A tipster (send in your tips here) sent in the following information and praises for a debt management plan provider, Cornerstone Financial Education, which is really iPayDebt Financial Services. I did a bit of checking and iPayDebt Financial Services is listed by the IRS as a charity and I have attached their last public tax return here.
The tipster (send in your tips here) wanted to praise Cornerstone for the services they received and shared their service agreement for all to see.
Here is what the tipster (send in your tips here) had to say:
Hi Steve, I wanted to share my success story about Cornerstone Financial Education. Before my initial contact with them I made sure they were licensed to do business in the State, and then I checked their rating with the BBB. They have an A+ rating. At that point, I felt confident enough to contact them. The people I worked with at Cornerstone were extremely helpful, patient and communicative. What I discovered is that they have an excellent DMP with a simple two-page contract and charge a very reasonable monthly fee, which they actually might waive or reduce. They were able to get reduced interest rates and reasonable monthly payments.
Once I set up a DMP I sent a letter to advise all of my creditors of the decision. Cornerstone then sent their notification. I am happy to report that all of the creditors accepted the DMP. The set up of the DMP was clean and straight forward and has worked excellently. The best part of it all is that in five years I will be totally debt free. Cornerstone continues to negotiate with the creditors and attempts to get a debt reduction from each of them. They make no promise or guarantee they will be able to accomplish that, but they continue to make more than one attempt with the creditors.
So that you can see the Cornerstone contract, I have attached a copy.
Cornerstone is registered in the State of Texas as iPayDebt Financial Education. Here is the Cornerstone Financial weblink: www.csfedu.org/
The DMP agreement is below. It is a fairly simple and standard agreement but the part that caught my eye was the continued use of the term “consolidation.” I just hope it does not confuse consumers into thinking their debt is actually consolidated in the typical sense. In a debt management plan the debt is consolidated in that the consumer makes one consolidated payment that then gets chopped up and distributed to the underlying consumer creditors.
I’m not certain if the agreement ends as shown or if there is a missing signature page and possibly more terms. While the agreement appears to be very open about the consequences and terms of the DMP program it appears to lack any sort of acceptance or signature line. That part seems a little sloppy, at least if I put on my business hat.
Click on image for larger view.
Click on image for larger view.
I can always use your help. If you have a tip or information you want to share, you can get it to me confidentially if you click here.
- We Rise From the Dead Yet Again – Podcast - October 2, 2023
- Lexington Law Credit Repair Gets Hammered in Lawsuit Settlement. If You Sell Credit Repair – Wake Up! - August 28, 2023
- People That Got Scammed by Robocall Debt Relief Company Life Management Services of Orange County to Get Money Back - July 7, 2023
I also felt like this tipster was a sales person form Cornerstone. Â I just got off the phone with one of their customer service reps and they do a great sales pitch. Â Not having ever worked with a debt consolidation company before I really don’t know whether this is something I should pursue. Â I have a lot of debt stemming from my college days, graduated in 2004, that I have been struggling with ever since. Â I am fortunate enough to be able to keep my payments up and make more than minimum payments but have really high interest rates. Â I plan on retiring in the next 5 to 6 years and am trying to get out of debt before retirement. Â
Everything sounded great until they told me I had to pay $54/mo. for the next 4.8 months and $701 cost of program fee will be charged to one of my credit cards. Â Total cost to me to sign up for the 4.8 months is $3,200. Â I realize the savings in interest but just wasn’t comfortable enough to sign on the dotted line.
Having never looked into debt consolidation before I wouldn’t know if this is a scam or not. Â
Do you have pretty good credit? How high are the interest rates on average you are paying now? You may be able to get a debt consolidation loan at a lower rate.
Please, call me Steve. Any plans on maybe fixing those issues I spotted in the agreement?
Thank you Mr. Rhode!
Thank you Mr. Rhode!
Please, call me Steve. Any plans on maybe fixing those issues I spotted in the agreement?
Great answer! If we ever get our new program out maybe we can talk! Keep up the great work.
Sean,
Not an earth shattering story.
It did feel a bit like a plant but I did get the agreement with the tip and there were some issues in the agreement I though debt relief readers could benefit from my discussion about them. That’s primarily why I published it. I also thought readers would be interested in seeing a DMP agreement.
Cornerstone did have an A+ rating as well and I checked that yesterday before I published.
Lastly, I’m really trying to do some good news stories as well and this fit the bill.
Steve
That’s nice. But if that “tipster” isn’t running or marketing for Cornerstone, I’ll eat my hat. There are hundreds of exceptional CCC’s out there- and plenty of bad ones. We use one with an A+ that’s been in business for 14 years.
I know you have personal experience in this field Steve, so I have to ask, aside from a partial posting of their contract, Is this news?
That’s nice. But if that “tipster” isn’t running or marketing for Cornerstone, I’ll eat my hat. There are hundreds of exceptional CCC’s out there- and plenty of bad ones. We use one with an A+ that’s been in business for 14 years.
I know you have personal experience in this field Steve, so I have to ask, aside from a partial posting of their contract, Is this news?
Sean,
Not an earth shattering story.
It did feel a bit like a plant but I did get the agreement with the tip and there were some issues in the agreement I though debt relief readers could benefit from my discussion about them. That’s primarily why I published it. I also thought readers would be interested in seeing a DMP agreement.
Cornerstone did have an A+ rating as well and I checked that yesterday before I published.
Lastly, I’m really trying to do some good news stories as well and this fit the bill.
Steve
Great answer! If we ever get our new program out maybe we can talk! Keep up the great work.