I considered debt settlement, but was leary of them. A lot of them have very negative ratings with the BBB and I was afraid they'd take the $ and run. I am in the process of working out debt settlement with my creditors. BOA (I had 3 accounts with them) settle for 1/2 of what I owed. I am now working with Discover and getting nowhere fast. They will not budge. I'm also working with Citi and it looks like they may go for 1/2. Definitely do it yourself. There's no need to pay someone else to negotiate for you. It is emotionally draining, but at least you know where you stand unlike if you were working with a settlement company. They tell you to stop making payments and they don't offer a settlement until your savings account is built up. By then all the late payment and over the limit fees are stacking up. At least by doing it yourself YOU are in control. Best to you.

