Lower interest rates and reduce debt through Massachusetts credit counseling
This page covers nonprofit credit counseling in Massachusetts, including the fact that two of the largest nonprofit counseling agencies in the country answer their phones from Massachusetts offices. In addition there are smaller local nonprofits that round out the choices. This page lists verified agencies, state collection rules, and covers free credit counseling options.
A certified counselor may go over your income and every debt with you for free, then explain whether a debt management plan, a budget change, or another route fits your situation. Certified counselors at Massachusetts nonprofits also review your budget and debts at no charge.
What Massachusetts law does when collectors call
Massachusetts enforces some of the strictest debt collection rules in the country, and they cover the original company you owe, not just collection agencies. The rules limit how often you can be called about a debt, block most contact with your employer, restrict visits to your home, and give you the right to written proof of a debt when you request it. The limits are specific and they change from time to time, so read the current version before relying on a number. The Attorney General publishes the full rules at https://www.mass.gov/regulations/940-CMR-700-debt-collection-regulations.
A counselor at any agency on this page may help you use these rights while working on the debt itself. When a collector crosses the line, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General's consumer division at 617-727-8400 or see https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-consumer-complaint.
How to tell real counseling from a debt relief pitch - scam
Massachusetts residents get flooded with debt relief advertising, and the ads copy the vocabulary of nonprofit counseling on purpose. Real counseling has a recognizable thing to look for: the first session is free or close to it, the counselor reviews your whole budget before recommending anything, and every fee appears in writing before you sign. An operation that demands money up front, guarantees your balances will shrink by a set amount, or pushes you to commit on the first call is selling something else.
One more point is worth noting. No legitimate nonprofit sells credit repair. A counselor may help you understand your credit report and build better credit over time, and that work is slow and honest. Anyone promising to erase accurate negative marks for a fee is running a scheme. The guide to recognizing financial assistance scams on needhelppayingbills.com breaks down the common scripts.
Massachusetts nonprofits that counsel people in debt
Every organization here was verified through its own website or official government listings. Official phone numbers and websites lead each entry. All of them counsel by phone, and the first two run national operations from their Massachusetts headquarters, so an office visit is possible but never required.
American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) — 130 Rumford Avenue, Suite 202, Auburndale, MA 02466. Call 800-769-3571. Website: https://www.consumercredit.com/. ACCC grew from this Newton-area office into one of the country's larger nonprofit counseling agencies, and the headquarters still takes local clients. Counselors review budgets and debts at no charge and may recommend a debt management plan when the savings are real. Phone hours run late into the evening and include Saturdays, which suits people who cannot call from work. Both courses required in a bankruptcy case are available.
Cambridge Credit Counseling — 67 Hunt Street, Agawam, MA 01001. Call 800-235-1407. Website: https://www.cambridge-credit.org/. Cambridge counsels people nationwide from its home office near Springfield, which gives western Massachusetts a walk-in option most states lack. A free debt analysis starts the process, and the agency may waive fees when the review shows hardship. HUD approves Cambridge for housing counseling, and its debt management plan reports progress to clients in writing. The agency also provides both bankruptcy certificates.
American Credit Counseling Service — 4 Taunton Street, Suite 5, Plainville, MA 02762. Call 800-729-0551 or 508-643-4445. Website: https://www.accs.org/. This small independent nonprofit has counseled Massachusetts households since 1988 and charges nothing for counseling itself. Its debt management program combines your payments without creating a new loan, which the agency states plainly on its own site. Free budgeting workshops run through the year, and the organization partners with the United Way. Nobody is screened out by income.
Springfield Neighborhood Housing Services — 111 Wilbraham Road, Springfield, MA 01109. Call 413-739-4737. Website: https://www.springfieldnhs.org/. Springfield NHS is a housing-first nonprofit serving the Springfield area since 1978, and its free services include credit counseling alongside homebuyer education and foreclosure prevention. HUD approves the agency for housing counseling, and sessions run in English and Spanish. The organization belongs to the national NeighborWorks network. People whose debt problem is tangled up with a mortgage may find both answers in one place here.
Free financial coaching for Boston residents
The City of Boston pays for financial coaching so residents do not have to. Contact the Center for Working Families at 617-541-2670, or start at https://www.boston.gov/departments/center-working-families/roxbury-center-financial-empowerment/financial-coaching. Coaches at the Roxbury Center for Financial Empowerment, 7 Palmer Street, meet one-on-one with Boston residents at no cost and as many times as a person wants.
Sessions cover credit reports, household budgets, savings plans, and job searches, and the center also runs free tax preparation. Coaching is guidance rather than a debt management plan, so the nonprofit agencies in this guide remain the route when a plan is the right tool.
The national agencies and where to compare them
Most states list outside national agencies at this point in the guide. Massachusetts does not need to, because two of the biggest national nonprofits are the local agencies here — ACCC and Cambridge run their entire operations from the addresses in the list on this page. Readers who want to weigh more national options can use the full credit counseling agency directory page on needhelppayingbills.com, which verifies every listing.
Four places to verify an agency yourself
The United States Trustee Program lists approved credit counseling agencies for every state at https://www.justice.gov/ust/list-credit-counseling-agencies-approved-pursuant-11-usc-111. The NFCC vouches only for its accredited members, reachable at 800-388-2227 or through https://www.nfcc.org/agency-finder. A second industry association, the FCAA, posts its members at https://fcaa.org/find-a-credit-counselor/. Complaint histories on any company sit with the Better Business Bureau at https://www.bbb.org/us/category/credit-and-debt-counseling.
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