If you do not make required minimum payments to your creditor you may be breaking the terms of your agreement with them and your actions will be reported to your consumer reporting agencies as late, delinquent, charged-off, or as a past due balance. This is true whether or not you have enrolled in a Debt Settlement Program.

According to the FTC and Federal Reserve, there are several factors that make up your credit rating such as length in credit bureau, debt to available credit ratio, payment history and types of credit used. Debt Settlement will have adverse effects to your credit rating therefore your credit report will reflect that you are behind on payments until the debt is settled. Your credit score will decline due to entering this program. How much it will decline depends on your original circumstances. Most of the accounts you place into negotiation are likely to "charge off", which will reflect negatively on your credit. However, once this charged off debt is settled, the settlement is reported to the credit bureaus. A high credit score is desirable to have, but if you have a financial hardship and are unable to pay your debts, then your first priority should be to pay your delinquent debts and get back on your feet financially.