Sincerely,

EDS Compliance
1-800-258-4131

Sincerely,

EDS Compliance
1-800-258-4131

You now have 14 complaints on the BBB site.

You now have 14 complaints on the BBB site.

You accusations are lunacy. They are not true. I have never paid any person to comment on this web site.

What just leaves me totally stunned is that you accuse a consumer poster of not identifying themselves to the public and yet “EDS Management” poster refuses when asked repeatedly to identify themselves. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Your lies, falsehoods, and impersonations have way overstepped the boundaries of common sense and decency with this false accusation about a commenter known as Nona. I have setup all future posts from you to not be seen by me and to be immediately deleted. You have grossly worn out your welcome here with this attack on Nona.

Steve

Unless you tell me who you are, I’m calling you Tim Daniels from now on.

You say, “Please keep this a 2 way street.” What does that even mean?

You say, “We however do not spend time posting bogus comments about our competitors online.” It’s you that keeps coming to this site and posting stuff and starting the conversation all over again. If you want it to die why do you keep doing that?

So let me get this straight, Tim Daniels from Everest publishes information about his operations and activities at Everest, including starting FDN Solutions to “build the Everest Debt Solutions brand name”, and he publishes that information on a highly trafficked and public site, Linkedin.com and you want me to delete his name from my site? What kind of logic are you using? You are threatening me to remove public information that Tim Daniels himself published online specifically for others to see regarding his business experience and relationships with other companies including Everest Debt Solutions?

You keep saying I deleted some “alleged” comment by you. I asked for specifics and you have not offered any.

Is the poster from EDS making these comments Tim Daniels “Operations at Everest Debt Solutions” or not? If not, who are you?

And for the record, I have never paid any poster to post any message.

Steve

Companies willing to offer the solution to filing complaints have done everthing in their power to ensure that these complaints do not happen.

Sincerely,

EDS Management

We have responded to your comment. We have been informed of what role you serve with Mr Rhode.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC;

NONA A.K.A. Darcy Smith (Not Confirmed) has been hired and receives monetary compensation from posting on this website. Please be aware that the comments posted have earned this person money and they refuse to identify themselves to the public.

Sincerely,

EDS Management

Please keep this a 2 way street. You cannot selectively delete what information you do not want on your website about companies that provide legitimate services to consumers.

We as well provide over 300 FREE consultation daily. Just as you do to your readers and question askers. We however do not spend time posting bogus comments about our competitors online. This website is nothing more than a place for you to control what is being said about what industry. Post the comments you deleted about EDS to prove us wrong.

Please also remove any information regarding our Employees or Officers from your website and other information not related to the question asked from inception.

Please also provide a mailing address so that we can send you this request in writing.

Dear Mr. Rhodes-

At this time we have become aware that you have posted information regarding our Employees and Officers on your website. Please remove any information pertaining to our Employees from your website for thier privacy and safety.

We will ask that this be done and completed by April 1st 2010 effectively giving you 72 hours to remove this information.

Failure to so so will result in legal consequences and monetary penalties. We will also pursue all costs to solve this matter from you directly.

Sincerely,

EDS Management
800-258-4131

To address the commments below from NONA we encourage a fair representation of our policies and procedures to the general public. We have also fought a similar battle with the BBB. To date until an agreement has been reached and the BBB is not allowed to publish a report on FDN/EDS. Please work with us and check the BBB to confirm. We are asking not to fight this battle with you but rather to work with us to educate and inform the general public.

Best,

EDS Management
800-258-4131

I have to admit I’m in a bit of a Catch-22 situation about your responses. On one hand I always encourage both sides of an issue to have an opportunity to speak so I publish 99.99% of the comments received, including yours. But on the other hand your comments are not adding any new information or value to the conversation.

From a PR point of view your non-sensical comments only serve to hurt yourself, which puzzles me beyond belief. You hide behind the anonymous monicker of “EDS Management” and make unsupported allegations and yet attempt to somehow smear me, but for what?

You say, “We have also supplied Mr Rhode with data and information however he chooses to delete these posts and only keep the negative ones about EDS on his website.” What? What specific “data and information” are you accusing me of deleting?

And if your legal team is working “long hours” which is another bizarre statement to make, you really should interrupt them and talk to them about the face value libel of making statements like “to combat unscrupulous con artists like Steve Rhode and other derogatory members of society. We feel great remorse for Mr Rhode and his inability to run an honest and ethical business.” That’s a slam dunk for me. Do you really want to invite a lawsuit with statements like that which would result in a intense discovery phase and revel everything about your organization and identity? Really? Seriously?

If you feel great remorse then why not just answer the questions raised in the original article and disclose your identity to be as open and honest with readers? Why not just do that instead of all the misdirection and rage?

