Creditors will report to the credit bureaus that you are in credit counseling. This demonstrates an inability to take care of your financial affairs which adversely affects your credit worthiness for a minimum of seven years. Your credit score will maintain R7 (Account is consumer proposal or credit counseling) up to five years depending on the duration of the debt management plan. Then change to an R3 (Account is more than 60 days but no more than 90 days, payment is past due) for another two years after the last payment is made. Credit Counseling impacts your credit negatively.
The result, you will end up paying all outstanding debts without interest for a maximum of five years.