A debt settlement company will take all your credit card debts and negotiate with the credit card companies to lower your debt and/or your payments.

One of the most common things that they will negotiate for you is the interest rate. Credit cards are a very competitive industry, and there are often special rates available when you apply for a new card. In some cases these rates may be as low as 0% interest for a certain period of time.

When a debt settlement company contacts your credit card company, they will use these better rates as leverage to convince them to lower the rate you are paying on your credit card balance. This will allow you to either lower your payment or keep making the same payment and pay off the balance faster.

Another thing that can be negotiated is the monthly payment. If you are struggling with too much debt and aren't able to keep up with your payments, your credit card company may be willing to let you make no payment for several months, until you are able to start doing so again.

The interest will continue to accumulate and your balance will still be there when the "payment holiday" is over, but it will let you get caught up without affecting your credit score.

The third thing that can often be negotiated with credit card companies is the type of credit. Many credit card companies also offer lines of credit that have considerably lower interest rates than their credit cards. If you have a good credit rating and you have security for the loan, such as equity in your home, you may be able to convert your credit card debt into a line of credit and save a considerable amount of interest.