Novadebt – Scam, Complaint, Review, or Praise?

Please share your experience with this debt relief company and provide your review and feedback, in the comments section below.

The goal of this page is to allow people to share information that may be important to help others to make a more informed decision regarding their experience with this debt relief company. Here are some potential questions you might be able to provide feedback about.

  • How did you feel about the customer service experience you received?
  • Was the company easy to communicate with before or after you became a client?
  • Did the company respond to your communications promptly?
  • What were the fees charged for the services you received?
  • Did the company give you the terms and conditions for the program you were interested in before you gave them any personal information?
  • Was the program successful for you and accomplish the goals you had when you entered the program?
  • Did you have a really good experience you can share?
  • Did you have a bad experience you want to share?
  • Is there any other information you’d like people to know that might be considering the services of this company?

It is important to understand when reading comments below that they are the opinions of the individual posters and may not be representative of the overall impression of all consumers that may have or have not used the debt relief services of this company. But everyone does deserve to have an opportunity to express their opinion, even the debt relief company itself, be it good, bad, or indifferent.

Novadebt Scam, Complaint, Review, or Praise? novadebt nova debt credit counseling debt management
@GetOutOfDebtGuy

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  • Mrdevitt4

    they did what they said lowered my rates i made my pmts in two years i lowered my debt by 2/3 .reading bla bla bla bad credit  cant get car loan you can do it yer self well i like the [plan] its working for me.

  • Arlenegarey

    I inquired about streamlining my FHA mortgage.  I was not elligible.  A few days later I tried to make my mortgage payment online and BOA denied me access to my account.  Nobody available to tell me why.  Only thing that happened involving my mortgage was the financial discussiion with Novadebt.  Coincidence?? I suspect foul play.

  • Mndmoves

    BANK OF AMERICA ADVISED ME TO CONTACT NOVA DEBT IN NEW JERSEY TO DISCUSS PAYMENT OPTIONS/SOLUTIONS TO MY NOT BEING ABLE TO PAY B of A the MONTHLY INSTALLMENT PAYMENT ON AN UNSECURED LOAN.  NOVA DEBT listened to my story, ASKED FOR PERSONAL INFORMATION LIKE SS#, DOB, ETC. AS IF THEY ALREADY HAD IT, SO I COULD VERIFY WHO I WAS.  STUPIDLY, I GAVE THEM THE INFORMATION. The guy immediately went into my IRS accounts, asked me if I was single or married and DID NOT BELIEVE ME WHEN I TOLD HIM I NEVER RECEIVED ALIMONY.
    Then he asked if I ever received a check from the IRS… I should have hung up the phone then. He wanted to know the make, model and license plate of my car…which I did not give him. It was TOO LATE!   His recommendation was that I pay his company to take me into BANKRUPTCY.  I replied, “You are SUPPOSE TO HELP ME- NOT DESIGN MY DEMISE!” I told him I am in “good standing with all of my creditors” and I am in constant contact with B o A- however they do not wish to work with me on a reduced payment of any sort.
    The very next day my THE SECURITY OF MY IDENTITY AND CREDIT WAS BREACHED!  HE PLACED A FRAUDULENT CONSUMER STATEMENT WITH ONE OF MY CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES- EQUIFAX- stating that I filed a complaint against another creditor- A LIE!!!. For what purpose- to coerce me into bankruptcy?  -TO LOWER MY CREDIT SCORE?!!  Less than 5 days later one credit card lowered my amount of credit due to his fraudulent statement and 3 of my credit cards were fraudulently used on line to gamble, etc…  NOVA DEBT  is the only company with information to do that!   THIS CONSUMER DOES NOT RECOMMEND DOING BUSINESS WITH NOVA DEBT.