Let me address the lead thing one more time for you, it might help your lawyers get some sleep and weekends off. Here is how this site works, I answer questions and provide help for people for free. The site is self-supporting by the ads that run on the site. I don’t control who appears, Google does all that. The number of “leads” as you call them where someone might fill out a form and ask for credit counseling as in your example, is small, very small. In fact, the overwhelming amount of advice I give is for people to file bankruptcy instead of going into a credit counseling or debt settlement program. Logically, if I was trying to generate leads for those types of services why would I tell people to consider other ways to address their issues?

Everyone can read the site terms, including you, and clearly and plainly read about advertisements.

Then you wrote:

“If you are a client of EDS you have been told and agreed to filing complaints with the FTC regarding our business practices. You can accomplish this task by using you customer account online with us and seeking the complaint section.”

The way I, and I’m sure other readers will interpret your statement is that your clients can login to their online account with you and accomplish the task of filing an FTC complaint about you though the “complaint section.” So who is telling your clients to file complaints with the FTC? Is that a big enough problem for you that you had to create a special section for people to do that?

Say, anonymous EDS Management person, you wouldn’t happen to be Tim Daniels at FDN/Everest would you? The reason I ask is because Tim Daniels talks online about starting Everest and his role in operations for Everest Debt Solutions. He says he is also VP of American Premier Servicing and Touch Up Guys Marketing Group that was “was created as a portal for lead gen services to be provided to other debt relief companies.” And he states that “Marketing exploded from 2 active monthly clients to a high point of 9 active clients.” So it actually seems you are much more the lead generating behemoth especially since “Managing a monthly online ad delivery budget of over $300,000 allowed for metrics to be discovered and used to help drive the success of our clients to the top of their fields. Most of our clients have enjoyed a host of double digit returns as well as marketing costs below the industry average.” – Source. And you are busting my chops over a small number of people that might want some specific help from my site?

Steve

If you are a client of EDS you have been told and agreed to filing complaints with the FTC regarding our business practices. You can accomplish this task by using you customer account online with us and seeking the complaint section.

We would also like to inform the public that this website is not what it appears. Mr Rhode is using this site to generate leads for the CCC industry. He has been president and a director of a credit card counseling firm.

We have also supplied Mr Rhode with data and information however he chooses to delete these posts and only keep the negative ones about EDS on his website.

If you are a client of EDS you have undergone and understand the product assurance survey’s and you have been informed by Client Care that our staff is working diligently to complete necessary settlements while our Legal team is working long hours to combat unscrupulous con artists like Steve Rhode and other derogatory members of society.

We feel great remorse for Mr Rhode and his inability to run an honest and ethical business.

Sincerely,

EDS Management
800-258-4131

I don’t know if Darrell exists or not but “EDS Management” helped everyone to understand that GetOutOfDebt.org is the place to go and complain about Everest Debt Solutions because when you do EDS will offer you a full and complete refund in minutes if you mention this site. Thanks EDS. Lesson learned.

Steve

I see Everest just posted a comment offering for you to get a full refund. That’s good news. I’m curious, had you not asked for one before?

Let us all know how the refund process goes and when you get all the money you’ve paid back.

Steve

Please contact our customer service phone number today for a full refund if you feel the program is not working for you. Please also reference this article and website when you call.

We have alerted client services that we are waiting on your call for a full refund no questions asked.

Thank you,

EDS Management

As the Cambridge transformation continued, several additional state regulators entered into negotiations with the company, often taking note of the organization’s ongoing efforts to remake itself while servicing its clients without disruption. To ensure that the company maintained compliance with the terms and spirit of its growing list of consent agreements, Cambridge agreed to host two regulator-approved monitors on its Board and in its offices. On July 10, 2007, the date on which Cambridge entered into a consent agreement with the State of Illinois, the last of the states that had formerly considered action against the agency as a result of the Puccios’ activities, the organization had finally put its past to rest.

Today, Cambridge is licensed or exempt from licensure in 45 states. Our fees are capped at $75 initial and $50 monthly, and are compliant with the fee limits in all states where we do business. At present, our average initial fee is just $46 and our average monthly fee is just $25. Approximately 7% of our clients pay no fees whatsoever, and a significant number receive more modest reductions. As you might expect, our client satisfaction statistics have improved dramatically under the new business model; random surveys indicate a 98% satisfaction level, and we have had only two formal complaints in the last 36 months. In the meantime, our BBB rating has also risen significantly, and we have received approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide housing counseling services. In the community, our Education Department provides financial literacy instruction to a wide variety of local social service agencies, including our local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, the Job Corps, several VA facilities for homeless veterans, and a number of family shelters.

Unfortunately, many of the complaints posted around the internet are a result of the organization’s previous management. For instance, Consumeraffairs.com has posted complaints levied against Cambridge; however, these represent individuals who used our service prior to the implementation of our new business model. We responded with the following statement (see link below). As you can see, we are happy to engage in productive dialogue as to the new direction of Cambridge. With that in mind, Christopher Viale would be happy to answer any additional questions you may have. You may reach him at 413-627-6946.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/debt_counsel/cambridge_responds.html

Thomas J. Fox ACC, CEPF
Community Outreach Director
Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp.
67 Hunt Street • Agawam • MA • 01001
Direct: 413-241-2362

The above comment did not come from Chris Livingston. It was posted from the same ip address that posted the comment from ‘Response to Cambridge’ labeling themselves as EDS Management.

