“Dear Steve,
I started with Debt Relief Center (25 Crossroads Dr. Ste 404 Ownings Mills, MD 877-740-2111 and 866-3724 www.drclogin.com) in August 2010. A creditor (Sunrise Credit Services) was threatening legal action if I didn’t pay full amount ($10,500) immediately.
I never was in this position before and I didn’t want to declare bankruptcy nor be sued. Then a friend handed me DRC’s number from a tv ad. I went with their program where I paid into a Special Purpose Account (at Global Client Solutions(GCS) in Tulsa, OK) over $6000 over a 15 month period.
They said they would get the creditor to settle for much lower than the $10,500. There fees were about a third of what I paid in. When I started with them the creditor’s calls stopped and I was happy about that.
In October 2011 I sent in my last monthly deposit. Since then all they have been saying is that the Creditor won’t budge. Last summer (2012) I received a letter from DRC saying that the government was making it too hard for them to do business and that “exciting news” (their words) Debt Support Services Inc. was now taking over the account.
This letter with DRC’s letterhead had a new address on it: 3003 Greene St. Hollywood, FL 33020 but the same 866-682-3724 and www.drclogin.com. I can’t find any information on the internet for DSS.
At the end of January 2013, I get a call at 9 PM out of the blue from a Karen Lucker saying that they wanted to move my account from Customer Service to Legal (Consumer Law Council, 305-330-9942 2655 N. Ocean Dr. #403, Singer Island, FL) in order to put pressure on the Creditor to settle.
They would do this by digging up violations of the Creditor and leveraging that against them. I had to sign documents she was going to email to me and I had to return them, signed, right away because there was a deadline a day and a half away.
She said my money would be coming back to me but I couldn’t touch it. (I later learned that GCS does not do business with Consumer Law Council.) I didn’t know what to think about this other than to be skeptical. She was not helpful with questions, talking over me and commanding me. I decide to do some research. I realized I let this program go on for too long without my checking into more thoroughly.
The BBB says DRC went out of business last summer(2012). If you call 877-292-4318 they answer as DRC. DSS and Consumer Law Council both referred DRC to me at this number recently.
The claim of putting pressure on the Creditor didn’t make sense to me as it seemed the Creditor had all the power, holding the debt. Perhaps I am wrong and this is what debt settlement companies and their lawyers do with Creditors.
I also noticed 5 deductions of $35 each for each of the last 5 months from my SPA. GCS said the debt settlement company deducted these amounts. When I asked DSS about this I got the round around.
They said someone didn’t get back them (after 2 weeks), they gave me DRC’s number to call and ask them (who gave me DSS’s number to call), and then DSS said we can’t halp call DRC.
I do not believe in DSS’s nor DRC’s credibility (nor Brite Solutions who is associated with DSS’s address in Hollywood, FL and who may have bought DRC.).
They are very unprofessional over the phone. Because of this-their unprofessionalism, their lack of credibility, and their inability to account for the 5 deductions of $35 each- I decided to cut my losses and take my money back (approx $3800) and deal with a nasty Creditor on my own. I check is to be mailed out next Monday.
I can reinstate the SPA within 30 days of withdrawing my money, I am told by GCS. Then I can, I believe, tell DSS to send my account to “Legal” to do what they say they are going to do, i.e get Creditor to settle.
What do you recommend?
Thank you very much.
Edward”
Dear Edward,
I’m not certain if this specifically applies in your case but it reminds me of the many situations I’ve seen over the past few years where people had a fear of bankruptcy and instead elected to go the debt settlement route, only to damage their credit for longer and pay more money.
I’m not sure why you wanted to avoid bankruptcy but it you had filed way back when your debt would have most likely been discharged in about 90 days, it would have cost less than $2,000 and you would have been well on your way to rebuilding new and better credit.
As it stands now it appears you’ve paid an untold amount of money but not received the service, someone has been hitting your client account for money you appear to not have authorized, the debt is still unresolved, and rather than being in a better place, you are stuck in 2010 with no company standing behind you.
Is that a fair assessment?
It seems we have two options here. The first would be to try to fight to make this situation right. But the reality is that the majority of the fees you paid were front loaded and whoever is handling your account now isn’t making a penny off of you and probably isn’t going to put in much, if any, effort. The $35 a month you are paying corresponds to other letters consumers have received that claim it is necessary to now charge a monthly fee because of “government rule changes.” Yea, that’s a load of crap. You signed up for one service and they altered the agreement to charge you additional fees.
You paid all of the fees a long time ago and have not received the service and the company went out of business.
Depending on your other debts the most logical approach would have been and may still be a consumer bankruptcy which would prevent any lawsuit and judgment.
You can click here to find a local bankruptcy attorney and talk to them for free about your specific situation. Get the facts and then you can make an informed and educated decision if bankruptcy is right for you.
An interesting little bit of information for you.
Debt Support Services, Inc. was registered in Florida on March 8, 2012 and says they are located at 3284 N. 29th Court, Hollywood, FL 33020. – Source
The President is reported to be Jared Schagrin. Jared Schagrin is also listed as being the President of Brite Solutions. – Source
Brite Solutions, Inc. Business Review in Hollywood, FL – South East Florida BBB
But here is where it gets intriguing. According to State of Florida records a Jared Schagrin has been associated with the following companies.
That’s quite a collection of debt relief appearing related companies.
So what now. Well you could do some research and see if bankruptcy is right for you. If so you can use your GCS refund money to pay for it.
Or, you can begin a long and drawn out process to attempt to get answers and the service owed to you. I would suggest if you want to go that route that you read my free guide How to Try to Get a Refund From a Debt Relief Company. It will at least start the process to try to work out a solution. But don’t forget, the time you invest in trying to get them to do what you already paid them for doesn’t even begin to deal with your outstanding debt.
To make it even more interesting, according to the State of Maryland, Debt Relief Center, Inc. is not closed. They list their address as:
SUITE 404
25 CROSSROADS DRIVE
OWINGS MILLS, MD 21117
The registered agent is:
LEONARD J. GROSSMAN
7TH FLOOR
111 NORTH CHARLES STREET
BALTIMORE, MD 21201
According to the corporate documents the directors of DRC are: Stephen Millstein, Michael Segal, and Michael Davidson. – Source
According to the State of Arizona, Stephen B Millstein is the President, Michael P Davidson is the Secretary and Treasurer, and Michael C Segal is the Vice-president. – Source
According to the drclogin.net website they still have a Debt Relief Center site up and offering services.
They list the contact information as:
Debt Relief Center, Inc.
25 Crossroads Drive, Suite 404
Owings Mills, MD 21117
Phone: 866-682-3724
Fax: 877-337-2439 or 888-841-8837customerservice@drclogin.com
accounting@drclogin.com
negotiations@drclogin.com
Please forward documents of high importance, as well as questions and concerns to: prioritystatus@drclogin.com
Hours of operation
Monday through Friday 9am – 6pm ESTStephen B. Millstein, President
Michael C. Segal, Vice President
Michael P. Davidson, Treasurer/Secretary – Source
And when I go back and read the letter they sent you it actually does not say they went out of business it reads more like they contracted out support services.
Bonus Video Answer
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