Some of the more consumer-friendly banks, as it relates to the Debt Management Program, that issue credit cards, are Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, Target, Discover, Capital One and HSBC. There are others that can be found on the Web site below at www.debtsynergy.com/calculator9999xx.html. The chart on this Web site lists the percentages of balances that these creditors require in the program and the interest rates they offer through the Debt Management Program. Some creditors have varied rates such as Discover and Bank of America; however, Discover is currently granting a Debt Management rate of 6.9 percent and Bank of America grants rates of between 1 percent and 4 percent most of the time and accepts a lower monthly payment through the DMP than the others. As is always the case, the sooner consumers start investigating what their options are for paying off high interest credit card debt, the more options for credit card debt relief they will have available to them.

When consumers start to reach about 30 percent of their available credit limit, that is the time to start exploring what options are available to them for credit card debt relief. As was mentioned in a previous article, the sooner consumers seek professional debt counseling; the better their chances are of maintaining their good credit rating and finding ways to pay off what is owed much faster. If consumers seek counseling in the earlier stages of their debt accumulation, they may have the ability to first transfer balances to more consumer-friendly banks like the banks mentioned earlier and their monthly payments will be lower. The bottom line is that credit consumers that seek professional debt management counseling will always be in a position to take advantage of more options for lowering their debt load sooner and may find that they have taken action before a credit card debt relief program is even necessary

The very first thing you really should do is make certain that the credit debt settlement company has been around for at least one year and that they're honest and experienced. Because it takes skill and time to go negotiate with creditors, a new business won't be able to negotiate the best unsecured debt settlement. The more established they are, the molre leeway they have got over the newer credit debt settlement organizations. You should do this rather than negotiating with the credit card companies on your own, since it will save you a great deal of time and cash.

It would be smart to go with a unsecured debt relief network affiliated with several legitimate debt relief firms. To become a part of the debt relief network, the unsecured debt relief companies needs to have a successful track record and meet ethical standards. Using a debt relief network will make sure that the debt settlement organization is reliable and licensed. It also provides you the very best likelihood of getting one that may make your chances of removing unsecured debt much better.

Something else good: Creditors became more cooperative in helping consumers resolve their debt issues, said Ann Estes, vice president of Henrico County-based ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions.

Also, she said, people who sought counseling began taking control of their finances and became more financially literate. They started down the path of growth though continuing education and training, she said.

"We have learned we can no longer depend on the comfort of two paychecks and a stable income," she said.

Housing and job woes domi nated the consumer landscape in 2009.

Fearful homeowners streamed into Housing Opportunities Made Equal's offices in Richmond either because they foresaw trouble paying their mortgage, already had fallen behind or the bank had foreclosed on their home, said Paula Sherman, the agency's lending-protection coordinator.

Some fell victim to loan-modification crooks who promised to fix their mortgage problems in exchange for a hefty fee, except they took the money and did nothing.

For most clients who were in trouble, it wasn't that they had a bad loan product, Sherman said. Rather, life circumstances, such as job losses, illnesses or unexpected expenses, sabotaged the repayment of their mortgage.

Reduced income was the reason that 23,368 consumers called or showed up for help at one of ClearPoint's offices in 11 states last year, compared with 14,470 in 2008, spokesman Bruce McClary said.

"This is our No. 1 issue," he said.

Senior citizens lost jobs and had a hard time finding work, too, said Jo Norton, care-coordination manager at Senior Connections, the Capital Area Agency on Aging in Richmond.

"When you're in your 60's trying to find a job, it's much more difficult," she said.

More pressing was the lack of affordable housing, Norton said. "We get people whose income is $800 to $900 a month. If you have to go into an apartment that costs $700 to $800 a month and your income is $800 to $900 a month, that's not doable."

Some cash-strapped seniors took out second mortgages with unscrupulous brokers, then faced foreclosure, Norton said.

Unscrupulous con artists took advantage of consumers who used the Internet in 2009, said John Kane, research manager at the National White Collar Crime Center based in West Virginia.

Criminals do a very good job of assessing the economy and then figuring out ways to rip people off, he said.

Last year, for example, the top scams reported by Internet users included fake offers to get stimulus money or employment, and bogus security software for their computer or a new application for their smart phone that really was malware.

Credit issues were the top concern at the Office of Consumer Affairs in Richmond, said Tina Holt, its program manager.

"That's not surprising, based on these economic times, especially during last year," she said. "We had a lot of issues dealing with collection agencies, loan modifications and credit cards."

Linda Sherry, deputy director of national priorities at Consumer Action, a consumer education and advocacy group based in Washington, said credit card issuers last year slashed people's credit limits, increased annual percentage rates on existing balances, closed accounts for inactivity -- and some added fees.

