In January, 2010 I wrote and published Investigative Report: Dave Burke and Real Talk Network (Real Talk Network, Inc.). Is It a Scam? where I had some real reservations about a debt relief operation operating out of Colorado. My initial concerns came after a reader sent in a question that he went to a get …
“Dear Steve, Had a decent FICO just over 800. 2 years ago, my wife lost her job. We applied for a loan modification, but Chase drug their feet so long that we ended up in trouble. We sold a cabin to keep up payments, then we began liquidating savings, etc. Then about 9 months ago, …
“Dear Steve, I have been enrolloed in the program for about one year and have been current with payment thus far. However, my early income has not been reduced by 60% and am concerned about keeping up with the monthly payments in addition to all of my other living expenses. Not sure it can be …
“Dear Steve, My husband and I are in our late 40’s. We’ve both always held full-time jobs and made a decent living. In May 2009, I was laid off, cutting our income significantly. Since being laid off, I have been diagnosed with a rare disease which we are trying to get in remission leaving me …
“Dear Steve, I’ve considered both the Debt Management and Debt Settlement routes, but was told that I must first default on all of my cards before pursuing the latter. This strikes me as an extraodinarily risky move to make (the default interest rate on most cards is astronomic). Is there any way to pursue Debt …
“Dear Steve, I’m drowning in debt haveing hard time payig all our bills but we are A company called National Debt Service says they can help they want 1 month payment say they can reduce our intrest rate with credit card companys pay off debit in 5 years with there help…scam ? Ernie” Dear Ernie, …
On July 2, 2010 the BBB of Southern California sent a very clear statement to the Federal Trade Commission and urged them to ban advance fees for debt settlement programs. Here are some highlights from that letter. On behalf of the Better Business Bureau of the Southland, I am writing to offer my strong support …
Credit Solutions and other debt settlement companies are slammed in an investigative report that aired on the Today Show. The clip even contains a brief interview of the BBB and a recording of the sales representative telling consumers to stop paying your bills. Dan Goldberg of TASC says that there are only a few “bad …
A class action lawsuit was recently filed against Citigroup for credit protection coverage sold along with their credit products. The service is also known as credit protect, credit protector, payment protector, PaymentAid, PaymentAidPlus, payment protection, and credit protection. The suit was filed by Golomb & Honik, P.C., 1515 Market Street, Suite 1100, Philadelphia, PA 19102, …
“Dear Steve, I have a lot of credit card debt and keep getting direct mail pieces from debt mediators, like Payment Relief Center What do debt mediators do and are they a scam? I would love to pay off my debt asap. Also, any information on Payment Relief Centers? Tracy” Dear Tracy, Payment Relief Center …