Translate the advertised claim into a measurable event
| Claim | Definition to request |
|---|---|
| Debt reduced by X% | Starting balance date, settlement amount, fees included or excluded, and whether the account was fully paid. |
| Clients achieve results | Which clients, which result, observation period and whether people who left are included in the total used to calculate the percentage. |
| First settlement in X months | Offer date, acceptance date, first payment or completed settlement? |
| Program completion rate | All people enrolled during a defined period, or only a selected subset? |
| Debt resolved | A count of accounts, dollars or consumers—and what remains unresolved? |
The federal rule for covered debt-relief telemarketing prohibits misrepresentations about savings, time, credit effects and the percentage or number of customers who attain represented results. 16 CFR 310.3: Debt relief disclosures and claims
Who is included in the percentage?
Illustration, not provider data: 100 people enroll. Thirty finish the entire program. Fifty of the 100 obtain at least one completed settlement. A claim that “half saw a settlement” describes a different result from a 30% full-completion figure. Neither reveals net cost, unresolved balances or lawsuits.
Ask whether the analysis excludes people who canceled early, could not fund the account, were sued or had creditors refuse. Exclusions can answer a narrow operational question, but the resulting rate may not describe a new enrollee’s experience.
Account-level reporting also needs care. One person with several settled accounts can contribute many successes while another person with one unresolved account contributes differently. Ask for consumer-level and account-level results separately rather than treating them as interchangeable.
Follow each cohort long enough and price the whole result
A cohort is a group that entered during a defined period. A recent cohort may not have had time to finish a multiyear program. Ask how ongoing participants are classified and whether the same observation period applies to everyone.
Average time to the first offer does not measure time to complete the last debt. Average reduction on settled debts does not capture growing balances on unsettled accounts. Net results should show creditor payments, provider and account charges, legal costs, unresolved balances and tax when known.
Also request the distribution, not only the mean. A single average can hide a wide range of outcomes. The median (the middle result when results are ordered), the range and the number of people measured can be useful when their definitions and missing data are explained.
Ask for the evidence behind a claim
- What exact period and population does this claim cover?
- Where are canceled, unresolved and ongoing accounts counted?
- Is completion confirmed by creditor records or only by internal status?
- Are fees and costs included, and which balance date is used?
- Who prepared or checked the analysis, and can the method be inspected?
FTC staff guidance emphasizes truthful, substantiated claims. A testimonial or attractive chart is not the underlying cohort analysis. FTC: Debt relief and the Telemarketing Sales Rule
If the provider cannot give the definitions and evidence, treat the number as unverified. Use actual written fees, a realistic budget and creditor-specific terms for your decision. This page supplies an evaluation method, not a national settlement success rate.
Sources and further reading
General educational information. The original evidence, dates and recorded qualifications are available in the optional archive below.