Debt Free After All there is a "Debt FEE" ..after all Ballwin Manchester Missouri
All too often there is the lingering question..."is this legit?"
Debt Free After All is legit in the terms that it does not IMMEDIATELY run off with your money; in time, however, you will see that the whole program is misleading.
Yes - your debt CAN be settled (most of the time anyway)
Yes- it is possible to do it in a fraction of the time (as long as you have half of the amount upfront which is very unlikely)
Yes- it is a good deal....for them.
Typically you end up saving only a small sliver as they take the amount they "settle" on, disperse to your creditors and then at will charge you a fee they feel is appropriate.
The contract states only 25% of settlements is their fee. They are shady about the "payment plan fee" which can range from $250-$1,000 depending on what they FEEL is appropriate. They do not have a set scale upon which this is based.
Also, they only have about 3 or 4 (if that) employees. They lose employees all the time because the owner does not pay enough nor does the owner or his wife keep their word. Their word means nothing. Their contract and program are pretty much in the same boat.
The employees are miserable. They are expected to perform miracles in settlement form to keep the company generating a profit. Last I heard these employees averaged $8-11/hour. Not much for someone doing all the dirty work.
For the large number of clients they have, only 3 or 4 employees (including the owner and his alien wife) are running the show. You are lucky if your account gets any attention. This raises your risk of being sued.
YOU CAN BE SUED. NO ONE BUT A LAWYER CAN PROTECT YOU FROM THAT.
In fact, speaking of lawyers, recently my friend was scammed by one of this company's employees. His last name is CLEARY. He stole money out of my friends account and it appears as though the owner of Debt Free After All will not be legally pursuing this individual. What a sleazy company. They don't even protect their own image!
OH, and after speaking to some other individuals familiar with this program's lack of success, we have determined that they BANK on the fact that you will NOT complete the program. So, chances are, they can do nothing for you as far as services go towards settlements and then collect a $495-$995 (as stated in the contract) fee. What a life! Making money for doing nothing!
Just stay away from this company. Stay away from ALL DEBT SETTLEMENT companies! THEY ARE ALL THE SAME!
You can settle yourself! For a fraction of the cost and there will be no "debt FEE."
Knowledge_for_dumb_debtors
DFAA in Ballwin/Manchester, Missouri
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Anonymous
Warrenton,Missouri,
USA
Thanks for all the help
#8Consumer Comment
Mon, October 25, 2010
I'm happy that I completed this program even though there were a few rough patches at times. I hung in there though. I'm glad I did this because I took a total balance of credit card debt from $37,565 down to $15,025. More then half the balance and that included my fee to DFAA. I had one creditor tell me I should settle a balance from around $5000 for about $2300. I thought it sounded good until I found out that DFAA could negotiate the balance for around $1650. I was thinking to myself there is no way that I'm taking a creditor's offer. They work on commissions and bonuses. DFAA has to save me money in order to get paid. I made a commitment at that point to just trust that they help me out and it worked. If I would have taken the offer from the creditor I would have had to pay more. Those creditors are BRUTAL. They threaten people to scared them into paying and it works most of the time. I'm just happy I hired professionals to handle my accounts. Thank goodness DFAA reps know the loopholes and way around the FDCPA. I didn't know you could sue a 3rd party collector if they didn't verify your ss# before talking about debt. I also didn't know that DFAA would send letters to creditors for over harassment warning them of legal action.
