Where can I get legitimate credit card debt help?

First, remember that you can negotiate directly with your credit card companies. You can try to work out a payment plan with them that you can live with, or arrange to settle your debt for less than its full value. You need to be upfront with credit card issuers about your finances—your income, your assets, your debt, and your liabilities—and the challenges facing you in paying your credit card bills. That is not to say they will necessarily respond favorably to you, but they might; and as the old saying goes, you won’t know until you try.

However, if don’t want to try negotiating your own debt, or have tried and failed, don’t worry. There are places where you can get legitimate credit card help.

First, you could turn to a credit counseling service. A credit counselor typically will not negotiate directly with your creditors, but will help you understand your options, advise you on how to approach creditors, and help you construct a budget you can live within.

Second, you could go into a debt management program or debt management plan, which is often called “debt settlement.” In debt settlement, the debt management company will negotiate with the creditor(s) for you, trying to work out an agreement under which you pay off the debt for less than the full face value.

Be careful with both credit counselors and debt management programs. Some of them are very good and charge reasonable fees; and some are in it for their own profit, not your benefit. It’s best if you can get a personal recommendation, from someone you trust, to a counselor or debt settlement company. If you can’t, you should be wary of any one who charges high fees, who wants large amounts of money up front, or who is in any way not “transparent” about what they’re doing, how, and why.

A safe option is an attorney. An experienced attorney will know how to negotiate, so they can deal with creditors on your behalf; an attorney will know the law and your legal options, including, for example, whether you should consider bankruptcy; and attorneys are bound by ethical rules that require them to put your interest first.

Talk to an Attorney about your debt settlement and bankrutpcy options.