The scale of debt settlement in the United States, the enrollment the tradeline cannot see, and where the reporting industry stands on the DS code — all sources attributed, all copy our own.
Consumers served by debt settlement programs over 2016–2025 (Ernst & Young study of the U.S. debt resolution industry).
An average of seven enrolled accounts per consumer, with $195.3 billion of enrolled debt across the decade.
Of program clients, with an average balance reduction of about half and $6,370 in average net savings after fees.
Source: Ernst & Young industry outcomes study (2016–2025). The study’s consumer count, account count, and debt totals are used here as published scale context.
TransUnion’s 2026 research on debt settlement consumers found about half were current on their accounts at enrollment, with scores near their pre-enrollment levels — then fell sharply as they stopped paying. Bureau data sees the enrollment only after it has become delinquency.
Household debt stood at $18.771 trillion in Q2 2026 (NY Fed), with card balances at $1.263 trillion and card delinquency flows steady — the pool from which enrollment draws keeps refilling.
Auriemma Roundtables’ 2026 survey of credit bureau reporting teams, reported by insideARM:
The DS code was adopted in June 2026 and reporting opens in Q2 2027. Between the two dates sits every furnisher’s missing process. File review and monitoring are that process, ready now.
Start with a mutual NDA and one file. We review the file you are about to transmit, hand back the corrections with the evidence behind each one, and you decide what reports.
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