Credit card debt

It will hurt your credit to have a "Consumer Help". Dont let them lie to you!! It does help you yes, but your score will suffer.

Maybe you could try to explain to your creditors that you are having financial difficulties and some will work with you..

If you are expecting your accounts to be delinquent sometime in the future, you need to take the step ahead and go for a debt management program. The best thing for your credit is to pay on your own. If circumstances don't allow you, go for a debt consolidation plan and put things in place. Your credit won't remain good if you start defaulting on the payments. With debt consolidation, you will put things in shape.

When I had a credit card and I owed some money on it (as a matter of fact, it was through Household Bank who years later gave me an Orchard Bank credit card), I called them and made arrangements to pay them off. Eventually, I did. You can call them and make arrangements without going to consumer credit counseling.

Beware of consumer credit counseling. They have tendency to hold your payments for a month before they send to the credit card companies. You do better working with the companies yourself.

If your creditors are not in default, then I would suggest that you try to work out something with them on your own. Going to a dmp with them current will just cause them to show paying through DMP and will hurt your credit in most cases.