Lifeguard Financial - What are the debtors saying?

It is a scam!!!! They only pay your creditors when they settle with them. Well after two months my creditors haven't heard anything from them. I am having collection agencies at my door now. They put your money in an escrow account until they settle with the creditors which could take up to four years. Do not use this company!!

Ummm , did you actually read your contract with them because thats how debt settlement works ?

I want to work for LifeGuard financial, the system is work, but Management is SuZZZZZZ

That is how settlement works. If they told you that they would be making payments to your creditors they lied. Otherwise I'm afraid you're an idiot. If they told you they would negotiate settlements and you are putting money into a bank account then it implies that they aren't being paid in that time.

Lifeguard like most debt settlement company's do put your money into a escrow because the futher you are behind the better chance you can get the settlement that they promise

BE AWARE OF LIFEGUARD FINANCIAL!! I was told that my debts would be paid in 12 months and that several months into the program a few of my debts would be paid. However, after doing my own independent research on how debt settlement companies work (because I was not made aware of this by Lifguard) I learned that debt settlement companies take their fees first (in my case, I was told three months, after calling multiple other times was told 6 months of fees would be taken out which would equate to over $13,000!) I have asked for my first payment back and have yet to receive it. I hired an attorney to handle this matter. Their contract is shaddy and I don't see how they think they can keep my first payment of $2,700 without rendering any services. If they were legitimate they would have reimbursed my first payment. Can you image how much money they can get from people!!! I also lodged a complaint at BBB. At this point, it is principal and I will do whatever in my power to get my money back. Who knows maybe a class action suit can be filed against these thieves. I can honestly say I got scammed.

They are a reputable company however they charge a lot more than some of the Debt Settlement companies out there. I ended going w/ Safeguard Financial because there fee was half of what Lifeguard wanted to charge me. If you need help call Ben Barnett. He was very professional and explained everything as well as changing me half of what the other companies wanted to charge. His number is 888-745-8181 x705. Make sure that you tell him that Joey Winters reffered you...

Listen up, people!! The BBB's have BANKS on the board of directors. That is why they give debt settlement companies bad ratings at the BBB's. They don't want you to trust the debt settlement companies because the honest debt companies work for the client to reduce debt. And, the credit card companies write off the debts anyways, and still make money as well. So don't cry about the banks and credit card companies. Just last month they raised my ccard rate from 9.99%Fixed to 24.00% variable and I pay on time all the time and I am never late or over limit. I called them and they said it was the sign of the times with the economy that's all. I opted to freeze the card to 9.99Fixed and not use the card. If I use it it will go to 24.99%.
Lord have mercy. I got pissed off about being jerked around any way the cc company wants to lately, so I am doing debt settlement and be done in 36 months. Do your homework and don't let FEAR from the bad debt settlement companies out there and the BBB's scare you. FIND a good company, and stick with it and you too will be free of this credit card crap. I am DONE with using cards for good now. I learned my lesson good. Just remember, the cards are unsecured debt, and they cannot take your car, or home, etc. They will try to scare you, but just do what the coaches tell you, and you will be fine.

Back again, The fees are 12%, not the norm of 15% and higher elsewhere. I will be done within 36 months. Step back and remove your feaf factor and find a great debt settlement company. :lol:

the comment you guys Posted on Sat Jun 13, 2009
was a sales pitch, very clever boy's

Is this a true company or is this is a scam. I need to know before I go with them.

BJ Wilson,

I'm not sure if Lifeguard Financial is a scam or not, I'm not sure. All I know is they have some of their call centers overseas, doing some checking up on Google on these people here is what I found:

Life Guard Financial

Lifeguard Financial Debt Settlement Oppurtunity


We are actively looking for 2 Native English speaking sales reps for our Medellin, Colombia sales office. Native English Speaking ONLY NEED APPLY!!

Native English means the following; you MUST have lived at least PART or ALL of your life in the United States, Great Britain, Australia or any other English speaking country. If you have not, PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS POSTING!!!!!

This is a great chance for someone to come in and grow with us and hopefully turn this into a long term career. If you need any more information please feel free to contact us, you can email us at [email]xxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx[/email] or call our Medellin Office: 266.1610 ask for Anthony.

