[Christien]

Many of the credit "counselling" services are really bankruptcy firms, and a proposal is NOT the road to go down at 28 years old. If he were 16, maybe, because it'd be wiped from his record before he really needed credit. But in the next 5-10 years he's going to be looking for a mortgage, most likely, and BR will destroy that, at least at a reasonable rate.

Around here there are several non-profit, legitimate credit counselling firms. They're regulated, and separate from the bankruptcy trustees. Maybe there's something similar in your area? Some churches also offer a similar service.

Sounds like he basically understands what he needs to do, though. Getting out of the car payment is the best thing, and selling privately and buying a cheaper car is definitely the best start. The bank doesn't want to repossess - they'll lose money. But a repo will hurt him more - they won't rest until they recapture any losses, which means the repossession and subsequent actions will stay on his credit file until it's all done with, then drop off at the required rate (here it's 3 years for repo, I believe, 1 year for other activity, IIRC).

If he has that basic handle on what he needs to do, there's not much a credit counselling service can do for him, aside from a formal proposal which is halfway to a BR, and will drag his credit score way down.