Beware of Settlement Companies that are not members of TASC

Thanks for the information Dave.

Is GHS Solutions a member of TASC

i agree full heartedly with choosing a member of the tasc. I wouldnt know why anyone would not chose one they are there to protect you. But one thing that i must add is it is not necessarily true about clicking on the sites seal. I have researched some companies for other people were the site had the seal and you could not click on it at all. of course i was alarmed and went to the tasc site and found them on thier site. so they were members they just did not have the clickable link. My suggestion is just go to the tasc site and click on the letter the company starts with and it should be there if its not run forest run!!

yes ghs solutions is a member

the web adress also for the tasc if you dont want to google it is

www.tascsite.org

Historically USOBA and TASC have had little to no impact on the industry or the best practices of its member partipants.
From their outset they were nothing more than a seal on a website to lend confidence to the consumer, nothing more.
First there was USOBA whos leadership had something of a falling out. Then came TASC. No matter the historionics of the organizations creation they each fell well short of their stated purpose until recently and, I would ad, only when their feet were put to the fire by necessity.
From their inception there were only a handful of states with debt adjuster laws that these groups advised their membership to stay out of. That list quickly more than tripled. They did not audit there memberships enrollment throughout the 50 states. The last couple years has seen many state actions against the industry including a large proportion of TASC members. No auditing whatsoever.
As these new laws have been enacted over the last few years you can see there was literally no return for your membership buck when it came to lobbying on behalf of membership as a whole. Indeed, it maybe (pure speculation here) that some states represent such a small population that efforts were seen as a waste of resources.
The best practices and disclosures for membership were never really compliance audited either. That push has only been a recent development and only, in my opinion, as a result of further pressure from an increasingly burdensome regulatory environment. Now the FTC is is fully involved and will either be recommending pre-emptive federal law, backbone minimum legislation (sort of like fdcpa but states can have more stringent 1 law), or good old regulation through rule making.
The increase in shouts for regulation in the heretofore wild wild west known as the settlement industry has been a call to action for these industry groups out of necessity. This may lead to some actual value to being a member of these groups that has been otherwise missing. The recent action by TASC and 2 member participants in PA where they are suing the state for enactment of recent law that took effect on Feb 6th this year is one of only a handful of examples anyone can point to that has real effort behind it. If there are other efforts, they are not obvious.
The industry as a whole screams for regulation and it is coming. It may be that regulation is way to over burdensome which would be a shame. It may be proven that these 2 trade associations have done entirely too little too late.
Recent developments within these trade groups, if continued, may eventually lead to actual value to membership. I for one will wait and see.
At this point, from my view, they are just a little more than an emblem on a website. Many of the negative comments on this board are about firms that are members of TASC or USOBA. Anyone see a trend here?

This statement is completely false. There are a lot of good companies who aren't affiliated with the lobby group known as TASC. I've seen enrollment forms and disclosures EXACTLY the same as good companies who are not TASC affiliated.

I'm not sure what to think about them but here's a post from Tom321 not too long ago:

"HERE ARE THE FACTS:

Chris Kesterson serves as President of TASC. He is President and CEO of debt settlement America.

Debt Settlement America has a no rating at the BBB and the BBB has 56 complaints. Complaints on Rip off.com and complaintsboard.

David Leuthold serves as Vice President of TASC. He is President and CEO of Century Negotiations, Inc.

Century Negotiations, Inc has a satisfactory rating from the BBB but has 33 complaints.

John Philbin serves as Treasurer of TASC. He is the President and CEO of Debt Remedy Solutions, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

Debt Remedy Solutions BBB reports states they have 55 complaints

Wesley Young is General Counsel of Debt Settlement America and is chair of the Legislative Committee of TASC. Previously he was a Senior Associate with Baron & Budd, P.C.

Andrew Housser co-founded Freedom Financial Network in 2002.

His company freedom debt relief and others have been ordered to stop doing business in CA and they have 140 complaints at the BBB.

Joanne Garneau, Joanne founded Nationwide Support Services Inc. in 2005.

Nationwide Support Services has 26 complaints from the BBB and a F rating.

I THINK IT IS UP TO THE CONSUMER TO DECIDE. THESE ARE THE FACTS. DO YOU REALLY NEED TO BE HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A ROCK TO SEE THE TRUTH THOUGH???? "

Federal Trade Commission, Plaintiff, v. Dennis Connelly, an individual; Richard Wade Torkelson, a/k/a Wade Torkelson, an individual; Joanne Garneau, a/k/a Joanne Torkelson, an individual also doing business as Prosper Financial Solutions; Homeland Financial Services, a corporation; National Support Services, LLC, a limited liability company; United Debt Recovery, LLC, a limited liability company; Freedom First Financial, LLC, a limited liability company; and USA Debt Co, LLC, a/k/a UsaDebtCo.com, a limited liability company, Defendants.
(United States District Court for the Central District of California)
FTC File No.: 052-3091
Civil Action No.: SA CV 06-701 DOC (RNBx)
September 25, 2008

* Stipulated Final Order as to Defendants Financial Liberty Services, LLC, Homeland Financial Services, National Support Services, LLC, and United Debt Recovery, LLC

* Settlement Agreement and Stipulated Final Order as to Defendant Dennis Connelly
* Settlement Agreement and Stipulated Final Order as to Defendant Richard Wade Torkelson
* News Release

Thank you so much for the tip on clicking on the TASC logo! I found a company using your information and almost went with one that just defaulted to their site! Thanks again!

