A debt settlement service does not really consolidate your debts. You can make escrow payments into an account that they will open for you and they will pay the agreed upon amounts to the lender from this account. If you have been making payments on your credit cards, this means you will probably have to stop paying them in order to be able to fund the escrow account. Many debt settlement companies will take fees off the top before they allow the money to accrue for your debt settlement payments. This is a debt relief option that can be done without the use of a service.