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Take Charge America

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Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: March 28th, 2022

Based in Arizona, Take Charge America is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping American consumers improve their financial status through financial counseling and tools. The nonprofit provides different services including a free financial review and in-person counseling to help consumers manage and eliminate debt.

Take Charge America has more than 25 years of experience. Take Charge America is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) and Financial Counseling of America (FCAA). The nonprofit has been featured on different news channels including ABC, NBC, and Fox News.

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The Good

  • Financial Tools and Resources
  • Accreditations

Financial Tools and Resources

Like many other debt consolidation companies, Take Charge America provides a variety of financial tools and resources. One of the resources the organization provides is a newsletter. Consumers sign up and receive a regular newsletter with tips and pointers on how to manage and eliminate debt.

They also provide users with financial calculators, a weekly blog and online lessons. These educational tools can be used by anyone and can help increase financial literacy. We appreciate when a company provides these tools and resources. It shows that they care about the long-term success of their customers.

Accreditations

Take Charge America is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) and the Financial Counseling Association of America (FCAA). Maintaining a membership with both the NFCC and the FCAA means that Take Charge America works to achieve industry-approved standards and best practices.

Potential customers should look for accreditations while shopping around for companies to work with. In order to maintain accreditations, companies must up keep certain standards, which require a certain quality of service. Take Charge America demonstrates that they care about their customers and quality of service by maintaining these accreditations.

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The Bad

  • Lack of Transparency
  • Unknown Cancellation Policy
  • IRS Lawsuit

Lack of Transparency

Take Charge America does not make its interest rates readily available to consumers. Consumers have to talk to the counselors of Take Charge America, possibly after paying the setup and activation fees, to find out what the interest rates will be.

Unknown Cancellation Policy

Take Charge America does not readily display its cancellation policy is or whether or not the company charges a fee for canceling. Many other companies in the industry offer a money-back guarantee.

IRS Lawsuit

In 2012, Take Charge America battled against the IRS in court to protect its nonprofit status. The IRS decided that Take Charge America took advantage of its nonprofit status, this advantage could have benefited the founder's family and given them financial gains. Take Charge America ended up settling with the IRS and paid a penalty. 

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The Bottom Line

Take Charge America provides resources and tools for the benefit of consumers working to manage and eliminate their debt. The nonprofit organization is a member of the NFCC and the FCAA. On the other hand, Take Charge America has a higher monthly fee than the industry average and has been in a serious lawsuit in regards to their nonprofit status. Consumers may want to consider choosing a debt consolidation company with lower monthly fees, more transparency, and no lawsuits. We recommend checking out other top rated companies.

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Ralph Roberts Phoenix, AZ

We where assigned to work with them as part of the hardest hit or save our home program. We where kept on the program for over two years during which time we paid all but maybe $25 a month in what would ultimately be waived fees. Our aim was to be able to have help with principle reduction . When we got off the program they said they where not going to graduate us from the program because our primary income was from a temp position as all entry level banking jobs where at that point . We argued that there was my income as well and my partner was always able to increase his gig work as he had to get us back on track and able to pay so much of the mortgage each month we where in the program. They could provide no rule or policy that would support their decision and kept changing whose rule it actually was. I contacted my congress person who tried to help but was limited to DOJ actions but explained that gave some leverage with the big banks on certain items. Take back America would not help in finding out the name of our loan servicer, they refused to honor the initial report we received declaring that we had graduated from the program, falsely claimed we had failed to make one of our payments which we where able to establish. Lied about contacting our servicer and original lender about a loan modification. Did not return phone calls or would call at closing time and leave a message before the weekend or a critical deadline and drug their feet providing requested documentation when I was successful in contacting our servicer and getting their approval of a loan modification. Because they did not graduate us from the program we where not able to be considered for principle reduction. When they sent our final document about our involvement in the program they mistakenly included a similar form for another customer on the back side of ours which informed us that this individual had been provided over 20,000 dollars assistance on a second home and we found them listed on the sex offender registry which doesn't prohibit involvement in the program but was salt in a wound. What it comes down to is that they came in late in the game on the save our home program and where complicit in efforts to divert capital into demolition and new development by loaded investors. The source of the capital where the 45,0000 dollar loans those in the program had to sign off on to be in the program and had to be returned if that person does not complete and graduate from the program but that gives them two years or more with access to capital that they can collect interest on. That is in part why Obama was able to say that the ecconomy was so strong when he left office because the DOJ was funding a whole industry of financial relief staff as well as redundant construction and development jobs in the states with the highest unemployment and a glut of bank owned homes to tear down and rebuild and hundreds of thousands of struggling homeowners they needed to keep treading water till they where able to mobilize on the next round of repossessed homes when they denied help to more than half the people they admitted to the programs for most of the time the whole racket was in operation, We kept our home but we paid dearly for what help we may have received and will continue to at a 5.25 rate over the next 40 years, Let's just say I am not a fan of take charge America.

3 years ago

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Jay Knoxville, TN

They claim to be a non profit organization, but they want $75 EVERY TIME they made a phone call. I paid them the equivalent of $300 an hour. I could have hired a lawyer for that. I refused to pay for a follow up. After a bad review, they reached out to me saying that they had found some grant money and wanted to help me after all. Then when I called, they tried to charge me AGAIN! They claimed that their offer was for new clients only. The mind boggles as to how they can claim non profit status.

5 years ago

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Sarah Clarke Los Angeles, CA

I tried to get credit counseling help. It's on their website they help with this. When the woman who I talked to found out I don't need a debt reduction plan she was completely unhelpful, she told me to go to annualcreditreport.com and figure it out. I don't know how they stay in business. I went with another agency.

3 years ago