I am now following you on twitter. Hit me back with a direct message and I can provide you with some things to help out your readers in their research.

No problem. There are so many bad companies out there, it is very hard to keep up with them all. There are currently over 2,000 debt settlement companies operating in the US. Most of these are actually just marketing arms of back end service providers though. This industry is for the most part unregulated, although the FTC is meeting this week to discuss sweeping new regulations of the industry.

http://damonday.com/234/credit-solutions-of-america-sued-by-florida-attorney-general/
That is a link to a blog post about Credit Solutions I wrote last week. I also wrote another post about 15 other settlement companies that have been subpoenaed in NY by the Attorney General in an ongoing investigation.

As far as who to recommend, the best thing to do, is thoroughly research any company before doing business with them. Look at their BBB and see if they have any complaints, and whether or not those complaints were resolved. Also look at the companies track record with past clients. Do a google search and see if you find anyone complaining about their experience. Also take a look at the fees. You should look for a company that charges a performance base type of fee, where they are getting paid based on how good the settlements are that you receive.

I refrain from making general recommendations about specific companies unless I am doing a specific consultation, so that I can fully understand the circumstances, and needs of my client before pointing them in the direction of an individual company.

I hope that helps.