Please share your experience with this debt relief company and provide your review and feedback, in the comments section below.
The goal of this page is to allow people to share information that may be important to help others to make a more informed decision regarding their experience with this debt relief company. Here are some potential questions you might be able to provide feedback about.
- How did you feel about the customer service experience you received?
- Was the company easy to communicate with before or after you became a client?
- Did the company respond to your communications promptly?
- What were the fees charged for the services you received?
- Did the company give you the terms and conditions for the program you were interested in before you gave them any personal information?
- Was the program successful for you and accomplish the goals you had when you entered the program?
- Did you have a really good experience you can share?
- Did you have a bad experience you want to share?
- Is there any other information you’d like people to know that might be considering the services of this company?
It is important to understand when reading comments below that they are the opinions of the individual posters and may not be representative of the overall impression of all consumers that may have or have not used the debt relief services of this company. But everyone does deserve to have an opportunity to express their opinion, even the debt relief company itself, be it good, bad, or indifferent.
Douglas Hutton is no longer part of the Dougherty law group. Mr. Hutton “went rouge” and is still retaining clients although he is no longer licensed to do so . His business license for DIVERSIFIED DEBT SOLUTIONS LLC filing status is Suspended/Forfeited. If he is so talented at debt recovery, then why did he have to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy on 11/15/2011? “Case Number: 1113666 in Court District: CA – SANTA BARBARA – CENTRAL” . He even has judgement against him from his ex wife for child support. All this information is online at http://www.intelius.com
Doug Hutton is a scam artist. He will talk you into not paying your credit and he will then fail at getting the credit clean. He just takes your money.
I’m sorry whomever is the unhappy Client. We don’t do credit repair nor do we offer it in any of our contracts, nor do we take any funds before work is finished. I’d like any proof this was the case. All we can do is refer you to a company that handles the credit repair which is not us and if they don’t get it done to your liking it’s out of our hands. We do not take any money and have recieved no referral monies for any credit repair. The best thing about blogs are that anyone can make an opinion then feel better about themselves. I hope your day and life get’s better…
Just want to say that working with Hutton & Dougherty is one of the best financial decisions I have made. I would recommend them to anyone who is looking to get on track and get out of debt. Thanks!
But Doug Hutton is a convicted felon…
Just want to say that working with Hutton & Dougherty is one of the best financial decisions I have made. I would recommend them to anyone who is looking to get on track and get out of debt. Thanks!
DOUG!!!!!
CAN YOU PLEASE ANSWER THE COMMENTERS QUESTION ABOUT YOU BEING A CONVICTED FELON. I DON’T WANT THAT HANGING OUT THERE IF IT IS NOT TRUE. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I’VE ASKED AND IN CASE YOU MISSED THE OTHER TWO REQUESTS I’M PUTTING THIS ONE IN CAPS SO HOPEFULLY YOU SEE IT.
Doug,
Can you please address the commenters that are saying you are a convicted felon. If that is not true I’d like to make sure you set the record straight.
Doug,
Can you please address the commenters that are saying you are a convicted felon. If that is not true I’d like to make sure you set the record straight.
Doug,
Can you please address the commenters that are saying you are a convicted felon. If that is not true I’d like to make sure you set the record straight.
I’ve been following the blog comments regarding Hutton-Dougherty, Inc. I’ve noticed several recent comments regarding Douglas Hutton being a convicted felon. Through sources, I confirmed Hutton has an extensive criminal record in the State of California. He has been arrested for weapons charges, drug possessions, forgery/fraud, and kidnapping. On the blogs, he seems to comment to you and others defending his company, but he doesn’t comment on his past/present situations. Does the FTC regulate people like Hutton? Is there any binding laws, regulations, or disclaimers you are aware of that would exclude Hutton from his current line of work? I feel his customers need to know about this. Sounds like bad business to me. He preaches “integrity and ethical standards” in his website and honestly, I don’t see anything ethical about this “Con” playing the role of a businessman. Feel free to check out http://www.intelius.com for information pertaining to Hutton. Thank you for your time and research into this matter.
I’ve been following the blog comments regarding Hutton-Dougherty, Inc. I’ve noticed several recent comments regarding Douglas Hutton being a convicted felon. Through sources, I confirmed Hutton has an extensive criminal record in the State of California. He has been arrested for weapons charges, drug possessions, forgery/fraud, and kidnapping. On the blogs, he seems to comment to you and others defending his company, but he doesn’t comment on his past/present situations. Does the FTC regulate people like Hutton? Is there any binding laws, regulations, or disclaimers you are aware of that would exclude Hutton from his current line of work? I feel his customers need to know about this. Sounds like bad business to me. He preaches “integrity and ethical standards” in his website and honestly, I don’t see anything ethical about this “Con” playing the role of a businessman. Feel free to check out http://www.intelius.com for information pertaining to Hutton. Thank you for your time and research into this matter.
Finding Doug was a God Send. He explained every detail of the process and did not push to get us started. He has been available any time of the day or night and returns calls very promptly if he is not available when we call. He calls us just to check in to see how things are going on our end. One of the real pluses for us is that Doug was our initial contact and he is the guy that does the negotiating. He has been doing this for quite some time and is really a pro. I sat with him one day while he was negotiating one of our debts…impressive. He knows all the contacts at the creditors and he knows when he can get a better settlement and when they are as low as they will go. He has had success negotiating several of our debts a penny’s on the dollar. I would recommend debt settlement over the other options and I would recommend Doug Hutton to anyone who wants to get it done.
