Bankruptcy

Introduction and Disclosures

Consumer Credit Counseling Service, Inc. (CCCS) has over 35 years of experience educating consumers and Debtors about money and credit. Our certified Financial Professionals have completed the certification program with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) and are required to continue their education yearly to maintain this highly regarded certification. Our agency is a member of the (NFCC). The NFCC has high standards for quality credit counseling and debtor education, and our agency complies with those standards. In addition, our agency is certified by the Council on Accreditation, an independent third-party organization that reviews and monitors entities who provide social services.

CCCS is a non-profit agency. We are organized and operate in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. CCCS receives funding in the form of grants from banks and other financial institutions that support financial counseling and education. We do not pay or receive fees or other considerations for referrals of debtor students to our agency.

CCCS, in addition to many other educational courses, provides financial education courses and financial counseling that satisfy the United States Courts. Here is a statement found on https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/bankruptcy/credit-counseling-and-debtor-education-courses for verification and links to verify our standing with the U.S. Trustee Program.

"All individual bankruptcy filers are required to complete pre-bankruptcy credit counseling and pre-discharge debtor education. These may not be provided at the same time. Credit counseling must take place before you file for bankruptcy; debtor education must take place after you file.

Certificate of completion for both credit counseling and debtor education are required but before the filer’s debts can be discharged. Only credit counseling organizations and debtor education course providers that have been approved by the U.S. Trustee Program may issue these certificates."

Our counseling and educational course for Bankruptcy help you to analyze your spending and debts, and review the basics of good financial planning to help you get a fresh start after bankruptcy.

CCCS is obligated to provide your certificate promptly upon completion of instruction, and we will do this within 3 business days upon the completion of your course. You will only receive your certificate upon completion of Post-filing debtor education course.

CCCS might disclose debtor information to the Executive Office for the United States Trustee (EOUST) in connection with the United States Trustee’s oversight of the Provider, or during the investigation of complaints, during onsite visits, or during quality of service reviews. The EOUST has only reviewed and approved Pre-filing credit counseling and Post-filing debtor education services. CCCS does offer services to help with unsecured debt if needed.

Please continue reading below to read about steps to take that will satisfy Bankruptcy requirements, and to read our Disclosures.

Steps to satisfy Bankruptcy requirements

Step One

Prior to filing for Bankruptcy, we recommend a one-on-one meeting with our counselors. Maybe we can come up with a plan to keep you out of Bankruptcy.

Step Two

Pre-filing Counseling

If you have already met with an attorney and wish to file for Bankruptcy you will need to schedule an appointment with one of our counselors to develop a debt repayment plan. The fee for this appointment is $50. The appointment can take place online, via phone, or in person.

If your income is 150% below the official poverty line based on household size, you qualify for a fee waiver. Proof of income is required. Current poverty figures can be found at:

http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty

To determine the income eligibility, a debtor must include a non-filing spouse’s income (unless the spouses are separated) and the monthly net income of any dependents of the debtor who are part of the debtor’s stated family size.

Step Three

Pre-Discharge Education

The education course was put into place to help give those filing some new financial tools and advice to help them start over financially. The course will help you focus on establishing new goals, building a new spending plan, and learning how to restore and rebuild your credit. Please note that the cost for the Educational portion of Bankruptcy is $40 regardless of how the curriculum is obtained through us.

This course may be taken in several ways:

In-person

Due to Covid, the classes are not currently held as a group. Please call the office to schedule a one-on-one appointment to satisfy this requirement. When you complete this counseling you will be provided a copy of your certificate after the class. We will also fax or email a copy to your attorney.

Online

If you are completing this process online then you will need to register with our online program Money in Motion by paying through our PayPal link below. Once you pay you will receive an email with your User ID and password and you just need to complete the course on your own time.

Upon the completion of Money in Motion our agency will be notified and we will provide you a certificate of completion promptly, no later than 3 business days from the completion. This certificate will be emailed, so please be sure to double check your email and junk folders. We will also fax or email a copy to your attorney.

