What the Ratings Actually Tell You... and What They Don’t
If you are reading Business Debt Adjusters reviews before you sign, you are doing the right thing. Here is the short version: a ten-year-old firm in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, working the same merchant cash advance problem we do, with a large and mostly positive client review record and more published detail about its fees and process than most companies in this industry. There is also something in those ratings worth understanding before you weigh them, because the review sites ranking for this search are not all measuring the same thing. This page lays out what the public record shows, the questions worth asking anyone in this space, and where an attorney-backed program with visible escrow fits.
Is Business Debt Adjusters legit?
Yes. Business Debt Adjusters is a merchant cash advance settlement company operating from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey since January 2016, holding an A rating with the Better Business Bureau and carrying two BBB complaints across three years. Client ratings run 4.7 on Google across 245 reviews and 4.9 on Trustpilot across 190. It is not BBB accredited, and several of the review sites ranking for this search rate it as an employer rather than as a service.
A note on what you will see in these search results. The Better Business Bureau listing ranks second, and the preview text Google is currently showing for it is a single reviewer at their angriest rather than a summary of the file. The underlying BBB record is an A rating with two complaints in three years and none closed in the last twelve months. The letter rating and the complaint record are the file; the preview is one review. Separately, the answer box above the results draws partly on Indeed and Glassdoor, which rate this company as a workplace. More on that below, because it changes what the headline numbers mean.
Same Tool, Different Execution, and One Real Gap
Most comparison pages in this industry pit two different products against each other, which makes the choice easy to explain. This is not one of those. Business Debt Adjusters settles merchant cash advance debt through negotiation, which is exactly what we do. So the honest comparison is not about mechanism. It is about how each firm runs the same program, and on most of those points they are genuinely competitive with us. On one point, they publish nothing at all.
MCA settlement and negotiation · Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Core mechanism
Negotiated settlement of merchant cash advance balances, creditor by creditor, while the business keeps operating.
Scope of debt
✓ Broader: MCA and working capital, plus business credit card settlement, debt consolidation and a bankruptcy alternative.
Fee transparency
✓ Publishes the structure and a typical total: performance-based fee tied to settlement savings, no upfront retainer, and completing clients "typically pay approximately 50-65% of enrolled debt, inclusive of program fees."
Where your money sits
Not addressed. Their published materials do not say where program funds are held, who holds them, or whether a client can view the balance. Worth asking directly.
Legal coverage
✓ States it handles "settlement negotiation and legal defense, including confessions of judgment, UCC releases, and funder litigation, under the same engagement," and that it is not a law firm.
Program length
✓ Published: "Most programs run 12 to 36 months."
Public record
✓ Ten years in business, 245 Google reviews at 4.7 and 190 Trustpilot reviews at 4.9. A deeper client review base than most firms in this category, ours included.
Attorney-backed MCA settlement · Wall Township, NJ
Core mechanism
The same: negotiated settlement of MCA balances, creditor by creditor, funded from a dedicated escrow account while the business keeps trading.
Scope of debt
Narrower by choice: merchant cash advance debt and nothing else. Depth in one niche rather than breadth across several.
Fee transparency
Full schedule of weekly deposits and fee allocation shown in writing before signing. We do not publish a typical percentage on the site, and on that specific point Business Debt Adjusters currently discloses more than we do.
Where your money sits
✓ An escrow account in the client's name, which they can log into and check the balance of any day of the program.
Legal coverage
✓ Attorney-backed, not a law firm, and does not practice law. An attorney is assigned to the matter at no additional cost if and when a funder files suit or a UCC lien.
Program length
Clients typically see weekly payments drop at enrollment, with first settlements averaging around 241 days, because time at the table builds negotiating leverage.
Public record
Current reviews on Trustpilot and Google, and documented settlements you can ask to see before you commit to anything.
Read those two columns honestly and Business Debt Adjusters wins several rows. They serve a wider range of business debt, they carry a deeper published client review base, and they publish a typical program cost that we do not. The row we would point at is the fourth one, because where your settlement money sits and whether you can see it is the thing owners in this industry most often discover too late.
A Merchant Cash Advance Settlement Company, Described in Their Own Terms
Google categorizes Business Debt Adjusters as a financial consultant, and the BBB files them under debt relief services. Both are roughly right. In practice the company negotiates down merchant cash advance balances on behalf of business owners who cannot sustain the daily and weekly withdrawals, which is the same category of work described across this site. Here is how they describe the program themselves.
