Best debt relief companies, plus advice borrowers need to know now

MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money Best debt relief companies, plus advice borrowers need to know now We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Angelica Leicht Angelica Leicht Senior Editor, Managing Your Money Angelica Leicht is the senior editor for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com, where she writes and edits articles on a range of personal finance topics. Angelica previously held editing roles at The Simple Dollar, Interest, HousingWire and other financial publications. Read Full Bio Angelica Leicht Updated on: May 5, 2026 / 11:19 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google It can take work to find the best debt relief company for your needs, but doing so could also pay off. Getty Images/iStockphoto Credit card balances grew by $44 billion in the final quarter of 2025 and the interest rate environment has made carrying that debt significantly more painful. A Federal Reserve interest rate pause in late April, the third such freeze in 2026, isn't helping. At a range between 3.50% to 3.75%, rates have been frozen since December 2025. And that's a continuous burden for millions of Americans.Borrowers who are carrying high-rate credit card debt have felt it most acutely, as rates have hovered near historic highs, and with interest compounding month after month, even keeping up with minimum payments has become a real struggle for many households. This has become more of a concern following a recent report showing inflation surging, not declining.That pressure has pushed more people to look seriously at debt relief. These programs are not without trade-offs, however — like credit score damage and tax implications — but for borrowers facing truly unmanageable debt loads, they can offer a meaningful way out.The catch is that the debt relief...