In the given scenario, if in 3 years she ran into trouble, she would leave the debt management program, interest rates would be back up, but since the balance would be drastically reduced, her minimum payments would be much less then they currently are. Also, at that point she could save a fraction of the balance and offer it as a settlement, since the overall balance would be so much lower the credit card company will be more willing to take it losing less money.

I found that the payments are a bit lower when going through CCCS because the interest rates are lower, even though you are paying CCCS a small monthly fee. I still couldn’t afford those payments, so CCCS reccomended looking into bankruptcy. Instead, I called all of my 6 credit card companies myself and asked to talk to their hardship programs. When you do this tell them you can no longer afford all of your bills because of a pay-cut, increase in bills, or whatever you want, and they will take a lot of info from you about your bills, ask what you could afford, and they will cut the interest rate for you to lower your payment. My interest rates were cut by at least 50%, some are as low as 5%interest now.
They also do not close out the card, so it doesn’t affect your credit negatively. You can not use the card while enrolled in their hardship program, but you will have a more affordable payment and a balance that is decreasing more rapidly.
Good luck.

Also you may consider checking out a PERFORMANCE BASED debt settlement company as they negotiate with your creditors so that you would roughly pay a little more than half your debt back over a 2.5 years period.

That program would most likely offer a lower payment than you are making now.

Sometimes debt settlement is the best alternative to filing for BK.

Best Luck.

Ryan McDonald
Assista Financial Solutions