As part of my junk mail program a reader sent in a recent copy of a letter they say they received from CareOne that has a very fit picture of founder Bernie Dancel on it. There is only one big problem, the domain name listed on the bottom of the letter, CareOneInfo.com, isn’t actually owned by CareOne anymore and it ... Read More »

Whispers online were telling me about big changes to CareOne coming. According to CareOne spokesperson Suzanne Coblentz, there are. “CareOne, a subsidiary of Ascend One, will continue to provide the same great service our customers have come to expect from CareOne. For the time being, the CareOne brand will continue to be in the market, but will not be making ... Read More »

In 2012 there was a stinker of a class action settlement offered to consumers in a Florida class action case. An agreement was reached in that settlement where the attorneys got paid, cash awards were made to charities and the 125,000 harmed consumers got nothing. Consumer organizations objected as unfair. You can read about that case, here. Thanks to an ... Read More »

Consumer Statement: For the past six months I have worked for Careone and Persels and Associates. Recently I left the company due to a lack of trust in the company and the product they offer. I was a customer service rep in the debt settlment program. I wanted to bring to your attention one of the things Persels does to ... Read More »

CareOne has entered a consent for sanctions against it for offering unlicensed debt negotiation services to Connecticut residents. You would think that a company the size of CareOne would not have let that happened but there it is. According to the State: WHEREAS, on August 4, 2011, CareOne filed with the Commissioner an application to engage and offer to engage ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, My question is this: I am enrolled in a debt consolidation program with care one. I have already settled 2 of the 3 accounts that are part of my plan. The last one to be settled is a capital one account. I talked to care one today regarding my account and they told my that the company representing ... Read More »

The State of Connecticut Department of Banking has issued a very interesting declaratory ruling in the matter of Persels & Associates. I find it interesting because it is yet another example of how attorneys might not have such a “free pass” when it comes to offering debt settlement services all across the country. In this case the Persels & Associates ... Read More »

Back in September, 2011 a class action lawsuit in Florida resulted in a very disappointing settlement for consumers. Basically consumers received no compensation and lost their rights, (here). People complained about the proposed and final settlement but to no avail. In the Florida case Neil Ruther from Persels & Associates said they could not fund a big settlement. “In order ... Read More »

$26,000 in credit card debt and medical bills piling up since my surgery last year. I lost one income since my surgery and only able to make minimum payment on my credit cards. I have been looking into several credit counseling companies for a week now and I would like to get in a Debt Management Plan. I would like ... Read More »

A recent memorandum opinion from Kansas in the United States Bankruptcy Court against Persels and Associates and attorney Stan Goodwin didn’t probably wind up how Persels would have wanted it to. The summary of the opinion is intriguing and clear. The United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge, Robert Nugent, says: If it walks like a duck and swims like a duck ... Read More »

I’m aware of a recent big effort by CareOne Debt Relief Services to change their logo and branding. Personally I thought the old one was just fine but whatever. I didn’t realize until just now how much their new logo looks like the logo for the credit counseling group CredAbility. I wonder how many focus groups you need to develop ... Read More »

In a recent filing by Amerix / CareOne over a dispute with the non-profit credit counseling group CESI Debt Solutions, some interesting statements were made. This stems from a round of suits by Amerix and CESI that you can read about here and here. In a document filed with the court in North Carolina, Amerix revels just how dependent they ... Read More »

The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has stepped into a proposed class action suit involving a case against Persels & Associates and CareOne. The issues seems to be that the proposed class action settlement does not benefit consumers. A class of more than 120,000 people alleges that the law firm and an affiliated credit counseling company offered to help consumers ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, Two years ago, I was maintaining my credit cards and had excellent credit with them, then all of a sudden every single one of them raised their interest rates so high that if I paid anything on the cards themselves, I had no money left over for necessities. I called each and every one of them to ask ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I’m at a loss of what to do. I signed up with CareOne years ago, and even with a reduction in payments I fell into a time where I was unable to meet my monthly payment. I begged for them to suspend, but was told there was no way this could be done. At this point, I was ... Read More »