Has anyone had success with debt relief or consolidation companies?

In my professional experience as a loan officer, you can do what debt consolidation companies do on your own.

Generally, consolidation companies have you stop making payments on the accounts.,Then they work with the creditors, negotiate a plan with them, and you pay the consolidation companies.

Personally, I’d suggest doing it without the debt consolidation company. You can achieve basically the same results by calling your creditors yourself. Explain that you’re going through a hardship. Ask if they can give you a break, or close the account and help you come up with a reasonable repayment plan. Some creditors Discover in particular, in my experience don’t want to work with consolidation companies. By being proactive, you can avoid having months of delinquent payments on your credit history.
 
Yep, and yes and no. I did the Green Path Debt management program. They took my accounts, defaulted them, and put them into hardship, lowering the rates. Every payday I paid GP a set amount, which included their $50 fee/check. That went on for 5 years, and yep, it was done. During that time I was holding some accounts back. I didn't learn to STAY out of debt. I've since decided to negotiate my own, find a new way to manage my money without leveragingg debt, and shift my mindset. It worked, but I wouldn't do it again.
 
I’m on a debt management plan: my cards are closed, and I’m paying lower interest and slightly lower payments to pay them all off with a minimum of 5 years. I’m almost a year in so far, so good!
 
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