In 2010, things will get better for credit card holders because of the new Credit Card Act, she said. It removes "major harms. There are a lot of things that I think will work out well for consumers."

Consumers won't fare as well on other fronts, though.

Crooks will keep up their attacks but will migrate to the latest technology mediums, such as text messaging, cell phones, social networking sites and smart phones, Kane said.

Reduced income will stay on top of the list of reasons that consumers seek credit counseling, McClary predicted.

Credit issues will stay at the top of the list of consumer complaints, simply because people use a lot of credit, Holt said.

Sherman from Housing Opportunities Made Equal expects consumers to continue having housing issues, including another wave of mortgage resets in 2010.

In an unprecedented shift, for some consumers, having a credit card in good standing seems to have taken priority over having a roof over one's head, experts said.

While overall consumer debt rose unexpectedly in January, consumers continued to pay off their credit cards that month -- a record 16th straight month of lower credit-card debt -- with such debt dropping about $1.7 billion to $864.4 billion, according to the Federal Reserve.

But a small slice of those consumers are paying down credit cards to the detriment of their mortgages. The number of consumers delinquent on their mortgages but current on their credit cards rose to 6.6 percent in the third quarter of 2009 from 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008, according to a TransUnion study of 27 million anonymous consumer records taken at random from its database. Meanwhile, the portion of those who fell behind on credit-card payments but paid their mortgage dropped to 3.6 percent from 4.1 percent.

TransUnion first began noticing the shift in the fourth quarter of 2007. Experts thought the pattern would reverse once the worst of the recession passed, but TransUnion's latest study confirms that the new behavior is becoming more prevalent and stretches across all income groups.

The trend is more common among consumers with the lowest credit scores. The percentage of consumers with low scores who paid credit cards rather than home loans shot up to 29 percent in the third quarter of 2009 from 19.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, TransUnion said. In that low-credit-score group, consumers falling behind on credit cards but keeping up with mortgage payments declined to 14.5 percent in 2009 from 18.1 percent in the first quarter of 2008.

But mortgage-payment problems are moving up the credit-score ladder, says FICO, the credit-score company. A recent FICO Score Trends report found that mortgage-default risk for consumers with high scores now exceeds their credit-card-default risk, "reversing a long historic trend."

While the numbers are small, the trend is disturbing, said Mark Greene, chief executive of FICO.

"We're identifying lending-industry situations in FICO Score Trends that, to our knowledge, have never been seen before," he said in the report.

You can blame those trends on a deep economic slump that's pulled the rug out from under long-held jobs, home values and retirement accounts. In the wake of a new credit-card law as banks tighten the screws on who gets credit and how much, some consumers are getting more protective of their credit cards. Plus, with unemployment at a hefty 9.7 percent, people are worried about losing their job and perhaps needing their plastic to get by.

On top of that, many homeowners now find themselves owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. For some, holding on to the undervalued house suddenly doesn't look like the smartest thing to do now.

"The combination of all these things makes some consumers think that paying money on the mortgage might not be in their best interest relative to the credit card," said TransUnion's Becker. "If I'm unemployed, I need to rely on the credit cards to get me through it till I get a job."

Katherine Timm, account manager for Ad Ease, said, “This is a exciting opportunity to combine the specialties of both our agencies and really make an impact on the marketing outreach on both sides of the border.”

Get rid of your credit card debts, the best way would be to directly approach a debt consolidation company after securing the required information from the internet. Interactions with the Office staff at ACC would be significantly helpful in knowing the company and whether the services provided are good enough to help you to save a few dollars. Hence, whenever you wish to consolidate credit card debt, it is important to choose a credit card consolidation company which enjoys a good reputation among people and delivers to your anticipations as your decision could impact your financial future.

The collapse of a real estate- and consumer-fueled boom has left Spain with a eurozone high jobless rate of nearly 20 percent, and the government ran up a deficit that in 2009 equaled 11.4 percent of GDP. That is way over the eurozone limit of 3 percent and earned Spain a place as the letter "S" in the inelegant PIGS acronym coined by analysts (the others are Portugal, Ireland, and Greece).

It does not have credibility problems like Greece, which is accused of fudging its debt numbers, and its banking system is relatively sound compared with other countries that had to bail their banking systems out.

Still, Spain has tried to spend its way out of recession with costly job-creation and stimulus measures, running up a budget shortfall that has spooked markets and lenders. Spanish sovereign debt has come under pressure, with creditors demanding a steeper interest rate to buy it and rates also rising for insurance against default.

