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You Really Have to Pay to Play in Debt Settlement

An email from Denise Dunckel, the CEO of the American Fair Credit Council (AFCC), has ruffled some feathers in the debt settlement industry. AFCC is a trade association for debt settlement providers and associated companies. They have been around for a number of years now. The concern by some is that the announcement of increased …

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Has the Consumer Debt Relief Initiative Hijacked the AFCC

Question: Dear Steve, The recent announcement by the AFCC regarding third-party ancillary products has caused a huge divide within the AFCC, with most believing the AFCC has been hijacked and moving over to CDRI (Consumer Debt Relief Initiative). It seems the good old boys are trying to gobble up market share by either putting the …

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California on Verge of Passing Debt Settlement Law That Protects Consumers

California is getting ready to pass AB-1405 titled “Fair Debt Settlement Practices Act.” Ironically, a number of settlement companies are located in California, Irvine in particular. Unless something magical happens the bill will pass. As it stands today, the bill has some serious consequences for settlement companies. This can be of no surprise to an …

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Are Debt Relief Mailers Like These in Your Mailbox Also?

Debt Relief Mailer Envelope

A reader that wanted to be identified as The Machine sent in the following statement and mailer they received through my I Buy Junk Mail program. The Machine said, “These are for both me and my wife. We have a large amount of credit card debit and get stuff like this ALL the time. It’s …

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Alleged Debt Negotiation Services Representative Yells at Widow Who Just Wants Her Money Back – Listen

Please read the update below from Debt Negotiation Services. They deserve praise for the way they handled this issue and dealt with assisting the consumer to resolve the issue. Update 11-26-2019 AM From AFCC The AFCC has acted instantly and has issued the following statement that I received from Robby Birnbaum. I applaud the AFCC …

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Credit Card Debt Mailer for S&N Debt Solutions Leads to Beyond Finance

I received the following mailer as part of my I Buy Junk Mail program. People with credit card debt are apparently being targeted with this mailer that contains a fake credit card in it. S&N Debt Solutions, who also identifies themselves in the mailer as the S&N Financial Solutions Consolidation Alternative, has sent this mailer …

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CRL Report Results in Silence From the Debt Relief Industry

The other day I published the debt settlement recommendation report from The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), click here. As vocal as critics have been in attacking this site and myself for being outspoken about consumer unfriendly debt relief practices I felt certain people would have comments to offer about the CRL recommendations. But silence, …

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CRL Comes Out With Debt Settlement Warning. Is it Fair?

The Center for Responsible Lending just released a paper on debt settlement. Take a look at the information they published and add your comment below if you think their research is on the mark or way off base. It appears CRL relied upon data published by the American Fair Credit Council in making their determinations …

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Reader Want to Know if Performance Settlement Recruitment / Sales Claims are True

A reader and tipster (send in your tips here) in the debt settlement industry sent us an email they recently received from Performance Settlement, an AFCC member. The email made some recruiting performance claims that should be a snap for Performance Settlement to respond to and verify. This issue isn’t so much a consumer issue …

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