Happy with Doug – TO, CA
Finding Doug was a God Send. He explained every detail of the process and did not push to get us started. He has been available any time of the day or night and returns calls very promptly if he is not available when we call. He calls us just to check in to see how things are going on our end. One of the real pluses for us is that Doug was our initial contact and he is the guy that does the negotiating. He has been doing this for quite some time and is really a pro. I sat with him one day while he was negotiating one of our debts…impressive. He knows all the contacts at the creditors and he knows when he can get a better settlement and when they are as low as they will go. He has had success negotiating several of our debts a penny’s on the dollar. I would recommend debt settlement over the other options and I would recommend Doug Hutton to anyone who wants to get it done.
Happy with Doug – TO, CA
Hutton and Dougherty, my mistake
Hutton and Dougherty, my mistake
Dutton and Dougherty have helped me get out of dept. Very good people with big hearts. They work hard for you. I would recommend them.
Dutton and Dougherty have helped me get out of dept. Very good people with big hearts. They work hard for you. I would recommend them.
Doug,
Some commenter over on the Hutton & Dougherty thread is making some accusation you were either charged with a felony or were convicted of a felony. If that is not true can you please go over to that article and set that commenter straight please. I hate to have that hanging out there unanswered.
That is great. All I did was correct an erroneous statement. I see statements like that and it makes me think over eager debt settlement sales person looking more for a sale than to properly assist a client. If Doug is not doing that, then that is good to hear and he doesn’t have to worry about anything from me. Do right by consumers and you don’t have to worry about getting smacked by me 🙂
Totally agree about the entertainment value.
I am still getting a chuckle out of your potato chip comment!
That is good to hear. I was just making a side note if you noticed my first sentence.
Justin, I have no problem with Doug, don’t even know him. I’m not attacking him, never have.
I guess if I’m poking fun at anyone, it’s you. I found you’re “testimonial” to be over the top, and gave the impression that you have your lips firmly wrapped around Doug’s tailpipe. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
I find this whole idea of mass emailing clients, friends, and business associates and requesting that they go public to be humorous. I have never taken the comment section of this site too seriously, and neither should you guys .. but it sure is great entertainment.
Andy, did I do something to provoke you in my honest assessment of Doug? I’ll gladly give you a call so we can have a polite discussion over the phone about Doug and why or why not I should be supporting him. You are entitled to your opinion and I am to mine. I assure you I am not Doug, I don’t spend time with him socially, nor do I have any blood relation to him. I am just a small businessman who met him, researched him, sent a couple clients his way, and, based on their praises, decided I would continue to do so. Yeah, I understand it is suspicious that somebody would invest this much time defending him, but that is because I do trust him and feel he is being unfairly attacked.
What confuses me here is that this page is set up for Complaints, Reviews, or Praise. Yet when I take a look at both of your comments I see don’t necessarily see that. If Doug screws people over, or is a crook, that will eventually be evidenced when people who sought out his services flood this board to share their experience about how they were wronged. But I haven’t seen that. Instead, I am seeing people post reviews and praise, which is exactly what I believe Steve Rhode set up this page on his blog to do.
Andy, if you worked with Doug personally, or if you know him personally, or if you have heard from any of his past clients who have told you stories about something Doug has done wrong, you have every right to write about the experience and tell the world how you feel. But I personally don’t understand your message, because it feel like an unmerited attack. I’m not trying to pick a fight with you on this, I’m just trying to find out the basis of your issue with Doug.
And Daniel, while I wasn’t able to find the report you indicated, I will have to take your word on it. That said, context is important here. When did the said offense occur and what were they related to (was he a kid at the time, how many years ago was it, etc.). How has Doug progressed in society in the aftermath of the offenses and what has he done to straighten up his life since then.
I am being 100% honest when I say that Doug has showed the utmost care and professionalism when dealing with my clients. He got their issues resolved, and that what I care most about. And if he ever did anything to harm any of my clients you’d probably see a complaint written on here by me.
“Kids” criminal records are sealed sir. You apparently didn’t look very hard either..
Actually I do know that although debt settlement might be the best option for some, Doug does NOT recommend this as a blanket to all. My parents were also considering debt settlement, BK, and various options and Doug did not sell them on debt settlement because it was NOT what was right for them and he knew that.
Douglas Hutton is a crook Justin. He has an extensive criminal record per intellius.com. I don’t suggest anyone do business with Mr. Hutton. Just my two cents…
Gimme a D! Gimme an O! Gimme a U and…. Gimme a G! What’s that spell? DOUG!
Doug is awesome! Doug can settle your debt just by thinking about it!
Some people wear superman pajamas, well, Superman wears Doug pajamas. He’s just that awesome.
Doug can also gargle peanut butter, he can hold his breath for nine years, and he CAN eat just one lay’s potato chip. HE’S JUST THAT AWESOME!
Before I get to the point, I want to make it clear that I have never used Doug to settle any of my debts (Fortunately, I don’t have any to be settled). I am a tax professional that primarily specializes in individual and small business taxation. I met Doug around 2 years back and, since many of my clients had debt issues, I thought it would be nice to learn more about what he does. Before I referred a single client his way, I asked to speak with several of his other clients and grilled them to see if he was the real deal.
That said, I never hesitate to recommend my clients to Doug so they can work with to determine if his program is right for them (and I refuse to take a single cent for it). I do this for one very important reason, I trust him. He is an honest guy that does everything he can for his clients. He’s essentially a single-man operation and treats each of his clients as if they are his only client. He remains accessible to them at all times (he even provides them with his personal cell phone number). I can’t imagine that in his industry you see very many people operating like Doug does. And most importantly, Doug doesn’t over-promise and under-deliver. If he did, he’d never hear from me again.
