Negotiate a settlement on our own?

That is a large anount of unsecured debt. As a registered member here you can always take advantage of the free consult. And never sign up with any agency until you check them out with the BBB. Try not to file BK...that should always be your very last resort.

Depending on what kind of debt this is you may be able to work on it yourself. List all the debt and the amount of interest % for each. Call them all and see what kind of arrangements they would be willing to do with you. If you have enough money you can also offer a total amount but at a lesser $ to pay off all at once.

Don't just check the BBB. Google or Yahoo their company name and see what the consumers say about the services provided. Do a lot of research on debt negotiation for payments as well as settlements.

hudge95 - here is some info I posted to another user who had about 82K in credit cards, it seems your both in a similar situation and this info may be helpful, you can also read the whole threat here:

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/settlement/unpaid-amount.html

Amazingray - while it is true your debts are large enough that creditors can sue you, the same can be if you go with a DS company and pay their fee's, in the program you stop making payments and the DS company can't really do anything for you then, you have to go to court and they don't usually go with you. So taking this out of the equation, if you decide to go the debt settlement route you are just saving yourself all the fee's you would be paying them. If you decide for yourself that you can manage the calls, and speaking with them, you should be able to get just as good settlements as these companies would be able to get you. Also chapter 13 is a long process, 5 years, with DS once you settle a card it's done and you can move on to the next one, by doing it this way you can possibly be out of debt alot sooner and start rebuilding your credit. So anyway look at all your options and then make the best decision for you.
As to your cards you listed earlier.

There are a couple of options, you can call them all and see if any will reduce your payment and interest and put you in a hardship status. If any of these do you can pay the smaller min payment and use the rest of your $900 to put into a savings account, the ones that don't work with you, these are the ones you stop paying completely. This option will take longer because you can't save up as much to settle but it does buy you some time as all 6 cards aren't immediately put into the non-payment.

Option 2 - stop paying them all and put the $900 in a savings account, wait 4 - 5 months after your last payment and then work a settlement with them.
You have 4 cards under 10K - I would focus on these first. With Chase at about 6 months they can go as low as 35%, Citi, maybe 40%, and the others not sure but the key is don't accept their first offer, or second unless it's a great offer, Chase offered me 50% but then I called them and said it was to much and all of a sudden they could offer 35%. So really if you do this at 6 months you should have $5400 in your account and be able to settle two of your cards. Then work the next 4 just like you did on the first two.

It does take some time and patience to deal with the calls and letters, but I just usually just try to talk to them once a week and then usually get 5 - 10 days of no calls. At least speak with them, and just tell them you can't pay them. but make sure you do speak with them because you never know what offer they will make and this way they don't call you as much and you can evaluate any settlements they offer.

One last thing, you will always have chapter 13 as an option if this doesn't work but this way you have an option to salvage what you can of your credit. My score after not paying on 5/6 accounts was 479 two weeks ago, my first settlement finally updated on my report on the 27 and my score jumped 59 pts! I'm now 538, of course not great, but my 2nd settlement will be paid on the 4th and then need to wait 3 weeks for this one to update. So you can rebuild your credit. Hope this helps I also have alot of info on my blog since I started this process, it's listed at the end of this post if you would like to read it. Let me know if you have any other questions. I've met at least 4 people now who are using DS and it's interesting to see and hear how everyone is progressing.

You should go into the survival mode. You need to keep your home and car. Let the credit card debt go to "charge off" on your credit account. Nothing will happen in regard to debt collection right away. You need to feed and house your family first. After a period of about one to three years nothing will happen. Then you will be contacted by third party debt collectors. They will be trying to collect the debt.

Just Because a Debt Collector Says You Owe a Debt Means Nothing!
Understanding that first and foremost is important. So many people are fearful of the conflict of a debt collector that they simply pay to get rid of them without even verifying if the debt is valid. Under that great little law, The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act are all the rules for debt collectors to follow. One of your many rights is that you have the right to dispute the validity of a debt. This can mean anything from interest being charged, fees and penalties and original balance. If a debt has been sold and resold how are you to be sure that you owe anything? You ask. Simple as that. The first time you get a notice from a debt collector or a phone call, advise them that you want the debt validated. You have an absolute right to do so. If you have ever looked, you will even see on the actual notice from the collection agency, the following mini Miranda:

"This is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information will be used for that purpose. If you dispute the validity of this debt you have 30 days to notify us of such"

If you do not answer, the debt collector can assume the debt to be valid and it is possibe for them to get a default judgment. You MUST answer! For more information see: [color=DarkRed]Website removed as per forum rules - Mike[/color]