Credit Card Debt: Is Debt Relief Out There?

Consumers and consumer advocates have been furious and up in arms lately as they have been victimized by the credit card companies last-minute ditch efforts to raise rates and fees across the board to customers ahead of sweeping new rules signed into law by President Obama. The issue of credit card debt and the search for debt relief is a major one these days. Credit card companies raising rates and fees makes the task of paying off credit card debt that much more difficult. And so consumers are asking themselves: Is debt relief out there? Does it exist? And if so - which are the worthwhile programs, and which programs are a waste of time and money? While many consumers may be familiar with the term "debt consolidation" and "debt consolidation loan", they may not have an accurate understanding about how debt consolidation works. While debt consolidation does fall under the debt relief umbrella, it really is only useful for those consumers who are not too far in debt and who have the benefit of a stable income. Often times, a new loan is taken out as part of a debt consolidation plan. This new loan is almost always in the form of a home equity loan. But consumer beware: Exchanging credit card debt (unsecured debt) for a home equity loan (secured debt) is risky strategy. If a consumer takes out a home equity loan and is then unable to make their loan payments at some time in the future they absolutely could lose their home. Debt settlement however has been proving itself to be a far superior debt relief program than any other existing program available today. When it comes to debt relief, a debt settlement program is unique. It works by a debt settlement firm negotiating with the consumer's creditors in order to obtain tremendous reductions in the amount of debt that is owed. In a typical debt settlement plan, the consumer can expect to have their debt reduced by as much as 50% in most cases, and as much as 70%-75% in some cases. This is debt relief in its purest form. So when it comes to the issue of credit card debt, and it debt relief out there - the answer is a resounding yes, there is indeed debt relief from credit card debt available to consumer's today.