Quick Answer: DebtPro123 appears to be a debt settlement scam, as evidenced by disconnected phone numbers, a mailbox-only address, and complete lack of response after collecting fees. The widow should contact an attorney immediately, as the company likely took money without providing legitimate debt settlement services over the 3-year period.
“Dear Steve,
My husband and I got in alot of debt. What I am telling you now, I am just uncovering. My husband handled the finances and I thought he was good at it. He recently passed away so I have had to start looking into all of this”mess” that we or shall I say “I” am in now. As far as I can tell he started by talking to someone at WiseCounsel debt solutions and they referred him to DebtPro123. In April 2012 I had to go to court and I spoke with Bryan Taylor and he told me to just tell them I was working with DebtPro which I did and gave the attorney Bryan’s phone number. The attorney mentioned they had heard of them and they would work through them.
I have not heard back from that attorney. Every time I would get something in the mail I would fax it to DebtPro and they would respond. Since my husband’s death and we were nearing the end of our 3yr commitment with them I wanted to know where we stood with our bills. I have called, emailed and no response. I have faxed and gotten automated responses. I live in another state so went on to look where they were located and could not find the exact building but saw a store and got their phone # and asked it they had ever heard of them and they said no.
Every weekday I read the enforcement actions, filings and fine print the outlets skip, and turn them into the one or two moves that actually improve your position — a rate worth moving for, a fee you can refuse, a deadline to beat before it costs you.
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I then contacted the post office and found out all of the mail was being sent to a Mailbox Etc. mailbox.
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Bryan cell phone is not in service and I have looked up several other people that I have recieved mail and emails from and all their phones are also disconnected.
I contacted the “California consumer affairs” and they would not even talk to me until I went on line to fill out a complaint form.
It’s not bad enough my husband just died now I need to deal with the loss of over $42,000!!!
I am at my wits end here. I printed out my credit report and not one of my debts has been resolved.
I just read your list of what to do but is my situation too far gone? My bank has stopped all withdrawals and I found the bank that they were dealing with. Could this help me at all?
MJO”
Dear MJO,
I’m so sorry to her about the loss of your husband and debt settlement company.
The first step would be to identify what escrow company the money was being deposited into. Your bank can tell you who was taking it out. Then contact them to get what is left of your money back.
Next, we have one big issues, if the debt wasn’t taken care of, what mess is left? It might just be that the most logical way to address the totality of the debt and the fact nothing has been taken care of, and considering the loss of your husband, is with bankruptcy.
You can click here to find a local bankruptcy attorney and talk to them for free.
Finally, I would follow every step of my how to get a refund guide in trying to recover some information and funds that were taken from you without delivering the service you expected. See How to Try to Get a Refund From a Debt Relief Company.
Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.
Know Your Rights: If a debt collector is contacting you, you have legal protections. See the complete list of FDCPA violations collectors commit most often. Use the free Debt Validation Letter Generator to demand proof of the debt, or check this collector’s complaint history with the Scam-O-Meter.
Dealing With Debt? Before you pay a collector, understand all your debt relief options — including ones the collector won’t tell you about. If the debt feels unmanageable, take the 2-minute bankruptcy quiz to see if the math favors a fresh start. Federal Reserve research shows filers recover faster than those who don’t file.
