If a company is promising to help reduce the total amount you owe, that’s known as debt settlement. Typically, you stop paying your debts and instead make payments to the debt settlement company, which tries to negotiate a deal with your creditors.

Debt settlement can have a substantial negative impact on your credit scores, and you may be sued by creditors that are unwilling to settle. The process can take several years and you may have to pay taxes on any amount of debt that is forgiven, because that’s considered taxable income to you. Once you add in the company’s fees, the amount you save through debt settlement may be less than you expect. To read more click here.