Jack Black ,

You make such great points! haha.... What business wouldn't have a complaint?? If Disneyland had a BBB rating, how many complaints do you think you would see on there?

The interesting thing about someone like you who is clearly not too bright at looking at statistics, is you need to consider the amount of clients the company services. For example:

Debt Settlement America has a no rating at the BBB and the BBB has 56 complaints. Complaints on Rip off.com and complaintsboard.

So if this company has 56 complaints out of 10,000 plus clients... that's hardly a dent. You need to either take a stats class to see how easily you jump to conclusions, or understand that of course this industry will see a lot of criticism.

One, these people are in financial hardships. There will be a high fall out ratio in any debt relief program. Bankruptcy, credit counseling, debt settlement. They all have really high fall out for the simple fact they are very short on money for the debts they have.

Two, its an easy market. There needs to be more regulation because right now anyone with a phone can open a company. Regulation will limit the bad apples as much as possible by requiring insurance covering for fraud, review of contracts and disclosures, etc.

You want to know what is shady?? Try looking at your credit card statement! The lovely banks are "lawful" to charge consumers 30% APR on debt that will probably take as long as a mortgage to pay (considering a large majority of people use minimum payment)

Even though Tom is a bit of a donkey's you know what, he is right.

Don't trust that TASC means they are any better its a logo created by Ken from Debt xs when USOBA wouldnt do what they wanted.

You can settle your own debt. This is what you pay $3K or more for.

STOP PAYING YOUR CREDIT CARDS. Instead put your monthly payment in to a bank account, under a mattress, whatever just dont spend it. In 6 months see what you have saved. Pick a card that if you took 60% of it you have enough to pay that card off. Call the CC company, tell them you won X in Vegas and wanted to pay them, would they take. Rinse, Repeat.

This will F@#k up your credit.

To save your credit, find a non-profit credit counseling program. They are safe, since the scum ran for the debt settlement hills.

Tom is spot on, even though he sounds like a pompous jackoff.

Dont work with any of these companies.

Yea, that makes sense that it is a logo and doesn't necessarily mean someone should be trusted anymore than someone who doesn't have a logo.

BUT, of course you could settle on your own. You can do a lot of things on your own including: Changing your oil, setting up a home or even office network, purchase a home, sell your home, etc.

What everyone on this board, especially the moderators, fail to point out that a lot of people prefer to use services that assist them in accomplishing their goal. Which is probably why a majority of people hire people to change their oil, set up their internet networking needs, use a real estate agent to purchase a home, use an agent to sell your home.

I do understand the majority of people that come on to this site are the small majority of people who are "do-it-your-self" kind of people... but I just feel there is a lack of respect to the debt settlement companies who provide a viable solution. Experts at negotiating with creditors (knowing which creditors will take X amounts)... also, providing people with the discipline and support of having their money set aside in a third party trust account.

one thing i will mention, is debt settlement up-front fees are a tad too high. I wish more companies were allowing people to start saving some funds from day 1. this is also addressed in TASC's recommended guidelines.

But try to be realistic... is there some ulterior motive for bashing Debt Settlement companies? Beside from the obvious that people can save money if they properly negotiate, i dont understand how people can not agree that some people need the guidance and expertise.

The problem is that most debt settlement companies are run by boiler room type sale people who only care about getting your first payment and fees as opposed to helping consumers.

There are more bad actors than good in the debt industry.

DavidREO obviously you work in the industry, your change your oil yourself rebutle is the typical analogy you guys use.

Why dont you take your fee AFTER you settle debts as opposed to before? Because you know your service isnt worth the 3K in fees you try to get on average.

And so FatTom, are you trying to say that because the analogy is typical its point isn't valid? Oil Change is probably one of the simplest things you can do to your vehicle. Similary, settling your debt can be a simple process (if you are a do-it-yourself type person).

However, your problem is clear. The analogy is used to assit you in understand this relationship (that a service provider in most cases can be done by yourself!). Sorry, I feel like I have to baby step you through every single point.

And yes, I do work in the industry. And yea, there may be more bad actor than good... should we also dissolve banks and lending since it is clear most banks are bad actors? (or let me guess, the brokers are responabile for creating a loan product that people can't OBVIOUSLY not afford? Or the IVY league grad who sat in a New York High rise creating the product?)

FatTom, I 100% agree with you that there are bad actors. There are boiler room type companies. It is risky trying to find a good company because like I said before, all you need is a phone and lap top to open a company until they pass more laws regulating the requirements.

