Credit counseling can offer a great way to regain control over your finances and to create a plan for putting debt behind you. A credit counseling agency can help you assess your current outstanding balances against your monthly financial income and determine which debt management option is right for you. There are numerous credit counseling agencies on the market, and not all of them offer clients a fair deal. It is important to make sure that your credit counseling company adheres to applicable regulations.For example, credit counseling companies typically cannot collect a fee from clients until they have achieved a meaningful result for the client, such as a debt management plan or a renegotiation of the terms of repayment for the debtor’s outstanding balances. It is also a good idea to make sure that the agency provides free educational materials about debt management and financial responsibility, instead of charging an additional fee for these materials. After assessing your financial situation, the credit counseling company will contact your creditors and determine whether they are willing to renegotiate the terms of the debt, or whether they will accept a settlement. In many cases, credit counseling companies use debt management plans, which involve consolidating your debts and negotiating a low interest rate over a long repayment term.