Square One Debt Settlement LLC- Need information about this company

This company is not interested in your debt. This company sets you up by reassuring you that they will help you get out of debt and tell you all about their expertise. They want you to pay them first and foremost and they set you up for the kill. Up front fees are based on how high your debt actually is. The higher the debt the more they take 15% to 20% upfront fee. They do nothing just draw on the bank account you set up for them. When you turn to them for reassurance they make you feel stupid and cut you off. When you get angry and want to drop out its ok with them because they got some money off of you. Took over $1,000.00 from us. They laugh at you over the phone. Just a smart ass SCAM...

They don't do anything for your debt but do add to it. They have you set up an account. Really smooth operators. They draw each month from you account and that's all they do. Nothing else, just draw out of the account you created for them. Up front fee is based on how high your debt is. This company cheated us out big time, over $2,000.. They lied about their BBB report and when we checked they lied about TASC also.. Big smooth scam, essentially they are immoral because they robe from the poor. Those poor people that do pay their bills but had bad luck. We always paid our bills but then I took ill, disabled. Balances on medications required and medical bills put us under. I couldn't work any longer and we hit hard times. We weren't stupid people and we had an excellent credit score. Our creditors loved us until we ran into difficulties. It happens, especially now. We trusted Square One and they cheated us and clearly indicated that they weren't going to give us our money back.

I'm really worried and confused on whether to use square one or not ?? I absolutely need some sort of help I'm up to 50k in debt and have been scamed a few times before... Please is there anyone out there who at least knows if JP Morgan Chase Bank deals with Square one ? If not can anyone recomend a more reliable company that will most likely show positive result, or a different solution?

It's rude to use all caps...

Vangie,
Your advice would be better if you chose to write in something other than all caps. It is hard to read and is interpreted as yelling.

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Square One misrepresents the effectiveness of the program they offer and sells their potential clients false hope. I was told I could be debt free in 3 years by paying about $1K/mo on $60K debt. What they did not tell me is that after the first 6-9 months, if you make a decent living, creditors figure out that they can more quickly recoup their money by quickly moving into litigation and garnishing your wages. By the time a client figures this out, they've already paid a substantial amount to the debt settlement companies in up-front fees and saved next-to-nothing to negotiate with the creditor.

I sure wish I would have done my homework before signing up with a debt settlement company. I could have saved myself a lot of money and heartache. Instead, now I'm having to drain any and all savings, take loans against my retirement accounts, basically beg borrow and steal to stay out of court and keep from being garnished. Once I figured this out I cancelled my contract and am successfully negotiating with creditors directly. But, unfortunately this was not before I wasted $5K in paying Square One's fees.

I would not recommend hiring a debt settlement company to ANYONE. The attorneys and recovery departments of the creditors will give you the same deal the would give a debt settlement company (note - ask for the recovery department, do not deal with the collections department - they will not settle with you). If I had saved the $5K that I wasted on Square One, I'd be in a much better position to settle right now. Huge life lesson learned the hard way. Hopefully this post can help others from making the same mistake.

You will wait on hold for at least 20 minutes and they love to put you on hold for several minutes at a time with the most annoying hold music ever created

I have been contacted by Square One and other companies I am over $40.000 in debt and it is killing me although I have worked out arrangements with the credit card companies myself. Has anyone had a good experience with any of these debt solution companies at all?

I signed up with Square One at the end of December 2009. So far I have been unimpressed with the service and have been getting rather concerned. For the past three months they have been taking $300 per month in fees. When I signed up the rep Scott told me I would be recieving monthly calls from customer service to see how things were going and how much I have in my account so that they may begin the negotiation process. I went over two months without hearing from them.... I called and waited on hold for a customer service representative for over 20 minutes. I have enough in my account to begin settlement on some of my accounts and called them over two weeks ago...the rep told me they would call within 7 to 10 days with settlement details.........I am currently waiting on hold because they did not call me.....again! I do bring up the issue every time I have called but so far the service has not imporved and no settlement has been made. So right now I would advise you to enter with caution!!!

Thanx ya'll! glad I stumbled onto this site BEFORE I made a huge, costly error.

