AmeriDebt files for bankruptcy
"Credit-counseling company AmeriDebt, charged by federal regulators with using deceptive marketing to bilk hundreds of thousands of customers, filed for bankruptcy Saturday, the company announced."
...
"Regulators said AmeriDebt made customers think that an initial fee would be part of their debt-reduction payments to creditors. Instead, it went to AmeriDebt.
AmeriDebt has disputed the FTC's characterization of the company, saying it provides educational services to customers. It says the payments cited by the FTC are "voluntary contributions."
The FTC charges that AmeriDebt marketed itself as nonprofit, but actually works to make money for affiliated for-profit companies. The agency also said the company's radio and television ads said AmeriDebt helps customers learn better financial management skills.
"The companies that purport to be nonprofit are providing services at significant costs to consumers," said William Gruhn, an assistant attorney general in Maryland's consumer protection division. "They're supposed to be providing education assistance to consumers on how to avoid credit problems, and we're concerned if they're providing that function."
The FTC charges that AmeriDebt marketed itself as nonprofit, but actually works to make money for affiliated for-profit companies. The agency also said the company's radio and television ads said AmeriDebt helps customers learn better financial management skills."
It's a crime that the FTC allowed this to happen for so many years. The FTC, as usually, did NOTHING, NOTHING and NOTHING. And the FTC continues to do NOTHING about all the other credit counseling outfits.
AmeriDebt has been scamming consumers for so many years. And the biggest scam has nothing to do with any of the charges. Many consumers would be much better off filing for bankruptcy or doing nothing.
Credit counselors actually collect payments for CHARGED OFF accounts!
And AmeriDebt is by no means the only debt collector in disguise.
Capital One and Amerix, fka Genus Credit Management (collectors in disguise)
Read that if you you don't know how consumers get deceived and defrauded. Just today I received another complaint from a reader about Capital One claiming that it didn't receive the payments made to their collector by Genus.
My credit counseling page - a few years old, but unfortunately nothing changed for the better and it may have gotten even worse due to the increased competition.
And I've been hearing all these Christian Credit Counseling commercials on the radio.
Scam people in the name of God.
I disassociated myself from Christianity many years ago, figured out that scam too.
"AmeriDebt said it has worked with 400,000 people and had more than 90,000 current clients as of July.
Each year, an estimated 9 million Americans have some contact with a credit counseling agency -often the last stop before a bankruptcy filing."
9 million suckers ....
So many so-called consumer finance experts RECOMMEND credit counseling and even many consumers in credit counseling programs proclaim how wonderful it is.
That's like slaves praising their masters because they do provide food and shelter and slave life is better than having to fend for yourself.
Why are so many Americans living the lives of slaves and loving it?
No spine, no intellect - reduced to consuming drones.
Posted by Christine at June 7, 2004 12:21 PM | TrackBack