Cut a Credit-Card Debt Deal for Yourself

Bank issuers of credit cards seem much more willing lately to talk about negotiating a debt settlement with delinquent card holders.

Everyone who has ever held a credit card and not paid off the entire balance at the end of every billing period has experienced the sting of high interest rates and late fees. And for those holders who have built up enormous balances and rolled debt from card to card over the years, those crushing interest payments have become a large part of their monthly expenses. It's been impossible to get anyone from the credit card issuing company to talk about an alternative arrangement of payments or a restructuring of debt on those cards, until recently.

There are clear reasons for credit card companies to be ready to talk to you now.

Unemployment has gone over 9% and has caused wide scale default on credit card debt. ...