Complaint Review: Consolidated Credit Counseling Services Inc.

My Debt Consolidation company just COST me $757.00! I try to do the right thing, the fiscally responsible thing in this time of international financial free-fall, and it drives me to bankruptcy! (again... I declared Chapter 7 after 9/11, so can't declare again for 1 more year).

The facts:

- I registered with a debt management company (DMC) to help me consolidate and lower my unsecured credit card debt (about $15,000).

- I pay DMC a monthly amount to disburse among my creditors, plus a fee to them.

- I e-mailed them instructing them to add a credit card to consolidate and begin disbursing payments was ignored. I had to follow up with them months later and finally added the account. DMC neglect of my instructions cost me $100.00 in late charges, since the credit card had gone unpaid.

- And yes, I should have followed up on DMC sooner, but isn't this why I'm paying them a monthly fee to manage my consolidation account in a professional and timely manner?

- When they finally added this credit card to my consolidation, the monthly payment to the debt consolidation company became too expensive for me to pay- over $500! I tried to pay them bi-monthly, but it still totalled almost as much as my bills before consolidation!

- I called 2 of my creditors and negotiated with both a set monthly fee, a total of $140 LESS than DMC had negotiated with the same companies.

- I e-mailed them instructing them I would take over these 2 accounts myself since I negotiated a lower monthly payment.

- I subtracted these disbursements from my monthly autopay to DMC and gave them the new, much lower monthly amount, from $512 down to $200!

- My instructions were again ignored.

- I e-mailed them numerous times to follow-up and no response.

- DMC then deducted the previous, LARGE amount through my bi-monthly autopay- $256.00 in error.

- I called DMC, again having to follow up on why they did not carry out my instructions in the original, now month-old e-mail. I called their attention to the wrong bi-monthly amount being deducted. I also made sure they finally changed their records to reflect the lower amount I had worked out on my own.

- DMC deducted another wrong payment of $256.00.

- DMC's 2 deductions in error (which they admitted) totaled $512.00 and caused my bank account to overdraw.

- This has resulted in at least 7 insufficient funds penalties of $35.00 each = $245.00 so far.

- It has also left me absolutely penniless! Nothing! Last night I had to use my ATM for a $6.50 bag of dog foodwhich will end up costing me $41.50 with another overdraft fee of $35.00!

- I spoke to a supervisor at DMC today. He admitted to the wrong autopay amounts, but DMC had already disbursed payments in the wrong amount. DMC refuses to reimburse the first erroneous autopay.

- Supervisor said DMC will put through reimbursement only of 2nd wrong payment.

- When I asked to have it by the next business day (since my account is negative due to DMC), Supervisor rudely said that's not gonna happen. WHen I asked for his supervisor, he said "every supervisor has gone home."

- The debt management company has added to my debt:
$ 100- late fees from not adding and paying account
256- unathorized autopay at wrong amount
256- unathorized autopay at wrong amount
245- Seven overdraft fees (and counting) caused by unathorized autopays

$ 787.00- TOTAL that CCCS has COST ME

This is DEBT MANAGEMENT??!!

I am so frustrated I could scream!!!

Michelle
Los Angeles, California
U.S.A.