  • April in Los Angeles

    I have always been responsible with money, I’m a homeowner, and now I’m unemployed and for the first time in my life I’m scared out of my mind.  I’ve HAD to use credit cards to make ends meet (yeah I know, bad idea) and now the creditors are calling me all the time.  Chase card had Novadebt on their list of places to get help, and yesterday I spoke with them for the first time.  The lady I spoke with, Lillie, was the nicest, most helpful person I could hope for.  She outlined all the options I had (pay creditors on my own?  settlement? bankruptcy?) and when it came down to it, using a DMP was the right plan FOR ME.  I have “only” $16,000 in credit card debt, but since I have only unemployment as income, I can’t even make my minimum payments.  Today Novadebt sent me my payment plan in writing and they are able to get lower interest rates and lower payments for me with my creditors, as that’s what they do – they work with them all the time.  My total minimum payments are cut in HALF and Novadebt is taking care of it all.  The once a month payments will be taken directly out of my account each month, Novadebt will pay them immediately (no holding on to my money!) and I just have to make sure the money is in my account.  If I can’t, then I may have to resort to bankruptcy.  As she said, at least I know that I tried everything that I can do to get out of debt first.

    In researching this company online, I see that the majority of people are extremely happy with this place.  I am not a person who normally gives my opinion online, but when I see people that have complained about this place, I really don’t understand it.  Either it’s a fluke, a fake, or these people have not seriously done the work that it takes to lower their debt.  It’s a ton of work – it doesn’t disappear magically by itself.  I’ve spent a lot of time doing research to lower my regular bills, find low income programs to help me, and have cut off all impulse and unnecessary spending.  It’s up to each person to do what it takes, and do the work of getting out of their debt.  I’m so glad I found Novadebt, I know that they are going to help me through this difficult time.

    • Scott Johnson

      April

      I know a few people over at NovaDebt and you are in good hands –  I am not a client of theirs – I know them professionally. Wishing you the best of luck in your program and finding a new career

  • Laynecobain000

    Novadebt is so-so.  They actually admited they screwed up one of my accounts, not realizing what they had done, but also didn’t take any corrective action to fix the mistake claiming the c/c wouldn’t allow them to.  I am still using them because I really have no other options at this point, mainly because my debt isn’t high enough!  Weird reason, but I guess thats how it goes sometimes.

  • David K

    I started out in 2005 with a company called Auriton which was bought out by Novadebt.  They negotiated a couple of CC’s who had jacked my rate to over 20% down to 2% and 4%.  We owed around $24k and it’s all paid off now.  The people with Novadebt have always been very helpful.  I would use them again if necessary, but don’t intend to ever get in the hole like that again.

  • Betty

    Do tell Christopher

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Harstad/100002197898709 Jonathan Harstad

    Why dont you all try to get a refund from these companies if they didnt do what they told you they could???

  • Christopherspiewak

    Novadebt destroyed my credit including destroying all my (better) options with my creditors. They caused more distress and hardship than I care to detail but ultimately cost me thousands of dollars placing me one step closer to bankruptcy.  I would ABSOLUTELY AVOID Novadbet like your life depended on it!

  • Bill in Pa

    We called Novadebt in March of ’06.  We were so extended that it would have taken over 30 years of minimum payments to pay off our credit card debt (8 different cards).  Novadebt renegotiated our interest rates and were able to eliminate any additional charges (late fees, etc.).  We were told we could have everything paid off in 5 years.  Our total monthly payment for credit cards was reduced.  Novadebt got $50 a month out of our payment, to cover their costs.  ALL of our credit card debt was paid off in 4 years and 10 months and we saved over $100K in interest payments, if we had gone the 30 year route.  We have no problem recommending Novadebt to our friends and those that have called them are also having satisfactory results…

    • Me

      As the balances were paid off on some of the cards, did your monthly payment go down?

  • Steve Rhode

    Good point. The solution should not be determined by the dollar amount but by the underlying situation that needs to be addressed. I’ve seen plenty of low dollar cases where bankruptcy was the best option.

    The credit counseling solution is best reserved for people that are able to save money and pay at least the minimum amount due on their cards.

  • Ant

    Please disregard my last post, re-read your response and you do say “If someone qualifies…”

  • Ant

    Thanks, Steve. Good feedback. Must also consider bankruptcy is not a good option for everyone though. Depending on the amount of debt that may actually be a much worse option than working with a non profit such as Novadebt…is this incorrect?

  • Steve Rhode

    Little technical point, the reporting is not federal law. It’s a function of the agreement between the creditor and credit reporting bureau.

    Credit is easy to repair post bankruptcy and should not be a factor in not selecting bankruptcy if it is a reasonable solution. You can read my post-bankruptcy repair credit guide here. There is no 7-10 year credit impact if you follow the guide.

