You can get advice from your bank or credit union. They offer programs that  lower your monthly repayments with decreases interest-rates. Non-profit consumer debt consolidation firms don't make a profit from the individual. Focus on your most costly credit cards. Pay them off  and never use the account(s) again. Get some ideas on the interest-rates and monthly fees. Make sure you can afford the repayments and that you deal with the most costly cards first.

Credit ATM card companies offer enticing balance-transfer deals, allowing you to transfer your existing debt to a new card at a much lower interest-rate. Don't  pay them off with a loan and the run them up again. You would be disqualified from receiving a consumer debt consolidation deal due to the subsequent negative entry in your credit report.  They might also monthly fees. 

Consolidation combines your debts. It does not reduce or lower them.  Compare a few offers and run checks on various consolidation companies just as you would if you were shopping for a TV or PC. 

Consumer debt programmes can be dealt with by Insolvency Practitioners. They're more qualified than the person who sells you a consolidation. An insolvency practitioner will  work out what you can afford to pay to your creditors each month. He will then negotiate on your behalf. Up to 70% of your debt can be wiped out at this stage. 

You only make a single repayment every month as opposed to several. You can also halt the negative entries on your credit report and establish a higher credit-score. 

 Many people find it highly addictive to charge their credit-card and enjoy indulgences that would otherwise be outside their means. Consumer debt consolidation can be a last chance out of this nightmare, but only if you then stop splurging! Some daft people think they're out of the woods when they get a consolidation; in fact, they're barely half-way. They go back to their bad old habits, and then when they really need a deal, no one will touch them.