I don’t know much about fees for debt settlement, but I do know about integrity. Doug will do everything possible to help out his clients, which is evidenced by the raving reviews he gets from my clients. I understand that there is a ton of scum in the debt settlement industry. Not all of my clients who seek Doug out ever use him, mostly because he knows when to tell someone that his services aren’t right for him.
Before I get to the point, I want to make it clear that I have never used Doug to settle any of my debts (Fortunately, I don’t have any to be settled). I am a tax professional that primarily specializes in individual and small business taxation. I met Doug around 2 years back and, since many of my clients had debt issues, I thought it would be nice to learn more about what he does. Before I referred a single client his way, I asked to speak with several of his other clients and grilled them to see if he was the real deal.
That said, I never hesitate to recommend my clients to Doug so they can work with to determine if his program is right for them (and I refuse to take a single cent for it). I do this for one very important reason, I trust him. He is an honest guy that does everything he can for his clients. He’s essentially a single-man operation and treats each of his clients as if they are his only client. He remains accessible to them at all times (he even provides them with his personal cell phone number). I can’t imagine that in his industry you see very many people operating like Doug does. And most importantly, Doug doesn’t over-promise and under-deliver. If he did, he’d never hear from me again.
I don’t know much about fees for debt settlement, but I do know about integrity. Doug will do everything possible to help out his clients, which is evidenced by the raving reviews he gets from my clients. I understand that there is a ton of scum in the debt settlement industry. Not all of my clients who seek Doug out ever use him, mostly because he knows when to tell someone that his services aren’t right for him.
Gimme a D! Gimme an O! Gimme a U and…. Gimme a G! What’s that spell? DOUG!
Doug is awesome! Doug can settle your debt just by thinking about it!
Some people wear superman pajamas, well, Superman wears Doug pajamas. He’s just that awesome.
Doug can also gargle peanut butter, he can hold his breath for nine years, and he CAN eat just one lay’s potato chip. HE’S JUST THAT AWESOME!
Douglas Hutton is a crook Justin. He has an extensive criminal record per intellius.com. I don’t suggest anyone do business with Mr. Hutton. Just my two cents…
Andy, did I do something to provoke you in my honest assessment of Doug? I’ll gladly give you a call so we can have a polite discussion over the phone about Doug and why or why not I should be supporting him. You are entitled to your opinion and I am to mine. I assure you I am not Doug, I don’t spend time with him socially, nor do I have any blood relation to him. I am just a small businessman who met him, researched him, sent a couple clients his way, and, based on their praises, decided I would continue to do so. Yeah, I understand it is suspicious that somebody would invest this much time defending him, but that is because I do trust him and feel he is being unfairly attacked.
What confuses me here is that this page is set up for Complaints, Reviews, or Praise. Yet when I take a look at both of your comments I see don’t necessarily see that. If Doug screws people over, or is a crook, that will eventually be evidenced when people who sought out his services flood this board to share their experience about how they were wronged. But I haven’t seen that. Instead, I am seeing people post reviews and praise, which is exactly what I believe Steve Rhode set up this page on his blog to do.
Andy, if you worked with Doug personally, or if you know him personally, or if you have heard from any of his past clients who have told you stories about something Doug has done wrong, you have every right to write about the experience and tell the world how you feel. But I personally don’t understand your message, because it feel like an unmerited attack. I’m not trying to pick a fight with you on this, I’m just trying to find out the basis of your issue with Doug.
And Daniel, while I wasn’t able to find the report you indicated, I will have to take your word on it. That said, context is important here. When did the said offense occur and what were they related to (was he a kid at the time, how many years ago was it, etc.). How has Doug progressed in society in the aftermath of the offenses and what has he done to straighten up his life since then.
I am being 100% honest when I say that Doug has showed the utmost care and professionalism when dealing with my clients. He got their issues resolved, and that what I care most about. And if he ever did anything to harm any of my clients you’d probably see a complaint written on here by me.
Justin, I have no problem with Doug, don’t even know him. I’m not attacking him, never have.
I guess if I’m poking fun at anyone, it’s you. I found you’re “testimonial” to be over the top, and gave the impression that you have your lips firmly wrapped around Doug’s tailpipe. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
I find this whole idea of mass emailing clients, friends, and business associates and requesting that they go public to be humorous. I have never taken the comment section of this site too seriously, and neither should you guys .. but it sure is great entertainment.
Totally agree about the entertainment value.
I am still getting a chuckle out of your potato chip comment!
I have sent a few clients to this firm and they have had a great experieince with them and great savings. I will continue to refer my clients.
I have sent a few clients to this firm and they have had a great experieince with them and great savings. I will continue to refer my clients.
Bryan-From Georgia-
My wife and I are now debt free and have no regret with the program Doug offered. I considered all options and found that debt settlement was the only route for us. I contacted Doug, skeptical about any program, but after talking with him and getting all the details we decided to do the program. Doug was there all the way. We entered the program with over 40K of debt and in 16 months we were debt free. The program worked for us and we our credit scores have gone back up and we are where we need to be financially. Doug never left us wondering what was happening next. He kept us well informed and was readily available to answer any question. I would and have recommended others to Doug and they too have reaped the benefits of the program. My only regret was allowing ourselves to get in debt, but after going thru the program Doug offered and his counseling throuhout the program, we will not be in debt again. Thanks Doug.
B
Bryan-From Georgia-
My wife and I are now debt free and have no regret with the program Doug offered. I considered all options and found that debt settlement was the only route for us. I contacted Doug, skeptical about any program, but after talking with him and getting all the details we decided to do the program. Doug was there all the way. We entered the program with over 40K of debt and in 16 months we were debt free. The program worked for us and we our credit scores have gone back up and we are where we need to be financially. Doug never left us wondering what was happening next. He kept us well informed and was readily available to answer any question. I would and have recommended others to Doug and they too have reaped the benefits of the program. My only regret was allowing ourselves to get in debt, but after going thru the program Doug offered and his counseling throuhout the program, we will not be in debt again. Thanks Doug.
