lizandjerry Posted July 25, 2003 Report Share Posted July 25, 2003 It's 1130pm at night and I have nothing to do, so I figure I'd throw my Consolidation Company experience in. About 2 years ago I was looking for a consolidation loan to try and relieve myself of some of my problems. I found this great company who claimed to qualify everyone! I thought, yay, thats great. So I filled out an online application and they said I was pre-approved. Even better! They called me a couple days later and I was extatic.....at least until they told me they werent going to give me a loan, but instead help me consolidate my bills into one monthly payment blah blah blah. I couldnt believe that they actually documented themselves on the internet as giving out loans, but I was in a tight spot and figured it was my only other option, so I went with them. They were based out of Florida, cant remember their name and too tired to go find it. Anyway, they charged a one time $50.00 processing fee, which I couldnt believe because I was going into this because I had no money, so why did they expect me to have money? I figured, whatever, and its really sad but I had to save up to get that 50 bucks --I was only making 200 a week and my car/insurance/rent was taking all the money and I had to use my credit cards to buy food (ergo, how I got into the situation). Come to find out later that they also charged me an extra $10 a month "just for them" without telling me. To make a very long story short, they asked me how much I currently paid to my creditors and guess what? Thats how much they "calculated" that I would have to pay to get out of debt in 5 years. Isnt that amazing? I was only paying some of these creditors $15 a month and through the consolidation that's how much I was paying to get out of debt! Yeah right. Ended up that they told me not to pay any of my CC's until they sent me my first statement from their company. Well, it took them 3 months to do so, and by that time all of my CC's were way past due and I never caught up. The consolidation company kept paying the bills late and actually screwed up an account number for one of my CC's so they were paying the wrong account while mine just kept inccuring more late fees. (By the way, they never fixed the problem and all my money went to some lucky shmo who must have really appreciated the free hand out). I eventually stopped giving the consolidation company all together. They never bothered to contact me asking me why, or if I was in a tight spot. They were just happy that they got their 50 bucks + the extra 10 every month while they had me. I hate consolidation companies, dont ever try one if your thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kb9tbq Posted July 25, 2003 Report Share Posted July 25, 2003 Thanks, the more people to contribute stories - the better we can warn others before making these bad decisions. Would also suggest that all people having issues or past experiences with these companies - make it a point to file complaints with all available sources to complain to like www.ftc.gov and www.bbb.comOtherswww.ripoffreports.comYour state attorney general, local representatives and such.It really starts with us, showing them that there is a legit reason for shutting these companies down for good!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kb9tbq Posted July 26, 2003 Report Share Posted July 26, 2003 Hey, I just discovered at least in Illinois that ALL debt management companies must be lisensed, so some of you might start looking that way to see if each individual state requires license & if there are any companies working outside of this license.Just a Thought, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark04 Posted July 26, 2003 Report Share Posted July 26, 2003 Excellent advice! listen up everyone! I speak from experience! Sometimes I think I should be the poster child for this topic! But I am learning and thanks to all the help here I should have a clear plan of direction within the next week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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