Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler said in a press conference today that debt settlement companies are “predatory thieves”. The state of Maryland is preparing to take another swipe at passing tough new regulations that would limit up-front fees charged by debt settlement companies to $50 and total fees paid at 15% of the total debt.
Marceline White, the executive director of the Maryland Consumer Right Coalition said “Debt-settlement companies promise to help consumers with their debt, but instead many do no work, collect large fees and leave financially distraught consumers in deeper debt, with angrier creditors, worse credit scores and dwindling options.”