At this time we are looking for 2 more staff members. Remember salary is 1.200.000 per month with benefits, plus up to 1.000.000 or more per month in commissions. This is a great opportunity remember we look for the best.

Fecha: 26 de mayo de 2009
Localidad: Medellin
Departamento: Antioquia
Salario: 1,200,000.00
Comienzo: Inmediato
Duraci??n: Indefinido
Tipo de trabajo: Tiempo Completo
Solicitudes: llamar, enviar correo con hoja de vida
Empresa: Life Guard Financial
Contacto: Anthony Perez
Tel??fono: 2661610
Fax:
Correo-E: [email]arperez@mail.com[/email]



Same goes for Curadebt AKA Banks Schwartz and Levitz:

BSL Asesorias y Finanzas

Customer Service Representative / Account Spexxxxts for American Company


We are looking for employees with good customer service skills for positions in customer service and account spexxxxts. Good pay and excellent bonuses. Great American working environment.

- Requirements:

* Perfect FLUENT English, spoken and written, is a must. (If you are not a FLUENT English speaker, please do not apply. You will be required to speak perfect English.)

* Must have a current "Certificado del DAS / Pasado Judicial". Current means that the date of issue or renewal on the certificate must be no older than 1 year.

* Please send your resume in English.

- Highlights of working with our company:

* We are not a telemarketing service

* We provide full paid training

* We do not require experience in the field as we encourage a learning, again we will provide the training

* Great American working environment

* Excellent earnings (Salary plus Bonuses)

* Employees are constantly rewarded

* We do not work on weekends

* You will gain a great deal of experience in the field

If you do not meet this prerequisites, please do not send your resume.

Fecha: 3 de junio de 2009
Localidad: Medellin
Departamento: Antioquia
Salario: $1.000.000 + Excellent Bonuses
Comienzo: Immediately
Duraci??n: N/A
Tipo de trabajo: Tiempo Completo
Solicitudes: Env??ar resume por correo electr??nico
Empresa: BSL Asesorias y Finanzas
Contacto: William Franco
Tel??fono:
Fax:
Correo-E: [email]hrfinanzas@gmail.com[/email]

is it wrong to have your call centers overseas? I don't think so it is more profitable. My question to you is will they admit their call centers are overseas?

I was contacted by lifeguard and decided to go with them. I have been in their settlement program for 4 months now and couldn't be happier. At first I didn't know how sure I was about dealing with anyone over the phone, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made in years. Screw the creditors I'll go with the zero interest

Anyone who said they got scammed by lifeguard dosn't know what they are talking about. I work in finance and have dealt with these type of companies. Signing up for a structured pay schedule and defaulting isn't going to be good for any situation. If u can make the payments they are fine to use

i actually work for lifeguard financial and were not a bad company,maybe some other companies called you'se but it wasn't us.we have an A rating with the better business bureau and we help millions of ppl every year

They must be on commission. Sold me the world, hustled for me to sign the contract and then called me and told me I was not eligible. Now I can't even get a confirmation from the in writing that they voided the contract. If anyone can help....

WHAT E-MAIL ADRESS WILL BE READ BY SOMEONE AT THIS COMPANY?

WHAT E-MAIL AT THIS COMPNAY HAS A HUMAN ON THE OTHER END THAT WILL ANSWER, OR EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF COORESPONDENCE.

WHAT E-MAIL AT THIS COMPNAY HAS A HUMAN ON THE OTHER END THAT WILL ANSWER, OR EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF COORESPONDENCE.

Hey everyone...I'll be honest. I work here, and I'm still not sure if I'm selling a scam. I like to believe we're a legit company, but really, I couldn't tell you. Take that for what it is, but it's my honest opinion. Do your research. Maybe it's wrong for me to say this, even more so since I'm at work right now, but, well, I'm morally confused here. If someone truly believe's it works, give me your number and we'll talk.

By the way, I don't make commission. But I do get a $50 dollar bonus for every closed deal. Now my bosses on the other hand....I'm sure they make commission on my closed deals. You should see the smiles on their face when it happens.

I think they are in it for the money...I signed up for it cause things in my life went down hill and trying to get back up on my feet. They never told me about the fees. I was suppose to settle around 16k and now with the 7k fees ill be paying my debt off the same amount if I would have did it myself.

