Credit exchange scam - stay away

Have you authorized the Credit Exchange to debit the money directly from your account by providing them with your bank account details? If you have already provided them with the authorization, you should contact your bank and put a stop on the payments.

Cancel in writing, more than 3 days before your account is to be debited. Do so and if your account is drafted, you have recourse. They do not work with your creditors, they are a referral company. They take your payment and pass you along to another company. CANCEL!!!!!

Looks like The Credit Exchange is a broker for credit counseling, debt settlement, and maybe even bankruptcy. Although there are many many companies out there selling debt related services using one that actually places you with a company and service that will best serve your needs sounds like a pretty good idea. Plus, you will NOT be able to sign up for another program for several months. I'm sure they have recorded you AGREEING to the payments and to who the money goes to... I say, STAY the course, your debt WILL be paid of, and you will get out of the financial troubles.

Hi, This is Steven Vanderhoof, CEO of The Credit Exchange. Have you heard about the guy who owns RipOffReport.com? He is a wanted fugitive that offers the ability to purchase a good reputation. Check it out:
The ENTIRE REASON I started The Credit Exchange is for EXACTLY what you are seeing here. A lot of confused people trying to find their way out of the debt trap and relying on very unreliable information to rest their decisions upon. Having performed over 300,000 consultations FREE OF CHARGE and referring over 60,000 clients to debt management I can speak from EXPERIENCE and not fluffy opinion. Our most sincere desire is to continue serving as a light in a dark situation. We have over 100 Certified Credit Counselors, certified through the NFCCC, the only recognized license by the Department of Justice to perform these consultations, so you can get THE TRUTH as it relates to your options with debt management as opposed to going out on the Internet and relying on extremely unreliable sources, people, and opinion, for your financial destiny.

1st off do you ever see anything postive from either site? no! it is just a bunch off complaining .basing financial decisions on thsis is a poor choice. go to "bbb round up" to find out the real story why this is such a poor concept and how the bbb is a "pay to play" game

Hi, I signed up last Friday with The Credit Exchange. The fellow I talked to , Daniel, was very professional and knew his business . He assured me he was a cerfified counselor,and although I had to give my personal financial and ss# to him, I felt completely at ease. You are afterall seeking a service from them, and let's face it , it's very personal situation we've gotten ourselves into. If we want help, we have to let them in. Daniel was very honest about his company and what they do, which is find the best program for you based on what you tell them about your situation. If you're not honest with them, you may actually be doing yourself an injustice....Therefore causing further problems down the road. From what I learned , unless you're a hardship case and simply cannot make your payments... debt settlement is not for you! , but a debt management program can help. With debt settlement you run the risk of lowering your credit score through negotiating an agreed amount much lower than you really owe., but debt management will just help you repay your creditors for the full amount you owe them at a lower interest rate. Do not settle ! If you are willing to accept responsibility for the debt you owe and just need some help getting it paid off go with a debt management program for sure.
Penny Thornton

Yo Steve--

again--

what did you do with the $7,500,000 you got from Hess Kennedy?

From Rip-Off Report:

More Info On The Credit Exchange and Hess-Kennedy Law Firm

I am attaching something from another former employee who had seen red flags on The Credit Exchange back in 2007 and Hess-Kennedy, which is the law firm that The Credit Exchange was putting clients into for debt settlement programs, fully aware they were scams:

Hess Kennedy is a law firm that specializes in handling credit counseling claims and debt negtiation claims. The 2 founders of the law firm are Laura Hess and Edward Kennedy (formely known as Edward Cherry). I am a former employee of a company called 'The Credit Exchange' and I can tell you that my manager would push me to know end on placing debt burden consumers into a settlement/reduction program because the commission was higher and the company made more money. The owner of 'The Credit Exchange' is Steve Vanderhoof and to say the least he is a very egotistical person who only cares about his pockets....so does hit puppet Joshua Dryman (he hired me). I am glad that I got out of that office it was very stressful. The programs we offered are complete scams. Hess Kennedy came into the picture, along with another outfit called ESS (Not sure what that stands for, I believe Enhanced Solutions). ESS is located in Tampa or Orlando FL. I can't remember which one, but everytime a client was not getting a call back I would refer it to our in house customer service rep Travis Whiteside. He would do his best and I feel really bad for the poor kid as he would get hundreds of calls a day.

