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collector · Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:43 pm Subject: Settlement programs the inside story

ok listen i know your all seekign help DONT DO THIS honestly there is NEVER a situation this is good for you really ever im not a jerk off or an ex client i worked at one of these places for 4 years or so and yea if you wanna ask a specific question ill answer but you will pay pay more than you owe prob clost to 200% you can lose your house/car/wages and you'll most likey be sued and you quit in 6 months here a tidbit 5% of people finish these programs 5 damn %

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 5:08 am Subject:

wrong, I beg to differ. There ar many people here who are in real programs that are getting them out of debt while not going are dealing with any collector....period.
sorry, wrong site for you.

thanks

dave 2468 · Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:56 am Subject:

Gee , I bet that guy who posted this is probably a creditor or bill collector. They hate the fact that settlement exists. People are better educated and now have another choice besides just credit counseling.

Rini_K · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 2:23 pm Subject:

Hello... I was just passing by while searching for a way to get a refund from my settlement company.
I just wanted to say... I signed up for Century Negotiations Inc and they didn't do squat for me.
I had 3 credit cards and a loan. I couldn't keep up with the payments and I thought that this was the only way out. This guy I talked to through e-mails got me signed up... he made me think that the settlement company was actually going to help me. I was told that all of my creditors would be contacted and that they would all cooperate. Oh... and that I would have good credit again once the program was completed because it was a law that these companies would have to say "paid as agreed" on my credit reports.
So I sign up... stop paying my bills and send them my first payment. Less than a month later, my bank called me up and said that they were suing me. They said that they do not settle and that they were going to have my wages garnished. I called century negotiations and they said it was a scare tactic. A few days later, I got a letter from my bank's attorney. I called century negotiations again and faxed them the letter. It took them 2 weeks to get back to me about it... all this time, the law office was preparing to take their case to court.
Lucky for me... I went to my bank and told them what was going on and the let up. They said that they would call off their lawyers if I paid off my loan. My husband had to use trust money to pay it off... then they allowed me to pay off my other creditors by taking out another loan. Come to find out (when I was paying everyone)... one of my credit cards was getting ready to sue me as well!
debt settlement companies do more harm than good. The second my creditors found out that I was on a program, they all decided to sue! There wasn't going to be no negotiations... just my wages getting garnished! Beware of these guys! They are bad news!

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:20 pm Subject:

First of all before you "sign up" with any company you should research as to whether they are reputable. Secondly...there are bad companies all over the place...that does not necessarily mean that the procedure itself is bad. Thirdly, there are many ways of dealing with your debt...you said your husband ended up having to use trust money to pay off the bills. Why didn't you just do that to start out with if you had the means to do so??

Also credit card companies and loans generally sue you as a last resort, this after not being paid for several months..not just a few weeks. I am in a debt management and counseling service that is working very well. I recieved confirmation letters from all my credit card companies and medical offices as soon as the proposal letters went out from the service. I make a monthly payment which includes a very small fee ($25.) and can contact my advisor by email or phone when ever I have a question. I also still recieve statements from my creditors and can see what payments have been made.

Dave2468 · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:39 pm Subject:

Century Negotiations Inc is not really a member of TASC like it claims on their web site. I called TASC and they are a fraud

Rini_K · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 5:51 pm Subject:

Morningstarr - I did what I thought was a lot of research on this company. They are a member of the bbb and if I google their name along with "complaint" (and other related searches) I couldn't find anything bad being said about them. I pooled over the decision for over a month and I asked my parents and my coworkers. They all thought that it was a good idea... but they were going off of what the representative told me in our e-mails. This guy promised that the company would do this and do that... but they didn't even bother to inform my creditors that I was on a settlement program with them. I had to tell the creditors myself... repeatedly over the phone because they wouldn't stop calling me. I had one creditor that called every hour, on the hour.
And just so you know... my husband did not have access to the money from his trust fund. It just so happened that after I had enrolled in the program his mom decided that she wanted to transfer his trust fund over to something else so that it was entirely in my husband's name. A check came to him and he put it in his savings account because he was researching different investments. This money was not meant to pay off my loan... it was meant to be reinvested for his retirement fund. His mom has no clue how much debt we have... and we don't plan on telling her. It's embarrassing.

Rini_K · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 5:52 pm Subject:

Dave - OMG! Are you serious?! Shocked

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:00 pm Subject:

I agree, there are as many crooked companies as there are good companies. Do your homework when searching for real help. Perhaps you can ask friends or family if they know of reputable companies, based on experience. You can check with NACA, National Association of Consumer Advocates.

dave2468 · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 7:24 pm Subject:

correction : Century Negotiations is a TASC memeber. 1stepdebt and Debt Remedy Advisors are phonies. Sorry for the mix up. I had done alot of research on bad companies and I saw Century Negotiations name on my list to research but was legit . just forgot to mark it off.

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:13 pm Subject:

Dave, we're only human. I scrutinize all companies when dealing in the credit and collection trade. I don't trust any of them, even the legit ones.

Rini_K · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:22 pm Subject:

So if this company is so good... then why didn't they do what they said they were going to do?
Like I said... they were supposed to contact my creditors and I was told by this company that my creditors would accept this and allow time for a settlement offer.
Instead, they never contacted my creditors. My creditors only found out that I was on a settlement program because I told them. And this was because they kept calling me and I was under the impression that they were supposed to be calling the settlement company if they wanted money (at least that is what the guy who signed me up said).
So my creditors find out that I'm on a settlement program and they don't waste any time at all. I know for a fact that my bank was going to sue me. I got a letter from their attorney and when I spoke to their attorney over the phone I was told the date that the lawsuit was going to be filed.
So did this company lie to me? Or are my creditors just an exception to "the rule" (them suing me after 1 month of non-payment)?

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:30 pm Subject:

Rini, it is difficult to conclude what failed you. It could be an isolated incident on the part of these Negotiation people, or a lack of good communication on the part of the original creditor, it will most likely remain a mystery since no one will accept blame. All that I can tell you is to remain strong, and do not allow any creditor or bank intimidate you in anyway. The law is on your side in regards to consumer protection. I personally feel that choosing a reputable company is like playing Russian Roullette.

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:49 pm Subject:

Rini...I am sorry if I didn't understand the research you had done...have you contacted them and talked to them about the fact that they did not do what they said they would??

Rini_K · Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:44 am Subject:

Morningstarr - It's okay. I was actually signing up with Freedom debt relief. They are a member of the TASC, the BBB, and whatever that credit rating thing for businesses is. All their links work on their website for those "credentials". Anyway, I googled the heck out of them and they came back clean. So I talked to this guy via e-mail who works for them and he told me all kinds of great things and answered all of my questions.
What was strange, however, was that when he sent me the contracts to sign they all said "Century Negotiations Inc" on them. I looked them up as well and they came back clean as well.
I was confused at first... but then I just shrugged it off as they were the same company.
The guy that I had been talking to said in an e-mail that he looked forward to working with me.
But then when I had a problem with a creditor (my bank) immediately after signing up... he refused to talk to me any more. He said that it wasn't his job and that I needed to call THIS number. The number he gave me was for the CNI service center.

I apologize if I made anyone jump to conclusions with my first post. I left things out because it seemed like it was soooooo long. LOL!

Rini_K · Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:01 am Subject:

Oops... and oh yes, I will be filing a complaint.

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