Another debt-settlement firm goes bankrupt

Debt Relief USA -- a prominent debt-settlement firm that Clark criticized in the past -- has filed for bankruptcy, according to The Dallas Morning News.

The debt-settlement firms in general will promise to reduce your credit card debt by up to 75% -- if you pay them several thousand dollars upfront. Their strategy is to get you to stop paying your bills! Once you hit 6 months of non-payment, your debt is written off the lender's books; they know they're not likely to ever see their money.

So the debt-settlement firms want to try to scare the lender into negotiation.

But don't waste your money paying upfront fees, Clark says. You can do the negotiation yourself once you hit 6 months of delinquency. Those in the most trouble have the most negotiating power.

You may recall that American Express was sending out letters offering to pay you if you paid off your balance and closed your account. Other lenders took a cue from the program's success and started calling customers with similar offers. People were getting friendly calls from their lenders looking to settle for 60 cents on the dollar or what have you!

So call up your credit card lender, tell them your story and try to work out a deal on your own. There's no need to pay any outfit on TV to do it for you.