I saw them take out my first payment, most went to fees and i was left with 8 bucks in the noteworld bank. I am at the point to taking the papers to a lawyer....I dont know what will happen but I wish I would have been told more about the fees than some dream of settling my debt for .55 on the dollar

Maybe I am making something out of nothing but ive read the complaints and people who are happy with them after 3 months...maybe I'll have to see what happens....

Anyways good luck to anyone who deals with them.....

Quote:

anyone know of any good financial companies that would work with you, on credit bill reduction

Lifeguard really helped me , I was struggling nd now am close to being debt free.They are helpful and I've called late at night with questions which were answered politely and made me feel comfortable.They also have an a rating w bbb which was very important in my decision to work with them. I even spoke to them with a creditor who told me they weren't legit and the branch manager shut him up quick enough to apologize and finally stopped calling me !

Hello everyone. I have an interview to WORK for Lifeguard Financial. I have done extensive research on debt settlement companies myself already. I am not skeptical, and I am also serious about helping others. I myself should do debt settlement, but decided to try it on my own for now. IF I can't turn it around, then I will do debt settlement too. BUT, this company is legitimate, and it does have a high score with the BBB. Therefore, I want to seek out this position. I don't know what kind of experience they are looking for, but I am going to offer honesty, and upfront behavior or I will NOT work for any debt company. I could not live with myself lying and decieving those in financial difficulty since I am one of them too..........

I have too made bad decisions in my life, I currently lost my job about a month ago and in my haste...signed up for Lifeguard Financial but now with me reading alot more into it I feel I made a grave mistake...

I don't know what to do....I sent it my first payment and signed a contract and now my crediters are calling me and saying they wont work with any debt settlement and telling me either pay or they will be taking me to court....I only been out of work for a month and only missed 1 payment on all my bills.

My husband has been trying to come up with the payments but he is suffering too...we tried bankrupy but he makes too much....

I feel we are going to be the next to lose our house and things because of my stupid mistakes....


I dont know...if anyone is reading this...I wouldnt go with Lifeguard or any settlement...Im stuck so I dont want anyone else to go though this.....

How long did it take for your creditors to stop calling you? What was the steps that you did to be happy with them? Are you using the noteworld and have you seen any of your money go towards your bills instead of fees?

This company has called me repeatedly. I have asked to be removed but rudely told I had debt. Well if you are paying a mortagage then you have debt. None of their business their names not onthe paperwork. I was called back by a young lady who infomred me she was going to kick my ass. Well come on down......... This is the type of people you are dealing with at Lie Guard. If I need help? I will solict them not them me. If you call me again you will get cussed out as I do not need your disrespectful asses.

When I looked them up at the BBB, they had no rating at all.

They last I saw have a B+ with the BBB. Having worked for them I can say that some of the cold calling that they do is quite misleading. I do not like the scare tactics that some of my collegues do on the phone. They do better then me financially but I can sleep at night

My friend got enrolled I think with that company. I know that they are register as a company, the BBB has the licensing number on its website, and they have a good rating. As far as I'm concerned, my friend is getting her debt settled. She was a little scared in the beginning of the program, but then, apparently they started paying her creditors and stuff. I don't know if she's still enrolled with them, but last thing I heard she was doing fine.

I am an employee of lifeguard financial. It pains me to see financial guru's come on here bashing our company when it is obvious that these people did not do the appropriate research. Debt settlement is an OPTION, and with any option before entering into it one should do the appropriate research and especially READ THE CONTRACT. You have no-one to blame but yourself if you feel you got scammed. Lifeguard is not a scam but debt settlement is not an easy process. Yes, the creditors are going to call and threaten all kinds of doom and destruction if you do not pay but, thats just how they and their collection agencies operate. Customers who enroll in the program receive calls from creditors for 90-120 days while our attorneys are negotiating the settlements. Of course they are going to say they dont work with settlement companies, YOU'RE SCREWING THEM OUT OF THEIR PROFIT. After the 90-120 days, the calls stop. I HAVE SEEN IT WORK. Anyone who says their entire payments have gone to fees are LYING. Lifeguard takes a minimal amount out of each monthly payment (usually around $50.00/mo).
Beware when dealing with the NY office. I dont like to bash my own company but I know for a fact that the NY office is shady in how they close deals, due to the fact that they receive bonuses for high sales numbers per month. Bottom line is this: None of my clients have cancelled or had complaints because I disclose everything about how the settlement process works. As for those who say that you can pay the BBB to raise your rating, go find somewhere else to talk crap. Lifeguards rating has recently dropped to a B due to complaints but refunds were given out and the rating will rise back up to an A by the end of the month, watch and see.
If you feel you were scammed by lifeguard, go to our website, look up the corporate number, and call them. We (at least most of us) are here to HELP people, not cause problems.

