How to Get Out of Debt With the Get Out of Debt Guy » advanced management services

Company Claiming to Reduce Credit Card Interest Rates – Shuttered by FTC

Steve Rhode — Thu, 26 May 2011 18:49:47 +0000

The FTC has settled two actions that charged marketers with deceptively claiming they could reduce consumers’ credit card interest rates. Both operations allegedly made deceptive telemarketing calls, called consumers on the Do Not Call Registry, and used illegal robocalls. The settlements will ban all of the defendants from selling debt relief services.

Advanced Management Services

The FTC charged that Advanced Management Services NW LLC, and several co-defendants called consumers and claimed that they could negotiate with credit card issuers to substantially lower the consumers’ credit card interest rates. [Sounds like the Innovative Wealth Builders sales pitch.]

They allegedly delivered prerecorded “robocalls” with messages urging consumers to “press one” to speak with someone. Many consumers believed the calls came from their credit card company. The defendants charged consumers up to $1,590 and promised a refund if they failed to deliver at least $2,500 in interest rate savings. But, instead of arranging reduced interest rates, the defendants sent consumers instructions to pay down their credit card debts early to save money on interest. Consumers who demanded refunds allegedly were denied outright, got the run-around, or had a $199 “nonrefundable fee” deducted from their refund.

Under two settlement orders, all of the Advanced Management Services defendants are banned from selling debt relief services. The defendants, who were based in Washington and Texas, are also prohibited from misrepresenting material facts about any good or service, selling or using customers’ personal information, failing to properly dispose of customer information, and collecting payments from their debt relief customers.

The order against PDM International Inc., also doing business as Priority Direct Marketing International Inc., and William D. Fithian, also bans them from telemarketing and from violating the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule, and imposes a $13.8 million judgment. The order against Advanced Management Services NW LLC, also doing business as AMS Financial, Rapid Reduction Systems, and Client Services Group; Rapid Reduction System’s LLC; Ryan David Bishop; and Michael L. Rohlf; imposes an $8.1 million judgment. Both judgments, which represent the total amount of money consumers lost, will be suspended when the defendants have surrendered virtually all of their assets, including several luxury cars, a boat, jet skis, and ATVs. The full judgments will become due immediately if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial condition.

The FTC acknowledges the assistance of the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Washington, North Idaho, and Montana, and the BBB of Fort Worth, Texas; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Bedford, Texas, Police Department; and the attorneys general of Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia.

Dynamic Financial

In a second case, the FTC alleged that Dynamic Financial Group and other defendants told consumers that, for an up-front fee of up to $1,995, they could save consumers thousands of dollars by reducing their credit card interest rates, and help them pay off their debts faster. The FTC further charged that the defendants promised, falsely, a full refund if consumers did not save a “guaranteed” amount – typically $2,500 or more. However, the defendants allegedly did not negotiate lower interest rates for consumers or failed to provide refunds.

Under five settlement orders in this case, all of the defendants are banned from selling debt relief services. These defendants, who are based in Canada, Florida, and New Jersey, also are prohibited from misrepresenting material facts about any good or service, violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule, collecting payments from their debt relief customers, using or selling customers’ personal information, and failing to properly dispose of customer information.

The order against 2145183 Ontario, Inc., also doing business as Dynamic Financial Resolutions Inc.; The Dynamic Financial Group (U.S.A.) Inc.; R&H Marketing Concepts Inc.; America Freedom Advisors Inc.; Joseph G. Rogister; and Christopher M. Hayden also bans them from robocalling and imposes an $8.3 million judgment that will be suspended due to the defendants’ inability to pay.

The order against Thriller Marketing LLC, Dwayne J. Martins, and John L. Franks Jr. imposes a $4.9 million judgment that will be suspended when Martins has surrendered the proceeds from selling a 2005 BMW 645 and Franks has surrendered the proceeds from selling two business condominiums in Tampa. The order against Frank Porporino Jr. also bans him from robocalling and imposes an $8.3 million judgment that will be suspended when he has surrendered certain assets. In each instance, the full judgment will become due immediately if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial condition.

The orders against Michael Falcone and Sean Rogister also ban them from robocalling and impose judgments of $93,137 and $90,473, respectively, which must be paid immediately.

On April 27, 2011, a default judgment was entered against Alpha Financial Debt Group Inc. That order imposed a $8.68 million judgment and banned the company from robocalling. Litigation will continue against the remaining defendant, Philip N. Constantinidis.

The Commission vote approving the Advanced Management Services proposed consent judgments was 3-1-1, with Commissioner Rosch dissenting and Commissioner Brill recused. The FTC filed the proposed consent judgments in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. The court entered the consent judgments on April 27, 2011, and May 3, 2011. The Commission vote approving the Dynamic Financial proposed consent judgments was 5-0. The FTC filed the proposed consent judgments in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, where they were entered by the Court on April 27, 2011.

Law enforcement organizations at the international, federal, state, and local levels provided valuable investigative assistance in bringing this action. The FTC would like to thank the following for their help: The U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs; and the Toronto Strategic Partnership, which includes as member agencies the Competition Bureau Canada, the Toronto Police Service Fraud Squad – Mass Marketing Section, the Ontario Provincial Police Anti-Rackets Section, the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading. Valuable assistance also was provided by the Better Business Bureaus of Central, Northern & Western Arizona; San Diego; and Metropolitan New York. – Source

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At FTC’s Request, Court Stops Deceptive Telemarketing Calls Pitching Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction

Amanda Miller — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:03:34 +0000

From How to Get Out of Debt

05/20/2010

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge has put a stop to three companies’ allegedly deceptive telemarketing calls, including robocalls, that promised to reduce consumers’ credit card interest rates; frozen their assets; and appointed a receiver to take control of the business.

