A debt relief industry insider and tipster (send in your tips here) forwarded me a copy of an agreement they received from a consumer from a new company called American Credit Shield. The tipster (send in your tips here) said the consumer was being charged a fee of several thousand dollars to participate, a monthly fee and another fee that was only being charged for an initial period after entering the agreement. I was asked to review the agreement and offer an opinion on it.

First I had to start with who is American Credit Shield. Besides a couple of online references to them from Brolly Consulting, a company I’ve written about before and a snippet of a job posting, the web is very silent about them.

American Credit Shield – Pompano Beach, FL. Do you want to make 100k plus a year? American Credit Shield is one of the fastest growing debt elimination, …

If anyone wants to do their own checking on this company you can follow my guides:

1. The Ultimate Consumer Guide to Checking Out a Debt Relief Company Before You Sign On the Line
2. 10 Must Do Steps to Find the Best Credit Counseling or Debt Settlement Company for You
3. How to Check Out a Business or Company to Avoid Getting Scammed or Ripped Off

According to the Facebook listing for American Credit Shield the company started in 2012. The State of Florida says the company was actually not registered to do business as American Credit Shield, LLC until January 15, 2013. – Source. A small discrepancy but worth noting to see if it paints a bigger picture as we move forward.

Again, according to the State of Florida the company is located at:

2101 N. ANDREWS BLVD.
STE. 400
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33311

The company is actually owned by American Credit Shield Revocable Trust and a member of that trust is Jeremy Marcus.

But the domain name for americancreditshield.com is listed as being owned by Student Loan Helpers, LLC and the administrative contact is Joseph Ford and coincidentally a Joseph Ford is also the registered agent of American Credit Shield.

The American Credit Shield Agreement

What follows in my plain language reading of the client agreement and my observations. I am not an attorney and can’t give any legal advice about the agreement.

The first page of the agreement lists a different address for the company. It says American Credit Shield, LLC is located at:

1732 South Congress Ave
Unit #339
Palm Springs, FL 33461

This address happens to be for a UPS Store mail drop. – Source

The page then goes on to provide an extensive list of definitions.

American Credit Shield, who claims they can help consumers with debt, then goes on to say in the agreement they are not an attorney, not a debt relief service, and is not a credit counseling service.

The company says “ACS cannot control what a bank, creditor, or collector reports about a Client’s credit not can ACS represent that a collector will follow federal or state law such that a Client’s credit rating will not suffer from negative reporting.”

It also appears they say they are not responsible if a debt is reduced and it results as taxable income reported to the IRS.

So what is the consumer buying from American Credit Shield? It looks like the company specifies the products or services sold/purchased by the consumer.

1. Access to the Debt Accuracy and Compliance System, DAACS.
2. Access to attorney developed frequently asked questions.
3. Access to a tutorial on their website.
4. A toll-free telephone number for clients to call during office hours.
5. A handbook about techniques for protecting debtor/client rights.
6. Membership in some sort of privacy protection program that documents collector phone calls.
7. Membership in U.S. Legal Club which claims to provide access to “pre-qualified attorneys in your state.” But it does not appear to include any sort of legal representation in case of the client being sued. In fact the agreement says the client must pay the fee for the attorney.

The page also shows a fee for the initial month and a fee for additional front end months in the program.

The fees continue on this page. The consumer must also pay $35 a month for up to three included accounts and $7 per month for each additional account included.

Item 6(d) appears to reinforce the lack of attorney representation included as part of this program. It says if the consumer is sued the client should forward a copy of the suit to ACS and, “Company will forward the documents and file to the USLC attorney of Client’s choice.” But if the consumer decides they’d rather work with a different attorney, ACS says it will only provide “Client account data” to an outside attorney. Odd.

Section 7 appears to state their are no refunds.

The company uses the services of Reliable Account Management presumably for debiting and collecting money from the consumer.

Anything a salesperson might have said in selling the services does not count and only what is stated in the agreement is binding.

The consumer only has a three day window to change their mind.

The client agrees to get an automated monthly call from the company.

The last page of the agreement lists yet another new address for the company.

American Credit Shield, LLC
2201 North Andrews Ave
Suite 105B
Pompano Beach, FL 33069

2201 North Andrews Street

That’s a similar address that you will see below for a student loan assistance company and others.

My Impression

I understand the approach of what American Credit Shield is offering on their website and in their detailed agreement. But I’m not sure I understand the benefit of it.