Phone/Zoom/Microsoft Team Meets

If you are completing this process via by phone or virtually please register by calling our office. When you register with our office we will email you information regarding how to access the class. Please be sure to check your email and junk folder. Contact the office if you have not received instructions within 48 hours of scheduling your appointment.

When you complete the appointment you will receive your certificate of completion once we receive a signed copy of the Disclosures and any other paperwork you received via email with your appointment information. We are obligated to provide a certificate, but not unit all aspects of the class has been satisfied. This includes returning signed copies of all documentation either by mail, fax or email. (Electronic signatures are permitted).

Consumer Credit Counseling Service, Inc. is committed to assuring the privacy of individuals and/or families who have contacted us for assistance. We realize that the concerns you bring to us are highly personal in nature. We assure you that all information shared both orally and in writing will be managed within legal and ethical considerations.

Your “nonpublic personal information,” such as your total debt information, income, living expenses and personal information concerning your financial circumstances, will be provided to creditors, program monitors, and others only with your authorization and signature on the Housing Stability Counseling Program Counseling Authorization Agreement. We may also use anonymous aggregated case file information for the purpose of evaluating our services, gathering valuable research information, and designing future programs.

Types of information that we gather about you:

• Information we receive from you orally, on applications or other forms, such as your name, address, social security number, assets and income; and

• Information about your transactions with us, your creditors, or others, such as your account balance, payment history, parties to transactions and credit card usage; and

• Information we receive from a credit reporting agency, such as your credit history.

You may opt-out of certain Privacy Disclosures

1. You have the opportunity to “opt-out” of disclosures of your non-public personal information to third parties (such as your creditors), that is, direct us not to make those disclosures.

2. If you choose to “opt-out,” we will not be able to answer questions from your creditors. If at any time, you wish to change your decision with regard to your “opt-out,” you may call us at 316-265-2000 and do so.

Release of your information to third parties

1. So long as you have not opted out, we may disclose some or all of the information that we collect, as described above, to creditors, state, or federal funders, where we have determined that it would be helpful to you, would aid us in counseling you, or is a requirement of grant awards which make our services possible.

2. We may also disclose any nonpublic personal information about you or former customers to anyone as permitted by law (e.g., if we are compelled by legal process).

3. Within the organization, we restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to those employees who need to know that information to provide services to you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to guard your nonpublic personal information

Pre-Filing Bankruptcy Counseling Disclosure

Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) is a non-profit agency that provides financial counseling and education services. The credit counselors employed by CCCS have been trained and certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), and complete continuing education on a yearly basis.

CCCS will provide a budget analysis that will examine your financial situation and we will provide you options for resolving your debt. Counselors will provide information about bankruptcy, including its process, the possible credit consequences, and your alternatives to filing for bankruptcy. The financial counseling session we will provide you has no effect on your credit report or credit score.
Clients with limited English proficiency will need to notify CCCS of the need for a translator, which will be provided free of charge.
The cost for a Pre-Filing Bankruptcy Counseling Session is $50.00 for an appointment in person or over the phone. This service is also offered over the internet and costs $30.00; however, a phone call follow-up with a counselor is required after completing the online portion. These fees apply to both those who are filing alone and to those filing jointly. This fee is used to cover the cost of the class, and no additional fee is charged for the creation of your certificate. If you pay online, PayPal may choose to charge a fee for their service on top of CCCS fees.
CCCS waives fees for those whose household meets the low-income guidelines as established by the Department of Health and Human Services (income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty guidelines for household size).
You will only receive a certificate of counseling if you complete the pre-filing counseling session. Upon completion of the counseling, CCCS has the obligation to promptly provide a certificate of counseling. If you have not received your certificate via email within 3 business days of completion, please contact our office at 316-265-2000.
If requested, CCCS may also provide your attorney and/or bankruptcy judge/trustee with copies of the certificate, as well as any other required information gathered during the counseling session. In the absence of such a request, you, and not CCCS, are responsible for providing a copy of the certificate of completion to your attorney and/or the court. Bankruptcy certificates are valid for 180 days from the date the counseling is completed.
Filing for bankruptcy may result in a lowered credit score. Bankruptcy will not improve your credit score and will appear on your credit report for up to 10 years. Please contact an attorney for more legal ramifications of filing Bankruptcy. CCCS employees are not attorneys.
CCCS may also offer you a Debt Management Plan (DMP) as an alternative to bankruptcy, where you have the right to negotiate an alternative payment schedule with regard to each unsecured consumer debt under terms set forth in 11 U.S.C 502(k). CCCS has no responsibility for any past, present, or future credit rating you receive; in a few certain circumstances, a DMP may affect your credit rating negatively. Your credit score might lower as a result of closing the accounts that are added to the plan, as a result of not paying the full amount owed on your accounts, or as a result of a late or missed payment once your DMP is in effect.
Employees of CCCS are not allowed to accept or make payments in exchange for referrals. However, a significant portion of funding for this agency comes from voluntary contributions from creditors who participate in DMPs under fair share agreements, due to their interest in having consumer debts repaid. As a non-profit agency, CCCS also receives funding through grants and donations, from agencies such as United Way of the Plains and the Office of the State Bank Commissioner of Kansas.
CCCS might disclose client information to the United States Trustee (EOUST) in connection with the United States Trustee's oversight of the agency, or during the investigation of complaints, during on-site visits, or during quality of service reviews.
The EOUST has reviewed only the agency's counseling and instructional services in regard to bankruptcy and has not reviewed or approved any other services that this agency provides.