DONT say anything about lying! the first 3 payments all they do is take out their fees and maintenance fee of 50 dollars. My savings / reserves only have maybe 40 dollars in there.

I have not seen any settlement on the site. and I dont know about the calls cause I had to change all my numbers and now my friends and family have to change their numbers.

I dont know if it is a scam or not, but I signed a contract that I can not break so I have to deal with the decisions I made.

ALSO you may disclose everything but the person I worked with didn't and I did my reading up on these subjects.

Defend your company all you want....I wont agree with anything until I see it working in front of my own eyes

@ Against Employee

Just the NEGOTIATIONS for a settlment take 90-120 days so its (not to be rude) ignorant for you to say that. All our fees are disclosed in the contract and if you had read it, then you would be alot more knowledgeable.
As for being unable to break the contract-also a load of crap. Call customer service (if you dont have the number, it can be found on our website) and they will either answer your questions and put your fears at rest or they will cancel your contract and refund any money that has not been used to settle debts i.e any money that remains in your trust fund.

I have no idea what the second paragraph of your scathing reply even means but there is no reason you should have to change any phone numbers, forget about friends and family changing numbers. Care to elaborate?

I'm not trying to bash you or offend you but I really dont think you did "all your reading on this subject".


Call customer service and stop complaining. Please?

@ Against Employee

Just the NEGOTIANS for a settlment take 90-120 days so its (not to be rude) ignorant for you to say that. All our fees are disclosed in the contract and if you had read it, then you would be alot more knowledgeable.
As for being unable to break the contract; also a load of crap. Call customer service (if you dont have the number, it can be found on our website) and they will either answer your questions and put your fears at rest or they will cancel your contract and refund any money that has not been used to settle debts i.e any money that remains in your trust fund.

I have no idea what the second paragraph of your scathing reply even means but there is no reason you should have to change any numbers. Care to elaborate?

I'm not trying to bash you or offend you but I really dont think you did "all your reading on this subject".


Call customer service and stop complaining. Please?

they had to change their numbers because of creditor harassment. i don't even know this person and i can figure that one out. i worked with a large firm and know how the creditors try to intimidate the clients.

Employee; what does your company do when the client gets sued before you negotiate? please be thorough in your response.

I have read that if you get sued they can do nothing about it. These Settlement firms will not touch your account if you get sued or go to collections before the time they do their negotians.

I have two creditors that turned me into two different law firms. Both are treating to sue so Lifeguard wont be able to settle them cause they already changed hands...Ive called twice and no one has called me back about this matter...

I agree with Against Employee..but also agree with others...We don't know what will fully happen till it does...

Employees there sell it...wait until you may have to use it and see how you feel when it happens to you :x

If a consumer gets sued it only increases our ability to negotiate a settlement. In order to settle, we HAVE to let your accounts go into collections. this is what so many people do not understand. By entering into a settlement you are asserting that you are sick and tired of paying off the creditors and their high interest rates. Think about it this way, our settlements are negotiated in court and based on certain factors we push for the creditors to accept these settlements. If you get sued, we still push for the settlement, plain and simple. We are stating, on behalf of you (the consumer), that you are willing to settle your debt for a smaller amount (usually the settled amount is an amount equal to your principle debt, minus the interest that has accrued) than what is owed. It makes no difference whether they accept before taking legal action, or they take legal action and then accept the settlement. I hope this answers your question.

So, you are saying...that it's OK to get sued? There will be no consequences? of course, you'll attempt to settle at the point of lawsuit. but, are you saying that the client getting sued DOES NOT have to worry about wage garnishments or losing anything? tread lightly, my friend.

what if the client hasn't accumulated enough to settle?

you and i both know that some creditors are expeding accounts into legal status once they find out clients are working with debt settlement firms.

do you do anything besides attempt to settle? do you appear in court? provide any type of representation or legal advice?

