Are debt settlement services a good way of getting out of credit card debt, and are there any good companies out there than anyone can recommend?

Hello me:

They're only going to do, what you could be doing yourself, and they'll charge a lot of money to do it, too.

Get on the phone and start talking to your creditors. What do you think these services are going to do?? They're going to talk to your creditors.

excon

True, true all you need to do is just call them and talk about a plan to pay it off. You can do it all by yourself without losing more money.

If you are in the UK I would recommend contacting the CCCS (consumer credit couselling service) They will help you come up with a relalistic budget plan, and help you write to all your creditors, and most creditors will listen to their advice. And they are a charity so don't charge users a penny, they are aid for largley by the credit companies (hence they listen to the advice of the cccs) I used them a few years ago when I was in serious credit trouble (I owed £25k when me and the husband split up and he left me with all the debt) and I am now debt free. I wouldn't go near any of those companies that charge you a fee, I used one and I was paying them hundreds a month and none of it went toward my debts and they didn't contact any of my creditors.

Most charge fees and do little or nothing. They are worthless. I'd avoid them... call the creditors yourself and work out a payment plan... get any deals with them in writing. Don't give them access to your accounts, or send them post dated checks. They will clean you out if you do.

I agree. In some cases if you have the money to pay them off quickly, they may settle for less than the full balance owed. A good negotiation start would be to offer 55% of the balance owed and go up from there. Of course they will always think that you are crazy for starting so low, but who would start high? Call them yourself, do not use a company. Take your own destiny in your hands, your better off.