Pre-Discharge Education Disclosure

Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) is a non-profit agency that provides financial counseling and education services. CCCS is organized and operates in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. CCCS receives funding in the form of grants from banks and other financial institutions that support financial counseling and education. We do not pay or receive fees or other compensation for referrals of debtors to our agency.

The credit counselors employed by CCCS have been trained and certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), and complete continuing education on a yearly basis.

Clients with limited English proficiency will need to notify CCCS of the need for a translator, which will be provided free of charge.
To help cover the cost of providing the Pre-Discharge education, this agency charges a fee of $35 for in person or phone education and $30 for on-line education. These fees apply to both those who are filing alone and to those filing jointly. This fee is used to cover the cost of the class, and no additional fee is charged for the creation of your certificate. If you pay online, PayPal may choose to charge a fee for their service on top of CCCS fees.
CCCS waives fees for those whose household meets the low-income guidelines as established by the Department of Health and Human Services (income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty guidelines for household size).
You will only receive a certificate of debtor education if the you complete the Bankruptcy Pre-Discharge (Bankruptcy Education) course. Upon your completion of the course, CCCS has the obligation to promptly provide a certificate of course completion to you. If you have not received your certificate via email within 3 business days of completion, please contact our office at 316-265-2000.
If requested, CCCS may also provide your attorney and /or bankruptcy judge/trustee with copies of the certificate, as well as any other required information related to the Pre-Discharge course. In the absence of such a request, you, and not CCCS, are responsible for providing a copy of the certificate of completion to your attorney and/or the court.
Filing for bankruptcy may result in a lowered credit score. Bankruptcy will not improve your credit score and will appear on your credit report for up to 10 years. Please contact an attorney for more legal ramifications of filing Bankruptcy. CCCS employees are not attorneys.
Employees of CCCS are not allowed to accept or make payments in exchange for referrals. However, a significant portion of funding for this agency comes from voluntary contributions from creditors who participate in DMPs under fair share agreements, due to their interest in having consumer debts repaid. As a non-profit agency, CCCS also receives funding through grants and donations, from agencies such as United Way of the Plains and the Office of the State Bank Commissioner of Kansas.
CCCS might disclose client information to the United States Trustee (EOUST) in connection with the United States Trustee’s oversight of the agency, or during the investigation of complaints, during on-site visits, or during quality of service reviews.
The EOUST has reviewed only the agency’s counseling and instructional services in regard to bankruptcy and has not reviewed or approved any other services that this agency provides.

OTHER DISCLOSURES MAY BE PROVIDED TO YOU AS A PHYSICAL OR VIRTUAL DOCUMENT REGARDING SPECIFIC SERVICES OTHER THAN BANKRUPTCY.