Superior Debt Relief (Superior Debt Services)

God knows how longII've been searching for a company that would actually help us settle our credit card debt without fear of being scammed. I've read about superior debt services but haven't called them yet. Recently another company contacted me and I'm in the process of learning more about them. I would appreciate a feedback about Smart Financial Network (a non-profit org). Thanks

Good Day. Hope is tomorrow's veneer over today's disappointment.
I am from Estonia and learning to speak English, give true I wrote the following sentence: "No matter how new and expensive your car is, it will not run without fuel."

:-( Thanks in advance. Radley.

Alright here's a question. Who here has used Superior Debt, got their debts settled, and Superior actually did what theysaid they would do: get your credit restored??? ANYONE???

Good point GUEST: I would like to know that as well

I have been in their program for a little over a year and a half now, and have had seven of my nine accounts settled. They most definitely have done what they have said they could do regarding that part of it. As far as restoring credit, I have not gotten that far yet as it is something that they do when you are completely finished. I understand that what they actually do, is have someone go over your credit reports with a fine-tooth comb to make sure there is no incorrect info, and that all the settlements have been correctly reported. After this is done, your score will naturally start to rise again. BUT, this is also something you can do yourself, and should be doing, all along. Some people just want someone else to do it for them. I have been checking my credit reports and making sure the settlements are reported correctly as I go along instead of waiting until the end of the program, hoping to get a head-start that way.

They told me that they have a third party that "specializes" in credit restoration go into your reports and dispute the accuracy of the accounts. If the creditor does not file a disagreement to the claim, the reporting agency (tranunion, etc) takes the mark of your report. Removing the bad marks will raise the score. So says Superior Debt!!!

Again, that's something you can do yourself. For me, I was more interested in just getting the debts settled and this extra service of credit restoration at the end was just a bonus. Doesn't hurt to have someone else go over everything to make sure nothing was missed. And I suppose some people do feel it's beyond their capability to work on it themselves.

How do you go about doing this yourself? I also was considering working with Superior, and now I am not so sure. I have 68,000 in credit card debt, and my income has been severly cut.

Quote:

2 posts up, there is a very large well wrote up section in this forum on how to do diy settlement if this is something you are interested in. It will tell you how to go about it, what to expect and more. good luck to ya

Here is my experience with Superior Debt Relief thus far. I have been in their program for just over 2 years now. I started with 3 accounts totaling nearly 35K in debt. 2 were credit cards and one was an unsecured signature loan. All three had already been charged off and had been purchased by debt buyers. The debt buyers were LVNV, Midland Credit, and the 3rd is now on it's 3rd buyer and is Mitchell Kay Law Office. For the first 18 months, fees were taken out of my monthly payments and went to Superior Debt. The total in fees came to just over 5K. LVNV sent a settlement offer of about 65% off the amount owed, after 18 months in the program. Superior Debt accepted that offer and cleared the first account. Keep in mind that Superior Debt only accepted the offer, and did not actually do any work to settle this account. Once that account was settled, I received a letter from a local law office stating they were handling my signature loan account and were representing Midland Credit. I forwarded all information on to Superior Debt. A couple of weeks later I received a "right to cure" letter from the law office. I knew that I was about to be sued and asked Superior Debt what needed to be done. They told me to "hang in there". Sure enough about 6 weeks later I was served with papers. At that time Superior Debt contacted the law office but the lawyer was not willing to negotiate a settlement. It was pay in full and the monthly payments they were requesting were beyond my means. I had to go down to the courthouse and file my answer which Superior Debt helped my fill out. They utilize a low cost lawyer help line that will assist you in filling out an answer. Superior Debt did pay the lawyer fee but I was on my own after that. Superior Debt will not provide any legal advice or assistance. Superior Debt stated that they would be able to reach a settlement on this account. I stated that I should probably tap into my fund account to retain a lawyer. Superior Debt called and discouraged me from doing that. The week before the court date I contacted Superior Debt to get an update. They stated that they would check and see. Friday rolls around (Monday is Court), and I email them to see what they had come up with. No response. I tried to call them after 4 that afternoon and they were closed for the day. I had to go to court on the following Monday, no lawyer, no help, no idea what to do. I met with the plaintiff's lawyer and had to negotiate my own settlement, and I settled directly with him for 66% for 2 lump sum payments. In fact the lawyer told me that they will not work with debt settlement companies. I can only imagine that Superior Debt knew this all along and did not tell me. Thus far I have paid Superior Debt over 5K in fees and they have not really done anything that I could not have done myself. In fact they have not done anything to earn their fees as far as I can tell. Now I am dealing with Mitchell Kay's law office out of New York. They are not local nor licensed to practice in my state so I am not sure what their options are for filing a lawsuit. I will say that they have instantly added about 8K to what I actually owe and have sent me a settlement letter. The letter states they will settle for about 50% of the new amount. In other words it's close to the 100% of the original amount. I still have to make my 2nd lump sum payment from the lawsuit settlement, so I will not be able to pay any funds towards my last account for another 3 months. So now I will offer some advice, solely based on my experience with Superior Debt Relief. If I had to start over and do this again I would retain a consumer attorney to represent me. The first reason being is an attorney would cost about the same as Superior Debt Relief. Second, once you retain an attorney, the debt collectors must contact that attorney and not you. The calls and letters slowed but did not stop after I hired Superior Debt. Third, an attorney can negotiate with your creditors just like Superior Debt, and will be able to work with your creditors more effectively. And finally, if you do get sued, you will have an attorney to represent you in court, not to mention they can provide you with legal advice through the whole process. Superior Dept does not provide any legal assistance when you are in fact dealing with a legal matter. I will re-post when I am debt free and will let everyone know how my situation turned out.

