Shout out to Alex! After months of not being able to communicate with anyone Alex absolutely answered all of my questions and handled my issue with expertise and clarity! He's a rockstar! Thanks again... See more
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Company details
Contact info
132 E 43rd St ste. 105, 10017, New York, United States
- 1 800 933 2309
- info@citizensdebtrelief.com
- www.citizensdebtrelief.com
No recent history of asking for reviews
This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative
Replied to 20% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 1 week
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They are very helpful
They are very helpful. Easy to communicate. One of the person. I talked. Mr. Alexander. He is very very nice. He helped you a lot of everything. He explained clearly every step and I am so glad. And it’s Big health for me.

Reply from Citizens Debt Relief
Ms. Jamie Lawrence
Mr. Turner was very knowledgeable and very polite throughout the entire process and informed me about every step that would happen. It was very easy to switch from my previous debt consolidation company to Citizens. I have no regrets. I highly recommend Citizens Debt relief.

Reply from Citizens Debt Relief
Attentive customer service
Attentive customer service. Quick response time

Reply from Citizens Debt Relief
I was enrolled a couple of years ago
I was enrolled a couple of years ago, and the agent who enrolled me said I would be committing to a 60-month term. Boy was I wrong. I was able to pay larger sums with no penalties and was done with paying off all my lenders with more than a 50% reduction on each account. If I had done this directly with the lenders I would have incurred fees just to pay them off faster. This is a great option to get out of debt fast without paying big banks lots of useless fees. Thanks CDR

Reply from Citizens Debt Relief
Choose Wisely, Choose Accredited CDR
I have had past experiences with two companies in the same business providing the very same services. CDR is a completely different refreshing experience due to ALEX GAROFALO and the Customer Service Department. All my questions where answered with one conversation and my confidence regained that progress was restored towards meeting my goals.
Very professional
I was with this company for some time with a few accounts. I had some fraud regarding my debt and had been waiting to hear back. In time, most of my accounts got cleared. While I was with CDR, communication had been great. I would get email responses instantly. I was sent a summons and they continuously made me feel at ease. It was a tough time for me and it made a big difference. After my debts were cleared, they were going through some changes within the company but they contacted me and sent me my refund. I’m grateful for them. If you have debt, you’ll be happy you contacted this one. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I could not be happier with my…
I could not be happier with my representative, Brandon Turner. Throughout the entire process, over the last 18 months has been there for me when I asked. He’s given me advice and guided me to the right department and persons when needed.
Since I’ve enrolled, more than half of my accounts have been settled with lenders, with an average reduction of 65% off the original balances.
The first 6 months or so were pretty stressful. But once the settlements started coming in, I could see why this company is one of the highest-rated debt relief companies. These folks know their stuff.
If you are having trouble managing your unsecured debt take it from me and give these folks a call. You won’t be sorry you did.
Brandon is Wonderful
Brandon has been great! He constantly stays in contact with me AND he has already gotten 2 settlements for me at an extremely low offer. I'm so happy to be signed up with Citizens.
Citizens Debt Relief can work out
The presentation of Citizens financial is really professional. Their support team always picks up the phone and they are there to support your process. The director of the company personally reached out when I had a change of plans and all in all debt solutions should be a final resort if you are in a problematic situation.
SCAM! Whatever you do, do not use Citizens Debt Relief
Whatever you do, do not use Citizens Debt Relief. They are a scam. You can do better negotiating with your creditors on your own. If you absolutely need someone to represent you find a local lawyer that deals with debt issues. A lawyer will be cheaper!. I wish we had done this but didn’t know we could go that route at the time.
Here’s how they work(or didn’t work):
I gave them 3 creditors to negotiate with( $26k of total debt). They said they would negotiate them down to $19k total for which I would start paying $471/mo right away to build up funds. After 16mo I learned through my creditors that Citizens had made zero effort to negotiate or even contact them. On top of that, I negotiated directly with my creditors down to $13k on my own. When I told Citizens about this they didn’t know what to say except that I would still have to pay the $19k. Why would I pay $6k more than I needed to for your service I replied. This went on for a while(weeks) cause I was unable to get in touch with anyone at Citizens. (Once you question their process they will no longer answer your calls). In the mean time we received a court summons from a creditor, which would likely put our home ownership in jeopardy. So I closed my Citizens account(took 3 weeks to do something that takes them 5min cause no one would answer my calls), and demanded back my money that’s supposed to be sitting in an escrow account. They told me it would take 20-30 business days to refund me. It’s been 29-32 business days depending on which holidays they count and no funds yet. As a matter of fact my wife and I have called them at least 5x a week in the last 4weeks and not one call was answered, voicemail returned, or email replied to.
They will take advantage of you in your time of need, if they actually negotiate for you may pay a little less on you debt but you’ll save a whole lot more money and time negotiating with your creditors yourself. They have made our situation a lot worse. Now we’re fighting for our home. They could care less.
DO NOT TRUST CITIZENS DEBT RELIEF
Absolute horrible experience. Said several things that never happened. In the end they had me pull a loan that didnt cover all of the debt and told me to lie to the creditor about it. So overall instead of dropping the amount of debt they said in the beginning they raised my debt after 15 months to almost 15,000 more than what we originally signed. I tried to cancel and they pushed through three more "negotiations" which were what I was offered as settlements by mail and then on top they took their commissions for not doing a fu**ing think.. This company is worthless and a complete scam.. Now we have more debt, our credit is completely ruined, they took money for shit negotiations that were worse than what I was offered and stuck me with another loan for 600 more per month than what I was paying. I hope the company gets sued, would gladly join the lawsuit. NOW, I have a law firm representing me from all the lies and potential lawsuits they bestowed upon me and my family for their false scams and unethical business practices.
THIS IS A SCAM PROMISES PROMISES AND… CITIZENS THEFT AT ITS BEST
THIS IS A SCAM PROMISES PROMISES AND QUOTES ALL LIES I WANTED OUT OF THIS MESS AND NOW THEY WILL NOT RETURN MY MONEY. THEY HAVE NOT DONE ANY NEGOTIATING AT ALL. VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS COMPANY. BEWARE OF LIES AND PROMISES. TODD STEINHAUS YOU REALLY SHOWED YOUR TRUE COLORS NOT RESPONDING TO MY EMAILS OR TAKING MY CALLS. I JUST WANT MY MONEY BACK . IS THIS HOW YOUR COMPANY MAKES MONEY BY STEALING IT WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS.

