Preferred financial Services - How much can you depend on them?

guest, sorry about your experience but from what i just read from your own post, you were not very informed before you signed up with the settlement company. You didnt know what you were getting involved in.

And to say you can be out of debt in 2 years is unrealistic is not true, I was cc debt free in 2 years with my debt settlement company. Im sorry you had a bad experience and may have used a shady company but that is no reason to make others shy away from something that could be good for them.

obviously you did not do enough research on settlement before you signed the dotted line. or you would have seen through thier lies before you signed up and would have known they were not a good company.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER KNOW THE FACTS BEFORE SIGNING THE DOTTED LINE.

I feel so stupid for not doing research before signing up this week with this company.
The first payment will take place on the 31st and I don't want to be in the program anymore.
Is there any tips you guys might have for me?

Nevermind. I found a cancellation form in the agreement packet for those still within their first 30 days.

I am in the process of leaving there program too due to getting sued by the banks. I wish everyone else luck. The only problem I had with their service is they never returned any telephone calls and I always on hold for 10 to 15 minutes each time I called.

Well, this is my last entry...I wanted you all to know that I succeeded in getting myself out of this nightmare by filing a long thought about Chapter 7. At my age, with only 5-6 years until retirement kicks in, it was my only shot at a second chance to start putting away some savings for my future. It will be the first time ever that I have had a real savings account that wasn't opened and closed within a month! And I can't tell you how it wonderful it feels to have this weight lifted from my shoulders. I had the first meeting with my attorney only 12 days ago, and yesterday he filed my petition! He noted that I was one of his few clients who accomplished their due diligence in record time to provide him with the document package needed to file (less than two weeks). Hey...I was desperate and ready to fly! I enjoyed the first good night's sleep in almost two years, and know I made the right decision. When I make that first meaningful deposit into a long term savings account, it will be a sweet day indeed. Whether you know it or not, many of your comments and suggestions are what led me to this day...so THANK YOU!

thanks for everyones info, i was checking into thier services preferred financail services), but after reading most of your nightmares , i will try other options.

Hope they told you all that the forgiven debt is usually taxable.

I just wanted to add something here. My program advisor was also Bethany and she did a wonderful job handling my accounts. She was professional and understanding of my situation and didn't pressure me to make a desicion which i appreaciated. She put a stop to my creditor calls and always responds ( within the same day!) to any questions or concerns that I have. I think it is very unfair to target her as a unprofessional person by saying that she "hounding you" YOU contact the company - not the other way around. Since I have enrolled they have settled multiple debts for a fraction of what I owed and they have helped me get back on track and I am appreciative that they provided me with my options. Simply following up with you isn't a reason to be nasty and post somthing like that that singles out one person. You should get your prorities straight like I did and I am so relieved that I made this decision.

We have been talking with PFS and considering signing up with them. My husband is ready to do it.

We have just over $27,000 in credit card debt that they claim they will be able to settle for at least 50% or even 35-40%. The 4 companies that we might try to settle with are "companies that we deal with and settle with on a daily basis." She's making it sound like they will all be settled within 4-5 months at the most.

Even though we've asked every question we could think of, I didn't realize a lot of the things that I read in this discussion. Thanks for sharing your experiences. We have not made a late payment yet, but we are getting to the drowning point in our debts, since our utilities just doubled and a bunch of small medical bills is turning into a big pile of medical bills we just can't pay. Debt settlement seems like a possible solution, but who can you trust?

The lady at PFS really sounds like she knows what she's doing, but now I'm not sure that she's really preparing us for what we will be getting into with the creditors coming after us. She says that we change our address and phone number to that of their company, and they take all the mail and phone calls.

They want to put us on the 36 month plan, paying $550.90 per month. As long as my husband's job holds out, we will barely be able to pay this amount. But if it can really pay off our debt in 3 years, then it would be worth the tight budget.

We are in Michigan.

Hey Valarie,

One thing that a lot of people don't understand is that it takes time for a settlement to go through. It won't happen over night. Like I said I went through them they settled my account and I'm debt free from a 17000 debt. They got it at 50% which was nice. It could have been more but I could not afford a higher monthly payment. Do research with companies and make sure you feel comfortable. Every settlement company will have a couple of people in here who are frustrated with them but you have to remember that most of them want there settlements done in a matter of a few months which is not possible.

Best of Luck.

i actually worked for preferred financail services . they are scammers btw i wasnt fired , I QUIT.. what they do for you, you can do for yourself .. they send out a sheet stated "power of atorney " but its irrelivant. all you have to do is when a creditor contacts you just ask them not to contact you any more by law they are suppose to stop. Now you have to negogiate (meaning offering settlements) . you start off by telling the creditor hey I got "so much money " ask them : can you offer me a settlement ?, a 50% or better for a settlement is GREAT! if they wont agree to work with you then just hang up on them , they will call you back usually at the end of the month creditors are willing to do offers , becuase its the close end of that month. Im telling you my advised is to deal w. your creditors yourself ....