B
Doug,
Just to be clear, was their anything I said in my article, “Hutton & Dougherty. An Interesting Approach” that was not correct? What was “down and dirty” about what I published? It was supported with information distributed by your company. I didn’t create it.
It’s not me you need to thank it is the tipster that sent me the information to look at.
You make it sound, in my opinion, as if I’m the only one that had a concern and rallied an “army” behind my concern. In fact I did spot something in your marketing that I thought violated the FTC telemarketing sales rules for debt relief sales and I did ask the FTC for clarification and they offered their opinion, which I published. From what they said it appeared they agreed with my opinion.
I am not anti-debt solutions. In fact I have fought since 1994 for implementation of new solutions. And in all that time many consumers were abused by companies making false claims and promises while charging them enormous fees and not performing the service they sold. Protecting consumers from more of that is not a difficult thing to get behind.
And why are some people not happy with what I have to say about one issue or another? Interestingly the underlying facts I present are not questioned but some are unhappy their tricks and tactics have been exposed.
What is interesting is you don’t see comments from pissed consumers because I provided a warning, concern, or report. What you see are people that have been doing that stuff lashing out. Why would a protected consumer be upset for me pointing out issues that protect them? So who is really pissed off here?
Curious, what did I say you had read?
On the debt consolidation loan front, unsecured debt consolidation loans up to $35K are readily available through P2P lending channels like LendingClub.com. They just announced they’ve passed the $200 Million mark in loans and 63% of their loans are for debt consolidation.
Let me know what you find from your research. If you’d like I can ask my FTC credit repair contact to take a look and offer an opinion. Let me know.
Doug,
May I ask how much Apex kicks back to you for referrals?
Hey Damon I am not here to battle anyone. I never said that people will not be able to rent I actually said and I quote “I’ve had clients not be able to rent even a room because of their credit score was so bad because the owner of the house didn’t think they could afford it based on their report.”
If there is 60 to 100 some odd million people living on the streets they probably are the renters and the owners who lost their houses before they could rent to them. Why do you think the bank owns so many properties they can’t sell and are empty. This is all making total sense to me. Thanks and take care.
It seems people don’t understand that everyone has their opinion about what’s best or if debt settlement is the right way to go. After taking the time to read some posts it seems like Steve has his army behind him and he needs them because it rattles some people or debt settlement companies apparently. There is a lot of hostility it seems and I have to say that it doesn’t seem like too many people are happy with what he says about the industry. I’d like to thank Steve first of all for getting our company out there by word of mouth as we are a word of mouth business. So Thanks Steve. This not only gives our company the opportunity to answer any questions and take this head on and make us better but it gets our name out to hundreds of thousands of people and gives them the opportunity to make the best decision on a company to use(that they may have never known about)and let them see that we charge dramatically less than any other company around. Steve, you may have your opinions, and nor do I hate or judge you by what you have created for yourself or what you say that i have read, but it seems you do get down and dirty to where you and others can formulate an opinion. You are the Rush Limbaugh of the debt blog world. He’s got a great face for radio and I actually love his pompous attitude and how he says how he feels. You don’t have to like or promote something you don’t believe in, but you can promote the people you do.
It seems people don’t understand that everyone has their opinion about what’s best or if debt settlement is the right way to go. After taking the time to read some posts it seems like Steve has his army behind him and he needs them because it rattles some people or debt settlement companies apparently. There is a lot of hostility it seems and I have to say that it doesn’t seem like too many people are happy with what he says about the industry. I’d like to thank Steve first of all for getting our company out there by word of mouth as we are a word of mouth business. So Thanks Steve. This not only gives our company the opportunity to answer any questions and take this head on and make us better but it gets our name out to hundreds of thousands of people and gives them the opportunity to make the best decision on a company to use(that they may have never known about)and let them see that we charge dramatically less than any other company around. Steve, you may have your opinions, and nor do I hate or judge you by what you have created for yourself or what you say that i have read, but it seems you do get down and dirty to where you and others can formulate an opinion. You are the Rush Limbaugh of the debt blog world. He’s got a great face for radio and I actually love his pompous attitude and how he says how he feels. You don’t have to like or promote something you don’t believe in, but you can promote the people you do.
Doug,Just to be clear, was their anything I said in my article, “Hutton & Dougherty. An Interesting Approach” that was not correct? What was “down and dirty” about what I published? It was supported with information distributed by your company. I didn’t create it.It’s not me you need to thank it is the tipster that sent me the information to look at.You make it sound, in my opinion, as if I’m the only one that had a concern and rallied an “army” behind my concern. In fact I did spot something in your marketing that I thought violated the FTC telemarketing sales rules for debt relief sales and I did ask the FTC for clarification and they offered their opinion, which I published. From what they said it appeared they agreed with my opinion. I am not anti-debt solutions. In fact I have fought since 1994 for implementation of new solutions. And in all that time many consumers were abused by companies making false claims and promises while charging them enormous fees and not performing the service they sold. Protecting consumers from more of that is not a difficult thing to get behind. And why are some people not happy with what I have to say about one issue or another? Interestingly the underlying facts I present are not questioned but some are unhappy their tricks and tactics have been exposed. What is interesting is you don’t see comments from pissed consumers because I provided a warning, concern, or report. What you see are people that have been doing that stuff lashing out. Why would a protected consumer be upset for me pointing out issues that protect them? So who is really pissed off here?Curious, what did I say you had read?
