While you’re participating in a debt relief program, you may decide to do things such as halt payments to lenders while the debt relief company negotiates on your behalf. In doing so, you can expect your credit rating to decline during the initial part of the debt relief process. You should view this decline as a temporary condition to be addressed as you move toward being free from debt. As your debts are paid off, your credit score should begin to rise. In fact, many of our clients find that their credit score has returned to the same rate if not higher, by the time they graduate. Once you graduate, you can also take additional steps to build your credit rating back up, such as paying bills on time, keeping your level of outstanding debt low, and using your credit cards and paying off the balances each month.