A tipster (send in your tips here) sent me in a question: When you click on www.debtsettlementusa.com, Freedom debt relief comes up. Did Debtsettlements usa open under another name. I was ripped off by these peoples for a lot of money. One day they were there and the next they were gone. It appears the company failed. According to Arizona ... Read More »

Loyal readers may have observed that I routinely never mention IAPDA, the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA) or even mention that a company may display their logo as being a member. It’s not that I’ve not noticed their logo displayed on sites, it’s that many in the industry have disparaging things to say about what the logo represented ... Read More »

I previously wrote about a press release from a different debt settlement company that used a quote from the Federal Trade Commission Chairman to support debt settlement. I debunked the comment by putting it into context. You can read “Good Example of Twisting Information in Favor of Debt Settlement“. Well I just found out that John Craven, president of Debt ... Read More »

Debt Settlement USA was nailed today on MSNBC as an alleged scam. Three years ago, Kopycinski was told by several advisers that he should file for bankruptcy. His finances were a wreck. He held $35,000 in credit card debt and was on the hook for a car loan that he’d co-signed for a family member. On his salary as Catholic ... Read More »

Shawna “Dear Steve, I have 20,000 on 2 credit cards and a an interest free loan of 15,000 from my mom. I would like to be able to pay off both cards with the 15,000. Is there a way to request to see if the 2 companies would reduce the amount I owe them if I paid it off immediately ... Read More »

Here is an interesting legal case that was filed on March 26,2010 against Debt Settlement USA. Former Debt Settlement USA clients, the Leber’s went bankrupt. The Chapter 7 trustee took a look at their situation and sued Debt Settlement USA claiming that Debt Settlement USA breached its contractual obligations to the Lebers’ and failed to provide the promised result. Among ... Read More »

Please share your experience with this debt relief company and provide your review and feedback, in the comments section below. The goal of this page is to allow people to share information that may be important to help others to make a more informed decision regarding their experience with this debt relief company. Here are some potential questions you might ... Read More »

This is a guest post by Kenneth Long, President of Fiscal Progress. If you would like to submit a guest post for publication, just send me an email to guestpost@getoutofdebt.org. Steve On September 25, 2008 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a public workshop to explore the for-profit debt settlement industry. Panelists representing debt settlement companies, consumer advocates, regulators and ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I am 29 years old and 2 children and my wife. I am into too much debt that I am considering filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy. I owe 30,000 dollars in credit card debt. I have a mortgage of 98,000, a car loan, and a student loan. I am not behind on payments for anything, but I am ... Read More »

Cathy “Dear Steve, We have been with a debt settlement company for about 4 months and one of the unsecured loan outfits is already trying to sue us for the 85% of the total amount plus attorney fees and late charges included for about $500.00 a month or will garnish or lean or property not worth what we owe. Is ... Read More »

My friend Damon Day recently did a contract review for a client of his who was tangled up with the debt settlement company, Debt Settlement USA. Damon’s review didn’t pull any punches and I thought his catch of the discrepancy in the fees charged and the time to complete the program was brilliant. When I use a real calculator and ... Read More »

In a move that could be a very interesting trend setter, the state of Vermont has forced two debt settlement companies to refund all fees paid by state residents. While Vermont is a small state and not a whole lot of residents worked with these two companies, it is an interesting approach by a state to protect its citizens from ... Read More »

Subpoenas Fourteen Debt Settlement Companies and One Law Firm in Connection with Probe Debt Settlement Companies Often Charge Huge Fees for Misleading Plans, Suggest Selling Blood Plasma to Raise Funds, and Leave Consumers in Worse Financial Shape NEW YORK, NY (May 7, 2009) – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a nationwide investigation into the debt settlement industry, subpoenaing ... Read More »