Just a side note to all the fear mongering I see about not being able to rent with bad credit. News flash. Millions of people have filed BK in the past few years. Many more millions have late pays and horrible credit. Where are the 60 to 100 some odd million people that are living in the streets because nobody will rent to them???????
I’m sorry If I have mis stated anything as I am overly exhausted. I do believe debt settlement is the best option for clients who have means of funding it. You can get out of debt in 1 to 3 years as opposed to paying back all at a reduced interest amount over 6 years like CCC takes. Due to the sub prime fallout in 06 there really isn’t a consolidation loan available so a payment or deposit to their trust account that is less than all their minimums to their creditors will get the the result and also alleviate some immediate pressure. Our company disclose all option and will get the potential client to where they need to be if our program doesn’t best suit their situation. I’ve sent people to have consultations for BK and some went that direction and some didn’t qualify and they came back to our company. We go over all options they have during our consulations and they sign a page of the contract that asks if we went over all other possible options which we do.
As for Apex this is something that was just created the past two weeks. The one and only contract that went out that is now on this site was coupled with our client agreement on this site as well. I was unaware of any regulations or issues on the credit repair end that would go against any regulations and we will also be having council look further into this before we continue to tell anyone or send out any other contracts for this service. I’ve sent friends and family to Apex and have not had any current clients sign up for any credit repair. In asking our clients if this is something that would be helpful to do side by side so they can have the best opportunity to move forward faster once they finish was thought to be a great idea. I’ve had clients not be able to rent even a room because of their credit score was so bad because the owner of the house didn’t think they could afford it based on their report.
Aww Doug, you were doing so well until you fell into the typical debt settlement sales pitch mode and made a foolish claim like settlement is the best option. You see, they are all good options under the right set of circumstances. Please explain how a consumer in debt can expect to receive an unbiased consultation when they call your company for help? If you think debt settlement is the best option, then you are just going to sell debt settlement, which is very harmful for consumers looking for real answers instead of sales pitches.
You say “debt settlement as the best option over CCC, BK,” Can you please clarify if you are saying it is always a better option than credit counseling or bankruptcy? It read like a blanket statement and I want to make sure I understand what you were trying to say.
I’d like to second before my fingers fall off from blogging today and personally thank all past and present clients who took time out of their busy days to respond to this blog so promptly. Feels good to know that our clients(some of which never have met us face to face but have created relationships through working together) are behind us as we are them. I’m sure this is not over but I hope that people continue to believe in debt settlement as the best option over CCC , BK, and doing Nothing.
“NEVER TOO BUSY FOR YOUR REFERRALS”
I’d like to second before my fingers fall off from blogging today and personally thank all past and present clients who took time out of their busy days to respond to this blog so promptly. Feels good to know that our clients(some of which never have met us face to face but have created relationships through working together) are behind us as we are them. I’m sure this is not over but I hope that people continue to believe in debt settlement as the best option over CCC , BK, and doing Nothing.
“NEVER TOO BUSY FOR YOUR REFERRALS”
You say “debt settlement as the best option over CCC, BK,” Can you please clarify if you are saying it is always a better option than credit counseling or bankruptcy? It read like a blanket statement and I want to make sure I understand what you were trying to say.
Aww Doug, you were doing so well until you fell into the typical debt settlement sales pitch mode and made a foolish claim like settlement is the best option. You see, they are all good options under the right set of circumstances. Please explain how a consumer in debt can expect to receive an unbiased consultation when they call your company for help? If you think debt settlement is the best option, then you are just going to sell debt settlement, which is very harmful for consumers looking for real answers instead of sales pitches.
Actually I do know that although debt settlement might be the best option for some, Doug does NOT recommend this as a blanket to all. My parents were also considering debt settlement, BK, and various options and Doug did not sell them on debt settlement because it was NOT what was right for them and he knew that.
That is great. All I did was correct an erroneous statement. I see statements like that and it makes me think over eager debt settlement sales person looking more for a sale than to properly assist a client. If Doug is not doing that, then that is good to hear and he doesn’t have to worry about anything from me. Do right by consumers and you don’t have to worry about getting smacked by me 🙂
Maybe you can help clear something up for me. I took a look at the Apex pitch recently and can you clarify how their approach of charging a monthly program fee of $100 is not in violation of the Credit Repair Organizations Act that says: “Payment in Advance.–No credit repair organization may charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration for the performance of any service which the credit repair organization has agreed to perform for any consumer before such service is fully performed.”
You seem to be saying Apex is removing negative but accurate information from the credit reports of your clients. The FTC says it is. “It’s illegal: No one can remove accurate negative information from your credit report.” – Source.
I am completely word of mouth and went with the approach of getting people out of debt 1 community at a time by having a small but strong goal in mind. I started with the community I grew up in which is Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village and I have spread throughout CA at a decent rate. It’s so true what they say about 1 happy client will tell 1 person but 1 unhappy client will tell 10 people their experiences. I am very active in the community and Network with groups as well as many businesses who have opened their portfolios to me by sending someone that they care about to someone they trust. My clients are all over CA. There is plenty of debt to settle in Ca but who knows what will happen in the future, I may look into getting into another state or multiple states. I would love to possibly expand my services but am happy with all my clients being able to come in and see me anytime or be available to Skype or talk on the phone at anytime if they live too far. I have also tested my own friends and family at a credit repair company called Apex which helps remove lates, charge offs etc. and they were able to remove the marks on an average of 3-10 months and cleaned up their credit completely. I have got with their owner Komyar Farhang and expressed my concerns to him about a clients finishing a debt settlement program and then having to figure out how to clean up their situation and get into new loans while still having no credit and a low score. He has agreed to give all my clients a monthly credit repair option at a nominal monthly fee to where as we settle and obtain Clients release letters, Apex can be dilligently working side by side to get the negative marks removed and clients reports repaired nearly to completion by the time they finish the program. Some employers won’t hire people who have BK’s or other issues on their credit either. I want my clients to have every opportunity to have as normal of a life as possible after going through the most difficult time in their lives. When letting clients know about this option they are made fully aware that they are not part of our company and there is a seperate contract for Apex they must fill out and return to Apex. Apex fully services the client with the credit repair end and maintains the client service leaving our company completely out of the mix unless there is something needed from our end to help get the job done at no cost to our clients to get the premium result. My Clients are also made aware by me that like debt settlement companies have no guarantee any creditor will settle with them(which I haven’t run across one that hasn’t wanted to collect something instead of potentially nothing) that there is no guarantees what can be removed from their report and again completely up to them if they want to go in that direction. All i can do is give my professional opinion and them the chance.