    It is possible to get both a car loan and mortgage loan following bankruptcy around month 24.

    If someone qualifies for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which 70%+ do, then their debt will be discharged in months and cleaned up in a couple of years. Compare that to a five year repayment plan through credit counseling. It could be argued that bankruptcy is a quicker way out of debt.

    With automated processing the bankruptcy or credit counseling is less material than the credit score.

  • ANT

    Dracnoir, thank you for your review but please take a moment to read these rebuttals to some of your arguments. First, novadebt has NO incentive to take your money without resolving your debt as they are a NON PROFIT organization and the $25 surcharge gets reinvested to the company to help others. In addition, they have worked with those creditors to reduce your debt or fee’s or interest which saves you money. Not to mention they consolidate and stop the harrassing phone calls!

    You ARE NOT destroying your credit when you work with a debt resolution company; the fact that a CCC shows up on your credit report is FEDERAL law NOT dictated by Novadebt. This is also is better than having to post a bankruptcy on your credit which takes 7-10 years on average to fix. This shows your intentions to creditors that you are being responsible and resolving the debt that YOU accrewed. Imagine if you lent someone a lot of money and they never paid you back, what would you do? Also, you made an agreement with creditors to pay back the money they lent you; hence you entered into a contractual agreement with their terms so how would Novadebt be able to come in and just change those legal terms? They CANNOT! That is why they are speaking with the creditors to lower and consolidate your debt.

    Novadebt is not around to improve your credit as you seem to think. They are there to educate people about their options and assist in resolving debt that you caused, not somebody else. Perhaps you should take more advantage of the educational resources they provide like properly budgeting your money and not racking up thousands of dollars of debt that you cannot payback!

    There are also thousands of scams out there that charge enormously high upfront fee’s and promise your debt will be gone but unfortunately thats what they are, SCAMS. Creditors dont even work with those companies! They take your thousands of $$$ and run. Novadebt DOES NOT!

    Last, if you were in debt you would not be able to get a loan for a car, school or house anyway! Who will trust you to lend you a substantial amount of money when you are already in debt and not working to actively resolve it. I really think YOU need take responsibility for your own spending and actions.

  • Dracnoir

    first novadebt has people whose only job is to search and post to places like these praising themselves. I was a novadebt customer for 2 years until I realized they were taking my money and not doing anything, they take my money charge me a fee and hand it to the credit card companies.
    doing absolutely nothing else. the “plan” they put you on is not even their plan it is the plan available to you from the credit card company. what they don’t tell you is that by using them you are destroying your credit, every payment is marked paid by CCC this goes on your credit report as a huge negative.Just realize that your problem by itself is a short term bump in the road using novadebt is a long term hit to your credit report, your credit will not start getting better until after you stop using them, and for as long as you are using them you can not get any loans not a car loan not a student loan nothing good luck keeping your car working for 11 years, 4 years on novadebt and then 7 more years for it to be off your credit report. I do not ask you to beleive me check it out for yourself.

  • Dracnoir

    first novadebt has people whose only job is to search and post to places like these praising themselves. I was a novadebt customer for 2 years until I realized they were taking my money and not doing anything, they take my money charge me a fee and hand it to the credit card companies.
    doing absolutely nothing else. the “plan” they put you on is not even their plan it is the plan available to you from the credit card company. what they don’t tell you is that by using them you are destroying your credit, every payment is marked paid by CCC this goes on your credit report as a huge negative.Just realize that your problem by itself is a short term bump in the road using novadebt is a long term hit to your credit report, your credit will not start getting better until after you stop using them, and for as long as you are using them you can not get any loans not a car loan not a student loan nothing good luck keeping your car working for 11 years, 4 years on novadebt and then 7 more years for it to be off your credit report. I do not ask you to beleive me check it out for yourself.

    • ANT

      Dracnoir, thank you for your review but please take a moment to read these rebuttals to some of your arguments. First, novadebt has NO incentive to take your money without resolving your debt as they are a NON PROFIT organization and the $25 surcharge gets reinvested to the company to help others. In addition, they have worked with those creditors to reduce your debt or fee’s or interest which saves you money. Not to mention they consolidate and stop the harrassing phone calls!