Scope, from their own materials: merchant cash advance and working capital settlement, small business debt settlement, small business debt consolidation, business credit card settlement, and what they call a business bankruptcy alternative. That is a wider menu than a merchant cash advance specialist carries, which cuts both ways depending on what you owe.
One structural note that is worth knowing before you sign anything with anyone. A second merchant cash advance settlement company, Creditors Relief, operates from 333 Sylvan Ave in Englewood Cliffs, on the same street as Business Debt Adjusters at 120 Sylvan Ave, running a similar program. Reviewers across six years have described the two as connected, including one Trustpilot reviewer who referred to them as "the same company." Neither company's published materials state any affiliation, and we are not in a position to say whether one exists. What that does justify is a simple request on your first call, of them or of us: ask which legal entity your contract will actually name, and get the answer in writing.
Six Ratings, Two Different Questions
Search this company's name and you get numbers between 2.78 and 4.9, which looks like a contradiction until you notice that the sites are not all asking the same question. Four of them ask clients how the program went. Two of them ask employees what the job is like. Both are legitimate, and neither tells you what the other one does. Here is the whole picture, with dates, so you can weigh it yourself.
Trustpilot
4.9
190 reviews
Clients. 93% five star. Trustpilot's own notice on the profile reads "No recent history of asking for reviews," and shows 7 reviews in the last twelve months.
4.7
245 reviews
Clients. The deepest client record, with reviews spanning several years and continuing into this year.
4.7
53 votes
Clients. Small sample, shown on their Google Business Profile under reviews from the web.
Better Business Bureau
2.78
9 customer reviews
Clients. The lowest score and by far the smallest sample, where one review moves the average a lot. Separately the BBB gives the business an A letter rating, with two complaints in three years. It is not BBB accredited.
Indeed
3.5
84 reviews
Employees. A workplace rating, listed under "Working at Business Debt Adjusters." It says nothing about client outcomes in either direction.
Glassdoor
3.4
45 reviews
Employees. 56% would recommend working there to a friend. Google's answer box for this search currently draws on this site and on Indeed.
There is one more composition point worth knowing, and we have quoted the examples here so you do not have to go hunting for them. A number of the reviews on their Trustpilot profile are written by people describing working at the company or applying for a job there, not by clients. Several say so directly, in phrases like "Working at Business Debt Adjusters it's a nice flexible job" and "As a junior debt consultant at BDA." That is not a criticism of the company and it is not evidence of anything improper. It is simply a reason to read the reviews rather than the average, which is good advice on any firm's profile, ours included.
The verdict in about ten seconds
For clarity: ClearBizDebt and Business Debt Adjusters are separate, unaffiliated companies, and we compete for the same clients, so weigh this page accordingly and check the sources yourself. Their testimonials page discloses that its client testimonials are compensated and that results are not typical, which is the disclosure the Federal Trade Commission asks for and a point in their favour rather than against. Ratings, counts and complaint records are as displayed in September 2026 and will change.
In Their Own Words
"A year ago we had three lenders taking daily or weekly draws... I'm happy to say that we now have zero balances with all three firms."
Trustpilot, verified, March 2023
"They delivered on all promises. The disclosed the details of program upfront."
Trustpilot, July 2020
"I found their ideas as unique to what I had been told previously by the competition."
Google, 2026, from someone who did not become a client
"One of the MCA's filed a lien on my business and had an attorney send out letters to all of my customers stating I owed them money."
Trustpilot, February 2022
"We were originally told that the settlements would average around 50%. Most ended up settling for the amount we owed or very close to it."
Trustpilot, August 2020
"We recognize that this experience fell short of the ethical and transparent service we strive to provide."
The company, responding to a BBB complaint, October 2024
Six Questions That Matter More Than Any Star Rating
On a page where two firms run the same program, ratings will not separate them and neither will marketing copy. These six will. Ask all of them of Business Debt Adjusters, of us, and of anyone else in your inbox, and get the answers in writing before any money moves.
This is the first question for a reason. In any settlement program the business stops paying the funders directly and begins building a fund that pays the settlements. Ask whose name the account is in, who can move money out of it, and whether you can log in and read the balance yourself on any given day. Business Debt Adjusters publishes no answer to this, so ask them. Our answer is that the account is in the client's name and viewable any day, and you should hold everyone to whichever answer you get in writing.
Business Debt Adjusters sets a good standard here, publishing a performance-based fee tied to settlement savings, no upfront retainer, and a typical all-in figure of roughly 50 to 65 percent of enrolled debt inclusive of fees. Hold every firm to that level of specificity, us included. Ask for the full schedule of what you pay, when, and what happens to fees already collected if you leave the program early.
