The credit exchange people are no better than the people at the alleged law firm. They knew who they were working with as they are all the same. They deserve to go down with Allegro. The credit exchange is just as shady as Allegro.

Enjoy yourselves Nick and Jeff. You deserve it for the way you have scammed people.

The credit exchange should get axed for lying to consumers that they refer clients to the most reputable firms nationwide. it is obvious that the firms they have been using are no where near reputable enough to stay in business but they do not care as long as they get the clients first payment and monthly residual income that is all that matters, not the clients needs but the credit exchange needs. on rip off report you get a list of ex-employees disclosing the day to day function of the credit exchange on how managers whip you by the tail if you ever let a client go and why it's because if we do not close the deal on the first call than a more reputable firm will steal our business so use whatever lies and deceit to convince the clients to enroll today. I just hope mr. steve vanderhoof which is the owner and ceo of the credit exchange sleeps well at night when thousands of clients he enrolls each month for the past 9 years are suffering because they were set up with the wrong company that they had referred clients to. steve just wrote a book called mastering money management, how can u write a book about mastering money management when you can even master clients financial protection against unethical companies who cant even get the job done right for their clients. the credit exchange is forgetting that on first contact the consumers placed alot of trust into the company they have promote but yet another flop and now we hear thousands of clients funds is going into receivership AGAIN. any consumers here the credit exchange beware. they signed up clients with Hess Kennedy, FAILED now in receivership, they sign clients up with Hopper Law Firm Fail, now they sign clients up with Allegro Law Firm yet another FAILER. sad part is they are going to continue finding law firms that are willing to pay them big upfront referral fee to refer clients their way. hope this will wake u up before deciding to sign up with anyone at THE CREDIT EXCHANGE

Debt Settlement Attorney Keith Nelms with Allegro Law Gets Sued in Alabama

Posted by Steve Rhode

Action by the Alabama Attorney General this week further highlights the tough stance that law enforcement is taking against debt settlement companies. In this case it is against a lawyer and his related professional companies. This suit might lead other debt settlement attorneys to exit the debt settlement business to prevent the loss of their professional license. The suits and actions we are currently seeing against debt settlement companies are just the tip of the iceberg I predict.

Here is the official press release from the Alabama Attorney General’s office.

The Attorney General’s Office and the Alabama Securities Commission are suing a Prattville attorney and the companies he is operating in what is alleged to be one of the largest debt settlement schemes in the nation involving approximately 15,000 customers and millions of dollars nationwide. Autauga County Circuit Judge Ben Fuller is considering a request to grant a preliminary injunction against defendants Allegro Law LLC, Allegro Financial Services LLC, and Keith Anderson Nelms.

This preliminary injunction would prevent the defendants from continuing to engage in deceptive trade practices and to operate without a license. On June 30, the Attorney General’s Office and the Alabama Securities Commission obtained a temporary restraining order against the defendants’ that stopped the defendants’ conduct, appointed a receiver, and froze the defendants’ assets. A preliminary injunction would ensure that those consumer protections will remain in place.

Nelms is a resident of Montgomery whose law practice and financial services company are located in Prattville.

On its web site, the Allegro law firm offered to negotiate restructured debt plans for clients to pay off its debts, contending that such services provided through an attorney have superior results and are handled in a more ethical and professional manner.

The State’s civil complaint alleges that Allegro promoted a risky practice known as debt settlement, in which consumers stop making monthly payments hoping to encourage creditors to write off the debt, reclassify it as less collectible, and agree to settle for a greatly reduced payment. The complaint states that “defendants are attempting to gain this benefit by purposefully and artificially lowering creditors’ assessments of the quality of the customer debt, thereby inducing creditors to accept less to settle accounts. The consequence of this lowered credit standing is a lower credit rating for the consumer, more fees for the service provider, less money to the creditor, and more overall problems for the consumer.”

Attorney General King said, “Alabamians who are suffering hardship and distress during these severe financial times must be protected from exploitation and false solutions that may cause even greater harm. We contend that these defendants were operating a massive scheme that reached across our nation and unscrupulously targeted frightened and desperate consumers. With Alabama’s unemployment rate now at a record 25-year high of 9.8 percent, and many of our people struggling through no fault of their own, this is a particularly contemptible violation, and we will not tolerate it.”