I'm ambivalent towards Square One. In 2009, my credit card interest % increased from 6.9-14.9% up to the mid 20's-29.9%. Suddenly, I was paying over $300 in interest a month to non-secured debt and was making only the minimum payments. I was in a nightmare that I would not awaken from for 20-28 years! .(thx you Pres Obama for the new credit card statements) I can not continue at this rate. I pray that Square One will work for me. I did try to speak with credit card companies on my own and I got no where. I tried to think of a plan on my own and came up with nothing. So in desperation I turned to the next step. Doing nothing is not a step, plus the ole saying "if YOU always do what YOU'VE always done, YOU'LL always have, what YOU'VE always had", motivated me to consider change. Maybe you are not as far removed from recovery as I am. Good luck on doing it your way. But please understand, some of us are in need of a settlement program; buying time, needing help, but not choosing bankruptcy.

The pure and simple fact of the matter is that any of us can settle our own debt with little knowledge. If you don't pay and wait 5 months, almost all of them want to settle. Then you just tell them 25% is it....or whatever....and negotiate like you are buying a car. Soon your cards are all settled without having to pay a member of the settlement industry for what you have done yourself. I would not use them IF THEY PAID ME.

:mad:I too tried square one believe me i'm screwed big time by these fraudulent creeps i have no idea how these people get away with this.i'm gonna take it to the national news.please beware they are thieves. I'm gonna blow the lid off of their so called business.never deal with this b.s. Company.everytime you call them because your being harassed by creditors they say oh don't worry just give them our # now i have an attorney calling,and they told me today my money i have payed in over a year is non refundable.and they haven't done a single thing but pocket my money. Well pay attention my friends because i'm takin it to the top and we will get results.one way or another.ever heard of 7 on your side.channel 7 news out of san francisco they blow these kind of guys wide open.we will see who has the last laugh

[URL="http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/forums/?cid=23806"]Lester Small[/URL]
[URL="http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/forums/#comment-23806"]July 19, 2010 8:25 am[/URL]

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David Prince owner of square-one is at at it again. Just read the newspaper. This debt settlement scam artist, to avoid certain laws it appears, has created a Florida law firm (the address appears in same building) called ???CREDIT ADVOCATES, a law firm. This is just what we need. A lawyer cloaking a scam debt settlement company into a scam law firm. Get this! His name appears on the all the advertisements (I saw billboards, got a flyer, the commericial is on Credit Advocates website) but his name does not appear on anything to hide! ??? some kid named Scott Silver only a few years out of law school!!!!!! Does the Florida Bar allow this?

David Prince is the owner of Square One. But now he's opened a scam law firm in which he's using some kid from law school as his front man so he can hide. This is just another scam to get around the SEC and to screw clients. I guess since he is a lawyer David Prince who ownes both square one the fake law firm that's really a debt settlement company believes he's above it all. This is bad.

Here is another follow up on the Square One alter ego sham law firm “Credit Advocates.” I read the articles and there was an attorney named David Philips. Now, this guy appears to be the real-deal as I Google his name and founds several articles. Now, David Philips is gone, or more likely bolted, David Prince replaced him with Deborah Baker. Here is the other SCAM – Deborah Baker (this new attorney) still really works with Lipscomb, Brady & Eisenberg, a Miami law firm. THIS IS ALL A SHAM!!!! Really, is the florida bar or the state of florida going to do something???????

You took 6K from us and put us in court. I hope you burn in hell. You are a bunch of crooks and what comes around goes around. I hope you all end up in jail where you belong.

Sounds like somebody needs to find an attorney with balls to file a Class Action Lawsuit against this Company. Square One is worse than POND SCUM! They can all sleep at night because they get paid up front, without having to fulfill their end of the contact which is getting you out of debt. Their employees tell you over and over again, not to worry about being sued. This is used as a scare tactic! Where in the hell are they from. When you really need them, after you have been served with a Summons and Complaint from one of your creditors, they leave you to fend for yourself. "Don't worry, just because you are being sued doesn't mean you can't make payment arrangements with them." Hello McFly, if I coud afford to make payments to pay off thousands of dollars in debt, why in the hell did I pay you (UP FRONT) to help me cut my debt in half. Do not buy into THEIR CRAP. Your creditors will in fact sue you for the full amount, plus late fees, to get their money. If you are so far into debt, contact a bankruptcy attorney. Square One's help getting me out of debt forced me to file for bankruptcy.