So once in a while I would call the ESS customer service department and get hung up on or placed on hold myself. All I wanted to do was find out what was going on with clients I enrolled. They have a manager over there who's name is Anthony and he is very rude ignorant person not only with me but even some of the managers at the credit exchange. I can only imagine what he was saying to customers on the phone. The other person who I spoke with is Kristen or Sharon.

The bottom line is that all of these companies are cheating thousands if not millions of dollars a month out of customers bank accounts. Hess Kennedy would periodically visit our office in California to more or less just go over how much they can continue to offer. The ownders of Hess Kennedy, ESS and Mr. Vanderhoof will be dealing with the Attorney Generals office and FBI very very soon. They will not last!

Jacob Goldman
Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:41 pm Subject: Former Insider.

you are wrong,and warned john.you want to spread misinformation.do it elsewhere.

If you are thinking of signing up with the Credit Exchange please change your mind. The Credit Exchange Referred me to the Allegro Law firm and they screwed me over for nearly $2,000.00. Look up Allegro Law and you will see how they are not even a law firm and have been shut down due to fradulent practices.

The Credit Exchagne are nothing but a fraud too and have a history of referring people to these fradulent companies.

Please save yourself from a lot of trouble and stay away from The Credit Exchange.

So I just read the post by Steve - The "CEO" of The Credit Exchange. So you are the truth as it relaes to your options?

The truth then is to refer clients to an alleged law firm such as Allegro Law where they end up losing tons of money by paying huge upfront fees and nothing ever gets done for them? Then the "firm" gets sued and put out of business for deceptive practices.

Yes, the Credit Exchange has your best interest in mind. Do Not sign up for anything with them - You will be sorry.

The receiver for Hess Kennedy etc. is suing the heck out of The Credit Exchange, case number 09-CV-60223-Zloch-Snow in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The complaint asks for a declaratory judgment voiding as illegal the contract between The Credit Exchange and the Hess Kennedy clones, and for return of referral fees paid, at least $13,349,859, under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The judge threw out a third claim for unjust enrichment, since HK and The Credit Exchange were both bad, even if the receiver is good.

In case anybody didn't know, on 10 July 2009 the Alabama Attorney General sued Allegro Law LLC, Allegro Financial Services, and Keith Anderson Nelms and requested a temporary injunction shutting them down and putting them in receivership. Looks like they have ruined about 15,000 victims. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, Andy Nelms agreed to a three-year suspension of his law license last month for charging unearned fees and misrepresenting that he was licensed to practice law in states other than Alabama.

And the hits just keep on coming. Chase Bank is suing the heck out of Allegro and Nelms, and Americorp, in file number 2:2008cv4039 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, for tortious interference (inducing Chase cardholders to not repay their debts), unfair trade practices, yadda yadda.

So yeah, stay away from The Credit Exchange and get back any money you've given them while you can.

ps. Steve, if you're reading this, I'm sure you're thinking sue sue sue. I suggest otherwise. Just ask the other people who've sued me, and they'll tell you it's an unbelievably expensive bad idea.

Well put Chris L. in NC (I am in NC too) Glad to see the suits are going toward the scummy Credit exchange.

Just a matter of time Steve.

Yes, it is confirmed "Steve Vanderhoff is a real scumbag "

Stay away from this co. They are not registed w. Nacc

they will scam you

the credit exchange IS BAD NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CAUTION!!!!!!!!!!!