PFS is doing nothing but taking your $40.00 and not doing a thing ..........Creditors stop calling becuase they forward your account to another creditor & then they start harrassing you ....hope this info helps someone out there just try to do it yourself before going their direction. if you can save money into your account when someone (PFS) asks you to then you have that WILL POWER to settle your accounts yourself........GOD BLESS & good luck ..

this company will lie, just call ext. 240 a man named clament and prepare yourself pretend to be dumb......they will lie.....i encourage the FTC to investigate. they dont come CLOSE to settleing half the accounts at the 50% they claim you will most likely be sued in 3-4 months if your not in collections the calls CANT stop they can olny ask collectors at 3rd party companys to stop. they will trick you they are profesional con artists you will lose all of your money they take your first to payment, $50 outta all your other payments and 25 percent of your savings so say you owe 100,000 you might see 20,000 in saving but at a debt amount liek thet youll be sued. they dont call when they say they will (to your creditors) in fact they dont contact them at all for the first several months. they lie. from what i can tell they are comminting serveral other crimes i care not to mention. they are NOT accredited members or usoba as they claim that is a lie they are not checked up on or policed.....buyer beware if you did get trapped with this company just threaten to complain to the attorney general - FTC - or BBB they will give you your money back they gave it alllllll back to me so take my advice and run

Crooks Wayne Ahlquist & Lamont Milton Preferred Financial
I was just recently let go from this company not to long ago because I was not enrolling enough prospective consumers. When I interviewed with this company I was told that I could make well over $50k per year if I enrolled customers into a debt settlement program.

First of all How can a consumer get out of debt if the first 2 payments that they make are kept by the company in this case (Preferred). On top of that they charge $49.95 a month. On a daily basis my manager would hound me to work my leads harder and get more people on the phone. At first I thought the program would work great for people in debt. But after 2 weeks of being there I began to realize how many people call the office wanting to leave the program becasue they are being going to court.

Preferred Financial will tell you that they can save consumers up to 70% when in reality after your doing paying 25% of the savings, the first 2 payments you make they keep and $49 a month you actually save 20% if that. You have to deal with your credit being effected for the long term.

The company was started by Wayne Ahlquist and Lamont Milton, both of these characters along with the Manager Keith are crooks. Wayne is convicted felon from Lynn, MA who has an extensive criminal record both as a juvenile and currently. He is only concerend with his pockets. Lamon Milton is the most egotistical person that I've ever met. He does not care about his customers nor does Mr. Ahlquist and in fact less than 5% of their clients ever finish the program.

I have company emails, files and pitch booklets of which I have already contacted the Attorney General of Massachusetts, Better Business Bureau, FBI & Federal Trade Commission.

In the state of Massachusetts you need to be an Attorney or Non for profit organization to practice debt management. They are not a lawfirm by any means and definately not a non profit. They are operating illegally. I am owed a unpaid salaries of which I have also reported to the Department of Labor.

I am now working back at the local law office that I left, I am glad to have a secure job where I am...I can definately sleep better at night knowing that I am not ripping people off. If you need help with your debt in Massachusetts contact DMF Finance in Beverly, MA they are also a law office too. My friend recently started working there and they have over 7000 clients and great coaching programs.

I hope this helps any past victims of fraud and any future victims of fraud. I suspect that Mr. Ahlquist and Mr. Milton will both be behind bars very very soon.

After having worked in a large settlement firm for quite awhile, I can tell you that eventually DeadBoy's testimony becomes all to familiar. Debt settlement can be done but is better done on your own. The industry is, in a word, heartless. Why would so many states ban them? (Reps from these agencies: no need to reply. I'm very familiar with the rhetoric).

The states aren't really *banning* them per se, just introducing necessary regulations. Some states have a stronger viewpoint against them (like Cuomo, the AG of New York who downright calls them all Scams), but that is due to that state having more people willing to file complaints in a legitimate manner. The biggest problem I see with the industry is that they shoehorn people into debt settlement, because DS is rather lucrative, and not only that, the bonus structure for employees is also better for DS. From offering a service to assist, they go to a high pressure sales pitch promising all kinds of feel-good results, when DS is actually one of the worst ways to deal with your debt (it's like Rocky punching the living daylights out of your credit report - you can survive, but it'll hurt like the dickens!) and should only be entered into by a small percentage of those in debt (namely those who are already way behind on their bills but are not insolvent). The industry is hanging itself by its dishonesty but I think it'll weather the storm whilst the dishonest companies are grounded or bashed up against the pier. They take advantage of the cultural loathing of bankruptcy and appeals to the honesty of the debtor (who want to be responsible) to pressure them into making a decision that may not be in their best interests.

Guest,
Thanks for sharing your experiences. It is undoubtedly difficult for an honest person to remain under such a salesman-like setting. It's not like you're selling trash bags or something, these services affect people's *lives*.

As far as a DS firm to go with, should you decide to take that route - it is always best to go with a law firm because they are the only ones that a collection agency *has* to work with, due to the FDCPA. The rest of them are strictly voluntary. But if you hire an attorney, the collector *must* cease contact with you and deal with your attorney. In some states the collector laws are the same for the original creditor.

But you can certainly do it yourself, just make sure you get any settlements or payment arrangements *in writing* before you pay a dime, and never give a collection agency your bank account info (no checks - money order, cashier's check, or prepaid debit card only). Check out the Federal Trade Commission's "Money Matters" page, especially the section "Dealing With Debt". Familiarize yourself with the FDCPA. Document everything - every call, every letter. If they violate the FDCPA, sue them and collect your $1000. Click on "Do It Yourself" above for some helpful pointers. Ask any specific questions on this forum, someone will be glad to assist you. We like seeing people become debt free!

Plus, you have to realize that many complaints against debt repair firms are due to the misunderstanding of the consumer - even the FTC states that much of the complaints against debt repair firms it receives are ultimately frivolous. If you got scammed or deceived, you really need to file a legitimate complaint. These companies record their calls and will need to review those calls for the BBB (for example) when a complaint is filed.

I have just begun this program with PFI and while they do collect the first two months for their fees; I have found them to respond quickly to my calls or mail. It will be a tough experience and have to rebuild my credit; but, I believe it is better than doing bankruptcy.

i wish there was a way to tell when employees of these debt settlement companies post on here as satisfied clients.