Since 1999, American Financial Solutions has helped over 400,000 people eliminate $8 billion in debt. The company’s debt management and consolidation plans are accredited, as well as its debt counselors. Additionally, American Financial is accredited by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Pros
Industry Experience and Accreditations
As previously mentioned, American Financial Solutions has helped thousands of clients pay off billions of dollars in debt over the course of the past 18 years. To back up their industry experience, American Financial is accredited by the NFCC, ensuring that the company’s credit counselors implement best industry practices. They also hold accreditation with COA.
Debt Services Provided
The company offers many different services which include: credit counseling, student loan counseling, debt management, housing counseling, foreclosure prevention, and pre and post-bankruptcy counseling. Consumers can also take advantage of a free credit counseling session which typically lasts an hour. After the initial assessment, a certified credit counselor will provide options to help consumers realize their financial goals. Within the list of options, the company offers a debt management plan which will consolidate monthly payments into one affordable monthly installment.
Because American Financial is not a credit consolidation company, clients are not required to take out a debt payoff loan. Instead, the company works directly with each client to uncover the best solution to resolve creditor debt. Tools have been designed to help consumers under the unbearable weight of unsecured debt such as credit cards, department store cards, medical bills, and other unsecured types of debt.
Best Debt Consolidation Companies
Cons
No Average Interest Rate Visible
Debt consolidation companies typically have existing relationships with most major credit card companies and other major lending institutions. When you sign up with one of these companies, you should be able to lower the annual percentage rate on what you owe. American Financial Solutions promises to get you a better rate but does not say how much better. We would prefer that American Financial be a little more transparent about what rates it can secure for its customers.
Undisclosed Pricing
At this time American Financial Solutions does not offer pricing information on their website at this time. This can make it difficult for potential customers to make a decision on which company to work with. It also makes it challenging for us to rank and compare the company to others in the industry.
Company Size
American Financial Solutions is a little small compared to other top companies. AFS employs less than 50 people compared to the 200-500 people employed by Consolidated Credit. Having more employees allows a company like Consolidated Credit to take on more projects and clients.
Our Recommendation
American Financial Services is on great terms with its customers. The company also offers a number of great services at relatively low cost to help consumers manage their debt. One of the big things we didn’t like is that the company is not transparent about what interest rates it can secure for customers or exactly how low the monthly fees can be. We recommend working with a more transparent debt consolidation company and viewing our top debt consolidation companies.
American Financial Solutions FAQ
American Financial Solutions provides actual debt consolidation through provides credit counseling and debt management plans for their customers. American Financial Solutions debt management plans allow customers to consolidate their bills into one monthly payment, while also lowering the overall interest rate on that debt without having to apply for a loan. For one customer, American Financial Solutions was able to help a customer pay off $123,000 of unsecured consumer debt in four years. American Financial Solutions also offers counseling services for credit, housing, and bankruptcy. The company offers free financial education classes, which includes eight chapters of educational material on borrowing, investing, and budgeting.
How much does American Financial Solutions cost?
The monthly prices are undisclosed at this time. The up-front fees are undisclosed at this time.
Do they offer a free consultation?
A “get help now” button on their website leads to a form for a free consultation, which can also be obtained through a phone call. The online form asks for basic personal information, like your name, physical address, e-mail address, and phone number. There is a comments section in the form where you can put details about how you ended up in your current financial situation, what your financial goals are, and whether or not you are behind in your debts. Reps also ask for your bank account information, including who the primary owner of the account is and the account’s balance. Information about your monthly payment to your creditors is also required. After this information is filled out and submitted, you will get a call from one of AFS’s counselors.
What is American Financial Solutions’ cancellation policy?
AFS is a non-profit organization, and because of this the programs they offer to consumers are not bound by contracts or written agreements. This means you can cancel your plan with AFS at any time.
What services do they provide?