WANT A REPUTABLE CO: GREENPATH.COM IN BUSINESS SINCE 1961 AND LEGIT.

Steve Vanderhoof is a crook. An equal opportunity crook who takes advantage of both his employees as well as the public, so if you have not been lucky enough to be personaly ripped off by him and or his debt consolidation company " The Credit Exchange " let not your heart be troubled there is still time. Just check out his new shameless venture/scam deleted...pm

sorry no solicitory info allowed.

They are a bunch of scam artists! My daughter tried to have her bills consolidated through The Credit Exchange, she gave them our home phone number and they will keep calling and calling you from different numbers CONSTANTLY! Luckily for her I checked up on them, they did get an "F" rating so beware they are not a reputable company. Do not give them any info or money you will be worse off if you go with these scammers!

I have been in sales for the past 10 years. I started selling auto insurance... I sold mortgage loans...I moved into loan modifications...and now I am selling debt management services. It must be said that all salesman are not scammers. I know that I would have made ALOT more money if I was...lol..

It seems that some of the people in this string have a personal vendetta against the CEO for whatever reason. A reasonable person will recognize that. Others seem to want to discredit this company so that they can take that same business as if they are sooo upstanding. Use your head people!? You can find what on the surface appears to be dirt on any large company. However, without knowing the totality of the circumstances, how can take random statements taken out of context as fact to rely on when making a decision?

I read this entire string of comments. If you look past the "F" rating with the BBB which everyone gets who does not "pay" the BBB and you actually read the complaints, you will find that all complaints are answered and corrected. People that have legitimate or even not so legitimate complaints are given refunds. Ask yourself? Would a company that was out to scam people bother to respond or give refunds? For a company to have serviced thousands and thousands of customers to have less than 200 hundred complaints in a business such as debt management is actually very good. Further, when you consider that all those complaints are dealt with accordingly, your odds are pretty good with this company.

It seems that we Americans always want something for nothing. We expect everyone to take responsibility for our mistakes. It's never our fault. The person who tried to cancel a written contract with a phone call...? What?! I'm sure it was explained to them when they signed up that any cancellation would need to be in writing and submitted within a certain time frame as with any contract. Do the rules not apply because a person has a medical condition...?

It seems that many can tell a person what "not" to do, but no one can tell a person what "to" do with a bad financial situation. I would say to those who truly care about correcting their situation...do your OWN homework. Question the source as well? Read between the lines and go with the company that YOU feel most comfortable with.

Well it seems as if that last one was written by Mr. Vanderhoff him self. Fortunatley for me I happen to know the man and he doesnt have the time to resond to jealous small minded people who's voice will only be heard in small strings like this. He is an incredible man who has risen from nothing and worked his way into one of the top companies helping americans solve there financial wreckage. Further more if you miss the boat on Move My Net Worth, YOU ARE A FOOL!!!!!!! Atleast I will know where to find the people still have no net worth because they refused to see the vision of a truely brilliant man. If you are reading this string and want to finally make that choice that change your life and finances forever join the movement. It will set you free. deleted...pm

A+ for The Credit Exchange, they're more honest than anyone I have spoke with.

i feel a honest good company will not purpously leave out information. you would think that they would want thier customers to know what they are in for so they dont drop out of programs and know what to expect. customers of settlement companies, and debt management programs and such should know all the facts as to what can, would, our could happen.