Spain's economy is much larger than that of Greece, so it's a far bigger problem for the European Union and the euro if markets begin to doubt Spain's ability to pay.

If there is an EU country next in line for troubles with financing itself, it is Spain, even if the likelihood of this is low for now, said Javier Diaz-Jimenez, an economist at Madrid-based IESE Business School.

"Spanish public finances are under severe stress. Nobody in their sane mind can deny that," he said.

Spain's Socialist government rejects suggestions that the eurozone's fourth-largest economy, which had posted budget surpluses and robust growth as recently as 2007 but has suffered dearly following the collapse of a real estate bubble, has a debt mess similar to Greece's, which has driven down the euro and shaken the European Union.

But Spain did see fit to dispatch a team led by Finance Minister Elena Salgado to London and Paris last week to meet with ratings agencies and investors in an effort to explain Spain's deficit-reduction plans and restore its credibility.

And at times the government has looked on the defensive.

Last week it sent Brussels a document that raised the possibility of lowering most Spaniards' retirement pensions by changing the way it measures their working life. Amid a furious outcry from unions, hours later the government literally erased that paragraph from the document, saying it was not a firm proposal but rather an accounting simulation.

This fueled long-standing criticism from opposition conservatives that the government lacks a coherent policy to confront the recession and just makes things up as it goes along. Polls say that if elections were held now, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero would lose to the center-right Popular Party.

One of the government's most prominent spokesmen, Infrastructure Minister Jose Blanco, also raised eyebrows by saying that shadowy outside forces are ganging up on Spain. He said: "Spain is the victim of an international conspiracy designed to destroy the country's economic status and, then, the euro."

The deficit-cutting blueprint calls for euro50 billion ($70 billion) in budget cuts over the next four years, with the goal of cutting the deficit to the EU limit of 3 percent in 2013.

When Salgado announced it, she left out the deficit numbers for the intervening years, and markets were rattled when days later Spain released projections for them that were about two points higher than they had previously banked on.

There are also concerns that the plan is short on details and not aggressive enough.

Ireland, by comparison, has slashed pay for state workers, cut welfare benefits and imposed new environmental taxes on fuel to try to contain its runway deficit.

But Spain is not touching public-sector wages, most of the spending cuts have been assigned to regional governments that Madrid cannot control, and the only taxes due to rise are VAT and levies on capital income like stock dividends. This is not expected to make a big dent, and even then the rises do not kick in until July.

Compared with Ireland's, or even Greece's deficit-cutting plans, Spain's ideas "look pretty paltry," said Ben May of Capital Economics Ltd. in London.

Another problem is that Spain's plan is predicated on forecasts of economic growth resuming relatively soon, thus raising tax revenue and easing the government's unemployment benefit payout load.

However, the International Monetary Fund has said Spain will be the world's only major economy not to post year-on-year growth in 2010, and that its economy will expand only 0.9 percent in 2011.

"I think it would be very unlikely that the deficit gets anywhere near 3 percent unless they implement further, significant fiscal measures," May said.

Nuno Serafim of IG Markets said Spain and also Portugal need to serve up a bitter cocktail of higher taxes and deep spending cuts, but this is a hard sell because of the entitlement-heavy mentality of people in southern Europe.

"Governments in southern Europe are less pragmatic than in northern Europe," he said. "Normally, they try to avoid unpopular policies because they are more prisoners of the political agenda and the electoral agenda."

Unity says you don't need to have a separate credit card to turn your checking account card from a debit card to a credit card. Many consumers don't realize that they can use their bank card as a credit card with none of the fees or accumulation of debt associated with regular major credit cards.

Here's how you do it: Unity recommends simply picking “credit'' at the cash register (many retailers automatically default to a debit transaction, which requires a PIN). The payment is applied to a customer's account in the same manner as an actual debit transaction.

But by picking credit, that Visa or MasterCard protection kicks in. Meanwhile, those PINs used in debit cards can be easily susceptible to hackers and identity thieves.

“When one of our account holders questions a fraudulent bank card 'credit' transaction on their statement, they've usually had to enter their signature at the time of payment,'' said John Kauchak, Unity Bank's chief operations officer.

“If the signature on the transaction doesn't match the cardholder's signature, the cardholder is covered by Visa/MasterCard regulations and is not liable for the charge,'' Kauchak said. “Using the 'debit' option doesn't afford this same level of protection, and the bank may not have to reimburse any of the disputed amounts.''

For the same reason, using bank-issued cards as credit cards is more secure than check-writing as well.

