North Battleford, Saskatchewan Credit Counselling Society
Free Debt and Credit Help

The success rate of credit counselling is very high if you get help from the right credit counselling organization. Here is what credit counselling organizations with high success rates look like:

• They belong to Credit Counselling Canada, a nationwide network of non-profit agencies that follow rigorous standards of transparency and service quality.
• They’ll work with you to understand your entire financial picture, build a practical budget, and help you explore all your options to resolve your debt and improve your financial well-being.
• Their staff members aren’t paid commissions or given incentives tied to the recommendations they make, so they are able to provide you with objective guidance.
• Roughly 95% of people who reach out for help don’t pay anything, and only about 20% go on to join the organization’s repayment program. The rest either receive advice they can follow on their own or are referred to another professional for a more specialized kind of help.
• If you choose to enroll in their repayment plan—known as a Debt Management Program—you learn practical money management skills that last a lifetime. Consequently, the relapse rate is under 1%. This compares to roughly 20% of people who file for bankruptcy or a consumer proposal needing to redo the process again at some point in the future.

In contrast, credit counselling services with lower success rates tend to operate quite differently. Here’s what they often look like:

• You may feel that you’re talking to a sales person rather than a credit counsellor.
• The “credit counsellors” who have lower success rates are often not professionally accredited, are not accountable to an accreditation body, and are not held to an objective, professional code of conduct and ethics. Credit Counselling Canada is the only national credit counselling association in Canada that prohibits its members from taking advantage of trusting consumers by double charging them for consumer proposals (only a Licensed Insolvency Trustee should charge you money for a consumer proposal).
• They may tend to push clients toward filing a consumer proposal with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (bankruptcy trustee) because this earns them more money. Sadly, many will effectively double charge their clients in doing this by first charging them thousands for a consumer proposal before referring them to a bankruptcy trustee who is legally the only one allowed to charge for a consumer proposal.
• The “credit counsellor” is paid commission and this is reflected in the “solutions” they promote and the alternative options they discourage. Sometimes the person who helps you is called a “debt consultant” and will attempt to charge you thousands of dollars for their help before then referring you to a less than reputable Licensed Insolvency Trustee. A quality non-profit credit counselling organization will not charge you fees and then refer you to someone else. If it looks like an insolvency option is in your best interest, then they’ll provide you with contact information for a number of local trustees they are comfortable with entirely for free.
• The “solution” to your situation will likely be a consumer proposal because that is the option that pays them the most and it sounds better than its big brother, bankruptcy (both are legal options governed by the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act). For many people who call themselves “credit counsellors” but aren’t a member of Credit Counselling Canada, there is quite possibly an 80% chance that you won’t leave their office without being convinced to sign up for a program that pays the credit counsellor or debt consultant money.
• With consumer proposals and bankruptcies, about 20% of people end up having to file for one of these again in the future. One of the reasons why this can happen is because the underlying causes of financial trouble are never addressed. Quality credit counselling organizations tackle these root issues, which is a big part of why they see better long-term outcomes.

To wrap up this up, not all credit counselling is the same. Some providers focus more on generating revenue than helping people, while reputable non-profits—often members of Credit Counselling Canada—put individuals first, even if that means they don’t earn anything. In fact, about 95% of people who call us for help of some kind end up receiving it completely free without ever paying a thing. It’s easy to see why profit-driven counsellors wouldn’t be interested in offering this kind of support – it doesn’t generate the profits they’re looking for.

You can speak with a credit counsellor as many times as you like, and it will never show up on your credit report. However, if you choose to work with your credit counsellor to enter into a Debt Management Program through a non-profit such as the Credit Counselling Society, then this will show up on your credit report. A Debt Management Program typically stays on your credit report for two years after the program is completed. This is much shorter than the six year record left by a bankruptcy, making it a less damaging alternative for many individuals. It also comes off your credit report about a year sooner than a consumer proposal, but leaves no permanent record with the courts like a consumer proposal does.

Working with a credit counsellor does not affect your credit score in any way. It’s a private, confidential conversation and is never reported anywhere. No one will ever know unless you tell them. However, if you decide to begin a Debt Management Program that is offered by the credit counselling agency, then this may impact your credit score. The odd thing is that sometimes this program affects your credit score while sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s best to assume that it will. Fortunately, the longest the negative effect will last is until 2 years after you finished repaying your program. At this time the credit counselling organization will instruct the credit reporting agencies to remove all records of your Debt Management Program from your credit report. Your credit score can then rebound quickly if you re-establish a form of credit that reports on your credit reports. Your credit counsellor can help coach you through this.

Your experience will depend on whether you choose a for-profit or a non-profit organization. For-profits are typically focused on signing you up for a program that benefits them financially.

Non-profits accredited by Credit Counselling Canada will typically spend about an hour with you, listening to your concerns, learning about your financial situation and goals, and helping you develop a workable budget. From there, they’ll go over potential solutions, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each, to find the best path forward.

Top quality credit counsellors are experts at budgeting. As part of their process they’ll help you find many ways to fine-tune and optimize your budget to get the most out of it.

