Credit Counselor

A close Thai friend showed me his credit card statements last night...his debts exceed 400,000B (mostly credit cards) excluding a car he has leased for his family in the province. His total minimum monthly payments are around 30,000B which exceeds his monthly salary.

In the USA I would send this person to a credit counselor to help him work out the best solution (debt consolidation, bankruptcy etc) but I have not been able to find any such persons here ? Do they exist ? Maybe they are called something else ?

I could not find much on personal bankruptcy either. What I could find seemed to indicate that the creditors have to initiate the process here and the purpose seems to be to get court ordered wage garnishments, not a western type process which would reduce or eliminate the debts.

I would like to point my friend in the right direction; if anyone can offer suggestions I would be very grateful. As an aside it is very easy for me to understand how household debt is so high here when banks extend substantial credit knowing that the person's income will not support the required minimum payments.