Category Archives: Debt Relief Industry
- Lloyd Ward Sued by State Bar of Texas – Commission for Lawyer Discipline
Texas attorney Lloyd Ward, as part of Lloyd Ward & Associates, has beed sued by the State Bar of Texas, Commission for Lawyer Discipline over his alleged actions concerning debt settlement activities related to Debt RX USA and Silverleaf Debt Solutions. The complaint, filed on May 23, 2012, alleges that in “June 2008, Michael Miles [...]
- Connecticut Goes After More Debt Relief Companies
New administrative actions have just been made public against more debt relief companies. Connecticut does not mess around. The new entires made public include: Alliance Mitigation Group The company did not respond to administrative notices sent by the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking. The company was hit with $11,795 in fines and [...]
- Is DebtConsolidation.com Smoking Dope?
A company called DebtConsolidation.com just put out a press release making some rather odd statements. They claim they are “a leading information and referral source for debt management and credit counseling” but seem to be instead providing misinformation instead. The reader who sent this to me was most upset by the statement they make, “”There [...]
- Freedom Debt Relief Sues Century Negotiations, Inc. My How Times Change.
For those that have been involved in the debt world for a number of years the names Freedom Debt Relief (FDR) and Century Negotiations, Inc. (CNI) were linked together through thick and thin under the trade group TASC, (The Association of Settlement Companies). In fact the honcho over at CNI, Dave Leuthold, was even the [...]
- Mortgage Modification Company Former Owner Facing 80 years in Jail
Isaak Khafizov, a former owner of American Home Recovery (AHR), a mortgage loan modification business, was found guilty yesterday in Manhattan federal court of conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud distressed homeowners and lenders. Khafizov was convicted after a ten-day jury trial presided over by U.S. District Judge [...]
- IRS Yanks Nonprofit Status of Credit Counseling Agencies
The IRS has just posted a public update on the nonprofit credit counseling agencies that have recently lost their 501(c)3 tax status from the IRS. The companies named lost their nonprofit status in April and early May, 2012. They include: Budget Right Debt Management, Inc. Lake Mary, FL 4/9/12 Budget Right Debt Management, Inc. Maitland, [...]
- Debt Settlement Companies Suffer from Premature Representation
First, I’d like to say thank you to Steve Rhode for the invitation to make a guest post. Steve, I greatly appreciate you opening up your venue. Rather than focusing on what Debt Relief A La Carte offers, I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss why. It will be much more meaningful for all. [...]
- Non-Profit Housing Counseling Agencies to be Focus of IRS Examinations
The report below comes from Venable law firm. All I can say to my credit counseling friends is they better learn the meaning of the phrase BOHICA (Bend Over Here It Comes Again). Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) Exempt Organizations (“EO”) division unveiled its annual work plan. The plan highlights EO’s priorities [...]
- Credit Card Delinquency Rates Continue Decline
What spells good news for American consumers, spells more bad news for the debt relief industry. According to TransUnion, the national credit card delinquency rate for people more than 90 days past due has dropped to 0.73% from last quarters 0.78%. In addition the average credit card debt per borrower decreased by $242 to $4,962. [...]
- Credit Counselor or Debt Collector? Midland Credit Management Applies Clever Approach.
I just had an opportunity to look at the website for Midland Credit Management and I must say, for a collections agency they certainly appear more like a credit counseling group. Don’t get me wrong, it appear they provide full and apparent disclosure they are a debt collector, “Please understand that this is a communication [...]
- USADP – USA Debt Processors Says What?
A reader sent in an email with a message about USA Debt Processors. They wanted to know: How can they say they are “FTC Compliant” at bottom of page? They do not appear to be licensed in Indiana. Global Client Solutions is identified as a bank and FDIC insured. So I went and checked the [...]
- Wow. HomeStreet Bank and American Financial Solutions Don’t Seem to Understand Debt Settlement, At All
A reader brought my attention to a press release sent out by HomeStree Bank in Hawaii and the nonprofit credit counseling group American Financial Solutions. One thing is clear after I read the release is either those two companies don’t understand how debt settlement works at all or the person that wrote the press release [...]
- Nonprofit 501(c)3 Credit Counseling Group Kind of Offering Debt Settlement
It seems like it’s been several years now since I first started talking about the need for nonprofit credit counseling groups to offer debt settlement as a tool they can use to assist consumers with. A reader sent me an email and pointed out that Community Credit Counseling Corporation out of New Jersey is now [...]
- Brookstone Law Mailer. The Line Between Clever Advertising and Too Much.
A reader shared the following mailer from Brookstone Law. In the past I have been very critical of attorney mailers selling real estate related services that appeared to be official government looking forms or notices. Those forms did not disclose they were attorney advertising and some even had official looking government seals and logos. This [...]
- Debt Relief Companies Registered in Colorado Shows Little Registration Activity
A reader and tipster sent in a current list of debt management companies that are registered to offer debt management services. What surprised me in looking over the list was how few registrations there actually were, in the past 16 months, since January 1, 2011. The list of providers says only the following companies have [...]