By the end of the session, you’ll probably have a plan of action and a clear sense of your next steps. If you need more help later, a follow-up session can be scheduled—also free of charge.

If you decide that a Debt Management Program offered by the credit counselling organization is your best solution, a quality non-profit will never allow you to sign-up that day. They will always insist that you go home, sleep on it, and discuss it with anyone whose advice you value. A quality decision should not be made on the spot and should always be carefully considered.

If it turns out that a consumer proposal or bankruptcy makes the most sense, they’ll refer you to a trusted Licensed Insolvency Trustee they trust—often providing a list so you can choose.

Whether you simply came here looking for credit counselling near me or want more structured financial guidance, these sessions are designed to give you a clear picture of your situation and a path forward.

Yes, our staff provide credit counselling to the whole province. Before the pandemic, we served everyone from our offices in Regina and Saskatoon, but so many people preferred phone or online meetings that we continued with this model. Today we still serve the entire province by phone. Give us a call. We’d be happy to help you.

Often, yes. Many people use a Debt Management Program from a non-profit as an alternative to bankruptcy or a consumer proposal. A credit counsellor can review your finances in detail and help you determine if this is a realistic solution for you.

Yes, there’s plenty of free support available. Our non-profit provides no-cost counselling, financial education, and free educational resources. More than half of the people we assist end up choosing a free solution they can manage on their own. In these situations, they receive a personalized action plan, and they’re welcome to follow up with their counsellor (at no cost) for ongoing support or advice as they implement it. If it looks like our debt repayment plan is someone’s best option, but their budget can’t afford our small fee, then we’ll waive it. We’re all about helping people find workable solutions and removing barriers that keep them from moving forward.

Yes. The Canadian Credit Counselling Society provides free counselling appointments with certified professionals, complimentary financial education webinars, and a wide range of online tools and resources at no cost. A fee only applies if you decide to participate in one of their debt repayment programs. Even then, the costs are minimal, and in some cases, fees can be waived if someone is unable to pay.

The Credit Counselling Society is well known for the top quality, free help it provides. In fact, it’s been providing free help ever since starting out as the Credit Counselling Society of BC in 1996. Now we provide services across the country from BC to Quebec, which is why we are sometimes called the Credit Counselling Society of Canada.

We provide professional, non-profit support to individuals across the province and throughout Canada. For those seeking the best credit counselling North Battleford can provide, our team is recognized for being dependable, accredited, and highly recommended.

No. Years ago, the Saskatchewan government provided credit counselling services and operated a program called Orderly Payment of Debts. In 2012, however, after recognizing the results achieved by the Credit Counselling Society (CCS), the province ended its own program and began referring residents directly to CCS. So while government credit counselling North Battleford is no longer available, CCS has taken its place and carries on the best aspects of its service.

Most definitely. The Credit Counselling Society (CCS) is very legitimate. It’s one of the most trusted and recommended credit counselling organizations in Canada. The fact that it’s non-profit and is well known for the high quality of its service have allowed it to continue serving Canadians for almost 30 years.

At one time, a lot of provinces offered their own credit counselling services, but they eventually discovered that non-profits such as ours provided better results provided at a lower cost. Consequently, most provinces now refer people to trust non-profits such as ours.

As it turns out, many of the people we help are now referred to us by government agencies and departments across the country. Some government entities even make use of our educational resources and invite our staff to provide financial literacy training to their staff.

Since we first opened our doors, we have helped more than a million Canadians over the phone or in person and have helped millions more online. We operate more offices than any other non-profit credit counselling agency in the country, and our staff members are frequently featured in the media offering financial tips, insight, and advice.

A couple of our staff members also write weekly and bi-weekly columns for two major publications, the Financial Post and The Province. The articles are often re-published by media outlets in cities across Canada.

We’re also recognized as an exceptional workplace, earning multiple Great Place to Work Canada® honours for fairness, giving back, including others, employee satisfaction, and support for women and younger professionals.

Education is central to our mission, with a team of full-time educators on staff, multiple awards for excellence in financial literacy, and a self-help educational website that has helped millions.

The organization has earned over 80 awards for its outstanding work and along with more than 1,500 online reviews, with an average score of 4.9 out of 5 stars. Each year we survey of over 10,000 of the people we help and for many years now, these surveys show that 98% would recommend CCS to others.

When it comes to transparency, trust, and accountability, we strive to go the extra mile:

• An external, independent accounting firm audits our finances each and every year. This is a level of transparency and accountability that no other service provider in our industry adheres to.
• We’re overseen by a volunteer board of directors made up of financial and professional experts from across Canada.
• We are governed as a non-profit registered with the Government of Canada.
• We are accredited by and maintain the highest level of standing with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) along with Credit Counselling Canada (CCC), Canada’s credit counselling association with the highest standards of transparency and accountability.
• We were also the first international affiliate of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC)—North America’s largest and most trusted non-profit credit counselling organization.

Finally, our staff do not work on commission, ensuring that all advice and guidance provided is impartial and focused solely on what’s best for clients. Because our staff do not receive a financial incentive to promote any particular “solution,” you’ll notice a big difference in the assistance our staff provides compared to many other agencies out there.