Debt Settlement Gone Horribly Wrong (for the Consumer)

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is pursuing Debt Relief USA, who is currently in bankruptcy with $4.6 million in withheld debt relief promised to clients. The press release from the Texas AG cites 2,500 debt customers as victims. There are some definite lessons to learn in this statement to keep your debt business clean.

• Don’t make unreasonable claims to customers
• Negotiate settlements with creditors prior to managing client payments
• Be properly licensed and bonded in your State
• Do what you say you will do

Here are some of the allegations from the Texas AG:

“Investigators with the Office of the Attorney General found that Debt Relief USA often never contacted creditors on behalf of their “clients,” which ultimately damaged its customers’ credit reports and even led to debt collection lawsuits by creditors. Debt Relief USA customers risked the ongoing accruals of late fees, interest, over-limit charges and other fees associated with the creditor’s account. Therefore, even in the event of a settlement, customers often owed significantly more on their accounts, which reduced their overall debt settlement savings. In addition, any savings realized under a settlement would be subject to taxation, since these are considered “income.”"

I think it is good to keep up on these actions to understand regulatory and legal hot buttons. Obviously you should do things by the rule of the law, but you never know when you can get caught in the cross hairs of change.

Be safe out there and stay compliant!

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Tagged as: Bankruptcy, Collection agency, Debt relief, debt settlement, Financial Services, Greg Abbott