The real Chris Livingston thinks Everest is as crazy as they come for stealing his identity.

Steve

I am an attorney and I apologize to the public.

Thank you,

Chris Livingston

While we appreciate your response we cannot condone behavior that is slanderous towards our company or any individual working in our office.

Mr Rhode may have come to your office and seen your operation he has not been to our office and there fore can only make up his assumptions regarding Everest Debt Solutions.

We will be contacting you directly via telephone to discuss this business matter as Steve Rhode refuses to do.

Mr Fox – I see that Cambridge Credit Counseling has been the target of many complaints online and with attorney generals in several states. The BBB as the public knows works with Credit Counseling agencies to promote them above debt settlement firms.

Question of the night is how does a company that had hundreds of people file complaints to cause a class action lawsuit and then have only 2 BBB complaints?

The connection is that the BBB works to promote CCCS.

Say Mr Fox how many customers does Cambridge have?

EDS has thousands and 4 BBB Complaints and a D- score.

Looks like the deck is rigged against Debt Settlement Companies.

Talk to you soon,

EDS Management

As you are aware, Steve runs the site free of charge and his efforts to provide individuals with accurate advice is time-consuming. Both Cambridge and Steve share a passion to educate the public, and we felt it was indeed the public who would benefit most by our minor financial support of his efforts. It is testament to the type of person Steve Rhode is that he donates the financial compensation from Cambridge to help support Kiva and/or DonorsChoose to help teachers offer financial education programs. Simply put, there are no schemes or underhandedness, just a collaborative effort to assist consumers the best we can.

Furthermore, Cambridge has not engaged in any type of conversation, slanderous or otherwise, with the debt settlement company mentioned in this thread. Therefore, we are unsure of what result could be gained by filing a Butter Business Bureau inquiry. In fact, Cambridge supports the concept of debt settlement, particularly if performed by a reputable agency, but it is not a service that is appropriate under every circumstance and it is not without serious consequences. It is our duty to inform consumers who contact us of these facts and let them make their own decisions about which option is best for them. We would hope the debt settlement company mentioned in this thread rethinks its strategy of levying baseless accusations.

Last, I have searched our database for “Marissa, Glendora” and have no record of this individual as a client. We take client satisfaction quite seriously. Currently, Cambridge maintains a B+ rating with the BBB and has resolved the one complaint against the organization in the last 36 months (Link below to BBB report.) I encourage the individual to reach me directly at 413-241-2362. Perhaps the name in Steve’s blog does not represent the name in our client tracking system.

Thomas J. Fox ACC, CEPF
Community Outreach Director
Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp.
67 Hunt Street • Agawam • MA • 01001
Direct: 413-241-2362

Methinks you ladies doth protest too much–waaaay too much. Any suit against Steve Rhode (notice it’s one Rhode, not Rhodes; maybe you weren’t a Rhodes scholar) for defamation will not work until you can show what part is false. You’re bluffing and you know it.

If you find a lawyer greedy enough to take a case against Steve in return for a big fat retainer, I’ll be waiting for you. I just betcha I can show that the money came from wire fraud and mail fraud, and your greedy lawyer might get sued for racketeering, as will you, since money laundering is a RICO and (since Steve is in this state too) NCRICO predicate offense. That is NOT a bluff. Look elsewhere on this site to see what I mean.

Oh, you want to sue ME for defamation now? It’s been tried. As they found out the hard way, I can defend myself in any court, federal or state, anywhere in the country without paying anybody. You’ll drop $100,000 or more and still lose. But until you give up, I’ll get to do all kinds of discovery on you, and find out everything I want to know, starting with your secret identities. Save your money; you’ll need it to repay your victims before long.

So you claim to be a Florida lawyer, General Colonel Sanders? You’re not. But I am. Again, don’t find out the hard way.

With any debt settlement or management outfit, first follow one rule–never pay up front–and you’ll immediately weed out most of the scams. How does that grab you, Everest?

The email address they used on the post was info[at]steverhodesmyvestascam[dot]com. I wonder if they think they are smart, clever, or good business people?

Steve

I mentioned before you keep getting your facts wrong. I think you believe that my affiliation with Myvesta and Debt Counselors of America is or was some secret. It’s not. I talked about what I learned from my Myvesta and Debt Counselor of America days on this site.

So why is it you keep peppering me with questions, insults, fake emails, etc but you refuse to answer my two simple questions.

1. What did I get factually wrong in my review of your site?
2. You continue to make anonymous accusations but never identify yourself. Who are you?

Steve