Why would a company keep this info from them? to decieve them into joining therefore stealing thier money and keeping it when they drop out of the program due to they did not cancel in time. if they were upfront as to what happens that customer may not have joined not getting a cent out of them. there are too many companies out there right now that are fly by night companies in it for a short time to get as much as they can as fast as they can before they get shut down. completely taking advantage of people in this economic crisis right now. While it is the customers responsibility to know what they are getting into, its easy for companies to take advantage of them right now. jmo, its 50% 50% right now who is to blame. the customers for not researching properly and the companies for being decieving.

a reputable company wants you in for the long term not to just steel a quick buck or two. they will keep you for the long haul and earn thier fee properly getting better reviews and such.

just my two cents

Just responding to Move My Net Worth: In the video, Steve literally shows you the pyramid he wants you to get involved with. The price, $150 to start up and about $80+/mo is ridiculous, not including if you want to be a "promoter" for another $150. And the product? A BUDGET! Its an online budget that you can pay for. You can download FREE budgets online, or buy a Quicken program for FAR less. Also, you can use online banking to track where your funds are going. Without paying this ridiculous price. If you are thinking about "getting in early" to make tons of money for doing virtually nothing, I strongly encourage you to reconsider. In fact, say this out loud: "I am eventually going to make between $20,000 - $80,000/mo doing nothing!" Seriously? If you think someone will make money off of this, you're right, one person will.

Also, if you want to know a secret about money management and budgets, here it is: Spend less than you make.

DO NOT DO ANYTHING WITH THESE GUYS!!!! I just got told that i will not be getting my $1000 back because they feel that they keep that for processing fees. I have been jacked around with these guys for months and they have stole my money. I have no choice but to stay on board with them because i cannot get my money back.

is this company a scam i was thing about signing up with them

Too late for me... I signed up with them. God help me. They referred me to the Johnson Law Group. I tried to delay the first payment, so I tried to contact The Johnson Law Group. The "Customer service" of this company does not even answer the phone! It is just a voice mail box.

How can they keep doing this? Mr. Obama and Congress: please stop jackals like this, that live off of the victims of this financial crisis.

Is it also too late for you to withdraw from their service?

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Dear Penny Thornton,

I am concerning Credit Exchange to handle my debt. I noticed your posting was in June and was wondering how things went for you. Is Credit Exchange honest and has your debt been taking care of .

Sincerely
A future client

Do not do business with them. You will probably end up losing your money.

Did you know that the owner Steve Vanderhood owns 2, yes 2 brand new Lamborghini's and one of the most expensive Mercedes' you can buy? Do you want to know how much most of his employees make? Minimum wage, 8 bucks an hour. If your commisions didn't outweigh what he paid you, then you made basically nothing. When I was there, 85 out of 100 didn't make more than $8/hr Stever Vanderhoof found ANY way possible to NOT pay his employees, including paying people early so we would lose an extra week of pay.

When I was working there less than a year ago, the company would require you to work from 7-7 or else you would be terminated. Heck, if you went a few days without getting a sale, they would terminate you. Actually, they wouldn't terminate you but offer you a minimum wage job and call it a resignation. Just many of the slimeball ways Steve treated his employees.

Every week there would be a new training class of 10 other idiots that had no idea what they were getting into. 10 more people sent packing at the same time.

The worst was having to listen to some former meth/crack head (Steve Vanderhoof) say how we were going to make millions every morning before we went to work. Steve, we all thought you were full of crap, we just didn't know what we were getting into working for you. Most of the Credit exchange employees are good people that don't know they work for a scam company.

exemployee tells the truth, what about his monster truck? or his mansion he rents

Anyone who thinks the people operating these rings are legitimate should hop over to another site (scam.com) and check out page 2 of the following thread

scam.com/showthread.php?t=123375&highlight=thecreditexchange&page=2

You can see where the mod had to ban at least five accounts (sock puppets) because they were all created by the same guy.

I think it's safe to assume that anyone repping any of these ventures is full of doodoo.

Vortex Debt Group is also owned by Americorp. It is another off shoot of the Allegro Law, Kennedy, Hess Campos scheme. These companies get shut down and start up again. My advise is to work with your creditors or file for bankruptcy. Don't do business with these crooks. The owner of Americorp, aka, Vortex Debt Group, The Aceivable and many more, spends a lot of time with attorneys trying to keep his grimy paws attached to your hard earned dollars. It is my hope these scum bags are found guilty in Federal Court and put out of business once and for all.