I just heard about all this talk today from a gentleman in New York who owns a debt resolution company who contacted me and me aware of all of this so I am a little overwhelmed with this but will answer as many questions as rapidly as possible for any asking parties. I can guarantee that no Client and I repeat NO CLIENT has paid any upfront fees or monthly fees unless they were grandfathered in by signing up on or prior to the date that the regulations were intact. Our books and business is ran to where it could be sold tomorrow. Our clients always get whats in benefit of the client and we have many on payment plans after settling their debt because I’d rather them owe our company than a creditor and potentially have legal ramifications. I just read on tipsters site that I have been running this model and that is incorrect. I would never put anyone at risk or a worse position, including myself or my family. I am money and success driven as Donald Trump but by creating this option my goal was to give the client the opportunity to get out of debt faster and cheaper than ever as well as Companies move forward in a manner that won’t let them hang themselves with the extra rope but climb through these tough times and keep getting people their lives back. Think about it, everyone wins. The client saves more money than ever before and gets out of debt faster with the least possible problems or legal battles that not paying your creditors can potentially bring on. The companies have an opportunity to not give a hand out but just a hand to people who need it and monitarily compensate themselves so that they can maintain their obligations that running a business brings along. Banks will be more accepting of our industry because they will see that we are trying to get them paid as fast as possible creating a relationship between us where they will work more firmly with us than against us. Keep in mind that no client would be forced or even be pressed to choose a package if this were to be deemed as fair by the FTC. How can small businesses or large companies create jobs and give America what it needs to succeed. If there is horse maneur there has to be a horse somewhere. I hope everyone keeps an open mind to this and just maybe we can petition the FTC to make this ok to do. We all have the same goal and that is to be successful and to help others have the opportunity to succeed while running good honest businesses.
I just heard about all this talk today from a gentleman in New York who owns a debt resolution company who contacted me and me aware of all of this so I am a little overwhelmed with this but will answer as many questions as rapidly as possible for any asking parties. I can guarantee that no Client and I repeat NO CLIENT has paid any upfront fees or monthly fees unless they were grandfathered in by signing up on or prior to the date that the regulations were intact. Our books and business is ran to where it could be sold tomorrow. Our clients always get whats in benefit of the client and we have many on payment plans after settling their debt because I’d rather them owe our company than a creditor and potentially have legal ramifications. I just read on tipsters site that I have been running this model and that is incorrect. I would never put anyone at risk or a worse position, including myself or my family. I am money and success driven as Donald Trump but by creating this option my goal was to give the client the opportunity to get out of debt faster and cheaper than ever as well as Companies move forward in a manner that won’t let them hang themselves with the extra rope but climb through these tough times and keep getting people their lives back. Think about it, everyone wins. The client saves more money than ever before and gets out of debt faster with the least possible problems or legal battles that not paying your creditors can potentially bring on. The companies have an opportunity to not give a hand out but just a hand to people who need it and monitarily compensate themselves so that they can maintain their obligations that running a business brings along. Banks will be more accepting of our industry because they will see that we are trying to get them paid as fast as possible creating a relationship between us where they will work more firmly with us than against us. Keep in mind that no client would be forced or even be pressed to choose a package if this were to be deemed as fair by the FTC. How can small businesses or large companies create jobs and give America what it needs to succeed. If there is horse maneur there has to be a horse somewhere. I hope everyone keeps an open mind to this and just maybe we can petition the FTC to make this ok to do. We all have the same goal and that is to be successful and to help others have the opportunity to succeed while running good honest businesses.
Genuine, experienced and on the ball. I was sad, scared, and confused about what to do about my debts and who to trust. I found out about Hutton & Dougherty from a trusted financial adviser. Not only are my financial debts being taken care of, my emotional debt load is also lighter. From day one, Doug has proven to me that “I” am what matters and with his help, I am starting to believe this myself! Thanks Doug, you rock!
Genuine, experienced and on the ball. I was sad, scared, and confused about what to do about my debts and who to trust. I found out about Hutton & Dougherty from a trusted financial adviser. Not only are my financial debts being taken care of, my emotional debt load is also lighter. From day one, Doug has proven to me that “I” am what matters and with his help, I am starting to believe this myself! Thanks Doug, you rock!
I made the best decision to let Doug Hutton handling my debt, professional,good service and no hassels easy to work with.I highly recommend Hutton and Dougherty to anyone with debt settlement.
Thanks again Doug .
I made the best decision to let Doug Hutton handling my debt, professional,good service and no hassels easy to work with.I highly recommend Hutton and Dougherty to anyone with debt settlement.
Thanks again Doug .
Do you only serve clients near LA?