Alabama Securities Director Joe Borg said, “This is a prime example of the cooperative efforts of agencies to protect the public. It is imperative that we require all companies to abide by the law and do not allow them to take advantage of our citizens. In these hard economic times, with resources scarce, the leveraging of our efforts to help consumers is of the utmost importance.”

According to the complaint, Allegro and Nelms have solicited and obtained clients from all 50 states, many of whom made their selection believing they would be represented by a law firm. However, because Nelms is not licensed to practice law in any state other than Alabama, these consumers were deceived. Furthermore, Alabama consumers who believed they were hiring a law firm to represent them were also deceived, because Nelms and Allegro were actually serving merely as a conduit to refer cases that were handled by a third party, AMERICORP, which is not a law firm. In addition to these deceptive practices, Nelms and Allegro were not licensed by the Securities Commission, as required to conduct debt payment services in Alabama.

The complaint alleges that defendants have violated the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Sale of Checks Act. The Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act is designed to protect consumers by prohibiting business from committing a variety of deceptive practices including engaging in any “unconscionable, false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice in the conduct of trade or commerce.” The complaint alleges that the defendants violated the Deceptive Trade Practices Act as a result of various deceptive business practices and various false, misleading, and deceptive representations made to consumers. Under the Sale of Checks Act, any person engaging in a business that receives money as agent for obligors for the purpose of paying such obligors’ bills, invoices, or accounts must obtain a license from the Commission prior to conducting business in Alabama. The complaint alleges that defendants have breached their statutory duty to obtain a license pursuant to the Sale of Checks Act prior to engaging in the debt payment services business from their office.

The Attorney General’s Office and the Alabama Securities Commission are seeking a permanent injunction, civil penalties, and other relief. The Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act authorizes civil penalties of up to $2,000 for each act or practice found to be in violation of the Act.

It seems I got you again Mr. Edward Cherry. LOL....I told you I would have the last laugh....LOL. And now so will everyone else.
Until the next time.

I agree with all of the above responses. All those things happened to me also. Always getting served papers having to go the the sheriff's department and then to court to file an answer still to get nothing settled. I have paid $470.00 per month since September last year which is $4,700.00 that I have lost and they tell me my escrow has $109.00 in it . Unreal!!!!!! I got so upset I told them to take me out of the program. They are definitely a RIP OFF!!!!!!!! I have papers to go to court and ask if they were going to go and repensative me and she said they don't do that. They never return any of my emails or fax request to let me know what is going on. I could have settled with some of my creditors before the last fees and over limit fees were added with that $4,700.00 I sent to this no good comapny. I will tell everyone I know about both Allegro Law (whatever) and The Credit Exchange. And in turn they will tell everyone and hopefully this rip off company will be put out of business..

Allegro Law LLC is in receivership and Attorney Nelms has been disbarred. Google It.

What does it mean to be in receivership?

Assets are being liqidated. In law, liquidation refers to the process by which a company (or part of a company) is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed.

Receivership: In law, the judicial appointment of a person, a receiver, to collect and conserve certain assets and to make distributions in accordance with judicial authorization. A receivership is properly an intermediate or incidental step toward some other principal objective and not generally the object of litigation. The principal objective may be the preservation of the assets pending a decision as to who should receive the property, or it may be the liquidation of the assets and the distribution of the proceeds to the parties entitled to them.

In this case THEY WILL MOST LIKELY BE LIQUIDATED.

Refunds might be coming soon.

Thanks Tom.

I do hope refunds occur. I really resent being screewed out of $2,000.00. I am so mad at myself for allowing this to happen.

Anyway, I do hope me and everyone else affected by this bunch is justly compensated.

Mr. Nelms; considering your current situation and the certainty that you will have debts to pay, I would like to offer my services. Of course, you absolutely do not want to claim bankruptcy. It is very unlikely you will get sued so don't worry about that. If you do get sued they can't do anything to you. I will work for you and negotiate your debts for you.