The approach seems to be to make the consumer the victim and sell them thousands of dollars of services, and with a front loaded fee, to provide some education, support, and access to discounted attorneys the consumer will have to pay for in addition to what they’ve already paid. And if the organization was looking out for the best needs of the consumer then why not fully participate with any attorney the consumer selects instead of providing a different level of service if they use one of their unnamed attorneys?

Banks have made mistakes, lots of them, there is no doubt about that. But is the emphasis of the program to trip up a creditor or collector or to deal with the overall debt situation in a positive manner?

If the problem is the debt the consumer is struggling with then there are other solutions like bankruptcy that can address the larger debt problem, discharge the debt in about 90 days, will stop all collection calls and activity, and costs less than the plan proposed to this consumer.

But if the issue is just one of collector abuse then there are plenty of attorneys that will take on Fair Debt Collection Practices Act attorneys for a contingency and besides nominal filing fees the consumer could actually make money suing the collector for abuses.

American Credit Shield says they “urge every consumer in debt to set the goal to become informed, to become proactive, and to assert their consumer rights.” – Source. And I applaud that belief and support the need for a consumer to check out all their options. In fact people can use my free How to Get Out of Debt Calculator to review options.

For example, if a consumer is being sued by a creditor, they should find an attorney licensed in their state to provide them with legal advice and representation. One such type of lawyer is a bankruptcy attorney who can stop all lawsuits in their tracks, cold.

In reading the ACS agreement it appears that while they go to great lengths to avoid wanting to be a debt relief company their website paints a different picture for me. The site appears to tell consumers they will be able to deal with their debt and intervene. “Setting a goal is the first step towards achieving it. Doing nothing is the worst thing a consumer in debt can do. A consumer in debt who does nothing is a banker’s, creditor’s, or collector’s dream.” – Source

So the sales pitch appears to be geared to debt elimination than just a rogue bad creditor or collector.

And if the company was putting the consumer first and looking out for them then why have a no refund policy after 3 days if the consumer is unhappy with their services for any reason? Why not a fairer pro-rata refund policy?

As I previously mentioned, the contract says that anything a sales representative might have said is not binding and the services are described in the agreement. Those services are described as:

1. Access to the Debt Accuracy and Compliance System, DAACS.
2. Access to attorney developed frequently asked questions.
3. Access to a tutorial on their website.
4. A toll-free telephone number for clients to call during office hours.
5. A handbook about techniques for protecting debtor/client rights.
6. Membership in some sort of privacy protection program that documents collector phone calls.
7. Membership in U.S. Legal Club which claims to provide access to “pre-qualified attorneys in your state.” But it does not appear to include any sort of legal representation in case of the client being sued. In fact the agreement says the client must pay the fee for the attorney.

So in my opinion the services appear to be funneled to catching a creditor or collector screwing up and funneling the consumer to U.S. Legal Club. But U.S. Legal Club is not a registered company or a registered fictitious name in the State of Florida and according to domain records USLegalClub.com is owned by the same “Student Loan Helpers” folks that own AmericanCreditShield.com.

So if the two companies are controlled by the same entities then what in the world is the need for two different companies and why would American Credit Shield consumer be treated differently if they wanted to select their own attorney?

And while not entirely part of the agreement, it is interesting that American Credit Shield never seems to revel the individuals who own the company or are the officers or directors of the company. Even on their own contact and about pages they are vague.

The company appears relatively new and they do not provide any public information on the results their clients have achieved so far. Do clients who pay thousands eliminate all their debt, any of their debt, get sued, etc? We just don’t know. And it is not even clear if the focus of the company is to help consumers eliminate their debt since they say they are not a debt relief company or just to identify creditors or collectors that make a mistake.

So the crux of the services ACS is selling appear to be to help consumers tell the difference “between a debt and an alleged debt” and that leaves me with a big “so what.”

If the issue is a debt needs to be verified, a consumer can do that for free. If the issue is one of collector abuse then a search for an attorney who is licensed in their state and who specializes in Fair Debt Collection Practice Act cases can provide local representation, (Naca.net) And if the issue is the consumer is having debt problems then they should meet with a local bankruptcy attorney for free to discuss eliminating their debt and getting a second chance and fresh start.

I have not heard from a consumer who has used these services or listened to the current sales pitch so if you have, please post your comments about the program below. Maybe I’ll start making some secret shopper calls myself.

Brolly Consulting – American Credit Shield

The only place I was able to locate American Credit Shield being promoted outside of the American Credit Shield website was on the site for Brolly Consulting. – Source

You can read past articles about Brolly Consulting.