Both firms describe legal help. Business Debt Adjusters says settlement and litigation defense are handled "under the same engagement" with no outside referral, while also stating it is not a law firm. ClearBizDebt is attorney-backed rather than a law firm too, and assigns an attorney at no additional cost when a funder files. Those descriptions sound alike, so push past them. Ask who actually appears, whether a confession of judgment and a UCC 9-406 notice to your customers are both covered, whether the cost is inside the fee you were quoted, and what happens if you have four positions and three of them file.
A plain administrative question that costs nothing to ask and occasionally matters a great deal. Get the exact legal name that will appear on the agreement, confirm it matches the brand you called, and keep a copy. This applies to every firm on your list, including this one.
Not whether it might happen. It happens often enough on stacked positions that the honest framing is what the plan is when it does. Ask who responds, how quickly, what it costs you, and what the firm did the last three times it happened to a client with a file like yours. The most detailed critical review of Business Debt Adjusters is about exactly this scenario, and the same scenario exists in our program too.
Not ranges, not testimonials alone, and not a star rating. Documented resolutions with numbers on files that look like yours. Any firm doing this at volume has them and will share them. For the wider field scored against these same criteria, see our guide to merchant cash advance settlement companies.
Business Debt Adjusters is probably not the only name you are weighing, so we have put the same questions to the others that come up most often. Same format, same criteria, different firm: National Credit Partners reviews, Coastal Debt Resolve reviews, Second Wind Consultants reviews, Rise Alliance reviews, Debt Consultants Group reviews and Delancey Street reviews. If one of those names is already calling you, start there.
What ClearBizDebt Does, Described the Same Way We Just Described Them
Attorney-backed MCA settlement · 19 years on MCA debt only · $300M+ in documented client savings
An owner with two, four, sometimes a dozen stacked merchant cash advances. Daily and weekly ACH withdrawals leaving the account faster than revenue replaces them. Debt service that was survivable at one position and is not at four. If that is your file, both companies on this page are in the business of helping with it, and the differences below are the ones we would want you to weigh.
Clients formally declare financial hardship, which is the signed enrollment step that makes the business eligible. One reduced weekly payment typically replaces the funder withdrawals and builds in a dedicated escrow account in the client's name. Negotiation is timed for leverage rather than speed, which is why first settlements average around 241 days. The process runs in defined phases from intake to resolution, with one named representative on the file throughout.
The money builds in an account in the client's name, and the client can log in and read the balance on any day of the program. We are putting this first because it is the one point on this page where the two companies are not comparable on the public record: Business Debt Adjusters publishes nothing about where program funds are held or whether a client can view them, and we could not find it on their site, their published program review or their testimonials page. They may well have a good answer. Ask them for it, ask us for ours, and compare what you get in writing.
ClearBizDebt is attorney-backed, is not a law firm, and does not practice law. When a funder files a lawsuit, a UCC lien, or acts on a confession of judgment, an MCA debt attorney is assigned to the matter at no additional cost. Business Debt Adjusters describes something similar on its own pages, so this is not a point of difference we are going to overclaim. It is a point to interrogate, using question three above, until you know precisely what each firm covers and what it does not.
One mechanism worth naming because it catches owners by surprise: a UCC 9-406 notice, sent by a funder to your customers instructing them to pay the funder directly instead of you. It arrives without a courtroom and it can cut off the income that funds everything else. Whichever firm you choose, ask specifically whether answering one of those is inside the fee you were quoted.
We do not settle business credit card debt, vendor balances, SBA loans or bank debt, and we do not offer consolidation. Business Debt Adjusters does more of those things than we do, which is a genuine advantage for an owner whose problem is broader than MCA. If your balance sheet has four different kinds of creditor on it, that breadth is worth more than our depth.
Worth saying plainly, because a program that enrols a business it cannot help has done damage. E-commerce businesses paid through Amazon or Shopify, where the platform controls the receivables. Practices whose revenue runs through private insurance receivables, though Medicare and Medicaid are workable. Dealerships on floor plan financing. And any business whose debt problem extends well beyond merchant cash advances, where a firm with a wider service menu is the better call.
A client resolved a balance for roughly a quarter of what was owed and described it as pennies on the dollar.
An owner with four positions and liens on every account, close to filing bankruptcy, saw a final balance resolved for a fraction.
A repair shop that was facing $10,000 a week completed the program and stayed open.
These are real client results, not a promise of any specific outcome. Results vary with the debt, the number of positions, and how the funders behave.
