[Acehawk74]

Hey guys. I'm facing a bit of an issue, and I need some input from people who know a good deal about the way this works. Here is a little background:

My wife and I have about $21 grand in Credit Card debt, and a personal loan for $3500 to pay off. We were looking at one of those "credit counseling services" where they negotiate lower payments, etc.. I called one of them up, and was told that basically we only would end up paying off roughly 10-12 grand of this, and it would show on our credit report as "Settled for zero balance". My concerns are this.. I feel rather seedy for not paying the balance in full, and I most certainly am not trying to dodge the debt. I want to make sure I pay this the right way, and I don't want to hurt my credit most importantly. However, if this won't hurt my credit score, the lower monthly payments are certainly attractive. How exactly would these counseling services work with my credit score? Am I wrong in thinking that paying the settled balance will negatively affect my credit? Thanks in advance.