Possible Sales Pitch

At least one online resource made a mention of consumers receiving telemarketing calls and identified one as coming from from American Credit Shield.

I just had a call from this number and I let my answering machine pick it up. And it said they have information about MY credit card. And then all the bull they have spread about what you may be able to do.( And you would have to OWE $ 5000.00 OR More to quaify.) If they knew anything about my credit card they would know what I may owe. Well they aren’t getting any results from me. I don’t talk to people about my credit on the phone I think they are scamers trying to get a fool to give out their credit card number. It showed Service Message in my caller ID – Source

Same message as most of those above. This is a scam. How can the company that called me, American Shield, LLC say the credit card companies are charging me aren’t valid or some fraud is involved. It’s a bunch of BS. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM.
Caller: American Credit Shield – Source

Another person reported a similar sales message from the same telephone number but the company identified themselves as U.S. Legal Aid out of New Jersey.

A definite scam! Called the number, talked for about 5 minutes to one of the “operators”. He claimed he was from “US Legal Aid” out of New Jersey. I could hear other operators in the background. He had some little script he read off about how they will go after the credit card companies and find “violations” and threaten them to either clear off my account or pay for their violations. He completely refused to give me any sort of company information or a website I could look at to make sure it was a legitimate company. He ended the call when I wouldn’t give out my email address or phone number. – Source

Another consumer said the company calling from the number was Credit Freedom. It sounds like an outbound telemarketer to me. Possibly an outside company.

Robo call stating legal action is being taken to eliminate credit card debt. Press 1 to be connected, or press 2 to be eliminated from their calling list. I pressed 1. A nice woman, by the name of ‘ Janet ‘ answered. I asked how she got my number, she said it just appeared on her screen. I asked if I have a business relationship with her company, she said no. The caller ID was ‘Service Message”. Janet said her company name was ‘ Credit Freedom ‘. I told her that I am on the do not call list, and that this phone call was being recorded. I told her that she is breaking the FCC rules about calling people on the do not call list. I told her the FCC would be in touch with her.
Caller: Credit Freedom
Call Type: Telemarketer – Source

I could not find a telemarketing license on file with the State of Florida but they do report one consumer complaint already.

The BBB has no listing for American Credit Shield.

And as an Aside

While working on this article I was documenting the relationships between domains and what you will find below is just the result of that documentation.

AmericanCreditShield.com Server

The server for AmericanCreditShield.com also hosts:

1. americancreditshield.com
   

   AmericanCreditShield.com

2. bergeslawgroup.com
3. getsetconsulting.com

   The logo says, “Eliminating Your Debt Problems Forever.”

   Domain Name:MYCREDITSOURCE.ORG
   Created On:30-Jul-2012 20:56:50 UTC
   Last Updated On:06-Feb-2013 01:25:52 UTC
   Expiration Date:30-Jul-2013 20:56:50 UTC
   Registrant:
   Joseph Ford
   Student Loan Helpers LLC
   900 sw 9th Street Circle
   Apt 202
   Boca Raton, FL 33486

4. paralegalstaffsupport.com
   Registrant:
   6801 Lakeworth Rd suite 110
   Greenacres, Florida 33467

   Administrative Contact:
   Jeremy Marcus [email protected]
   6801 Lakeworth Rd suite 110
   Greenacres, Florida 33467

   

   ParalegalSupportStaff.com

5. studentloanhelpers.com
   Registrant:
   Kyle Hunt
   450 NE 5th street, apt 243
   Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
   

   StudentLoanHelpers.com

6. unitedfinancesolutions.com
   Paralegal Staff Support
   JEREMY MARCUS
   2201 N Andrews Ave #105
   Pompano Beach, Florida 33069

7. unitedfinancesolutions.net
   Registrant Info: (FAST-19528119)
   Paralegal Staff Support
   JEREMY MARCUS
   2201 N Andrews Ave #105
   Pompano Beach, Florida 33069

8. unitedfinancesolutions.org
   Registrant:
   JEREMY MARCUS
   Paralegal Staff Support
   2201 N Andrews Ave #105
   Pompano Beach, FL 33069
   

   UnitedFinanceSolutions.org

9. unitedlegalgroup.org
   

   UnitedLegalGroup.org

   A site which looks an awful lot like Brolly Consulting.

   

   BrollyConsulting.com

10. uslegalclub.com
    Registrant:
    Student Loan Helpers LLC
    900 sw 9th street circle
    apt 202
    boca raton, Florida 33486