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 »

“Dear Steve, Husband and I have been in credit card debt for several years. We are in our mid 30s, have a 15 yr. mortgage, and 10k tax debt. I feel covered up. I don’t want to have a child because of all the debt. I want to see the light at the end of this dark tunnel. We joined ... 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 »

Consumer Statement: Persels and associates went into my bank account and took out $500 after my wife had made a payment 4 days earlier. When we called them they stated that they had done this in era and would return the money. It took them 5 days to return the money and then they returned it in my wifes name ... 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 »

The Scott Law Group in Washington State has been VERY active in going after debt settlement companies that allegedly injure consumers. It appears some new companies have been added to their list of current litigation, The new companies include FBL Associates, Lifeguard Financial, Please Reduce My Debt, and Think Outside the Box Solutions. – Source Here is the current list ... Read More »

The Kansas Court of Appeals has issued a ruling in the case involving Consumer Law Associates, Persels & Associates, David Herron II, Stanley Goodwin, and Laura Simpson-Redmond. In this case the State of Kansas went after the named parties after receiving some complaints from consumers. The individuals named are licensed attorneys in Kansas but Consumer Law Associates and Persels & ... Read More »

Thanks to a tipster (send in your tips here), I found out the Middle District Court of Florida court has ruled in the settlement offer proposed in Miranda Day v. Persels & Associates, 3C, CareOne Credit Counseling, Freedom Point, Ascend One, Ruther & Associates, Jimmy Persels, Robyn Freedman, Bernaldo Dancel. The settlement offer had been heralded as a disservice to ... Read More »

On January 28, 2012 Carla Broyles, Charity Miaco and Melba Walker filed a class action lawsuit in Georgia against Persels & Associates, Ruther & Associates, Freedom Debt Relief, Consumer Law Associates, Amerix, Careone Services, Tiffany Rowe. The suit states it covers all Georgia resident debtors who have done business with Defendants since July 2003 to the present for violations of ... 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 »

A tipster (send in your tips here) sent me a document from inside Persels & Associates that lays out current client debt settlement success rates. The percentage of settlements is interesting but what really caught my eye was the statement that after implementing the DebtConnect Online solution that it was easier to secure some better settlement offers for clients. DebtConnect ... Read More »

A reader and tipster (send in your tips here) sent me in a copy of the class action settlement agreement that has been presented to the court in the Persels & Associates class action case that began in November of 2010. Actually this looks like it was a fairly speedy affair. The class action settlement states there were 125,012 consumers ... Read More »