“Dear Steve,

I Fell for a debt settlement company (Pathway Financial Management). They of course did not keep their end of agreement and I ended up almost having wages garnished, having to go to court to stop, etc… In hind site I realize this was a very bad choice on my part however I feel they should reimberse all of the money they have aquired from me due to the fact they were of no assistance in any resolvement of my debt as promised.

I am ashamed of myself for the unpaid balances that am responsible for and am making amends, some are very polite and easy to work with while others are a bit rough. I just really need the my money back to take care of my bills as I should have done in the beginning.

They have sent back the money minus ‘their fee’ (1400.00+). They have offered to send back one-half of this amount if I sign a letter of closure.

An attorney I have talked to regarding one of the debts stated I should send a certified letter to them and copying it to the Attorney General as well as the Federal Trade Commision and BBB, stating I want a full reimbursement. Is there a chance for full reimbursement or should I accept the 50% offer and consider it another hard lesson learned?

Kimberly”

The Answer

Dear Kimberly,

If I read this right you almost got sued while in a debt settlement program with Pathway Financial management and Pathway Financial Management refunded you your money minus their fee? That’s horrible.

You might want to consider bankruptcy and then, if you want to, repay your creditors as you can afford to. Bankruptcy will stop all collections, wage garnishments, lawsuits, collection activity, etc. I just don’t want you to make a mistake of not using your legal right for bankruptcy protection just because of how you think it might make you feel. If you want to, you can click here to find a local bankruptcy attorney.

Now, back to Pathway Financial Management. My opinion is they should have graciously refunded you their fee. Asking you to sign a waiver to probably not sue them for half the money is offensive to me.

Pathway Financial Management proclaims to be a proud USOBA and TASC trade association member and yet they are acting like this.

Rather than sign the waiver I agree with the attorney you spoke to. Given the climate at the moment and the recent Senate hearings on debt settlement, I would send Pathway a certified letter, return receipt requested and demand all of your money back or you will file a complaint with the BBB, your state Attorney General, The California Attorney General and the Senate Commerce Committee looking into the debt settlement industry. If they don’t give you a full refund after they get that letter, in my opinion, they’d be idiots.

Please update me on your progress by posting updates here in the comments section of your question. I’m very interested in how this works out for you.

Big Hug!

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