Forestbrun

Ask for a copy of your credit report before looking into debt consolidation strategies.
Go over your report to find potential errors and use it to make a list of all your creditors.

Find out how the debt consolidation company is funded, and do not do business with them if they refuse to disclose this information. If they say they are a non-profit organization, make sure to check with the state to see if that is true.

If you make the decision to consolidate high interest debts such as balances into a different obligation, do your absolute best not to begin racking up new debt until the consolidated amount is repaid.