The important question is not, will your score go down if you use a counseling service, the important question is, will your score be hurt worse if you don’t use a counseling service?
I presume you are considering a credit counseling service because you are having a hard time paying your bills. As noted in the article, if the counseling service asks you to close some of your credit cards, that can temporarily lower your score because it reduces your credit availability. And if you settle your debts for less than the full amount, that will lower your score. But if you don’t use a counseling service, will you fall behind on your payments? Making late payments will also hurt your credit score, and letting your debts go to collection will be worse for your score than settling for a partial amount.
Also remember, the main point of a credit score is to help the next lender assess the risk of loaning you more money. If you are at the point of thinking about credit counseling, you probably should not be thinking about borrowing new money for a while.
Ultimately, only you can decide what is best for you. I think the most important thing will be to find a reputable credit counseling service. (Some of them seem to be rip offs.) You should check with the Better Business Bureau and your state attorney general’s office before signing any contracts.