Marie,
Check your local laws to see if the company can garnish wages. Most states do not allow credit card companies to garnish wages or anything of the sort. In the rare event that you DO get sued by a creditor, do you think the creditor wants to spend the money in legal fees to take you and the other millions of consumers that are delinquent to court? They would much rather settle than go to court. The creditors are notified once we start the process that you are working with us and this usually prevents them from suing. Believe it or not, they would much rather you enter into a program like ours, rather then filing for bankruptcy and receiving nothing. I hope this answers your questions. If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me or call us. There is a list of FAQs on our website as well.
http://www.lifeguardfinancial.net

Jtamasi answered that question pretty effectively. We know which creditors are quick to sue and we only take on settlements that consumers can pay off within a short amount of time with those creditors. All other creditors, as Jtamasi said, are hesitant to sue, they would much rather settle.

you dodged the question. the response was to Employee's post about being sued not really being a problem. so i asked very specific questions in response.

But in regard to the recent postings:
"Believe it or not, they would much rather you enter into a program like ours "
Actually, they'd much rather you settle on your own. An increasing number push your accounts to legal once finding out you're with a debt settlement program. And an increasing number are doing this very effectively on the consumer level.
By doing so, the consumer saves themselves the fees as well.
People are led to believe that you can offer them something that they can't do themselves.

Anyway, the post from 7/20 @ 9:27am represented that a lawsuit shouldn't be of any concern. It was a very dangerous statement.

Please understand I am not "bashing" Lifeguard directly. The whole industry needs to be cleaned up.

Here is a post from another thread, which is an all too common occurrence in the industry:

Today I received yet another letter from an attorney demanding payment. This is the THIRD account I signed to FDR that has resulted in my being subpoenaed, have my checking account frozen, wages garnished, and all of the other horrors for which I signed with them in order to avoid!!!!!!

FDR can be replaced by lots of companies names.

Yes, debt settlement does help SOME people. But, the industry shouldn't be allowed to proceed in the matter it currently is at the risk of hurting A LOT of people.

That seems a bit inaccurate. If they see that you are in a debt settlement program, they KNOW they are going to get a portion of the debt owed. My statement was that they would rather you be in a program and deal with the debt , instead of you filing for bankruptcy and receiving nothing. In addition, the only reason they would want you to settle with them on an individual basis is because they KNOW they can get you to settle for a much higher amount than a lawyer or arbitrator would get them to settle for.
I'll touch basis again on the topic of being sued. We take into consideration which creditors you are dealing with, how late you are with the payments, among other factors to avoid a suit as best possible. We reduce the risk of anyone getting "hurt" as much as possible.

Just to address the issue of consumers handling settlements on their own: Yes, you can certainly do that. The reason you would sign with a settlement company is to have representation and to have a legal team take care of it FOR you. If your toilet is broken, you can fix it yourself or you can call a plumber. It all depends on how much effort you want to put into it and how much money you want to spend.
I can only speak for lifeguard when I say that our fees are minimal, especially compared to what you are saving by settling, and compared to what you would pay an attorney to either settle for you, or file bankruptcy. but on the other hand, I know there are settlement companies out there that charge exhorbant upfront fees. Lifeguard is not one of them. As I have said before, settlement is an OPTION, its not something anyone is forced to do. We are here to help consumers get out of debt, if you feel you don't need help, don't sign up. And if you sign up without reading the contract and understanding what you're getting into, I'm sorry but you have no-one to blame but yourself.

addressing jtamasi:

I'm sorry, your statement is false (re: "inaccurate"). I'm not saying that out of spite, but out of knowledge.

Would you put that into a contract with your client? Unless you have evidence and can guarantee your point, again, tread lightly.

Also, you say you reduce risk of anyone getting hurt. But, you have still dodged the questions about when someone does get sued.

I think we could go in circles all day.

Employee: Thank you. Going back to an earlier post (I seriously am interested in your response): You provide representation? Legal advice? Ensure clients do not suffer as a result of a lawsuite, in the event it does happen?

Good luck...to the consumers.