Reply from Citizens Debt Relief
The agent that responded to my call…
The agent that responded to my call addressed to all my questions and concerns and was very informative.
This is an ongoing issue, since November 2025. I'm leaving this review in February 2026
I've been requesting follow ups for some time. I'm not getting any responses. I was sent to collections. I asked if I have to apply to their loan company to complete the debt reduction. No answers. No one will answer a phone, an email, or a chat message.
Moving forward
I was very skeptical about signing up for any program like this, but Todd Steinway was very patient, friendly and knowledgeable. He helped to ease my fears and doubts and made me feel comfortable and confident enough to move forward. I am looking forward to working with CDR and being able to sleep again at night.
Citizens Debt Relief Review
Citizens Debt Relief has been a professional and supportive company to work with. Being in debt is incredibly anxiety-inducing, and from the start, the team has been knowledgeable and transparent about the process. I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews, but that has not been my experience.
Is it sometimes difficult to get in touch? Yes. However, I have always received a response within 24 hours—whether by text, email, or phone. I also think it’s important to say that as the customer, you need to be proactive and take the time to understand how the process works. This is not a quick fix. Your credit score will drop, and during that time, it’s on you to stay informed, monitor your credit, and communicate with the representatives so you fully understand what’s happening.
One thing I appreciate is the people. I’ve asked multiple reps why they do this work, and every answer has centered on helping people—especially helping them save money and regain control in the long run. That consistency matters.
I’m about halfway through the program and came in with a significant amount of debt due to divorce, back taxes, and honestly, not taking the time earlier in life to fully understand and manage my finances. I’ve used this experience as a learning opportunity, asked a lot of questions, and every rep I’ve spoken with has been forthcoming, patient, and helpful.
Regarding LendingUSA: yes, you may be asked to take out a loan, but that loan is used to settle existing debts, with funds going directly to creditors. Once your credit improves, you have the option to refinance. This process really is a chess game—you can’t just sign a contract and expect someone else to do everything for you. You have to stay engaged.
Overall, I appreciate the support I’ve received. Every representative I’ve worked with has been professional, caring, and willing to take the time to answer my questions.
Extremely poor communication and follow up.
I don’t want to waste too much time on this because I’ve already wasted so much of my time trying to get answers but in a nutshell they are VERY poor at communication. Maybe 10-20% of the time you get an email response, to get any kind of updates on your account you have to call them (which shouldn’t be the case) but the phone line is always busy, and then if you are needing answers the representative (if you finally get one) can’t answer you never get a follow up from whomever they contacted to reach out. I could go on with a few other things but lack of communication and follow up has been the most frustrating experience so far and again I don’t want to waste more time writing a super long review.
Today I finally reviewed all of our…
Today I finally reviewed all of our activities on Reliantpayment.com, everything is going according to CDR representations, I should be debt free in 12 months. I had the hardest time trying to get through the web site, but the payment portal explains it all. Thank you for helping me obtain my milestones. GB.
This was the worst experience I ever…
This was the worst experience I ever had. Can't get anyone - even a supervisor (Theresa) to return my phone calls and settle my account. I tried calling, texting, messaging, and even emailing customer service to help me resolve my debts. So I closed my account with Citizens Debt Relief. I believe I should have been issued a refund but no one even thought to call me back. I feel like this business is very shady and I am very, very upset with them. I even reported this company to the Better Business Bureau. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!!!!! I totally regret it. I went with a more established, recognized and better debt consolidation company.
Ethan was great!
Ethan was great! Very pleasant and easy to work with! He answered my questions and made sure I was good with everything. I’m so glad I found Citizens, a major weight has been lifted off my shoulders!!!!
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