For many consumers, their only hope for solvency is to get their balances down to a manageable level. But the card companies — concerned for their own solvency — are not inclined to let them off the hook.

Debt settlement companies claim they help both creditor and consumer by bridging the abyss between them.

“There is overwhelming demand for this service,” said Robby H. Birnbaum, a lawyer who is a board member of the Association of Settlement Companies, a trade group. “People want to avoid bankruptcy, and this is their last resort.”

In practice, however, the debt settlement firms frequently manage to please no one. An executive of the American Bankers Association, representing the credit card industry at a recent forum, labeled debt settlement companies “very harmful” to both creditor and consumer. Even debt collectors are upset, saying the settlement companies prevent them from collecting.

The premise of debt settlement is simple: A consumer stops trying to pay even the minimum on his cards. Instead, he accumulates money in an account that the settlement company promises to use to strike a bargain with creditors. Confronted with the certainty of some money now versus the possibility of no money later, the card company settles for 40 cents on the dollar or less.

Even if the goal makes sense, achieving it can be difficult.

Once the consumer stops paying the minimums, the card companies increase efforts to collect. Their fees and interest charges do not stop. They may sue. The consumer’s credit score falls through the floor.

Long before making any attempt at a deal with creditors, the settlement companies take a fee. Credit Solutions deducted $233 from the Carters’ checking account for three months, and then $116 a month for the next 27 months — a total of about $3,825 by early this year.