Hey guys, we could go round and round all day long. So, I leave consumers with this:

Debt settlement works. It???s relevant in today???s economy. It???s highly recommended as an attempt to work out your financial situation prior to resorting to bankruptcy. You can achieve successful settlements on your own. However, should you still be interested in handing your situation over to a debt settlement agency to manage, ask them the following questions:

How much will this cost me?
What can your company do that I can???t do? What is it that I???m paying so much money for?
Can I do this on my own?
Can you guarantee that your results will be better than a settlement I can attempt on my own?
Do you offer a service guarantee? What would cause that guarantee to be voided?
How long will it take to resolve my debts?
What will happen to my debts while they are awaiting negotiation?
Can I be sued by my creditor? What would cause that to happen? Will you help represent me if that does happen?
Will you assure me that my creditors will stop contacting me?
How is my money saved? Can I save it on my own and just pay you the fees separately? If I have to open a separate account at your designated bank, what control do I have over the account? What is the process for withdrawing funds?

How does your company manage my confidential information? Who has access to my file? Where is it kept?

In response to both of Mariedanielnetworks previous posts:

1) Yes, Lifeguard is an attorney based settlement agency. If a consumer gets sued (we have stated that we try our level best to prevent that) we continue to advocate on their behalf, offer legal advice, etc. We do not leave our customers hanging. If a customer of lifeguard has been sued you need to contact our home office IMMEDIATELY. You are required through the contract you signed to inform us of any legal action taken against you, or any collection agencies that harass you. This is all laid out in the contract.

2) Excellent second post, one should ALWAYS ask these questions!! As I have stated, if you get burned by a settlement company and did not ask questions or bother to read the contract, you're the one responsible for your situation.

And I agree this could go in circles indefinitly. I just don't like to see my company bashed on this site as being a scam. I aware of the fact that there are PLENTY of scams out there but I just want to get the message across that Lifeguard is NOT and if any customer of ours feels otherwise, you need to get in touch with customer service IMMEDIATELY. Sitting on a forum and whining about it isn't going to produce any results. The customer service number can be found on our website. I tried to post the website but the forum will not allow me to. Just google it.

In response to both of Mariedanielnetworks previous posts:

1) Yes, Lifeguard is an attorney based settlement agency. If a consumer gets sued (we have stated that we try our level best to prevent that) we continue to advocate on their behalf, offer legal advice, etc. We do not leave our customers hanging. If a customer of lifeguard has been sued you need to contact our home office IMMEDIATELY. You are required through the contract you signed to inform us of any legal action taken against you, or any collection agencies that harass you. This is all laid out in the contract.

2) Excellent second post, one should ALWAYS ask these questions!! As I have stated, if you get burned by a settlement company and did not ask questions or bother to read the contract, you're the one responsible for your situation.

And I agree this could go in circles indefinitly. I just don't like to see my company bashed on this site as being a scam. I aware of the fact that there are PLENTY of scams out there but I just want to get the message across that Lifeguard is NOT and if any customer of ours feels otherwise, you need to get in touch with customer service IMMEDIATELY. Sitting on a forum and whining about it isn't going to produce any results. The customer service number can be found on our website.

apologies for posting twice....

I work at lifeguard financial my email is [email]astrum@lgf101.com[/email] We are LEGITIMATE! debt settlement is a process. An experienced settlement company knows when the best time to offer settlement is. Sometimes a collection company will accept a MUCH lower amount than the original creditor. If you have enrolled with us you will see the results but you must be patient and let us do what we know how to do. as for tasc LOL some settlement companies got together and decided to rate themselves. This is the same as putting a 5 year old in charge of the candy and expecting them to punish themselves for eating too much of it. The BBB is independent and their rating is fair. Tasc charges settlement companies to be members. for those in debt ask yourself this question, I have always payed my creditors on time and done the right thing and has gotten me??? creditors do not care about anything but your HIGH interest payments. We at lifeguard want you debt free ASAP and as for the fees think for a moment how much a lawyer charges per hour?? $100 $200 a team of attornies and arbitrators working for you are not cheap but we charge no up front fees WE DO NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS EITHER! no myths no lies choosing Lifeguard Financial will eliminate your debts in the amount of time in your contract but only if you allow it to happen. The key to debt settlement is patience and knowledge and the representatives I work for and with have both.