They will be required to get a cosigner before being extended credit, forced to better document how they'll be paying any balance, and they'll be taxed with having their cosigner approve any credit line increases. Even if a young person has clearly shown the ability to make timely payments and demonstrated they are more than capable of informed use of their account, they will still be required to keep a cosigner involved in the ongoing management of their finances.

The net result of the above is that millions of young Americans simply won't be able to get a credit card at all because of the new restrictions. That's a problem in a country where electronic payments are ubiquitous, touches every part of our lives and is even mandatory for participation in the fastest growing area of retailing - online shopping.

The fact is that consumers just cannot buy merchandise and services online from Web sites without some type of payment card, but even in-store purchases are much more convenient with plastic payments. Although bank debit cards will fill that void for some, many consumers have already started turning to reloadable prepaid cards because they do not require a bank account as do bank debit cards and you can not overdraw a reloadable prepaid card. The cards function the same as other plastic options and can be used by anyone, regardless of their credit history.

We know one young man - a recent college graduate with a decent-paying job and no major credit dings - who's been turned down for a credit card repeatedly, even from department stores like Macy's.

"Credit is still tight, so issuers are not approving as many people with no credit or bad credit as they did 18 months ago when the economy was good," said Bill Hardekopf, founder of LowCards.com. "It is a very big challenge for them."

Those with bad credit have long had trouble getting credit cards or finding cards with affordable interest rates.

But those with no credit are in an altogether different category. Typically it's either "young students or the 'under-banked' population - people who don't have a long history with traditional banking services," said Kenneth Lin, CEO of CreditKarma.com, a San Francisco-based consumer Web site.

"Absence of credit is distinctive," known in the industry as a "thin file," according to Lin.

He said it could be newly arrived immigrants or those who've stayed away from traditional banking for loans and financial transactions. Often it's college students, sharing expenses with roommates or getting financial support from parents, who don't have any record of paying bills.

Ironically, the stingier credit card climate is coming ahead of - or perhaps because of - next month's installment of the federal Credit CARD Act, which creates more consumer protections by limiting how credit card issuers can impose payments and fees. In the wake of those protections, which started rolling out last summer, a number of credit card companies have hiked interest rates, slashed credit limits and initiated annual fees.

How should you begin your search for a credit card?

Start small. "Do what I had to do when I got out of college: get a store credit card from Sears or a gas card," like Chevron or Texaco, said Ben Woolsey, spokesman for Creditcards.com.

But don't make it a hobby. Multiple applications and rejections for a credit card can hurt your credit score.

That's why Woolsey and other credit card experts say the best option is a "secured credit card," which is backed by your own deposit.

Typically, you open the card with a minimum of $200 or $300, which is your monthly limit for charging on that card, unless you add more money. Some secured cards will let you deposit up to $10,000.

The deposit, which earns interest, is not used to pay off your monthly credit card balance, however. It's there as security for the card issuer, in case you default. When you close the account, your deposit is refunded.

If you're considering a secured credit card, do some comparison shopping because annual fees and charges vary widely.

For example, two of Lin's favorites - the Orchard Bank MasterCard and the Public Savings Bank Visa - have very different fees and charges. Orchard's MasterCard has no application fee and a $35 annual fee (waived the first year); Public Savings' Visa card has a one-time $79 application fee but no annual fee.

After a year or so of regular payments, you can typically upgrade to a regular credit card with better rates and more flexibility.

When you pull it out of your wallet, a secured card looks just like a regular credit card.

And because it's backed by money you've set aside, it works similar to a debit card. But secured cards have a distinct advantage that debit cards don't: credit history.

Every time you make a payment with a secured card, it's reported to one or more of the three credit reporting bureaus. So assuming you pay it off on time each month, you'll start to build a solid credit history.

And what's so great about having a good credit history? That's what leads to your credit score, that oft-cited number between 300 and 850 that affects what interest rate you'll pay for a home mortgage, car loan, etc. The higher your score, the lower you'll pay. If you're a young adult or someone just starting out in financial life, it could save you big bucks over your lifetime.

But whatever credit card you get, follow the same game plan: Always pay on time and always try to make at least the minimum payment.

The days of credit card offers dropping like ripe fruit may be over, and that may not be so bad, says Joe Ridout of Consumer Action, the San Francisco-based consumer advocacy group.

To address these situations, some lenders offer bad credit debt consolidation loans to avoid, as borrowers, so the risk of default or bankruptcy. By consolidating their debts, people get a single monthly payment with lower interest rates and lower rates, improving their credit and debt situation.

Seek Other lender alternatives - Do not ever apply for credit providers or companies you owe money to demand. They are actually money with your debts, so they are not ready to give you a better deal. So, try it with other lenders who have better loan options for you as a customer. Remember that this is as a consumer always go the best weapon: you can elsewhere.