According to the FTC’s complaint, over the past two years, the defendants made or authorized calls to consumers nationwide, claiming that they could negotiate with credit card issuers to substantially lower the interest rates on the consumers’ credit cards. They also allegedly delivered prerecorded “robocalls” that consisted of urgent-sounding messages from “Card Services” or “Financial Services,” stating that consumers needed to “press one” to speak to a representative about their credit card interest rates. Many consumers believed the calls were from their credit card issuers.

Consumers who signed up for the defendants’ services were charged from $499 to $1,590 up-front and promised their money back if the callers failed to deliver at least $2,500 in interest rate savings, the FTC alleged. Instead of arranging reduced interest rates, the complaint states, the defendants sent consumers instructions to pay down their credit card debts early, thus saving money on interest. Consumers who complained and demanded refunds allegedly were denied outright, got the run-around, or had a $199 “nonrefundable fee” deducted from their refund.

“The last thing debt-ridden consumers need is to be deluged by illegal robocalls – especially when all the calls are offering is a scam,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

The FTC’s complaint alleged that AMS, Rapid Reduction, PDMI, and their owners violated the FTC Act and the Do Not Call and other provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule by:

deceptively promising consumers they could reduce their credit card interest rates;

misleading consumers about their refund policies;
illegally calling numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry;
failing to honor consumers’ requests not to be called again; and
making pre-recorded telemarketing calls to consumers without their express written consent. Nearly all such calls have been illegal since September 1, 2009 (see press release at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/08/robocalls.shtm).

U.S. District Judge Lonny Suko has issued an order appointing two receivers to take over the businesses, and freezing the assets of Advanced Management Services NW LLC, doing business as AMS Financial, Rapid Reduction System’s [sic] LLC, and their principals Ryan Bishop and Michael Rohlf, all of Spokane, Washington, and PDM International, Inc., doing business as Priority Direct Marketing International, Inc. (PDMI) of Bedford, Texas, and its principal William Fithian, of Colleyville, Texas.

The FTC vote approving the complaint was 5-0. It was filed under seal in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington on May 10, 2010. The court granted an order temporarily barring the alleged conduct on May 10, 2010. The seal was lifted on May 11, 2010, the day the Commission served the temporary restraining order.

The FTC acknowledges the assistance of Better Business Bureau of Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, and Montana, and the BBB of Fort Worth, Texas, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Bedford, Texas, Police Department; and the attorneys general of Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia. The FTC also acknowledges that the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Secret Service are conducting a separate but parallel criminal investigation and that they executed search warrants on one business and one individual’s home when the FTC served the temporary restraining order.

FTC Press Release

Complaint
Ex Parte Temporary Restraining Order
Memorandum

Illinois Attorney General Madigan Sues Company Making Debt Reduction Promises

Steve Rhode — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:57:39 +0000

From How to Get Out of Debt

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today filed a lawsuit targeting a telemarketing scam that promises to immediately reduce consumers’ credit card interest rates but ultimately fails to achieve any savings for consumers.

“During these difficult economic times, consumers are understandably looking for ways to ease the burdens of rising debt,” Madigan said. “But I urge consumers to be wary when solicitors try to make tempting claims of ‘immediate’ savings. In such cases, the schemers rarely deliver and usually leave consumers in an even worse financial situation than before.”

Madigan filed a lawsuit today in Sangamon County against Priority Direct Marketing International, Inc. (PDMI), a Bedford, Texas-based telemarketing firm run by its President, William Fithian, and Advanced Management Services NW, LLC (AMS), a Spokane, Wash.-based firm owned by Ryan Bishop. The suit alleges that the two companies work in a concerted telemarketing scheme to solicit and enroll consumers in deceptive debt negotiation service agreements that promise to immediately reduce consumers’ credit card interest rates, with a guaranteed savings of $2,500. PDMI and AMS telemarketing representatives allegedly promise consumers that the companies will negotiate with consumers’ credit card companies to lower interest rates, and will provide full refunds if they are unsuccessful.

After consumers agree to enroll in the program, the telemarketing schemers allegedly charge consumers’ credit cards for set up fees ranging from $391 up to $1,590. The defendants allegedly tell consumers that these fees will be reimbursed at a later date by the consumers’ banks. Only after consumers’ credit cards are charged for the setup fees do they receive any documentation on the program’s terms and conditions, which on several points, contradict the telemarketers claims in their sales solicitations. Specifically, the defendants misleadingly claim that they can guarantee an interest rate reduction for all customers or provide full refunds in instances where rate reductions are not secured. When customers have requested refunds, after the defendants have failed to negotiate any interest rate reductions, the defendants allegedly refuse altogether or give refunds minus a non-refundable $199 fee that was not disclosed during the sales pitch.

Attorney General Madigan’s lawsuit charges the defendants with violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by misrepresenting the services they provide to consumers and the effects the services will have on consumers’ credit. The suit asks the court to enter a permanent injunction barring the defendants from engaging in debt settlement in Illinois and to order the defendants to pay restitution for complainants, civil penalties of $50,000 for violating the Consumer Fraud Act, and an additional $50,000 for each violation committed with the intent to defraud.

Source

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How to Get Out of Debt With the Get Out of Debt Guy » advanced management services

Company Claiming to Reduce Credit Card Interest Rates – Shuttered by FTC

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At FTC’s Request, Court Stops Deceptive Telemarketing Calls Pitching Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction

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Illinois Attorney General Madigan Sues Company Making Debt Reduction Promises

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