind.

However, you should not jump into debt settlement without first considering other options. You might try a balance transfer offer to get a lower interest rate or consolidate your debt with a personal loan. These might offer relief with less risk to your credit.

Disclaimer: This content and the opinions expressed here are the author's alone and have not been provided, commissioned, or endorsed by any financial institution. All information was accurate at the time of publication, but terms and conditions may change at any time.