See all unsecured monthly bills are at a reduced monthly payment with lower interest credit card debt consolidation. In consolidating the use of bad credit, you will receive help in a drastic reduction in global interest rate, monthly payments and the ultimate pay-off time. All other debts can be consolidated, but you should always check that the interest rate for the new loan is lower than the outstanding loan. Unless, of course, you only seek an extension of the repayment plan in order to lower monthly payments on the cost of a higher interest rate. This is the only situation that you should consolidate at a higher price.

Mary Wise, a professional consultant with twenty years in the financial field, helps people in the process of securing personal loans, mortgages, loans, refinance, or prevent the consolidation and the consumer to prevent them from falling into the hands of fraudulent lenders.

Bad credit is the problem. Lenders will see your experience and the history of debt repayment to be the real deciding factor. If you do not pay this debt to believe in the past time , and what makes them that you will hold the payments in the future? Therefore, it can be difficult to get Credit Card debt consolidation loan with bad credit.

Then you can keep the higher limit to pay off the loans from other lines of credit to all your debts at a place at. Some lenders will personal loans are the monthly payments are adjusted loans, which are used to consolidate smaller amounts of debt in a larger amount

There are important factors can be found in almost all Credit Card debt consolidation loan with bad credit that to find you.

First, most of these loans will have a higher interest rate than secured loans. This could be considerable, too. For example if you took a home equity loan (a secured loan) to reschedule, you will be able to pay 10 percent interest on it.

However, personal loans with bad credit is Credit Card, you can cost twice as much, if not more. This is often higher by the risk that you are.

Choosing Them If you have a choice of lenders Credit Card debt consolidation loan with bad credit, chances are good you will be able to get quotes to lower interest rates or obtain better terms.

Find the right solution for your specific needs. Also take in the view secured debt consolidation loans, whenever possible, because its more affordable costs, and because they are more easily accessible for little credit.

Credit Card debt consolidation loan with bad credit are out there, but you need can be found at wise decisions, to win them over and use.

A: A plan to tackle your credit-card debt is a great New Year's resolution. A realistic plan will help you shed the weight of your bad debt and help you get on track again.

Start by listing how much you owe and how much interest you are paying. Then prioritize your obligations; mortgage and vehicle payments are typically at the top of the list.

Next , track what you're currently spending. Before you can make any changes, you need to identify what you can change.

Ask yourself the following questions: Where can I trim expenses? Can I generate some extra income? – Should I suspend regular investment contributions while I'm paying down debt? Is consolidation of my debt a possibility, assuming it's at a lower interest rate and I don't incur more debt? Do I need assistance to consider my options objectively and develop a workable plan?

Finally, create a realistic monthly budget that allows you to live within your means. Include a savings component for seasonal expenses and emergencies. Put your credit cards away and use cash or your bank card to manage your expenses and bills.

You may need to put long-term goals on hold while you are fine tuning your money management skills and paying down your debt. Keep in mind that what you owe on your credit cards, loans and lines of credit will impact how much of a mortgage you can afford.

The weight dragging you down might be the maxed-out cards in your wallet. It's never too late to start losing the weight one card at a time.

Scott Hannah is the president and CEO of the B.C.-based Credit Counselling Society. For more information about managing your money, check www.nomoredebts.org or call 604-527-8999. – Have a money question? Email

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Contact your credit card company. While most interest rate hikes affect only customers who carry a balance, some customers in good standing have seen their rates increase as well. Anyone who believes their rate was increased by mistake should contact their credit card company. There is evidence that credit card companies might be willing to negotiate rates in order to keep cardholders as customers, so it doesn't hurt to contact the company and discuss options.

Pay off the account. If the cardholder doesn't want to accept the new rate, they can choose to keep their current rate and pay off their outstanding balance, as long as they don't make any new purchases. If any new purchases are made, the higher rate will be enforced.

Find a better deal elsewhere. Other credit card companies might be offering better deals, such as low introductory rates that will give the holder a less expensive way to pay down debt. Shopping around may provide you a better deal.

Manage credit responsibly. According to banks, most rate hikes affect people who maintain balances on their card or have rates that are too low for the market. Therefore, one of the best ways to avoid a sudden interest rate hike is to use credit cards responsibly which includes paying bills on time and not carrying a balance.

"Consumers should never give personal or financial information on the telephone unless they initiate the call, and know and trust who they are talking to," explained Bernas.

Consumers should wait to receive information from their banks concerning any rate and fee changes, Bernas said. Once they have this information, they should contact their financial institution directly to discuss and negotiate a lower rate directly.