Beware of crooked settlement companies
Date: Wed, 07/23/2008 - 08:20
debt settlement companies should never offer to hold your money in a trust account controlled by the company. Instead, the monies saved for future negotiation should either be in the consumer’s own private savings account or in a third party bank FDIC insured account " like Noteword or Global Client Solutions". You should always maintain direct control of the money.
When I heard that James had access to all of the money I knew something was fishy. My heart really goes out the these people who got ripped off . I hope this helps prevent other people from potential scams. :D
Excellent advice. Also beware of hidden fees that go to the sett
Excellent advice. Also beware of hidden fees that go to the settlement company before anything goes to the lender/collector. That will get you sued.
Good advice from both of you! I feel so bad for Sifxpert's form
Good advice from both of you! I feel so bad for Sifxpert's former clients who got taken advantage of. :(
I agree with you on that as well frogpatch Does the contract
I agree with you on that as well frogpatch
Does the contract include the required disclosures and is the total amount to be paid as specified in the contract less than the amount of debt enrolled into the program? If not than watch out !!! Most of the legit settlement companies charge around 15% of the debt amount enrolled in settlement program.
debt settlement companies are required to deliver a written contract describing the services they will perform and a best estimate of costs. The contract should be easy to read, include the disclosures and you (the client) should never be required to pay more than 100% of what you owed which includes the fees to the company.
Well gotta say you still have to beware of them, sifxpert told m
Well gotta say you still have to beware of them, sifxpert told me he would rather not set up "seperate" accounts that he controled that many companies pretty much mandate and said if I could save the money myself then I should....completely in my own account. Guess I'm lucky I opened another account seperate from my checking that I was saving the $ in that was easy to transfer back and forth....I went with him because of many of the things you mention! Hopefully some good will come of this but I'm not going to keep my hopes up, and I can't imagine what good that will be :( For me anyway I wasnt close to charge off so now I get to deal with it on my own...but it could be worse and I really feel for the people that lost more than me even though I fell for the "re arranging" credit stuff. Good luck to all for what its worth and anything I find out in my own dealings I'll be happy to share with others if it will help. Well off to type up my complaints to the AG's...this really stinks
It does stink. Good luck to you, and I hope James Lombardo ends
It does stink. Good luck to you, and I hope James Lombardo ends up being held responsible for what he has done to everyone. :(
debt
I've looked into a few settlement companies, myself. I actually saw a few of them on the forum ( negative remarks, I mean). i feel really sorry for those people that have been scammed by these different companies, lawyers, etc. That's horrible! Especially when good, honest people are looking for help.