We can work the details out with the fine folks at The Credit Exchange. I do require an upfont fee of 20% of your total amount of debt. Plus, we will set a payment plan where you pay me $2,000.00 a month until I settle your debts. Of course it will take awhile to build up the funds to settle your debts so be patient for about 10 years until you have enough money available to settle with.

Sound good Mr. Nelms? You will debt free in no time. What do you say?

King hoping for permanent decision against debt settlement provider

BY ASHLEY STINNETT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) - Alabama Attorney General Troy King and the Alabama Securities Commission are awaiting a judge's ruling in a suit that alleges a debt settlement scheme involving over 15,000 customers.

Autauga County Circuit Judge Ben Fuller is considering a request for preliminary injunction against Prattville-based Allegro Law, LLC, Allegro Financial Services, LLC and Keith Anderson Nelms. King has already obtained a temporary restraining order.

The ban would prevent the defendants from the practice of debt settlement. The complaint says Allegro had customers stop making monthly payments so creditors would reclassify their accounts as less collectible and settle for a reduced monthly payment.

The "defendants are attempting to gain this benefit by purposefully and artificially lowering creditors' assessments of the quality of the customer debt, thereby inducing creditors to accept less to settle accounts," the complaint says.

"The consequence of this lowered credit standing is a lower credit rating for the consumer, more fees for the service provider, less money to the creditor, and more overall problems for the consumer."

Allegro law firm's Web site offered a debt settlement program which, the firm claims, would be handled through an attorney giving consumers a more "ethical" and "professional" approach.

"We contend that these defendants were operating a massive scheme that reached across our nation and unscrupulously targeted frightened and desperate consumers," King said.

The complaint alleges Allegro and Nelms have violated the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Sale of Checks Act, as well as soliciting clients in all 50 states without a license.

Nelms, a Montgomery resident is only licensed to practice in the state, a fact unknown to the various clients who subscribed to the financial service, King said.

Keith Anderson Nelms is now disbarred from practicing law ANYWHERE. This was the CLASSIC Hess Kennedy scam with a different name. Allegro Law reports on their site that they have a network of Lawyers to help out all over the country. They even have names on their site. NONE OF THAT WAS TRUE.

i use to work for them. BAD BUSINESS

i live in CA & called alabama attorney general, they are having a person dealing with the recievership contact me. my creditors have been willing to work with me (allegro HAS been paying my creditors & did live up to their financial promise - until this) but we all may be able to get out of our deals with them since they (allegro) have breached contracts by not holding up their obligations to us as consumers...

I TRUSTED ALLEGRO LAW BECAUSE IT WAS IN ALABAMA AND I LOST MY MONEY . THEY ARE A BUNCH OF CROOKS. I SENT ALL OF MY PAPER WORK TO ALABAMA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION.

I TRUSTED ALLEGRO LAW BECAUSE IT WAS IN ALABAMA AND I LOST MY MONEY . THEY ARE A BUNCH OF CROOKS. I SENT ALL OF MY PAPER WORK TO ALABAMA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION.

If it makes you feel any better I lost $1,912.00.

Lets have a competition - Who lost the most money with the Allegro "Law" firm?

At least I can muster a little bit of humor.

Lets pray its true and we all could get our money back. I can't negotiate with my creditors and I'm losing my mind!! Can't sleep and I'm a nervous wreck!! I'm being sued by 2 of the 5 creditors that were "on the program" and the other 3 don't want to negotiate with me because I'm being represent by Allegro Law! I was advised to get a letter of release from Allegro and fax it to the creditors, so that they could negotiate a payment schedule with me. I have tried to obtain said letter for the past 3 weeks with no results, when I call Allegro the person on the other line transfers me to the "legal dept" and I'm prompt to leave a detailed message along with my account # and someone will get back to me. So far nothing!! I did file compliants with the State Attorney's General Office in Alabama and the State of NY along with complaints to the BBB in those states and lastly a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission's Office. Hopefully, we will BEAT THIS!! By the way I lost $5975.00 in past 9 months to Allegro!!!