anonymous
United States of AmericaExtremely Happy Customer
#8Consumer Comment
Mon, July 12, 2010
I just finished my program with Debt Free After All. I am glad to be rid of my debt forever. When I started this program I was unsure of it because you hear so many stories about companies who rip you off and cnsolidation companies who will wait 3 or 4 months before even getting started on the negotiations. I was really scared when I saw the BBB rating for this company. Debt Free explained they are not a BBB accredited business for the simple fact that it cost $10,000 a year for the membership fee. I was really hesitant at first because I gave this company everything about me like social security number and credit card numbers. I put my faith in them because I also realized I couldn't just handle this debt on my own. At first I did get some pretty threatening letters from collection companies I spoke to my debt counselor Jenny who re-assured me it was a tactic used to try to scare me. Before entering this program I had just been laid off from a corporate who suddenly closed their doors with little warning. I went from a $47,000 a year salary to unemployment within a matter of 2 weeks and with credit card balances between $20,000 and $60,000 I wasn't sure how I was going to repay it let alone the minimum monthly payments. I called debt free and within 2 years I completed the program. My suggetion would be to fill out your change of address form and use Debt Free's address and phone number. After I did this I was no longer harassed by the credit card collectors. I felt a lot less stressed and I know that Debt Free After All did their best for me. On the card that was $20,000 we settled at $8000 the one for $60,000 we settled for $23,000. My total savings was $49,000 out of the $80,000 I owed. Thank you so much for saving me the amount of money it would cost me to buy a brand new car. My life is much less stressful. I promise you won't be disappointed if you choose to go with this program. I will leave my email info. for Andrea and Jenny to give you if you need a testimonial.
Lvparalegal
Las Vegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
Not Accurate
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 19, 2009
"YOU CAN BE SUED. NO ONE BUT A LAWYER CAN PROTECT YOU FROM THAT."
This statement is erroneous. The entire purpose of pro se ("for oneself"), a.k.a. propria persona (pro per) is to answer complaints (and tackle other legal issues) without an attorney. I mention complaints specifically because once your creditor decides to pursue litigation they will file a complaint and make a request that you be served with a summons.
Seems the original poster is ill-informed.
Lvparalegal
Las Vegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
Not Accurate
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 19, 2009
"YOU CAN BE SUED. NO ONE BUT A LAWYER CAN PROTECT YOU FROM THAT."
This statement is erroneous. The entire purpose of pro se ("for oneself"), a.k.a. propria persona (pro per) is to answer complaints (and tackle other legal issues) without an attorney. I mention complaints specifically because once your creditor decides to pursue litigation they will file a complaint and make a request that you be served with a summons.
Seems the original poster is ill-informed.
Lvparalegal
Las Vegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
Not Accurate
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 19, 2009
"YOU CAN BE SUED. NO ONE BUT A LAWYER CAN PROTECT YOU FROM THAT."
This statement is erroneous. The entire purpose of pro se ("for oneself"), a.k.a. propria persona (pro per) is to answer complaints (and tackle other legal issues) without an attorney. I mention complaints specifically because once your creditor decides to pursue litigation they will file a complaint and make a request that you be served with a summons.
Seems the original poster is ill-informed.
Lvparalegal
Las Vegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
Not Accurate
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 19, 2009
"YOU CAN BE SUED. NO ONE BUT A LAWYER CAN PROTECT YOU FROM THAT."
This statement is erroneous. The entire purpose of pro se ("for oneself"), a.k.a. propria persona (pro per) is to answer complaints (and tackle other legal issues) without an attorney. I mention complaints specifically because once your creditor decides to pursue litigation they will file a complaint and make a request that you be served with a summons.
Seems the original poster is ill-informed.
Trustful
Saint Peters,Missouri,
U.S.A.
Unfair and not true
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 19, 2009
The comments made in regards to the debt settlement company named "Debt Free After All" were made by a former terminated employee. This employee was discharged because of her psycological problems that interfered with job duties. I am a current client of this company and I had not had issues in regards to this company. The owner and is team of debt consultants have repaired my credit and have truly done what they say do help some one become "Debt Free After All". The person who wrote this report could be the person who called me and told me to cancel my program because they fired her. She was very rude and seemed to have little control of her emotions. I talked with this young lady because I felt sorry for her. She confided in me that she was suffering from emotional problems due to childhood trauma and that she had such anger inside her. So, again please keep in mind that anyone can write about a company what they want. All I can say is that the false report written in regards to Debt Free After All in my opinion untrue.