A Straight Answer When Both Firms Run the Same Program
This table is harder to write than the ones on our other comparison pages, because these are not two different tools. Read down the left column and find your situation. Highlighted cells show which firm the public record favours for it, and several of them are not us.
| Your situation | Business Debt Adjusters | ClearBizDebt |
|---|---|---|
| You want to see your settlement fund balance whenever you like | Not addressed in the published materials we could find. Ask them directly. | ✓ Escrow in your name, viewable any day of the program. |
| You want a typical total program cost published before you call | ✓ Publishes roughly 50 to 65 percent of enrolled debt, inclusive of fees. | Shown in writing at consultation, not published on the site. |
| Your debt is merchant cash advances and nothing else | Handles it, alongside several other debt types. | ✓ The only thing we do, which is the whole argument for us. |
| You also owe on business credit cards, vendors or a consolidation loan | ✓ Lists credit card settlement and consolidation among its services. | Out of scope. We would tell you to call someone else. |
| A funder has already sued or filed a UCC lien | ✓ States settlement and legal defense are handled under the same engagement, with no outside referral. | ✓ Attorney assigned at no additional cost when a funder files. Ask both firms exactly what is covered. |
| You want the longest client review trail you can read before deciding | ✓ Roughly 435 client reviews across Google and Trustpilot, back to 2019. | A smaller published review base, and documented settlements you can ask to see. |
| You want to know how long this will take before you sign | ✓ Publishes 12 to 36 months for most programs. | ✓ First settlements average around 241 days, with weekly payments typically dropping at enrollment. |
Business Debt Adjusters entries reflect that company's own published materials and its public review record as of September 2026. Where a cell says to ask, that is a literal instruction rather than a criticism. Put the question to them directly and get the answer in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Business Debt Adjusters legit?
Yes. Business Debt Adjusters is a merchant cash advance settlement company operating from 120 Sylvan Ave in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The Better Business Bureau lists the business as started and incorporated on 1/25/2016, ten years in business, holding an A letter rating with two complaints across three years and none closed in the last twelve months. It is not a BBB accredited business. Client ratings sit at 4.7 on Google across 245 reviews and 4.9 on Trustpilot across 190. Legitimate and right for your particular debt are separate questions, and the second one depends on what you owe and how exposed you already are.
What does Business Debt Adjusters do?
They negotiate down merchant cash advance and working capital balances for business owners who cannot sustain the daily or weekly withdrawals. Their own description of the goal is to help owners "reduce merchant cash advance pressure, negotiate settlements, and regain control of cash flow," and their Google Business Profile summarises the business as "Commercial Debt Settlement Services." Alongside MCA work they list small business debt settlement, small business debt consolidation, business credit card settlement and a business bankruptcy alternative. This is the same category of program ClearBizDebt runs, which is why this page compares execution rather than mechanism.
How much does Business Debt Adjusters cost?
They publish more about this than most firms in the industry. Their materials describe a performance-based fee tied to actual settlement savings, disclosed in writing before any agreement is signed, and state there is no upfront retainer to begin a case review. Their testimonials page states that clients who complete the program "typically pay approximately 50-65% of enrolled debt, inclusive of program fees." Older reviews from 2019 and 2020 include complaints that the percentage was not clear at signing, while other reviewers from the same period wrote that the details were disclosed upfront. The published language is more specific now than what those older reviews describe. Ask for the full schedule in writing, as you would with anyone.
What is Business Debt Adjusters' BBB rating?
An A letter rating, and the company is not a BBB accredited business. The complaint record shows two complaints in the last three years and zero closed in the last twelve months, with one of the two listed as unanswered, which the BBB names as a factor in the rating. Separately from the letter rating, nine BBB customer reviews average 2.78 out of five. That is a very small sample next to 435 client reviews on Google and Trustpilot, so weigh it accordingly in both directions. Worth knowing that the BBB listing ranks second for this search and the preview text Google shows for it quotes one complainant rather than summarising the file.
Why do Business Debt Adjusters reviews differ so much between sites?
Because the sites are asking different questions. Trustpilot at 4.9, Google at 4.7, Facebook at 4.7 and the BBB at 2.78 are all rating the service, and the BBB number comes from only nine reviews, which makes it volatile. Indeed at 3.5 across 84 reviews and Glassdoor at 3.4 across 45 are rating the company as an employer, not as a service provider, and Google's answer box for this search currently draws on both of them. A number of reviews on the Trustpilot profile are also written by people describing working at the company or applying there rather than by clients. None of that is improper, and it is a good reason to read the reviews rather than the averages on any firm's profile, including ours.