Hum. Sounds like Scott Silver is either David's Princes B.... or he is just too dumb and he is being paid BIG BUCKS to be the FALL GUY when Square One has a Class Action filed against it. They will probably quote Bill Clinton "I didn't know......"

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I was totally scammed out of all my money and wound up in a bigger mess..had to file for bankruptcy...I don't understand how the bbb doesnt go after them with all the negative complaints they have against them...how do they let them stay in business...i hope they all wind up in a worse situation than i am...

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Don't believe the hype Square One offers. I fell for the scam because I was desperate. My state job had furloughed me, my wife lost a large portion of her income, and our savings were depleted. We held out for as long as we could and it was a simple matter of pay for living (mortgage, car, food, utilities) or pay our CC debt. We looked into many debt solutions and SQ1 looked like the best...we were wrong! They promises updates on your account...lies. They promises they will call you back...they wont. You WILL get sued...I did. They did negotiate a few debts but at the cost of paying them something I could have taken care of myself. Most of what they offer is that you pay Square One up front and with the promise you will be out of debt in 2 to 4 years at a fraction of what you owed. The fact is that your debts are not going to wait for you to be able to pay them as they will take you to court. Do yourself a favor and look into credit counseling. Its free advice and they will help you help yourself. Companies like Square One will only make promises they cant deliver.

To answer everyones questions, I am a former supervisor at "Square One". Yes all your questions are TRUE, David Prince is the owner of Square One Debt Settlement, Credit Advocates, and his newest scm Legal Helper Debt Resolution. Be aware the name Square One is soon to be lost to another company that was giving him problem for the two company names being similiar so he is letting Sqaure One go to avoid the potential lawsuits. All the employees of all three companies sit right next to each other and in cases such as mine, we worked for all three companies but our paychecks came from the Square One name so that David could avoid certain taxes and fees or whatever complications that would stem from it. Scott Silver is the only attorney in house at "Credit Advocates" aka the Square One/Legal Helpers Underwriting Dept. and Deborah Baker has never stepped foot in that office. Her mail is sent there to throw people off, if you want to be slick look at all three addresses (1551 Sawgrass Corp Parkway, Suite 430 or 440) theyre right next door and all the employees are the same. Its a BIG ripoff, i worked there for almost 2 years and finally quit after hearing the continuous bullshit. They claim to have 'paralegals' working the office who are just customer service and former debt collectors reading a script. I will be happy to give all my knowledge on this company to anyone wishing to file a lawsuit.

The best thing that you could do for everyone that has been taken to the cleaners by Square One, is for you to contact the BBB and provide them with the necessary information to shut this company down. I filed a complaint with the BBB against Square One and I am currently wating to hear what Square One has to say. I demanded a full refund. Would love any and all info you could provide to all of us regarding the best way to get your money back from them and information on what role Brian Anderson has with Square One. Thank you very much for your info. It is greatly appreciated.

Former Employee of Square One. I am the person who replied (#79) to your posting. How can I reach you for more information regarding Square One? I would be willing to find an attorney who would take Square One on but I need the information you have. Looking forward to your response.

The BBB cannot shut a company down. While it is certainly advisable to direct complaints to the BBB, you should file complaints with your state attorney general and the federal trade commission.

Providing your inside knowledge to regulators may expedite their attention to the matter.

Do you have any idea how many complaints have been filed with the Attorney General's Office regarding Square One? They will do NOTHING. They will only send you a letter to acknowledge your complaint, then you get put on the back burner. Why not take the information to a Newspaper. Suggesting the BBB was intended as a starting place.

I was also scamed by Square One. They took my money and I ended up in court by myself. I am interested joining a class action law suit against them.

square one are crooks they took $2000. of my money and did nothing

Yes I have dealt with them. :evil:

i have and if you get a summons or a writ and you contact them, they don't return calls, emails. i just found out thru one of my creditors that they dropped me and I got nothing from them stating that. They are awful to work with, they don't care about you, just their money. Go somewhere else, before you get burned and have summons and writs coming at you with no help.:twisted:

Yes! my wages are being with held:cry:

well that was 2008. This is 2011. My wages are being with held