Americans Not Cutting Credit Card Debt

Attention people with credit card debt: you're not alone. According to a recent survey, 48 percent of all Americans have some kind of credit card debt. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive® and commissioned by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell's lawyers.com, also found that nearly a third of them have done nothing beyond monthly payments to reduce it.

Alan Kopit, consumer attorney and legal editor of lawyers.com, offers a few tips for those who owe money on credit cards:

Negotiate with creditors - Studies show creditors will often reduce credit card interest rates when asked. Also, credit card companies may be able to arrange special payment plans if the minimum monthly payments become unmanageable (due to a job loss, say, or unforeseen medical expenses).

Carefully consider debt consolidation - Debt consolidation can be a drastic step, but if taken wisely, can ultimately improve your financial health. If you own a home, consider a home equity loan to pay off high interest-rate credit card debt. Be cautious if you seek counsel from a professional debt consolidation company - some have been subjects of serious consumer complaints and fraud investigations. Be sure to use a non-profit one in good standing with the Better Business Bureau.

Work with financial and legal professionals - Debt counselors can offer advice and negotiate directly with creditors on your behalf. A good place to find one is through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. A qualified attorney can also advise you on your options to get out of debt, including, as a last resort, declaring personal bankruptcy.

"People may not be fully aware that unchecked debt can lead to serious legal problems, including costly lawsuits that could result in the loss of property," said Kopit. "Finding credit cards with lower interest rates and negotiating with creditors are simple things any debtor can do. There's just no reason not to use any reasonable method to get rid of credit card debt the fastest way possible," he continued.

Alan Kopit is the legal editor of lawyers.com and partner at the Cleveland-based law firm Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP. He has contributed columns to lawyers.com, focusing on consumer and small business legal issues and his media appearances include MSNBC, CNBC, CNNfn, Bloomberg Television, WEWS-TV Cleveland (ABC), WKYC-TV Cleveland (NBC), WKBC-TV Houston (NBC), Bloomberg Radio, and legal contributor to NBC-TV's Today show. For more information about Alan Kopit, please see his biography.

Harris Interactive® conducted an omnibus study during April 3, 2003 to April 6, 2003 on behalf of LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell's lawyers.com of a nationally representative sample of 1,025 Americans ages 18 or older were interviewed by telephone using an unrestricted Random Digit Dialing (RDD) technique that significantly reduces serial bias and ensures that respondents with both listed and unlisted numbers are reached. To ensure a reliable and accurate representation of the total national adult population, completed interviews were weighted to known proportions for age, gender, geographic region, and race. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3%.

LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell's lawyers.com is the leading lawyer directory on the Web, providing access to more than 440,000 attorneys and law firms nationwide. More than one million searches per month are conducted at lawyers.com by consumers and business people in search of the right lawyer for their needs.