Debt Negotiation Advice

Which is the best Debt Settlement company to work with?

I'm not talking about debt consolidation or credit counseling. I have over $50,000 in credit card debt at relatively low single digit interest rates for the most part. I got into this mess from being unemployed twice for a total of about a year and a half a few years ago. I am now employed again at a good job, but I will never get out of this debt as is. My credit score is currently about 700, but I am more than maxed out in terms of debt relative to income. I don't own a home and never have, but I will never be able to afford one with the credit card debt I have. I had zero credit card debt before I became unemployed the first time. I also have $60,000 in student loans to pay off. I don't know, I might qualify as non-human. I have a budget and stick to it mostly, and I was always good with money before those stints of unemployment. Right now my minimum payments are just so high that I can't make ends meet, and can't pay off any extra. I can't buckle down and spend any less than I already am. I am already fully buckled down. It sounds like my best option might just to be to stop making payments and let my credit score get trashed, and then try to settle up. I was thinking it would be better to work with a debt settlement company than try to do it all myself. But maybe not.

Public Comments

1. Sounds like a Debt Settlement company won't be an option for you since you interest rate is already low. Only option would be bankruptcy. Chap 13 restructures you payment for unsecure debt while Chap 7 removes unsecure debt. the student loans you are stuck with,can't get out of them at all.
2. They ONLY 'debt settlement' worth the money is YOU INC. No, that is NOT a company name, that means YOU do the work and use the money a company would WASTE to settle your debts. If you are current with your payments, and you would not have a 700 FICO score if you were not, NO creditor will settle for less than you owe. The main 'technique' used by the settlement companies is to STOP paying anyone, DESTROY your credit, and than use the payment they you have been making to them to settle your DEFAULTS. What you really need is a PLAN and a BUDGET. Assuming you are human, you ARE currently wasting more money than you believe possible. EVERYONE is guilty on that count.
3. A so-called "debt negotiation" company will charge you a very high upfront fee - usually thousands of dollars. Then, you will be required to continue to send them hundreds of dollars a month via direct withdraw from your bank account. Another think is that most credit card companies won't negotiate with them, they will only deal with attorneys. A consumer credit attorney will only charge you by the hour for negotiating your debt and it can usually be done in a few hours. You can get an attorney referral from your local county bar association. You might also be eligible for free legal help from your local legal aid office.