June 29, 2010 13:00 ET

Avoid Credit Card Debt Relief Scams and Find Successful Debt Relief Companies

The Debt Relief Industry Has Been Under Scrutiny Lately Due to a Minority of Scams; Total Debt Relief Explains How to Determine Which Companies Are Legitimate and Which Are Scams

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - June 29, 2010) -  Any consumer that has searched for some form of debt relief has likely seen articles and warnings regarding scams within the industry. While there are some unfortunate examples of consumers being taken advantage of by fraudulent companies, there are tales of success.

One industry that seems to be catching the most heat is debt settlement. When successful, this form of debt relief eliminates up to 50% of a consumer's debt without having to declare bankruptcy. A professionally trained debt specialist negotiates with creditors to reduce overall debt amounts.

Debt settlement programs, by their very nature, are significantly more expensive than the alternative forms of debt relief because of the greater amounts of work required to effectively negotiate down the credit card debt balances. At the same time, though, each company has a different form of billing practice so one company might specifically charge more as an administrative expense while another might designate the fees as part of the salary structure of the counselor working hand in hand with head of household. Even fees that may first seem like highway robbery could easily be considered a relative bargain once the debt relief veterans force balance reductions of 50%. In other words, before consumers start claiming that the debt relief company is trying to run some sort of scam, remember that in the world of consumer finance, particularly, people get what they pay for.

Consumers shouldn't assume that the extra funds incurred by employing a top negotiation specialist would be some sort of debt relief scam. They should, on the other hand, check around with the competing businesses and take copies of the formal estimates so that they'll see that they won't be taken advantage of.

Total Debt Relief offers consumers a free debt evaluation at their company website: www.totaldebtrelief.net/