I mass emailed all current and past clients, chances are they all recieved the email on their smart phones where they are capable to answer as soon as they recieve it. I don’t mean to be Captain obvious but maybe people are very happy and respond to me as quickly as I do them. Take care.
Interesting that 4 very happy customers came on all within 30 minutes of each other. I am not saying the testimonies are not real. I don’t know anything about Hutton and Dougherty. They might be a great company. Just seems a little suspect.
Interesting that 4 very happy customers came on all within 30 minutes of each other. I am not saying the testimonies are not real. I don’t know anything about Hutton and Dougherty. They might be a great company. Just seems a little suspect.
I mass emailed all current and past clients, chances are they all recieved the email on their smart phones where they are capable to answer as soon as they recieve it. I don’t mean to be Captain obvious but maybe people are very happy and respond to me as quickly as I do them. Take care.
Do you only serve clients near LA?
I am completely word of mouth and went with the approach of getting people out of debt 1 community at a time by having a small but strong goal in mind. I started with the community I grew up in which is Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village and I have spread throughout CA at a decent rate. It’s so true what they say about 1 happy client will tell 1 person but 1 unhappy client will tell 10 people their experiences. I am very active in the community and Network with groups as well as many businesses who have opened their portfolios to me by sending someone that they care about to someone they trust. My clients are all over CA. There is plenty of debt to settle in Ca but who knows what will happen in the future, I may look into getting into another state or multiple states. I would love to possibly expand my services but am happy with all my clients being able to come in and see me anytime or be available to Skype or talk on the phone at anytime if they live too far. I have also tested my own friends and family at a credit repair company called Apex which helps remove lates, charge offs etc. and they were able to remove the marks on an average of 3-10 months and cleaned up their credit completely. I have got with their owner Komyar Farhang and expressed my concerns to him about a clients finishing a debt settlement program and then having to figure out how to clean up their situation and get into new loans while still having no credit and a low score. He has agreed to give all my clients a monthly credit repair option at a nominal monthly fee to where as we settle and obtain Clients release letters, Apex can be dilligently working side by side to get the negative marks removed and clients reports repaired nearly to completion by the time they finish the program. Some employers won’t hire people who have BK’s or other issues on their credit either. I want my clients to have every opportunity to have as normal of a life as possible after going through the most difficult time in their lives. When letting clients know about this option they are made fully aware that they are not part of our company and there is a seperate contract for Apex they must fill out and return to Apex. Apex fully services the client with the credit repair end and maintains the client service leaving our company completely out of the mix unless there is something needed from our end to help get the job done at no cost to our clients to get the premium result. My Clients are also made aware by me that like debt settlement companies have no guarantee any creditor will settle with them(which I haven’t run across one that hasn’t wanted to collect something instead of potentially nothing) that there is no guarantees what can be removed from their report and again completely up to them if they want to go in that direction. All i can do is give my professional opinion and them the chance.
Maybe you can help clear something up for me. I took a look at the Apex pitch recently and can you clarify how their approach of charging a monthly program fee of $100 is not in violation of the Credit Repair Organizations Act that says: “Payment in Advance.–No credit repair organization may charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration for the performance of any service which the credit repair organization has agreed to perform for any consumer before such service is fully performed.”
You seem to be saying Apex is removing negative but accurate information from the credit reports of your clients. The FTC says it is. “It’s illegal: No one can remove accurate negative information from your credit report.” – Source.
I’m sorry If I have mis stated anything as I am overly exhausted. I do believe debt settlement is the best option for clients who have means of funding it. You can get out of debt in 1 to 3 years as opposed to paying back all at a reduced interest amount over 6 years like CCC takes. Due to the sub prime fallout in 06 there really isn’t a consolidation loan available so a payment or deposit to their trust account that is less than all their minimums to their creditors will get the the result and also alleviate some immediate pressure. Our company disclose all option and will get the potential client to where they need to be if our program doesn’t best suit their situation. I’ve sent people to have consultations for BK and some went that direction and some didn’t qualify and they came back to our company. We go over all options they have during our consulations and they sign a page of the contract that asks if we went over all other possible options which we do.
As for Apex this is something that was just created the past two weeks. The one and only contract that went out that is now on this site was coupled with our client agreement on this site as well. I was unaware of any regulations or issues on the credit repair end that would go against any regulations and we will also be having council look further into this before we continue to tell anyone or send out any other contracts for this service. I’ve sent friends and family to Apex and have not had any current clients sign up for any credit repair. In asking our clients if this is something that would be helpful to do side by side so they can have the best opportunity to move forward faster once they finish was thought to be a great idea. I’ve had clients not be able to rent even a room because of their credit score was so bad because the owner of the house didn’t think they could afford it based on their report.
Just a side note to all the fear mongering I see about not being able to rent with bad credit. News flash. Millions of people have filed BK in the past few years. Many more millions have late pays and horrible credit. Where are the 60 to 100 some odd million people that are living in the streets because nobody will rent to them???????
Hey Damon I am not here to battle anyone. I never said that people will not be able to rent I actually said and I quote “I’ve had clients not be able to rent even a room because of their credit score was so bad because the owner of the house didn’t think they could afford it based on their report.”
If there is 60 to 100 some odd million people living on the streets they probably are the renters and the owners who lost their houses before they could rent to them. Why do you think the bank owns so many properties they can’t sell and are empty. This is all making total sense to me. Thanks and take care.
That is good to hear. I was just making a side note if you noticed my first sentence.
Doug,
Some commenter over on the Hutton & Dougherty thread is making some accusation you were either charged with a felony or were convicted of a felony. If that is not true can you please go over to that article and set that commenter straight please. I hate to have that hanging out there unanswered.
