Has anyone had any experience with Barnett and Associates debt elimination programs? They talk about eliminating, not paying off debt. Seems to fall under the 'too good to be true' rule, but just wanted to be sure before I dismiss it from my mind. Thanks in advance for any input.
Debt elimination programs are a rip-off. They cost a lot of money, they really trash your credit, and you run a strong risk of getting sued.
What expierience do you have to be able to make that accusation. I am not challenging your assumption, I would just like to know the source.
What expierience do you have to be able to make that accusation. I am not challenging your assumption, I would just like to know the source.
This one is my favorite: Regarding the debt termination program we have been discussing, here is a posting from a group that is complosed of people discussing the Gliha due process program. Messages like this come in many times a day from people telling their tales of woe. quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was I that posted the message about the cival suit. I wanted to thank every one for their input and help. I just can't believe that first they charge off the debt and I have a copy of my credit report showing this and now they want to bring me into a cival court for something that if I were to try and collect from someone I had lent money to I would have to go to small claims court. How can they do this after they have written this off as a bad debt? Isn't that double dipping or something? I just don't get it. Would it be to my best interest to call them and plead my case with the lack of funds? Some one told me that there is a statute of limitations on a debt, is there? I also want to know what will happen if I just do nothing, like not even show up? What if they get a judgement against me, how long dose it last? Can they attach my checking account? How dose that work? Dose the attachment just sit there until there is enough money to cover it or do they take out in little bits at a time or what? What about a small lot of unimproved land that I just bought? Can they attach that? God I hate the jerk that sold me on that Due Process person. I wish he was in front of every judge out there getting his butt slapped around. I'm having a hard time with that guy also. He took our money and then ran off with it leaving us in the dust to fin for ourselves. I paid him for a total of 8 hours of legal aid help and I maybe got 1 hour of it. Thanks again for your help. John W
Ok - not sure about the last post, but I was inquiring about debt elimination programs where I would continue to make payments as agreed to with the cc companies. While I continue to make payments to the cc companies, the Barnett and Associates does some proprietary method to contact and alleviate the debt. Since I continue to make the payments until I receive notice from the cc companies that the balance is $0, my credit is not (allegedly) affected. Thanks.
These are two different animals. It sounds like you are talking about one of the programs where your interest rate is lowered and balance eventually paid off in installments, like consumer credit counseling. "Debt Elimination" usually refers to the bozos that sell a program where they attempt to sue the creditors for various things, then settle for elimination of the debt. The first idea, CCCS, is a legal, valid way to reduce and pay off your debt. You do need to do some thorough research before signing on to one of these programs, some people have a good experience, others do not. There are many stories of CCCS programs gone wrong, late payments, payments not credited, etc. Check with other people who have completed the program you are considering. The second idea is nasty. These people take thousands of your dollars and try to get you to sue the creditor for various things. When it works, it is only because the creditor decides they would rather get rid of you than waste their time. These are the same people that claim the Federal Government has no legal authority to collect taxes. Stay away, it's bad news. -Radi8
My personal experience is seeing the after-effects of these programs. There are not many things you can do that will trash your credit worse than bankruptcy, but these debt-elimination programs are one of them. The programs work like this: 1) You stop paying your bills. The money you would put towards your bills goes into some sort of escrow account. Once your accounts charge-off, they become eligible for settlement. 