      You ARE NOT destroying your credit when you work with a debt resolution company; the fact that a CCC shows up on your credit report is FEDERAL law NOT dictated by Novadebt. This is also is better than having to post a bankruptcy on your credit which takes 7-10 years on average to fix. This shows your intentions to creditors that you are being responsible and resolving the debt that YOU accrewed. Imagine if you lent someone a lot of money and they never paid you back, what would you do? Also, you made an agreement with creditors to pay back the money they lent you; hence you entered into a contractual agreement with their terms so how would Novadebt be able to come in and just change those legal terms? They CANNOT! That is why they are speaking with the creditors to lower and consolidate your debt.

      Novadebt is not around to improve your credit as you seem to think. They are there to educate people about their options and assist in resolving debt that you caused, not somebody else. Perhaps you should take more advantage of the educational resources they provide like properly budgeting your money and not racking up thousands of dollars of debt that you cannot payback!

      There are also thousands of scams out there that charge enormously high upfront fee’s and promise your debt will be gone but unfortunately thats what they are, SCAMS. Creditors dont even work with those companies! They take your thousands of $$$ and run. Novadebt DOES NOT!

      Last, if you were in debt you would not be able to get a loan for a car, school or house anyway! Who will trust you to lend you a substantial amount of money when you are already in debt and not working to actively resolve it. I really think YOU need take responsibility for your own spending and actions.

      • http://GetOutOfDebt.org Steve Rhode

        Little technical point, the reporting is not federal law. It’s a function of the agreement between the creditor and credit reporting bureau.

        Credit is easy to repair post bankruptcy and should not be a factor in not selecting bankruptcy if it is a reasonable solution. You can read my post-bankruptcy repair credit guide here. There is no 7-10 year credit impact if you follow the guide.

        It is possible to get both a car loan and mortgage loan following bankruptcy around month 24.

        If someone qualifies for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which 70%+ do, then their debt will be discharged in months and cleaned up in a couple of years. Compare that to a five year repayment plan through credit counseling. It could be argued that bankruptcy is a quicker way out of debt.

        With automated processing the bankruptcy or credit counseling is less material than the credit score.

      • Ant

        Thanks, Steve. Good feedback. Must also consider bankruptcy is not a good option for everyone though. Depending on the amount of debt that may actually be a much worse option than working with a non profit such as Novadebt…is this incorrect?

      • Ant

        Please disregard my last post, re-read your response and you do say “If someone qualifies…”

      • http://GetOutOfDebt.org Steve Rhode

        Good point. The solution should not be determined by the dollar amount but by the underlying situation that needs to be addressed. I’ve seen plenty of low dollar cases where bankruptcy was the best option.

        The credit counseling solution is best reserved for people that are able to save money and pay at least the minimum amount due on their cards.

      • Dwalberg1

        I have been with Novadebt 4.5 years – I had $35,000 in credit card debt, and was pushed into consumer counseling by the unscrupulous tactics of the CC companies (I was bounced over limit on one of my credit cards by a Budget Rent-a-Car payment that was one month late arriving, and all my other cards popped my interest rate to 33% and doubled my monthly payment). I had had good credit up to that point. I will be paying off the account three months early – in October.

        They have been fantastic people – they were able to negotiate with everyone except Amex (bloodsuckers if there ever were), and have been open, caring, and scrupulous in every contact I have had with them. I would recommend them in a heartbeat.

      • http://GetOutOfDebt.org Steve Rhode

        Thanks for the feedback. Good to know.

      • Betty

        Dracnoir, thank you for your review but please take a moment
        to read these rebuttals to some of your arguments. First, novadebt has NO
        incentive to take your money without resolving your debt as they are a NON
        PROFIT – Means basically
        nothing. Of course they have an incentive. It’s
        called revenue. For profit – nonprofit –it’s just
        smoke and mirrors. organization and the $25 surcharge gets
        reinvested to the company to help others.- Ummm… that’s a bit-o-bull. Who trains you to say things like
        that? The revenue from administering plans mostly pays salaries and overhead
        associated with running the business. Are you suggesting that ALL monthly fees
        go to the community? Does Nova exist on grants alone? Rubbish. In
        addition, they have worked with those creditors to reduce your debt or fee’s or
        interest which saves you money. Worked the system that is generally predetermined – Yes?
        Not to mention they consolidate and stop the harrassing phone calls! They don’t stop harassing
        phone calls. The act of making payments means no collection calls are
        necessary. You made it sound like they did something though.

