A tipster (send in your tips here) sent in a question that made me want to investigate further. The reader said:
“I read your recent article on National Debt Relief (same ownership as Eagle One). They are notorious for allegedly setting up fake ratings sites to make consumers believe they are a top rated debt relief company.
This erodes consumer trust in the industry and should be discussed. Your site is an appropriate forum to discuss. For example, look at this site they created, which is always in the top PPC results when you search for debt relief companies: http://www.debtconsolidationusa.net/
It makes it look like they’re receiving unbiased ratings when, in fact, it is allegedly just a complete advertising website. Didn’t sellers of acai berries get in trouble for fake news sites? How long before the regulators actually get involved to shut down the fake ratings sites?
The icing on the cake is National Relief was just accredited by the BBB.”
So I took a look.
Well sure enough National Debt Relief is the top rated site.
The debtconsolidationusa.net site says:
Hello, my name is Al and I needed help managing my debt. With so many options available, and after a lot of research; I found several reputable, honest and successful debt settlement companies. I talked with the best of them and evaluated their credentials and track records. Then I chose one to help me through the process.
These are the “best of the best” Debt Settlement Companies from my own personal research. If you think you might need help with your credit card and unsecured debt problems. – Source
It certainly gives people the impression it is an independent review site
The number one site, National Debt Relief, even has a review written that makes it sound as if there was a lot of research into them for the review site. “National Debt Relief Known for its compassionate and knowledgeable staff, National Debt Relief ranks #1 in our picks.” – Source
The BBB reports Daniel Tilipman, Alex Kleyner, Tom Leydiker, and Kevin Rice are manager of this company. – Source
I Call Bullshit
debtconsolidationusa.net is owned by:
Registrant [3981659]:
Daniel Tilipman danny@nationalrelief.com
11 broadway
New York, NY 10004
And guess who also owns the Eagle One Debt Solutions domain:
Domain Name: EAGLE-DEBT.COM
Created on: 28-Sep-11
Expires on: 28-Sep-14
Last Updated on: 04-Dec-12
Registrant:
Guaranteed Cellutions
722 Broadway
New York, New York 10003
United States
Administrative Contact:
Tilipman, Daniel danny@nationalrelief.com
Guaranteed Cellutions
722 Broadway
New York, New York 10003
(718) 791-1100
And fastdebtsettlements.com is on the same server with eagle-debt.com.
It sure looks like this is a less than independent review site.
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I will start by saying that this program seemed to be a good idea and it seemed to be going well for over a year. I paid 50% of my debt off, then I switched bank accounts this past year and kept calling to let NDR know that I no longer used the bank acct. they had on file but was told each time that they could not update my bank account because I had a pending withdrawal scheduled. I would argue that it wasn’t going to clear because once again, I have a new bank acct. I ended up having to pay that missed payment with my debit card and then had to wait 8 days (yes, 8 days) to call once again and update NDR with the new bank account information. Well, this is where the problem arose. One of my debtors had a payment scheduled for 7/27 but the payment from my new bank account was not scheduled to be deducted until 7/28 and then with NDR’s 8 days of additional wait time of the payment clearing in their system they lost the negotiated commitment with my debtor and my account went back to its original balance. Yes, people after months and months of payments (started in 10/2016) and over $4200 paid toward my debt – because NDR missed ONE payment, my entire account balance went from owing a little over $3k back to $9k – this is a complete joke and they actually keep insisting that I allow them to re-negotiate with the debtor and hopefully because the payment was only missed by a week, they will be considerate and re-open my account. So, basically where the $4200 went towards nobody can explain and they say that those payments wont be lost but will be applied to the new negotiated balance (which could be more than I owed previously) its like no matter what they do – I lost my money and they just wont admit it. I really want to cancel my program today and I could not be more disappointed in this company. I wasted so much of my money for nothing! Basically, I am back to square one. So, keep in mind if you miss ONE payment all that hard work, all that effort will be lost. I feel like I should have just filed for Chapter 7 at this point because all this time I tried to work at paying off my debt went nowhere, fast.
Admin errors are the most infuriating.
National debt relief is a completely legitimate 200 person company where many caring and hard working people work. It is by no stretch of the imagination a scam in any way shape or form.
This company has saved thousands of families from financial disaster. It’s not just some website that posts ads for lawyers and makes up false unsubstantiated remarks about others.
Frankly to dissuade people in financial distress from actually getting the help they need from a legitimate company is downright irresponsible.
I wonder where your loyalty lies, is it to the customer? or to your very own ad revenue?
As a consumer protection and bankruptcy lawyer I hear from clients AFTER they have contacted, paid and attempted to work with these ‘debt settlement’ companies. Debt settlement won’t stop collections, law suits, levies, or garnishments.
Right, and neither will you. The only way to stop those actions is if you convince the client to file bankruptcy- a service that lawyers typically take an up front fee for whether the BK is approved or not. Funny how lawyers are trying to ride high on this topic, but they basically use a loophole to break regulations and charge up front fees.
Steve, you suck- get a life – NDR knows what they are doing and they do it well. There are plenty of satisfied customers that will vouch for their outstanding service. Fact is- they do it better than the competition, so here’s a tip – Get oFF the D*K
Ahh, poor puppy lose a big sale today?
If I recall Bernie Madoff made a lot of people money as well. He had plenty of satisfied customers that were vouching for his outstanding service.
Can you think of a valid argument before you come back in here and bitch about losing sales?
By the way, here is a tip – D**k has 4 letters dumb ass.
So why put up that site then?
What were you trying to spell with D*K.
seems like you work for them…
It turns out that National Debt Relief is another marketing company of Freedom Debt Relief. I wonder why Freedom Debt Relief management puts up with this type of misrepresentation to the consumer? They must know its going on…
Freedom was sued by at least 4 state Attorneys General for problems during and after the TSR rules were implemented. They try to keep this hush hush.
Good observation. However any major bank, pick one- has violated and continues to violate their regulations on a state and federal level. These are the folks who are really causing trouble but people continue to trust them blindly. As the debt settlement industry continues to improve I think it will become clear to the people who the real trouble makers are. Go ahead and find me a bank with a squeaky clean record- I’ll wait.
steve you really need to get a life i been reading your articles for years, you are not happy with life and probably were an abuse case growing up.
Was there any error in the post or do you just need a hug.
It’s funny when the managers/workers from the companies he writes about come on here and bitch. Run your business right, and no one will talk about you.
I know. Right!
How tough is that for people to understand?
And I’m the problem. [Insert head slap.]
If Steve is so bad, why have you been reading this site for years dumb ass? Clearly you haven’t learned anything.