Credit Counselling Society
Providing Free Debt and Credit Help to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

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’re members of Credit Counselling Canada, a national association for non-profit credit counselling agencies that follow strict standards for quality and transparency.
• They will take the time to go over your complete financial situation, help you create a realistic budget, and then objectively look at all your options to resolve your financial challenges and get you back on track.
• Their credit counsellors are not paid commission or incentives of any kind that are tied to the solutions they recommend to the people they help.
• Around 95% of the people who reach out to these organizations are helped for free and only around 20% of the people who sit down with one of their credit counsellors end up going on the organization’s debt repayment program. Everyone else is either provided with a solution they can implement themselves or is referred to another professional for more specific help.
• If you enroll in their repayment program (called a Debt Management Program), you’re likely to succeed. People who complete it often gain valuable financial skills that last a lifetime. These programs have a relapse rate of less than 1%, compared to 20% for bankruptcy or consumer proposals.

On the other hand, organizations with lower success rates often operate very differently. Here’s how things tend to look there:

• The help you receive may end up feeling more like a sales pitch than a genuine counselling session.
• These “credit counsellors” often lack professional certification, aren’t accountable to an oversight body, and may not follow a strict code of ethics. Credit Counselling Canada is the only national credit counselling association in Canada that does not allow it’s members to take 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 tend to refer most of their clients to a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (a bankruptcy trustee) because that pays them the most. Unfortunately, many will effectively double charge their clients in doing this by charging them thousands for a consumer proposal before referring them to a bankruptcy trustee who is legally the only one allowed to charge for this.
• These “credit counsellors” earn commissions on the “solutions” they sell and this naturally influences their advice. These people may also call themselves “debt consultants” and often charge large upfront fees before eventually referring their clients to a less than ethical bankruptcy trustee. A legitimate non-profit agency that is accredited by Credit Counselling Canada will never do this. If it looks like an insolvency option is your best choice, they’ll tell you and simply give you a list of local trustees they trust at no cost.
• 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.

In short, credit counselling isn’t all the same. Some providers prioritize revenue over real help, while long-term results orientated non-profits—often members of Credit Counselling Canada—put people’s needs first, even if it means earning nothing from the interaction. In fact, about 95% of those who contact us receive support completely free of charge, which is something profit-driven agencies simply can’t match.

Just talking to a credit counsellor won’t impact your credit score—it’s completely private and isn’t reported to anyone. But if you enroll in a Debt Management Program, then this may impact your credit score. Sometimes it affects your score, and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s safer to assume that it will. That said, the impact only lasts until two years after you finish the program. At that point, the credit agency removes the program from your record, and with the right steps, your credit score can recover quickly. Your counsellor can let you know what to do to rebuilding your credit score. A credit rebuilding program is actually a part of our Debt Management Program.

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.

Good counsellors are experts at budgeting and as part of their process will help you make the most of what you have.

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 a Debt Management Program seems like your best option, they’ll encourage you to take time to decide and even run it by someone you trust.

If a consumer proposal or bankruptcy appears to be a better choice, they’ll refer you to a local Licensed Insolvency Trustee that they trust.

Whether you’re just looking for credit counselling near me or desire more structured financial guidance, these coaching sessions are intended to give you a better picture of your situation and a clear 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.

Our organization delivers professional, non-profit services to people locally and nationwide. When it comes to finding the best credit counselling Prince Albert offers, you can count on us for trusted guidance, proven accountability, and top client ratings.

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.

There was a time when a lot of provinces once ran their own credit counselling programs. However, most eventually found that quality non-profits like ours proved to deliver better results without relying on public funding. Once they discovered this, most switched to referring to non-profits rather than providing the service themselves.

In fact, many of our clients are referred to us by government departments and agencies from across the country. Some government organizations even use our educational resources and invite us to provide financial literacy training for their staff.

Over the years, we’ve helped over a million Canadians one-on-one—and have reached millions more through our websites. We have more offices than any other non-profit credit counselling organization in Canada, and our team is frequently featured in the news offering expert advice and insights on financial issues that impact Canadians.

We also regularly write articles for two major news outlets, the Financial Post and The Province, which are often re-published by media outlets across the country.

The organization is also known as a great place to work, with multiple recognitions from Great Place to Work Canada® for supporting young professionals and women, giving back, fairness, including others, and overall employee satisfaction.

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 trust and accountability, we go the extra mile:

• Our finances are audited each year by an independent accounting firm—something no other credit counselling agency in Canada does.
• Our organization is governed by a diverse board of directors who serve as volunteers and come from many different financial and professional backgrounds across 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 are governed as a non-profit registered with the Government of Canada.
• We were the very first international affiliate of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC)—North America’s leading non-profit credit counselling organization.

Finally, we’re convinced that commission based compensation is not the best way to serve those who look to us for help and guidance. Unlike many organizations you’ll find out there, our staff are never paid any kind of commission – only a straight, competitive salary. This makes sure that every individual we help receives objective, unbiased advice that’s truly in their best interest.

Many years ago, the Government of Saskatchewan provided credit counselling services. However, in 2012 after observing the work of the Credit Counselling Society in Saskatchewan, the government decided to close their credit counselling office and Orderly Payment of Debts program and refer residents of Prince Albert and the rest of the province to the Credit Counselling Society instead. So while government credit counselling Prince Albert no longer exists, their chosen replacement, the Credit Counselling Society does and is here to provide free credit counselling advice and guidance.