Debt Help: You Can Trust Family Credit Management Service

Family Credit Management Service follows the highest of standards in the consumer credit counseling service industry. Whether you are looking for a debt counseling service, advice on how to improve your bad credit, general debt help, or specifically a Christian credit counselor, you can trust FCMS will treat you with great care.

Finding a credit counseling agency can be a difficult process, you are putting your trust in someone. Unfortunately, when dealing with any professionals, some are qualified and others are not. Some are legitimate and others not, and some are just better than others. So, how do you choose?

Family Credit is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization dedicated to helping people become debt free.

Our Christian credit counselors are recognized experts, who have been trusted by hundreds of media outlets including national television stations, radio stations, magazines, and newspapers.

We have been providing credit counseling for over 11 years and have worked with thousands of creditors including every major bank, retail store, and finance company. A Christian credit counselor at FCMS is certified by the Institute for Personal Finance or the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. Our counselors also attend regular in-house training including presentations from groups such as: Gamblers Anonymous, utilities hardship coordinators, bankruptcy attorneys, social workers specializing in mental health conditions and financial consequences, State Treasurer’s office in relation to home ownership, Illinois Department Human Services, Love, Inc (resource networks for those in financial stress), and other social service agencies.

We have been a member in good standing of the Better Business Bureau since 1999. In fact, as of April of 2007, we have had only one complaint in the last 12 months. This is an outstanding record for an organization with thousands of active clients in our debt consolidation program and thousands more contacting us for debt help, improving bad credit, budget assistance, classes and seminars, or educational materials each year.

When searching for a debt counseling service, one of the most important factors is the state licensing status. Family Credit Management Service is proud to be licensed in every state in which we conduct business and requires a license. If your state is not listed, it does not have a licensing requirement for us to conduct business in their state, or we do not work in that state. State licensing requires we file regular reports with the state agencies and many of the states conduct regular on-site audits of our agency to ensure we are following all applicable laws.

• Alabama Securities Commission
• Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, Licensing Division
• California Department of Corporations¹
• Georgia Office of Consumer Affairs²
• Idaho Department of Finance
• Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Financial Institutions, Consumer Credit Section
• Indiana³
• Iowa Division of Banking
• Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner, Consumer and Mortgage Lending Division
• Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
• Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation⁴
• Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services, Department of Labor and Economic Growth
• Minnesota³
• Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance
• New Jersey³
• New York Banking Department, Licensed Financial Services Division
• Ohio Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division²
• Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Division of Finance and Corporate Securities
• South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs
• Texas Office of the Consumer Credit Commissioner
• Virginia State Corporation Commission, Bureau of Financial Institutions
• Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Banking

In addition to these state licenses, we are proud to be ISO 9001 certified. This highly coveted distinction is granted only after we developed a complex client quality system in which all employees are thoroughly trained. This incorporates in-depth training of our staff, detailed department manuals, and complete adherence to the ISO standard including the consumer credit counseling code of practice.

An ISO external auditor visits our corporate offices every six months to ensure we continue to meet the ISO standard. More information can be found at www.iso.org or from our ISO register. We comply with standard BS EN ISO 9001:2000, our license number is FS 60378.

We employ a full-time Internal Auditor who constantly works to ensure all employees are following the ISO standard. The auditor makes certain any corporate changes are in adherence to the ISO standard. Client files are audited on a regular basis; letters and emails are spot audited, and employees undergo regular "desk audits" to ensure all work is completed in a timely manner. Before any employee can independently perform duties, including our debt counseling service and providing debt help, they must have signed a training checklist verifying they completely understand the job requirements.

Our client trust fund is reconciled every day and each year an external financial audit is conducted to be certain all of our trust accounts are balanced and properly accounted for.

We also employ a full-time Legal Compliance Coordinator, also certified as a Christian credit counselor, who is responsible for ensuring our continued compliance with all regulatory filings, state licensing, training of employees on updates to or changes in state laws, as well as conducting internal audits of client files to ensure these state regulations are being met by all our employees.

At Family Credit Management Service we take your privacy very seriously, we have never and never will sell our client names to any party. We understand that financial difficulties and bad credit are a private matter and by working with one of our consumer credit counselors you have put your faith and trust in us. We will not let you down. You may view our privacy policy in its entirety.

¹ FCMS holds a license exemption.
² State has no licensing requirement. However FCMS follows all applicable state statutes and completes filing requirements with state agency.
³ State only issues licenses to agencies with a physical presence in that state. However, FCMS has filed the proper registration to do business in the state. FCMS follows applicable statues for out-of state debt proraters serving clients enrolled prior to August 1, 2007.
⁴ As a licensee, the Commissioner of Financial Regulation for the State of Maryland will accept any questions or complaints from Maryland residents regarding Family Credit Management Service, license 14-35, at 500 N. Calvert St., Suite 402, Baltimore, MD. 21202-3651, phone 1-888-784-0136.