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Colorado Debt Relief: Is It Legitimate? 5 Things to Know

Writer: Ben Tejes
August 23rd, 2022
Writer: Ben Tejes
August 23rd, 2022
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal or financial advice.

You may have seen ads for Colorado debt relief, and you're questioning whether debt relief is legitimate.

You are in the right place.

Here's what will we will cover in this article which will hopefully address your most pressing questions.

  1. What is Colorado Debt Relief?
  2. The Biggest Mistake I See People Make
  3. Does Colorado Debt Relief: Provide Emergency Debt Relief?
  4. Whether Colorado Debt Relief is legitimate
  5. Pros and Cons of Debt Relief Options

What is Colorado Debt Relief?

Colorado debt relief is an organization that links debtors with other debt settlement companies. Alternatively, debt relief is a financial hardship option when you are unable to afford your debt. This is where a company or you would reduce your balance owed by negotiating directly with your creditors. 

Think of a $10,000 balance that is negotiated and settled for $5,000. You may have been paying $300 per month on that debt, and now you are only paying $150 on that debt, thus providing you debt relief.

Is Colorado Debt Relief a Company?

Colorado Debt Relief is a company that refers customers to debt settlement companies. Therefore, you don't sign up with them directly. You will be signing up with the company they recommend to you. Here’s a picture that you may be familiar with:

debtreliefcenter.org homepage

It appears that Colorado debt relief org often refers customers to ClearOne Advantage or other providers. Hence, it’s essential to understand the fees that you will be paying through the company that it recommends to you.

Finder states that ClearOne Advantage usually charges 25% of enrolled debt, which is about standard in the industry as of 2025.

Colorado Debt Relief Org Reviews

Colorado Debt Relief Org is part of Envoy Media Group, which does have a BBB page with two reviews, and there’s a review on Finder for one of the state debt relief articles that mentioned getting calls over 20 times in a single day. 

What can be helpful is to consider the reviews of who Colorado refers you to. For example, if you are referred to ClearOne Advantage, you may look for ClearOne Advantages reviews that we cover extensively in an article.


The Biggest Mistake I See in Colorado Debt Relief

One of the biggest mistakes that I see in the thousands of people we've helped in the last ~10 years is making a quick financial decision when stressed out, and not understanding all of their options. 

For example, I've spoken with countless individuals who receive debt consolidation bait-and-switch scam mailer in the mail that states they are pre-qualified for a 4.99% interest rate loan. They will apply, get denied, and be pushed into a debt consolidation program.

For example, did you know that you may qualify for credit counseling where your credit score remains intact and your accounts do not go behind (like you would in a Colorado Debt Relief program)? To help, we built the following best debt options calculator below that provides free estiamtes of many different debt relief options available to you in Colorado. The calculator is 100% free and does not require personal identifiable information (unless you request further help).

Now that you have an understanding of the available options, let's discuss the associated costs.

Let’s cover some of the costs of your options.


Chapter 7 bankruptcy is often the cheapest and fastest Colorado debt relief option, but you usually have to qualify using the Colorado bankruptcy means test, which is based on your income, household size, and state. If it’s helpful, here are the income limits for bankruptcy cases filed on or after November 1, 2025.

# of PeopleAnnual Income
1$87,940
2$109,497
3$130,850
4$153,501
5$164,601
6$175,701
7$186,801
8$197,901
9$209,001

From using the calculator, you will notice that the cost to file bankruptcy in Colorado is $313 for a Chapter 13 and $338 for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. You may notice that does not include attorney fees though. Attorney fees may vary depending on where you live. For example, the Chapter 7 attorney fees are estimated at $1,500 in Denver vs $1,170 in Aurora. For Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Colorado the estimated attorney fee is $2,750.

You may also notice that you are at risk of losing assets, such as your home or vehicle, if you have too much equity in a vehicle. To protect these assets, you can look at the Colorado bankruptcy exemptions. For example, you can see the homestead exemption information below (source):

“Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-41-201. Real property, mobile home, manufactured home, or house trailer you occupy to $75,000; $105,000 if owner, spouse, or dependent is disabled or age 60 or older; sale proceeds exempt 2 years after received”

For debt management in Colorado, you’ll see the estimated monthly payment driven by potential interest rates reduction. Debt management is often most helpful if you have high interest credit cards.