They offer debt management, credit counseling and debt consolidation services. Many of their counseling services about debt, foreclosure, buying a home, and bankruptcy are free. Once you have enrolled in AFS’s debt management program, the counselor you work with helps you come up with a month-to-month repayment plan. AFS says that under their plans, you should be completely free of debt within five years or less.
One of the main focuses is on education. They offer free information through a blog, a resource center, and a budgeting template, and even online classes. Once you register for a class, you will take quizzes and earn a certificate when you finish. The classes are all short (30 minutes to an hour), and they cover basic topics like investing, borrowing, budgeting, understanding credit, working with banks, and avoiding identity theft. There are a couple special classes for young adults and families who want to help their kids understand budgeting.
Aside from the free classes, AFS also offers workshops in western Washington State where people can get together in person to discuss the same topics covered in the online classes. Another educational resource they offer is found under the “Know Your Rights” section of the website. This section briefly details major laws and policies regarding credit and lending. It also talks specifically about how these laws and policies affect you, and what you should do if you think you have been wronged under one or more of these laws. Lastly under the education section, AFS has its own little bookstore where you can find reads on retirement, personal finance, debt management, and other topics. The bookstore also offers books for kids and young adults to help build a good financial foundation.
What is their money-back guarantee?
You have the option to stop participating in the programs without fear of fines or fees, but they do not offer a money-back guarantee. This means all the payments you make, including the one-time enrollment fee and the monthly service fees, are non-refundable.
What is the minimum amount of debt they accept?
The minimum debt they accept is $100 per account, but they also pointed out that in some cases, this figure depends on the creditor. A representative can help you figure out whether or not you qualify for their programs, based on the amount of debt you are working with.
What certifications does American Financial Solutions have?
American Financial Solutions’ counselors are certified by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. Counselors must complete additional training and education to maintain their certification each year. AFS is not ISO certified, however, it is certified by the National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC).
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User Score102 people found this review helpful!I have Just started with American Financial and i feel better already. It was a number of things that got me into debt. But what i really want to talk about is Lindsey H from the Bremerton office. She was so nice and answered all my questions, helped me with getting all information that they needed to started, and was a pleasure to work. Thank You Lindsey! Im hoping to make extra payments in the future to get this all finished before 29 months.Was this review helpful? YesRead More
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User Score92 people found this review helpful!Once you speak with a Credit Counselor, the fees and interest rates are disclosed to you. My counselor also assured me that she would be available for me personally (and she has been) at any point in the process. Also, I was assured that I would be consulted should one of my creditors not agree to the terms and interest rates she and I discussed and the decision to move forward would be mine at that point. I was assured that AFS has credit relationships with all of my creditors, specifically, before I chose to continue with the Debt Consolidation program. I am thankful to have a company backing me as I correct my credit issues. Support has been excellent so far.Was this review helpful? YesRead More
- Takes your existing debt and try to settle with your creditors for a lower amount. If you pay off the settled amount, your debt will be considered paid in full.
- Negotiates with your creditors on your behalf.
- Fee based on a percentage of your total starting debt or a percentage of the debt they save you.
- Most settlement companies have you create a separate "escrow" account where you will make monthly contributions over a certain amount of time to contribute to your settlement. Once there is a substantial amount of funds to show your creditors, the settlement company will try to negotiate a lower amount of debt.
- Combines all your debts and creditors into one monthly payment.
- Allows you to pay one monthly payment to the consolidation company, instead of multiple payments to different creditors.
- You no longer owe your original creditors; instead you pay one monthly payment to your consolidation company.
- Consolidation companies can help negotiate lower interest rates on your debts and help lower your total debt payment in the long run. A lower interest rate will lower the amount you owe in the end.
- Allows you to consolidate all your different debts into one personal loan that can be paid off over time.
- Can offer borrowers a lower interest rate with a longer payback term (compared to high-interest credit cards or medical bills). This will lower the amount of money required to pay off the loan over time.
- Personal loan debt consolidation can be an effective way to raise your credit score quickly (within 3-6 months).
- Borrowers can receive funds from their loan within only a few days.
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