Credit cards are at the heart of most consumer debt in America. In fact, when we speak of credit consolidation services we are almost always talking about consolidating credit card debt Uces Protection Plan. Estimates vary widely as far as how much credit card debt is owed by the average American household but it usually comes down in the range of between $7000 and $9000.

Now just think about that. If that is the average credit card debt just imagine what the people on the high end of the scale owe to the various credit card companies. No question that those figures are in the tens of thousands of dollars. And for a great many consumers that is the breaking point. It is debt that is just not sustainable or affordable for them.

That is why credit consolidation services have become so incredibly popular. There are in fact over 1000 credit and debt consolidation companies operating throughout the United States and that number continues to grow. There is also an estimated 400,000 American consumers currently working with a credit counseling and debt consolidation service in one form or another.

The way these companies work is that they will use their pre-existing relationships with creditors to negotiate with them on the debtor's behalf. The results will be lower interest rates and in many cases the fees and late charges will also be removed. The whole point being is that the payments will now become affordable.

The creditors for their part are usually cooperative when it comes to working with credit consolidation services because they know full well that if they do not then the chances of the person that owes them money going into default or declaring bankruptcy are great. And when that happens the credit issuer is out of luck. At that point they usually just write off the debt and sell it to a collection agency.

The service will act as the advocate for the debtor and will also act as a clearinghouse of sorts by accepting payments from their clients on a monthly basis and distributing payments to each one of the creditors according to the agreed-upon amount. The entire process takes usually 4 to 5 years before the person is debt free. During this time their credit card accounts are closed down and can no longer be used.

The more reputable credit consolidation services will not only offer debt consolidation, but credit counseling as well. As a matter of fact, credit counseling and debt consolidation are two terms that are pretty much synonymous in the financial industry and are often used interchangeably United Credit Education Services. Credit counseling takes the form of debt education and teaches people how to identify and avoid the pitfalls that have brought about their current situation.