Doug,
Can you please address the commenters that are saying you are a convicted felon. If that is not true I’d like to make sure you set the record straight.
Doug,
May I ask how much Apex kicks back to you for referrals?
On the debt consolidation loan front, unsecured debt consolidation loans up to $35K are readily available through P2P lending channels like LendingClub.com. They just announced they’ve passed the $200 Million mark in loans and 63% of their loans are for debt consolidation.
Let me know what you find from your research. If you’d like I can ask my FTC credit repair contact to take a look and offer an opinion. Let me know.
DOUG!!!!!
CAN YOU PLEASE ANSWER THE COMMENTERS QUESTION ABOUT YOU BEING A CONVICTED FELON. I DON’T WANT THAT HANGING OUT THERE IF IT IS NOT TRUE. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I’VE ASKED AND IN CASE YOU MISSED THE OTHER TWO REQUESTS I’M PUTTING THIS ONE IN CAPS SO HOPEFULLY YOU SEE IT.
I would highly recommend Hutton and Dougherty to anyone looking to get out of debt with no hassles. Hutton and Dougherty is an honest company with personal service, and always looks out for my best interest. The office is quick to get back to me with any and all questions, offer me sound advice, and I always knew I was making the best decisions with their guidance. I am now out of debt and have had a weight lifted from my shoulders. Thank you!!
I would highly recommend Hutton and Dougherty to anyone looking to get out of debt with no hassles. Hutton and Dougherty is an honest company with personal service, and always looks out for my best interest. The office is quick to get back to me with any and all questions, offer me sound advice, and I always knew I was making the best decisions with their guidance. I am now out of debt and have had a weight lifted from my shoulders. Thank you!!
I met Doug Hutton at a chamber of commerce event, and his services fit what we had been going though to clear out some debt and organize our finances. He as been, in the year and a half since, a professional, hard working and diligent young man in confidentially helping us pay off a number of accounts, is very forgiving in his fees, and has even referred business to me! We refer each other to many mutual clients, and we’ve launched ventures together, benfitting many people, and we’ll be great friends and associates for a long time!
I met Doug Hutton at a chamber of commerce event, and his services fit what we had been going though to clear out some debt and organize our finances. He as been, in the year and a half since, a professional, hard working and diligent young man in confidentially helping us pay off a number of accounts, is very forgiving in his fees, and has even referred business to me! We refer each other to many mutual clients, and we’ve launched ventures together, benfitting many people, and we’ll be great friends and associates for a long time!
* How did you feel about the customer service experience you received? EXCELLENT!
* Was the company easy to communicate with before or after you became a client? VERY EASY – IF THEY WERE ON THE PHONE OR OUT OF THE OFFICE, I RECEIVED RETURN PHONES CALLS THE VERY SAME DAY.
* Did the company respond to your communications promptly? YES
* What were the fees charged for the services you received? CONFIDENTIAL
* Did the company give you the terms and conditions for the program you were interested in before you gave them any personal information? YES
* Was the program successful for you and accomplish the goals you had when you entered the program? YES, I RECEIVED THE WORK-OUTS WE ANTICIPATED.
* Did you have a really good experience you can share? SEVERAL THREE-WAY PHONE CALLS WITH CREDITORS, WITH MY REPRESENTATIVE IN CONTROL.
* Did you have a bad experience you want to share? SOME CREDIT CARD COMPANIES ARE EASIER TO WORK WITH THAN OTHERS.
* Is there any other information you’d like people to know that might be considering the services of this company? I RECOMMEND HUTTON & DOUGHERTY BECAUSE OF THEIR PROFESSIONALISM AND INTEGRITY. THEY DID A GOOD JOB FOR ME AND THE COST OF THEIR SERVICES WORKED OUT FOR ME BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO AVOID BANKRUPTCY AND AM NOW ON MY WAY TO BUILDING MY CREDIT SCORE BACK UP.
* How did you feel about the customer service experience you received? EXCELLENT!
* Was the company easy to communicate with before or after you became a client? VERY EASY – IF THEY WERE ON THE PHONE OR OUT OF THE OFFICE, I RECEIVED RETURN PHONES CALLS THE VERY SAME DAY.
* Did the company respond to your communications promptly? YES
* What were the fees charged for the services you received? CONFIDENTIAL
* Did the company give you the terms and conditions for the program you were interested in before you gave them any personal information? YES
* Was the program successful for you and accomplish the goals you had when you entered the program? YES, I RECEIVED THE WORK-OUTS WE ANTICIPATED.
* Did you have a really good experience you can share? SEVERAL THREE-WAY PHONE CALLS WITH CREDITORS, WITH MY REPRESENTATIVE IN CONTROL.
* Did you have a bad experience you want to share? SOME CREDIT CARD COMPANIES ARE EASIER TO WORK WITH THAN OTHERS.
* Is there any other information you’d like people to know that might be considering the services of this company? I RECOMMEND HUTTON & DOUGHERTY BECAUSE OF THEIR PROFESSIONALISM AND INTEGRITY. THEY DID A GOOD JOB FOR ME AND THE COST OF THEIR SERVICES WORKED OUT FOR ME BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO AVOID BANKRUPTCY AND AM NOW ON MY WAY TO BUILDING MY CREDIT SCORE BACK UP.
I had a great experience with Hutton and Dougherty and would recommend them to anyone who is in need of debt settlement. They saved me over $11K and I am on way back to financial freedom thanks to them. Thank you again Hutton and Dougherty!
I had a great experience with Hutton and Dougherty and would recommend them to anyone who is in need of debt settlement. They saved me over $11K and I am on way back to financial freedom thanks to them. Thank you again Hutton and Dougherty!