Phil Lehman spoke at the recent Debt Relief Master Class. Mr. Lehman presents his opinion and information about the view of debt relief and debt settlement providers from his position and experience as a participant in the federal testimony about the industry and a follower of the consumer debt niche.

He additionally talks about the consumer problems with regard to mortgage robo-signing issues.

Phil describes the issues he says that attract attention including being affiliated with a government agency, deceptive advertising, consumer complaints, and the fact the company won’t give a refund,

Best Way to Respond to Attorney General Complaints

He talks about the protocol the Attorney General office follows in pursuing debt relief companies. Some of the red flags that attract additional attention include not issuing a refund to an unhappy consumer. A tough stance of relying on small print in contracts draws additional attention from the Attorney General.

He offers this basic advice to stay out of double with regulators.

1. Respond to the complaint.
2. Respond appropriately.
3. Take care of the customer.

Phil talks about how hitting back at the AG office aggressively only leads to a quicker lawsuit against the company.

His advice on refunds is exceptionally good where he talks about the consumer deserves a full refund regardless of who the company may have paid for marketing or other underlying services.

Mr. Lehman doesn’t see any reason why credit counseling groups should not be involved in debt settlement services. He mentions the same issue we’ve seen before about the resistance of the OCC to force the charge off of debt after 180 days delinquent.

We engage in a discussion about how creditors are accepting debt workout arrangements with unlicensed companies. While he says he can’t see any issue against lenders for accepting payments from unlicensed companies. Lenders have been encouraged to not work with properly licensed agencies.

You can watch the entire presentation below.

Get Out of Debt Guy – Twitter, G+, Facebook

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.