For debt settlement, you’ll notice an estimated fee amount and an estimated settlement amount as the companies are trying to negotiate amounts (from say $10,000 to $5,000).

What is Emergency Debt Relief

Many people are looking for emergency debt relief in Colorado, often capturing the most recent events. For example, a debt relief company may be pitching inflation debt relief when inflation is high.

If a company is promising you Colorado emergency debt relief, please do your research to make sure that they are not just trying to pitch to you a debt relief program with high fees.

Is Colorado Debt Relief legitimate?

Many people in Colorado experience hardship that requires some debt relief. Thankfully, there are legal debt relief options such as bankruptcy in Colorado to help you get relief from your debt and a fresh start.

In Colorado, you may also find legal aid options helpful that can help you get the help you need at a lower cost. 

Please note that not everyone qualifies for free legal aid. If you are at or below the Colorado poverty guidelines, you could also have your bankruptcy filing fee waived. Below are the Colorado poverty guidelines.

# of People150% Poverty Guideline
1$15,060
2$20,440
3$25,820
4$31,200
5$36,580
6$41,960
7$47,340
8$52,720
9$58,100
* Add $5,380 for each individual in excess of 9.

Pros and Cons of Debt Relief Options

Finally, let’s cover some of the pros and cons of debt relief in Colorado. You can find this list of pros and cons in our debt relief calculator results as well. 

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Colorado

  • Pro: Legal protection against creditors
  • Pro: Property protection against creditors
  • Pro: No taxes on unpaid debt
  • Pro: No qualification necessary (as long as under Chapter 13 debt limits)
  • Con: High damage to credit report (on public record)
  • Con: High damage to credit score
  • Con: Possible low availability to credit after filing
  • Con: Low payment flexibility
  • Con: Length of time 3-5 years
  • Con: Low to medium success rate

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Colorado

  • Pro: Length of time ~ 90 days
  • Pro: Most inexpensive option: ~$2,000
  • Pro: Legal protection against creditors
  • Pro: No taxes on unpaid debt
  • Pro: Eliminates most unsecured debt
  • Pro: High success rate
  • Con: High damage to credit report
  • Con: High damage to credit score
  • Con: Possible low availability to credit after filing
  • Con: No property protection above exemption
  • Con: On public record
  • Con: Must qualify for Chapter 7 in Colorado

Debt Settlement

  • Pro: Potential savings can be significant
  • Pro: Payment flexibility for inconsistent income
  • Pro: Can be < 1 year with access to capital
  • Pro: May access credit sooner than bankruptcy
  • Pro: Account cancellation creates accountability
  • Con: Medium to high damage to credit report
  • Con: Medium to high damage to credit score
  • Con: Potential taxes on forgiven debt
  • Con: May be sued and collections can continue
  • Con: Late fees and interest
  • Con: On Public Record (if creditor sues)
  • Con: Low to medium success rate

We recently polled thousands of our users to help us understand which cons the debt relief companies did not provide. Here were the top cons that our user provided. So, if you get a quote from a debt relief firm, you may want to understand each of these cons.

Table of debt relief cons that a debt relief company failed to potentially mention in a quote.

Debt Management

  • Pro: Potential lower interest rate and fees
  • Pro: Lower damage to credit report and score
  • Pro: Sets your debt on a specific payment plan
  • Pro: Consolidates your debt
  • Pro: Not on public record
  • Con: Often highest cost debt relief solution
  • Con: Lower payment flexibility
  • Con: Length of time 3-5 years
  • Con: Creditors may not work with DMP
  • Con: Low to medium success rate

Should I Pursue Debt Relief in Colorado?

Debt relief is a broader term that refers to getting assistance to help with your debt. Here are the various debt relief options:

Pursuing debt relief in Colorado is ultimately your decision and you know your finances best. For example, are you living in Colorado Springs and seeing that your rent is going to continue to rise? Are you facing inflation pressures from living in Denver and trying to live on a Colorado minimum wage of $12.56 per hour?

What you can do (if helpful) is take the free Colorado debt relief calculator below that can help you estimate the costs and pros and cons of each of your options.

             
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