I have several friends that have used these services. They loved them. The key is that you have to be willing to stop using other cards. Keep it so that you are only paying on this consolidated loan and other basic necessity items.

It seems counter intuitive to expect a larger monthly payment than a debtor can afford, especially considering these companies are often the last lifeline for people in trouble. Still, at the end of the day they are running a business I suppose.

Egghead wrote: From what I have heard of them they can only do what a debtor will allow, so if you have one who wants to play the hard game they may not be able to persuade them to be more flexible.

Frugal Fran, I am not sure what you mean by feeling just as strangled. Can you elaborate?

I felt like my payment was almost as unmanageable as it was before the consolidation. Basically, they took all of my payments and combined them into one big payment that I made to the debt relief company and they distributed it to my creditors. I think they managed to get my interest rates down which would make my debt get paid off faster, but my monthly payment was still more than I could afford.

From what I have heard of them they can only do what a debtor will allow, so if you have one who wants to play the hard game they may not be able to persuade them to be more flexible.

Frugal Fran, I am not sure what you mean by feeling just as strangled. Can you elaborate?

I have heard many positive and negative comments about a few credit consolidation service companies. There are definitely a few scam companies out there, but I do believe some companies can actually help. I know a personal friend of mine who went through this process and told me his experience with a credit consolidation service company was extremely positive. I would recommend to do your homework and ask the potential company a lot of questions on how they can help you.

I don't know how these services work today, but I used one about 15 years ago when I was a financial goofball and got myself into trouble. I had to pay them a fee that equaled one month of my payment and I honestly don't think it helped in the long run. They were supposed to help get my payments down and I ended up feeling just as strangled as ever.

It seems the financial world has the tools to give consumers a hard time. One has to tip toe through the tulips when seeking help.

That's quite depressing Janet19, don't you think? It seems unfair that someone trying to make payments one way or the other would be better off giving up altogether and going for bankruptcy.

A friend of mine used one of these agencies and got her credit card debt under control. It had a major impact on her credit score, though. I think it hurt her almost as badly as a bankruptcy would have.

Thanks both for the replies. It looks like I have got myself into the unexpected role of financial mentor to my friend, so will pass on your suggestions, and do some research on non-profit agencies. It's a horrible cycle to break but I am hopeful it will work out in the end.

This can be a good option for those who don't have any idea how to get things under control, but tell her to be careful. Check any company out really well to be sure you don't end up paying more or hurting your credit. Look for a non-profit agency as they will help teach her how to manage her finances properly and will do their best to have the consolidation not hurt her credit even further.

I thought about doing this about a year ago but decided against it. The problem with debt consolidation is that you are still going to be in debt unless you learn how to make better choices. These choices include- stop spending or paying cash for all of your transactions. So your friend could consolidate her debt, but she needs to make sure that she has a plan in place where she is going to not use those cards anymore and she really needs some type of emergency funding set aside just in case.

A friend of mine is struggling to meet monthly payments on a variety of different debts. She's tempted to use one of those companies who negotiate better repayment terms for you, but I'm not sure this is the best solution. Has anyone here had experience of this type of service?