I just registered with The Credit Exchange. At the last moment i informed them that i did not want to participate, they have still taken money out of my account. money that i need to pay bills. i am waiting to speak withsome one on monday. I am doing my best to keep myself level headed.

If you have signed any contract with them I would suggest that you reread it, especially the T&C regarding terminating their service.

I spoke to a rep yesterday - he gave me the rundown on what was involved. I told him I wanted to do a little research on his company and give it some thought and he got real rude with me to the point that I hung up.
Good thing I didnt continue; because all I see are negative comments about the company
Good luck to you

the ripoff report is under federal investagation

[SIZE=3]:confused:Has anyone actually paid off their debt with Credit Exchange? [/SIZE]

What are the sites that we should check or call to find out if we have a ok company to go too. Are there any good companys that really will help you with debt settlement? My husband has been lead to believe that debt settlement and consolidating your depts are different. He really will not take my word for anything. He is looking at American Debt Settlement Group. and United Debt REsolution Group from New York. Any fast help sure would be nice

First all, my credit is good but high balances that I wanted to consolidated into one payments.Tim Garcia unprofessional from the cancellation dept of the credit exchange is jerk too. I understand, the company took my money without servicing properly me after i found out later, this company has F rating with the better business. I requested for my service to be cancel before they got deep in taking money out of my account. Tim and this crazy woman Michelle got hostile (they said my credit stink which was BS with me due to leaving scam company. Tim Garica was vindictive and did not cancel my service whereas Now i have creditors sending me notices that I have closed my accounts. I have to called my creditors personally to let them know Iam going to be the primary payer of my accounts. What goes around comes around with these rotten lying people who enjoy preying, riping innocent cusomers off by misleading information for their own benefits. I would advised anyone to not be a victim of this debt management program who asked you for money initially before they handle your creditors. They say to their customers don't worry alll that fast talking to get you signed whatever. Then Finally, you get screw when your creditors sues you for unpaid bills and bad azz credit on your TRW. Please stay away from the credit exchange.

First all, my credit is good but high balances that I wanted to consolidated into one payments.Tim Garcia unprofessional from the cancellation dept of the credit exchange is jerk too. I understand, the company took my money without servicing properly me after i found out later, this company has F rating with the better business. I requested for my service to be cancel before they got deep in taking money out of my account. Tim and this crazy woman Michelle got hostile (they said my credit stink which was BS with me due to leaving scam company. Tim Garica was vindictive and did not cancel my service whereas Now i have creditors sending me notices that I have closed my accounts. I have to called my creditors personally to let them know Iam going to be the primary payer of my accounts. What goes around comes around with these rotten lying people who enjoy preying, riping innocent cusomers off by misleading information for their own benefits. I would advised anyone to not be a victim of this debt management program who asked you for money initially before they handle your creditors. They say to their customers don't worry alll that fast talking to get you signed whatever. Then Finally, you get screw when your creditors sues you for unpaid bills and bad azz credit on your TRW. Please stay away from the credit exchange.

I just joined. Need to cancel before they take anymore money. Scumbags! How do i cancel?!

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You people are so dumb. How does a referral agent who does not provide debt settlement services or debt management services get complained about? How do they scam you? How does anyone read a lawsuit filed against someone and say "Oh, it is a scam" because the Receiver in the Hess Kennedy case wants to sit on a big pile of money for the next 3 years? Clue in retards.

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i signed up with them to find out that my payments were goin to be 193 a month and every month only 130$ was going to the principle of the loan. the other 63$ was put into their pockets. i called up 15 min after signing up for this and had it canceled. what a big scam is that. and on top of it the first month was 300$ they charged for handling this. none of that 300$ was for the loan.

If you need to cancel your contract with The Credit Exchange, most states give you several days to do so. Call your states Consumer Affairs line and ask about it. In Calif. it's 5 days.