Hands down, the best way to go through debt settlement is with professional help.
What this means is that you acquire the services of a professional settlement company; you enroll yourself in one of their programs.
By doing so, you get expert advice and they handle the negotiations for you.
With that said, many debt-ridden Americans like to handle for their own debt negotiation.
This is okay but you aren't guaranteed any results.
To ensure you do see the best results, keep these points in mind when it comes to the negotiations: Know What to Expect: The credit card companies actually like it when someone decides to do their own debt negotiation.
Why? Because most debt-ridden consumers are desperate.
It is okay to feel desperate, but be sure to not let that desperation show because the credit card companies will use it to their advantage.
They will make you "believe" they can offer you nothing more than a 20% reduction in debt; they will make you "believe" it is a great deal, and so forth.
Know that most professional settlement companies accept nothing less than a 40% reduction and you should have the same goal.
Have a Plan in Place: One of the reasons why professional settlement companies are so successful with their debt negotiation process is because they have a solid and strong plan in place.
For starters, they know exactly what to say and what not to say.
Do some reason and practice calls; have this plan in place.
Then, they are able to tell your creditors that you are enrolled in their official program.
You give them money each month and that money goes towards paying off your balance.
They can tell your creditors that you'll have your debts paid off in 2 years or whatever (basically they give a firm date).
Do your own estimates to come up with a firm date too because it does help during the negotiating process.