Most if not all of these companies will trash your credit.

What they do is not pay your creditors for months and then try and settle for less under the threat of bankruptcy. No special skills. They just don't pay.

Your creditors do not have to deal with these people because it is your debt.
Also, If they don't pay you creditors. You, and you alone are still responsible for the debt. Your creditors will sue you and not the company you hire.

First, I already answered a related question, so I've copied that answer below after the dashes.

If your number one objective is to simply improve your credit, you could just wait it out for another 2 years until the debt is 7 years old. You can then ask for it to be removed from your credit report. If this is your objective, then don't pay the debt. Records on your credit report are good from 7 years of last transaction so any payments or charges you make resets that 7-year clock.

Personally, I've never used a debt consolidation company because I've felt capable of trying the same tactics myself. Granted, these companies are professionals and may get special "deals" and privileges that I wouldn't get, but I've still been pretty pleased with my own results.

Before using a debt consolidation company, I recommend trying your own hand at it. Contact your creditors. Before you do, determine how much you can afford to pay in a monthly payment. Even better, if you have some money saved up as a lump sum, you can try to pay them off in a couple of chunks. The more money you can give them at once, the better your negotiating power.

If you're in collections, ask the creditors by how much they'll reduce the total amount owed if you pay now/in 30 days/in 60 days/within a year.

If you're not in collections yet, ask the creditors how much they'll reduce your total interest. Some companies (e.g. Discover used to do this) will even suspend interest entirely while you're in re-payment. Of course, you can't use the credit card during that time, but you're saving money and salvaging your credit.

Good luck!
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There are several benefits to credit card consolidation:
- Convenience (only one or two payments)
- Easier to manage (less likely to forget a bill!)
- Possibly a lower combined interest rate

Generally, when companies help you by consolidating your credit cards, they contact the credit card companies on your behalf and try to negotiate a lower interest rate (you can do this on your own, by the way). Then, the companies can take one of several methods for that single consolidated payment. Options include…
- Financing your debt themselves and then THEY pay your creditors
- Helping you find a financier to consolidate your debt
- Having you roll all of your debt under one of your existing accounts and pay off the others

As such, credit card consolidation does not affect your credit rating. In fact, the results of consolidation are often positive simply because it's easier to manage and you may pay less interest.

All this being said, I've never used a consolidation agency because I never wanted to pay the fees. Instead, I contacted my creditors myself and asked for the best possible interest rate they could give me, and asked what kind of arrangements I could make to manage debt. In general, they all worked with me.

By the way, here's one thing to consider when paying off your debt: Bad credit falls off your credit report 7-10 years after your last transaction. So, if you have a liability that is 6 years and 10 months old, carefully consider whether you pay it off or not. If you touch that account at all, even if it's to pay it off, suddenly that 7-year period is renewed. So, the choice you have to make is: Do you want something that was bad and is now paid on your credit report for another 7 years, or do you just want it gone entirely?

There are some ethical questions there, too (e.g. if the debt was yours and you were above 18 at the time, you should pay the debt to be ethical). These are questions that only you can answer. But, when working with a consolidation company, make sure they only consolidate the accounts you want them to touch.

Good luck.

Call all of them and work out a payment plan and try to get your interest lowered or stopped.

Then, make the minimum payments on every one of them. On the lowest dollar value, put all your extra effort toward paying it off. Once it is paid off, then roll that extra money to the next largest balance. Continue this snowball until all your debts are paid off.

You proabbly need to cut your expenses back to the bare minimum. Get rid of cable, cell phones, internet, etc. Lower your electric bill, gas bill, water bill, etc. Don't eat at a restaurant until your debts are under control.

Try to increase your income by getting a second job. If you have a car with payments, get rid of it, and buy a good dependable used car for CASH.

Go to the library and get "The Total Money Makeover". Read it and follwo it carefully.

Go check out Dave's website as well.

http://www.daveramsey.com

Check nfcc.org for listings legit non-profit credit counseling services. They can help you set up a budget and work out clearing up your debt.

You can tackle your debt yourself by putting every extra penny on the highest interest rate debt, while making minimum payments on the rest. When the highest is paid, move to the next, till they are all paid off.

It will take 2 or 3 years but if you work at it, you'll be out of debt with a good payment history.

Also, some lenders look poorly upon it later on. Some institutions believe that it really is a black mark. It will depend upon the types of deals that your particular company or lender work out, and of course, your own individual circumstance. For some with absolutely NO way out, debt consolidation is a welcome option.

Take a good hard look at all the options and plans offered, and don't let a single company pressure you into something you just can't do. Make sure that you're comfortable with the plan offered before you commit to it.

In any case, it doesn't hurt to investigate debt consolidation as an option. It doesn't cost you anything to find out more information about it.

If you want a place to start your investigating, there's information and listings for debt consolidation providers on the page listed below. You'll probably find something of use there:

http://axalda.info/debt-consolidation.html

Instead:

Transfer credit card debt to lower interest rate cards, some will give you 0% for a transfer. Do this before deciding which one has the highest interest rate to pay off first.

Pay at least double the minimum monthly payment on the credit cards and car loan. This extra will go entirely towards the principal, and reduce the debt a lot faster.

Pay off the highest interest rate credit card (or loan) first.

It is also a good idea to pay extra principal on your house, to reduce the interest and increase the equity.

Sell the car and get a used one that costs less if you have to.

Destroy your credit cards and don't use them again, instead get a credit/debit card that pays interest and cash back for any charges. So you make money when using it instead of pay money.

Then get yourself on a written budget and attack the other 7500.