        You ARE NOT destroying your credit when you work with a debt resolution
        company; the fact that a CCC shows up on your credit report is FEDERAL law NOT
        dictated by Novadebt. Whoa their buddy. WTF are you saying here? Who told you
        federal law requires the payment plan to show up in the report? Kindly site the
        section of law you or so confident in that you capitalized the point you are
        making. Until you can do so, you, and the
        company you represent, are kinda lying – and publicly. Do you say that crap all
        the time?  This is also is
        better than having to post a bankruptcy on your credit which takes 7-10 years
        on average to fix. Ummm… Chapter 7 filers can find themselves in a better
        position to get fair credit terms quite a bit sooner than those on 4 and 5 year
        DM plans. If you guys market this way you are misrepresenting your product and
        could literally be sued for it. DMP’s are viewed
        negatively by credit grantors and this is a well known fact. This shows your intentions to creditors that you are
        being responsible and resolving the debt that YOU accrewed. Here you display
        the typical emotional guilt trip on people who are struggling financially. Loans
        get made. Some don’t get paid. Big freakin deal.
        Leave your emotional guilt garbage out of the equation and help consumers make
        sound financial decisions without it… if you can. Imagine if you
        lent someone a lot of money and they never paid you back, what would you do?
        Also, you made an agreement with creditors to pay back the money they lent you;
        hence you entered into a contractual agreement with their terms so how would
        Novadebt be able to come in and just change those legal terms? They CANNOT!
        That is why they are speaking with the creditors to lower and consolidate your
        debt.

        Novadebt is not around to improve your credit as you seem to think. They are
        there to educate people about their options and assist in resolving debt that
        you caused, – more
        emotional guilt garbage. not somebody else. Perhaps you should take
        more advantage of the educational resources they provide like properly
        budgeting your money and not racking up thousands of dollars of debt that you
        cannot payback! – Guilt garbage to the extreme!

        There are also thousands of scams out there that charge enormously high upfront
        fee’s and promise your debt will be gone but unfortunately thats what they are,
        SCAMS. Creditors dont even work with those companies! They take your thousands
        of $$$ and run. Novadebt DOES NOT! Scam Scam Scam. Everybody sucks but Nova – is that what you’re
        saying? Do you tell consumers up front that while you have a plan, that person
        may also qualify to discharge their debts in chapter 7 and be able to move on
        with their financial life much faster for a hell of a lot less money than your
        plan? If you’re not telling people that than you are not educating them about
        all their options. Who’s the scam?

        Last, if you were in debt you would not be able to get a
        loan for a car, school or house anyway! Who will trust you to lend you a
        substantial amount of money when you are already in debt and not working to
        actively resolve it. While in a DMP it is unlikely for a person to get
        credit. Are you saying here that the Nova plan will provide better access to
        credit? I really think YOU need take responsibility for your own
        spending and actions. Guilt garbage again. So much guilt garbage in one post. Is
        that how these plans are marketed to people? With guilt?

    • Bill in Pa

      We had GREAT results with Novadebt.  YOU must have screwed something up.  After 5 years, we are credit card debt free and my credit report scores have gone from 590 in 2005 to 780 in 2011.

  • B in Texas

    I was in dire straits when I first called Novadebt. They saved me. They were extremely compassionate about my situation and walked me through the best solution (a debt management program) that saved my credit and got me credit card free. (Note that I had over $60k in credit card debt.) With their help and guidance I was able to pay the debt down and get my finances in order. They were always responsive when I called and they were even helpful in warning me against scams that offer to negotiate down your credit card debt (and destroy your credit). I can imagine anyone giving these folks a bad review.

  • B in Texas

    I was in dire straits when I first called Novadebt. They saved me. They were extremely compassionate about my situation and walked me through the best solution (a debt management program) that saved my credit and got me credit card free. (Note that I had over $60k in credit card debt.) With their help and guidance I was able to pay the debt down and get my finances in order. They were always responsive when I called and they were even helpful in warning me against scams that offer to negotiate down your credit card debt (and destroy your credit). I can imagine anyone giving these folks a bad review.

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