In these financially troubled times credit card debt and other unsecured debt can destroy your future and your dreams. Credit card debt and other unsecured debt can ruin your financial future, enslave you to monthly payments and ruin your health from the constant pressure and worry. Miss a payment on your credit card debt and the credit card companies charge you outrageous late fees, raise your interest rate, and report you to the credit agencies for a black mark against your credit rating.

Debt consolidation can save the individual a lot of money and save their credit rating too. Some credit card companies will lower your interest rate if you are behind on your payments and go into debt consolidation.

Today, many Americans are knee deep in debt and many are going under. And that brings a whole lot of problems to a family when the debt collectors start to call.

The Federal Trade Commission, the federal agency that has jurisdiction over debt collection practices, received 66,627 complaints against third-party debt collectors last year. That's more complaints than any other industry. That's nearly six times the number of debt collection complaints the received in 1999. (The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction over the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This law, passed in 1977 prohibits abusive, deceptive and unfair tactics by collection agencies.

Unscrupulous debt collection companies often buy debt that has been defaulted on, usually credit card debt, and attempt to collect on it. Some use very aggressive and illegal approaches.

Sometimes the bank makes a mistake and it is the customer who pays.

Consider one woman who lived in New York who did not own a car or have a driver's license. She received a bill for 2,300 dollars 5 charges of which came from a gas station in the Bronx. She filed a police report and Chase Manhattan agreed the debt was fraudulent. The debt collection agency got a court order the freeze her bank account and she couldn't pay her rent, buy groceries or pay her electric bill.

The Federal Trade Commission's Division of Financial Practices said in its annual report that the tactics that are most commonly used are: threatening to sue or seek prosecution against the debtor, misrepresenting the nature of the debt, misrepresenting the size of a debt or the status of a debt, making multiple harassing and abusive phone calls at all hours of the day and night, contacting a debtor's relatives, employers and neighbors, refusing to investigate claims by consumers that a debt is paid, expired or fraudulent.

Isn't is better to get a debt consolidation service, lower your interest rate, and get out of debt faster than to default and go into collection.