Debt relief company review methodology

What is the Bankrate Score for debt relief companies?

Bankrate rates debt relief companies using a 15-point scale, which examines five factors: availability, affordability, customer experience, company reputation and stability. These factors assess how competitive a debt relief company’s services are within the industry, as well as who would benefit the most from using them.

Score visualization across Bankrate

Bankrate Scores are visualized differently across our website. These images illustrate different variations you may encounter.

How we calculate a Bankrate Score

Bankrate’s scoring process begins with a complete analysis of industry, consumer and market trends. This helps our team create a fair but high standard for the basics a debt relief company should offer to be considered competitive and useful to consumers.

Once this is established, the team collects company-specific data pertaining to each of the five factors evaluated within the Bankrate Score. Companies are then rated with a score from one to five — the latter being the highest.

While Bankrate may have partnerships with some of the companies featured on our pages, the partnership doesn’t influence our decisions. Scores are based on hard data and expert analysis of a particular industry. Our goal is to provide consumers with transparent feedback they can trust.

Overall score

Bankrate evaluates debt relief companies across five categories. Weight is based on the impact a particular aspect may have on consumers.

Availability score

Availability factors serve as an indicator of who may benefit the most from the company’s debt relief services. Companies that place few restrictions on the amount of debt required to enroll in their plans and those that include most unsecured debts score the highest. We also favor companies that offer complimentary credit counseling services.

Affordability score

Affordability factors measure how competitive a company’s products, services and pricing are within the industry. When assessing these factors, we favor companies with fewer fees, as this makes products more affordable and helps maximize savings.

Customer experience score

Having a website that’s easy to navigate, along with a robust section answering any and all questions consumers may have are essential for a company to secure a high score within the customer experience category. Companies with a range of contact options and support hours are also favored.

Company reputation score

Debt relief solutions should come from a respected source with a proven track record. We favor companies with fewer open complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — both of which are regulatory agencies.

Stability score

Companies that have been in business for over a decade, as well as those with an active membership with a professional trade association score the highest in the stability category. Both of these factors help us measure a company’s reliability and trustworthiness.