I am with superior debt services and they have been nothing but professional and very easy to deal with. I have only been in the program for 9 months and they have already settled my largest account for 25%. Whenever I call I am put through to my service rep right away if she isn't available I can always talk to someone else. They are knowlegeable and do what they say they are going to. I did not want to go this alone as I would have screwed it up it is nice ot have someone else doing the leg work for me.

Mellben1,
I have just started the research process and would like to hear more about your situation. How long it took? What was the process like? What are the negatives, etc?

Thanks for your help.

I just finished a 3 year program with Superior, who settled 3 debts totaling $14,000. I am very happy with the service. I was fortunate that I did not get sued by any creditors along the way, but I knew before I signed up that it was always a possibility. One of the creditors did sell the account to a lawyer's office and Superior settled that immediately. I'm sure it helped that I gave all correspondence to Superior asap so everything was taken care of before it escalated to court proceedings. My advice would be to explore all the possibilities, consequences, and to basically know what you need to do and to follow the program. Good luck!

Good morning,

I am trying to find a good company to work with my creditors to do a debt settlemet. So far Superior seemed to be a good choice, but now I am not so sure anymore. Reading some of the bad comments made me insecure about this company. Did anybody work with them in year 2011 and what was/is the result?

Thank you.:confused:

The owner America's Choice Debt Settlement, Mark S. Goodman is a convicted criminal. Check out his public records in the Victorville California Superior Court or his inmate files at the West Valley California Detention Center. All of this information is available to anyone as part of his court records.
The picture of the fancy building he uses on his various sites as his business office, 1400 Preston Road in Plano is also a scam. According to the building management America's Choice Debt Settlement only used the address as a "mail drop" until six months ago. You can call and verify this for yourself by calling the property management company at: 877.333.9429 or if you live in near Plano Texas ask Mark to meet you at his office at 1400 Preston Road in Texas and see what he says. There is no office!
America's Choice Debt Settlement is a "BOILER ROOM" operation. Mark Goodman operates this SCAM business off of his computer and moves from place to place.
:confused:
BE WARNED..BE WARNED..BE WARNED..BE WARNED.."[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]

Hello.

I am the Mark H. Goodman referenced earlier in this string, who worked for Superior Debt Relief consulting with potential clients for nearly six consecutive years. I have since amicably moved on.

While I sometimes still anonymously cruise around these sites to stay updated about the industry, I have just noticed someone is referencing me as some other Mark Goodman with a different middle initial who is a scam artist or criminal. In an effort to distinguish whoever Mark S. Goodman is from me, I am posting this message of my own accord to protect my reputation; unfounded and unchecked insinuations using someone's name is just stupid and possibly libelous.

Never was I anything more than a consultant whose purpose was to inform consumers about what the company does along with their other financial relief options and help guide them through joining the program pending their debts and situation qualify.

As one who saw this company survive and evolve into one of the last reputable companies left standing from the inside, I can honestly say that SDS exists to aide their clientele in getting out of debt. Everyone at the company has this in mind and if they forget it, that individual will soon be reminded by their fellow co-workers. In my consultation department, representatives stayed on board with the company for multiple years, as opposed to high turnover rates at many other companies. This is true in the fulfillment department too.

While this is a business designed to be profitable, the owners and management, along with everyone else right down the line, are more interested in helping clients get out of debt than fight over fees or play silly games. Besides, due to changes in the industry, no settlement company (except lawyer based models) can charge fees for services that have not been rendered. I've seen more clients during this economic collapse find relief where there was little before. The company does (and this is not an understatement or exaggeration) everything it can to keep clients enrolled so they could complete the program as that is the point to a settlement program. Much as it is with any large group of people drowning (in this case, with debt), not everyone is going to make it out, but SDS does fight for everyone to try and succeed.

To again be clear, I am not a "plant". I am Mark H Goodman who worked at SDS. I receive no further compensation from them and write this to make it clear I am not the unsavory person referenced in the last post to this string. Whoever wrote that last post, I must say, you could have called and asked to inquire with me directly at SDS instead of flippantly posting your incorrect information here.

While I no longer work for this company, I would (and have) recommended them to family and friends during my time employed and will continue to do so in an effort to let them know there may be better help available than options like bankruptcy...or just giving up entirely.

Respectfully,

Mark H. Goodman, Certified Debt Specialist