Is Cambridge Credit Counseling Legitimate, and What Do People Say About Them?

Where to Verify Cambridge Credit Counseling’s Standing#

Cambridge Credit Counseling is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency, and it is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and the Financial Counseling Association of America. It is also approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide housing counseling services nationwide, including first-time homebuyer courses. Cambridge Credit Counseling provides foreclosure intervention and default counseling to residents of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Missouri and Kansas. These three organizations keep their own membership rosters and approval lists, and Cambridge Credit Counseling does not control what appears on them.

Recent client reviews of Cambridge Credit Counseling can be read on Trustpilot.

Nonprofit Status and History#

Cambridge Credit Counseling is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit agency established in 1996. It has provided credit counseling and financial literacy education to consumers nationwide since it was founded.

Counselor Certifications#

Cambridge Credit Counseling’s counselors hold certifications issued by outside organizations, not by Cambridge itself.

Counselor Experience#

Cambridge Credit Counseling’s professional counselors are certified through an independent third party and have an average of over 14 years of experience helping people work on their finances.

What Cambridge Confirms About Its Fees#

Cambridge Credit Counseling sets debt management plan fees according to what a household can afford, within the maximum each state allows, so two clients with the same debts can pay different fees. This was confirmed directly by Cambridge Credit Counseling’s President and CEO, Christopher Viale, in August 2026.

What a Debt Management Plan Involves#

• Under a Cambridge Credit Counseling debt management plan, the client makes one monthly payment and Cambridge pays the client’s creditors on the client’s behalf.
• A plan is set up by working with each of the client’s creditors, and it consolidates the client’s bill payments into one monthly payment.
• To find out if someone qualifies, they take part in a personal, one-on-one debt analysis with a nationally certified Cambridge Credit Counseling counselor.
• There is never any obligation to enroll in a debt management plan after a credit counseling session with us.
• Accounts placed on a Cambridge Credit Counseling debt management plan are closed while the client is on the program. After paying the accounts in full, the client must re-apply with the banks to get new credit.
• A debt management plan is not credit counseling itself, though it is one possible outcome of a credit counseling session with Cambridge Credit Counseling.

Risks You Should Know About#

Setting up a debt management plan may adversely affect your credit, though the effect may be temporary as you remain committed to making monthly payments through your Debt Management Plan. Nonpayment of debt may also lead creditors to increase finance and other charges or pursue collection activity, including litigation.

Using home equity to pay off credit card debt turns unsecured debt into debt secured by the home, which puts the home at risk.

Services Cambridge Credit Counseling Offers#

• Credit counseling
• Debt management plans
• Housing counseling
• Reverse mortgage counseling
• Bankruptcy counseling, which does not involve reporting participation or pulling a credit report, so it has no effect on the consumer’s credit rating
• First-time homebuyer education courses
• Student loan counseling for federal loans only, offered in every state with no state restrictions

Privacy and Consumer Protections#

Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp collects nonpublic personal information from applications and other forms, including name and address, Social Security number, account numbers, balances, creditors, and unsecured loans, along with information about a consumer’s transactions with Cambridge, its affiliates, or others.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act ensures that all consumers are given an equal chance to obtain credit and protects consumers who apply for financing with any creditor who regularly extends credit, including banks, finance companies, retail and department stores, credit card companies, and credit unions.

What to Do Next#

If someone wants to check whether a debt management plan makes sense for their situation, the next step is a personal, one-on-one debt analysis with one of Cambridge Credit Counseling’s nationally certified counselors. There is never any obligation to enroll after that session.