Complaint Review: Express Consolidation - Randall L. Leshin

My husband and I entered into a credit card debt consolidated program with Express Consolidation, had to give them a $930 deposit which they explained would be returned upon completion of the program.  Approximately 4 yrs. into the program we received a letter from them telling us they were not licensed to do business in Illinois and we could choose to pay off the remaining balances on our own or go with another debt consolidation co., whose name and number were provided to us.  We decided to go with the new co., signed a contract with them.  With only a few months remaining, we called the new company and asked if we could pay two of the credit cards off early.  The company assured us there would be no problem, and they would then use the excess money each month to put toward the remaining three credit cards.  After we completed the program, we tried to get our deposit refunded from Express, they refused to give it to us, saying we violated our contract by paying two of the debts off early.  We told them we were no longer under contract with them when this occured, and the other company did not have a problem with it.  They told us to contact their lawyer.  We have since filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's office who directed us to file a complaint with the FTC, which we did.