Are Business Debt Adjusters testimonials real?
Their testimonials page states, in its own disclosure, "Paid client testimonials. Results not typical," and individual testimonials on that page are labelled as compensated. Compensated testimonials are common across many industries and disclosing them is exactly what the Federal Trade Commission's guidance asks for, so the presence of that label is a mark in the company's favour rather than against it. Their published program review adds that "We don't publish quotes we can't independently verify." The practical takeaway for a reader is to look for that disclosure on every company's site you are considering, and to weigh an unlabelled testimonial more carefully than a labelled one.
Does Business Debt Adjusters provide legal help if a funder sues?
They say so. Their published program review states that the company "handles both settlement negotiation and legal defense, including confessions of judgment, UCC releases, and funder litigation, under the same engagement" with no outside referral, and separately states that "Business Debt Adjusters is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice." ClearBizDebt describes its own arrangement in similar terms, being attorney-backed rather than a law firm and assigning an attorney at no additional cost when a funder files. Because the two descriptions sound alike, the useful thing is not to compare the claims but to interrogate them: ask each firm who actually appears, whether a confession of judgment and a UCC 9-406 notice to your customers are both covered, whether the cost sits inside the fee you were quoted, and what happens if several positions file at once.
Where does the money go during a Business Debt Adjusters program?
We could not find a published answer. Their homepage, about page, program review page and testimonials page do not state where program funds are held, who controls the account, or whether a client can view the balance. At least one Google reviewer has described a dispute over funds in an escrow account, a review the company answered by offering a full refund and an investigation. None of that establishes what their current arrangement is, which is precisely why it belongs on your list of questions. For reference, ClearBizDebt holds client funds in an escrow account in the client's name that the client can log into and check any day of the program.
How long does a Business Debt Adjusters program take?
Their published answer is that "Most programs run 12 to 36 months." That range is consistent with how settlement works, because negotiating leverage builds over time rather than arriving on day one. For comparison, ClearBizDebt clients see weekly payments drop at enrollment, with first settlements averaging around 241 days. Those are two different measurements rather than two competing claims, so if you are comparing timelines, ask each firm what its number actually counts from and to.
What is the downside of using a business debt relief company?
Three real ones, and they apply to every firm in this category including ours. First, settlement programs typically involve the business falling behind with its funders while negotiation runs, and creditors can act during that window: the most detailed critical review of Business Debt Adjusters describes a funder filing a lien and contacting the reviewer's customers mid-program, and the accounts ending up marked as defaulted. Second, it costs money, and on a program that settles at roughly half of enrolled debt a meaningful share of what you save goes to fees. Third, outcomes are not guaranteed by anyone, and a minority of clients at every firm finish feeling the result did not match the pitch. Any company that does not raise all three with you unprompted is selling rather than advising.
Business Debt Adjusters vs ClearBizDebt: which should I choose?
These are close competitors running the same kind of program, so the honest answer depends on what you value. Business Debt Adjusters has been in business since 2016, carries a deeper published client review base, serves a wider range of business debt including credit cards and consolidation, and publishes a typical total program cost that we do not. ClearBizDebt works merchant cash advance debt exclusively, assigns an attorney at no additional cost when a funder files, shows the full deposit and fee schedule in writing before signing, and holds client funds in an escrow account in the client's name that you can log into any day. If breadth of service and published pricing matter most, their case is strong. If you want a single specialisation and visibility into where your money sits, ours is. Ask both firms the six questions on this page and decide on the answers rather than the ratings.
Can I negotiate merchant cash advance debt myself instead?
Sometimes, and it is worth being honest about that. With a single advance, a cooperative funder and time to make the calls, some owners do reach a workable arrangement on their own. Two reviewers of Business Debt Adjusters say they should have done exactly that, one writing "you can negotiate these debts- you don't need them," and the company replied pointing to its negotiators, associated attorneys and refund policy. It gets considerably harder with several stacked positions, when funders are contacting your customers, or once a lawsuit or a confession of judgment is in play, because the leverage and the legal exposure both change. The realistic question is not whether it is possible but whether you can carry it while running the business. For the mechanics either way, see how to settle MCA debt.
You Did the Research. Now Get a Straight Answer on Your Situation.
Business Debt Adjusters is a real company with a real track record, and for plenty of owners it will be a reasonable choice. We are not going to pretend otherwise on a page you came to for the truth. What we will say is that on the question of where your money sits and whether you can see it, we have published our answer and they have not. Bring the six questions, ask us all of them, and judge us on whether we can answer them.