2) Once the balance of this account builds up, the company contacts your creditors and starts making settlement offers. This will take a little while because the first few months payments typically go to the debt settlement company as their fee. 3) Once they settle an account, they charge another fee. A percentage of the money they "saved" you by doing a settlement on your behalf. Keep in mind that the settlement was based on the new balance of the account, after accumulated late charges, finance charges and over the limit fees have been applied. Very often the settlement is not any less than the original balance, yet they will still charge you for this "savings". I'm sure some of the others on this board that have had accounts charged off can attest to how fast the balance can go up. Now for the really bad news: These companies operate on the assumption that a creditor will settle an account once it's in collections. The problem is that they are not obliged to do so. Many will, offering settlements of 40% to 50%, but many will be much more strict, not settling for less than 85% or not at all. Many of these creditors will sue instead. This is especially true for larger balances. Once that happens, the creditor has very little incentive to settle, and the judgment is yet another negative on the credit report. Most of these debt reduction programs take three to five years to complete. This is about the same amount of time a chapter 13 bankruptcy or Consumer Credit Counseling would take, both of which would require about the same amount of money out of pocket, but would leave your credit in much better shape. These companies claim they will help you repair your credit, but their credit repair techniques will be essentially the same as are discussed on this board and others, only less effective as they will not be able to devote the same time and attention to detail as you would be able to in repairing your own credit. I could go on, but there are only so many hours in a day. The bottom line is that bankruptcy is cheaper, faster, and less damaging to your credit. Don't do debt elimination. A few months ago I got a call from a woman that works at one of these companies. I'm a mortgage loan officer, and her pitch to me whas that she could take my bad-credit turn-downs, eliminate their debt and turn them into qualified home buyers. Sounds great, right? I like to keep track of the scams that are out there, so I didn't immediatly hang up on her. I listened to her pitch, then I told her of some of my previous customers who were ripped off by similar services. I wanted to hear what she would say. "Oh no," she said, "my service is different. What most people don't realize is that a contract can be voided if there is not full disclosure of it's terms, and all modern credit card contracts can be voided in this way..." Well, I think, this is a new twist. Now she's claiming that all the tens of billions of credit card debt in existance can be voided if you just show a judge how these contracts can be voided. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to get to the bottom of this in the space of a phone call, so I tell her the following: "I'm not going to send my customers to just anyone. If I send someone to you and you rip them off, that's my reputation that's damaged for it. So here is what I will do. Send me the names and phone numbers of three of your former customers who were satisfied by your service but who don't work for your company, and if they have good things to say about you, I will send you business." "Right away Mr. Mycroft." She says. "Expect an e-mail in a few minutes." The rest of the day went by, no e-mail. I forgot about her. A few days later I'm covering for the receptionist while she's on her break. The phone rings. It's her again, but she doesn't recognize my voice. She askes for a loan officer. "Hey, it's me." I say, "We talked the other day." "Oh, okay...but I've already talked to you. Is there another loan officer?" she asks. "Don't worry about that." I tell her. "Convince me and I'll make sure everyone else knows about you too. I never got your e-mail. What happened?" Well, she claims she sent it. She's surprised to hear I never got it. That's okay, I say, just send it again. Or better yet, just give me the names and phone numbers over the phone. She can't do that, but she will send the e-mail. I very carefully verify my e-mail address with her so there is no chance for mistake, and hang up. No e-mail. About a week later, I'm going through my phone llog, and I come across her name and phone number. I give her a call. "WHat happened to my e-mail?" "I'm sorry Mr. Mycroft, I don't know what happened..." This time I put her name and phone number on a sticky note and paste it on my computer. I call her every day for a week, she stops taking my calls. Nobody else in that office will talk to me or offer any kind of explanation. So, are they legit? If they are, why can't they give me the name of a satisfied customer? If they are legit, then the entire economy of the United States is built on shakey legal ground. Anyone could have any credit card debt canceled at any time. Do I believe that? Well, there are other fruitcakes (easy to find on the internet) who believe there is no legal ground for the IRS to collect taxes. They also claim their arguments will hold up in court, and they sound convincing. So if you're not convinced and you want to give them a try, let us know how it turns out. Better yet, if it works for you, let us know in detail about their methods. They sound a lot better than what's discussed here.
Re: Re: Re: Debt Elimination Programs You're welcome. It's white collar crime. You can rob a gas station for a few hundred bucks, and do years of hard time for it. Loot retirement accounts or bilk thousands of people for hundreds of thousands and you get a slap on the wrist and a fine, if you're prosecuted at all. Our society just doesn't take white collar crime seriously.
