Written by: Andrew Allen
Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro
Reviewed by: Adam West
In a Nutshell: Filing for bankruptcy can be a convoluted and time-consuming affair, especially when you don’t know what to expect. CC Advising provides an affordable, online credit counseling course to help consumers meet the requirements of filing for bankruptcy. The agency offers educational support and works with law firms to ensure a smooth experience for its clients.
Kids dream of the day when they are old enough to drive and borrow their parents’ car to cruise around town with their friends. But reaching a certain age is only one of the requirements a driver must meet before getting behind the wheel of a car.
The steps to obtain a driver’s license, which differ by state, help ensure that new drivers understand the rules of the road and how to operate a car safely and effectively. When I was young, I thought having to study for a driving exam and prove my driving skills to an instructor prior to getting my license was a hassle.
But now I appreciate that people are required to expand their driving knowledge before getting behind the wheel of a few thousand pounds of steel, rubber, and glass. The more practice you have with a new activity, the better prepared you’ll be to make responsible choices.
Filing for bankruptcy isn’t a decision people should take lightly. To help consumers understand whether filing for bankruptcy is the right move for them, the U.S. government stipulates that, “no individual may be a debtor under Chapter 7 or any chapter of the Bankruptcy Code unless he or she has, within 180 days before filing, received credit counseling from an approved credit counseling agency either in an individual or group briefing.”
CC Advising provides consumers with the credit counseling course they need to take before filing for bankruptcy and issues certificates to those who successfully complete the course. We spoke with Ryan McDonough, CC Advising’s President, to learn more about the company’s services and how it can help you regain control of your finances.
CC Advising reviews a client’s budget with them but doesn’t make a legal determination as to whether a client should file for bankruptcy. McDonough told us the organization approaches every case without preconceived notions and gives its clients the best advice it can.
“The basic idea of our services is we’ll take a look at a client’s financial situation and see whether they have any other options to resolve their debt other than bankruptcy,” McDonough told us. “Most people don’t move to file for bankruptcy unless their situation is really bad. For probably 99.9% of our clients, they have no other alternatives other than bankruptcy to resolve their debt issues.”
A Cost-Effective Course Helps Clients Save
Clients take CC Advising’s course online. McDonough told us that approximately 50% of the agency’s clients complete the course on their smartphones as opposed to using a computer or tablet.
Everyone who finishes CC Advising’s course has a live chat with one of the agency’s counselors, which can either occur online or over the phone for a nominal fee. CC Advising’s counselors use information provided by clients to guide consultation sessions.
“Clients tell us their budget, the different debts that they owe, and the reason that they’ve reached out to us, which is usually due to a change in a job situation or a divorce,” McDonough told us. “Then we get into the things we call bankruptcy triggers, like garnishments and foreclosures, that no amount of credit counseling will be able to stop. We take a look at all of those things, and that’s kind of what the counselor is working on behind the scenes.”
The rate of inflation and other economic stressors have made finances tight for many U.S. households. People who are considering filing for bankruptcy can access CC Advising’s course for only $15, allowing them to save more money to rebuild their financial future.
After clients enter their financial information, the program provides them with a chart representing where they’re spending their money. Seeing their cash outflows can help people identify whether they stand to benefit from reallocating some of their spending each month.
The course calculates a client’s debt-to-income ratio and lets them know what options they have to remedy their situation based on their ratio. A section on laws lets clients know about their rights and protections regarding collections, lending, and credit-reporting practices. The course ends with a conversation with a counselor who helps clients ensure they’ve entered their information accurately and answers any questions they may have at that point.
“On average, the course probably takes someone about 60 to 90 minutes to go through from registration to completion,” McDonough told us. “In theory, clients can go through the course as fast as they want, depending on how good they are on a computer and how fast they can type. There are certain things that the counselor has to go through with them, but other than that, they can complete it on their own pretty quickly.”
Education Empowers People to Manage Debt
Organizational skills don’t come naturally to everyone. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve taken steps to better organize my life. But despite my best efforts, it always seems like I can find every item I’ve ever purchased except the one thing I’m looking for.
CC Advising knows consumers don’t always have all of their financial documents at their fingertips, so the agency can work with a client’s estimates. McDonough told us that clients who provide precise financial figures may receive more detailed advice from the agency’s counselors, but using estimated numbers can suit a client who’s pressed for time.
“Many attorneys are concerned about their clients being talked into a debt management plan (DMP) when their debts would be better addressed in bankruptcy,” McDonough told us. “For this reason, CC Advising does not provide DMPs and gives each client a completely unbiased assessment of their financial condition along with a detailed budget analysis. The US Trustee’s office does require that credit counseling agencies discuss non-bankruptcy alternatives when they are feasible, but, for the vast majority of our clients, their financial situation is too dire for other options to work.”
CC Advising provides a wealth of educational resources, including articles and videos, to help people understand the ins and outs of credit counseling and how to manage their debt.
The organization is still recovering from the economic impact of the pandemic. Many people expected bankruptcy filings to increase during the pandemic, but that hasn’t happened in some areas. McDonough told us the courts shutting down during the pandemic prevented people from filing for bankruptcy, and CC Advising is still regrouping from the impact of that slowdown in activity.
“Our agency is a lot smaller than we used to be, and everybody here is still working from home at this point,” McDonough told us. “We get paid from our clients, and a lot of our client volume dried up during the pandemic when we didn’t have any grant money or funds from other sources coming in either. We definitely want to make our education efforts more of a priority in the future once we’re in a better place from a funding perspective.”
Quick, Accurate Work Sets CC Advising Apart
I saw an ad for a gym recently that offered new customers a discount on its membership fees as long as they referred a friend to join the gym as well. Referrals are one way a business can increase the size of its customer base, but they don’t have to come from customers.
Bankruptcy attorneys refer their clients to CC Advising. The agency markets its services to those in the legal profession that deal with consumer debt. McDonough said CC Advising provides attorneys with materials that include referral codes to ensure that course certificates are sent directly to the appropriate email address.
Though CC Advising offers its services for a low fee, some clients may wish to avoid the course’s costs altogether. McDonough said the organization provides additional financial support to clients who meet certain income guidelines.
CC Advising analyzes a client’s income from the initial budget they provide the agency. If a client appears to meet the guidelines for a fee waiver, they can submit a form along with proof of their income. McDonough said clients who qualify for a waiver and take the required steps receive a refund of the entire course fee.
“That’s something that our agency does that I think is different from other organizations,” McDonough told us. “Some of our competitors may discount a fee, but they don’t get rid of it altogether like we do.”
CC Advising prides itself on customer service and ensuring that attorneys receive course certificates promptly.
“We take special effort and care with the certificates because it’s so important that a client’s attorney receives them,” McDonough told us. “If the attorney files the bankruptcy without having that credit counseling piece completed ahead of time, it messes up the whole case.”