And lastly, not all companies charge 3K in set up fees. My company charges a set up fee of no more than $900. A very reasonable cost considering our average is about 38% on creditors. But believe what you want. Listen to the news. The same people who listened to the media about what stocks to invest in before the crash and how many homes they should flip ;)

What % of people actually complete your program? Be honest I know the real numbers of your industry and they aren't pretty.

And debt settlement is only worth it for those who are ALREADY past due. But the industry justifies it by saying, if they are looking for help their credit is already messed up, which it is. Do you only help clients who are past due? And if they are past due how do they pay your fee, since they couldnt pay their CC's?

And finally,how do you pay your sales people? They get a commission on the sales they bring in? Its in their best interest to sign up as many people as possible? What is this months "contest"on your sales floor to boost sales?

I hate you mightier than thou morons. You can come up with any argument to make your side of things look better. But constantly defending yourself, and back handed comments such as having to "baby step me through each point" makes your true colors shine through which is all you guys care about is making a buck

My true color shines because I actually have enough education and have been able to apply it enough to think critically...

% of people able to complete our program is about 35%. But, knowing how you think, you would fail to understand bankruptcy offers just about the same completion rate as well as credit counseling... Why might this be the case??? Because people in this situation are on the brink of not being able to eat. I would think most people are able to understand this simple fact.

And isn't the point of any arugment to come to a better and more true conclusion? So I guess that would make each of our arguments "look better for our side." So naturally, every point you make is trying to have that same conclusion. But when I make the argument its because "I'm trying to lie for the industry!"

haha you might as well for work for the Banks PR departments to justify why they must take Trillions in Bailouts, take trillions in interest payments and target people with credit cards they surely know can't handle it.

Also, why would we only take people in the program who are past due? How do you know that it takes people to the point of already being past to, as opposed to one payment before being past due, that they are ready to get out of 30% APR Interest rates?

Our reps are paid on commission. The incentive is to enroll as many people possible who need our assistance. Of course, it must be done by disclosing every aspect of the program including: Credit score being damaged, possibility of law suits, liens, garnishments and tax consequences.

This is your problem with understanding this. Because I 100% understand what your saying. There are companies and people who are taking advantage of others (just like Lawyers, accountants, banks, etc... Human Nature). But how hard is it for you to understand that some companies know there is a market of people that are enrolling in debt settlement being fully aware of the consequences?

Amazingly hard obviously... FatTom, I wonder if you knew the % of people who pay off their credit card balance ;)

Going back to the topic at hand, TASC means nothing in terms of certifiable and reputable. The company I worked for in mgmt role was on the board of TASC. TASC, IAPDA, etc... Not a good source of reference. It's still about money and there are PLENTY of people who are being damaged.

Everyone who has issues are not being reflected in BBB complaint #'s either. In fact, these agencies have a special little form when (finally) giving refunds that actually says the client will not say anything bad about them moving forward. Blahblahblah...

Your constant insults to my intelligence shows how intelligent you yourself really are.

Any company charging any upfront fee does so because they know they cant collect once services are rendered because you dont help many people

I know when i go in for an oil change its done right 99%of the time not 35%.

Also 35% is a low number of success in my opinion and thats because you take on people who should go bankrupt and you know it, and people who are current and dont need your help

So my point is proven, TASC is full of BS and debt settlement only helps 35% of the people (The real number is under 20%). If you like 35% odds then sign up with these guys

If i left you with no options sign up with a credit counselor if youre current on your debts. If youre past due dont pay anymore instead pay yourself and save those payments to make settlements on your credit cards. This forum has a wealth of information to help you settle. Some of you may need to declare bankruptcy if yours behind, and cant save to settle, if so contact a bankruptcy attorney.

These settlement companies who claim they have lawyers on staff or have a lawyers name on the door are very rarely run by a real attorney, they just get some guy to hang his name on the door for a cut

"These settlement companies who claim they have lawyers on staff or have a lawyers name on the door are very rarely run by a real attorney, they just get some guy to hang his name on the door for a cut"

You nailed it FatTom. Also what's the advantage to having a lawyer based debt settlement firm anyway?

And FatTom you sound EXACTLY like me bro...LOL. Does this make you a pompous jackoff as well?...LOL.

The lawyer name adds legitimacy and skates the laws i guess.

I might be a pompous jackoff too, but i am tired of the stories of old ladies having their last $400 taken from them when they shouldn't be in debt settlement, they should just tell the credit card co's to F off

You must first change the mindset and habits that got you into trouble in the first place. Leo Quinn has written many good books on the subject and NO I DON'T make any money or anything else by endorsing him. But he does help you set up your OWN program that will have you debt free in a couple of years. It's time for people to take a little responsibility for there own actions!!

i agree myself included, that alot of people got wrapped up in that gotta have it now attitude. and frankly we have to train ourselves out of it. but the tasc, bbb, and others all have thier problems. but if used correctly and together can all still be used as a great tool to find the best companies. not alone but together and proper research.