Family Credit Counseling Corporation - Consumer Credit Counseling Costly Ripoff Run-around Game Lauderdale Lakes Florida
I contacted this company to help me consilidate my debt. I scraped up enough to pay close to $300 (promised to be returned to me at the end) to enroll with them. From the first week - which was actually with their enrollment company called Consumer Credit Counseling back in the end of 2004 - I felt like things were not as they should be.
I kept calling to find out what was happening because things were not progressing as I'd been told they would be, and each time it was because something wasn't in their system properly. Something that I'd written clearly or repeated several times over the phone.
They had no problem taking money out of my account - especially when I called them to dispute a bounced check fee from them on my account and re-repeated my account number to them!
Finally payments started being made to my creditors however I received numerous calls from creditors saying I was past due and that the proposal for consolidation by FCCC had been denied. They weren't even sure who FCCC is! I also received notice by USPS mail that these proposals had been denied.
The creditors stated firmly that they never accept a proposal without a payment - ever. FCCC stated that they ALWAYS send in the proposal and the payment later and the creditors knew that. FCCC claimed they had an acceptance letter from my creditors on file and that they would continue to make payments.
However, consolidation has yet to be done because I still receive over-limit and late fees yet I am still paying FCCC a $35 fee each month for maintaining the minimum balance - something I could do myself for free! Every time I called to get things straightened out I was placated insulted or intimidated by a customer service member with promises that never followed through.
I am so far in debt now because they said they would help but it took them 5 months (including the run-around with their enrollment company) to even attempt a payment. They have yet to live up to their business promises.
Jennifer
Green Brook, New Jersey
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Melody
Los Angeles,California,
U.S.A.
I believed they ripped me off and there was no hurricane this time, so no excuse
#3Consumer Comment
Mon, August 21, 2006
I went online and contacted a company by the name of debt advantage and they sent me a service agreement and I filled it out sent them a payment of $1557 and then the next thing I know this Family Credit Counseling Corporation Michael Shoup (the office of the president) is contacting me, they didn't know anything about debt advantage but they said they received my file and they are going to handle my accounts so they gave me a budget, promised they lower my interests, balances, get rid of the late fees and so forth, none of that happened. My finance charges actually increased, most of credit cards didn't accept the proposal, they told my credit won't be affect that much, my score dropped from 750 to 550 (that is 200 points in a month) they said they didn't ahve anything to do with that, then I decided that now that my credit is so bad, they haven't reduced my balance nor my interest rates, and I have to be in the program for 6 years when at the beginning the told me maximum of 3 years and my total payments were $3,500 then I decided to cancel and go with a debt negotiation company and have them negotiate my accounts, so I cancelled and requested the $1554 that I paid to debt advantage which claims to be their service department to send it to me and they didn't return emails, phone calls, faxes nothing and today they called me and said I owe them $287.00 because they had paid one of my creditors from their own account and if I don't pay them they are going to take me to court and I told them you are holding $1557 of my money so just deduct it from that and send me the remaining balance and I hung up the phone and then I filed a complaint at the BBB against debt advantage and forwarded it to FCCC and said that if they don't send me my money back I will file one against them as well. They are under investigation anyway. Anyway, that is my story.
Rick
Valhalla,New York,
U.S.A.
exaggerating just a bit?
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, July 01, 2005
I've voice my positive feedback about this company on this site already since I had quite the opposite experience. I know I was stressed, overwhelmed and frustrated when I started their program and it seems you want to take it all out on them and not take any responsibility for anything.
With all the inconsistencies and things that make no sense in your complaint I tend to think you are exaggerating and just out to bash them. First, you stated both you "enrolled with them" and "with their enrollment company." They did not do enrollment so you definitely did not enroll with them. Also, Consumer Credit Counseling is not an enrollment agency, you can look them up online. You are so quick to point fingers and don't even have the facts straight and don't even know who you enrolled with!
You also say your creditors received and denied proposals, but did not know who they are. They got a proposal from them and do not know who they are? Another contradiction?
You also wrongly combine the proposals and payment thing and take it out of context. I got acceptance letters from my creditors that congratulated me and told me they needed a payment from Family Credit within 30 days to make them valid. I still have the letters. They did not say the payment needed to arrive simultaneously as you seem to think.
Another contradiction is your claim about bank account problems. How did they have no problem taking your money if they had the wrong account # and you had a bounced check fee? I have yet to have someone take money out of my bank using the wrong account number. Sure sounds like there was a problem getting your money. That being said, I doubt they would be in business long if they can't even figure out how to draft money, so it could not have been intentional! I paid them with money orders so I can't comment first hand on their bank drafts.
Now we get to the part where you demonstrate you do not know what "consolidation" is since you said it was never done because you still have fees. Consolidation is simply combining all your bills into one payment. If they only got payment from you once a month than this was done. Fees have nothing to do with it. You seem too busy shifting blame to even learn what you're talking about.
Lastly, you go back to the payment issue. I simply can not believe it took 5 months to straighten out an account #. Slight exaggeration? If your bills needed to be paid and they had the wrong bank account you could have used the money to pay your bills. You want us to believe you just let this go on for months and had accounts becoming past due waiting for this incompetent company to straighten it out? If it were me and it took more than a week to fix I would have gotten rid of them. Who in their right mind would wait so long and let their credit rating get even worse?
I know when I started with them and I had past due accounts I got alot of phone calls from my creditors for the payment. I would not have tolerated that for 5 months, that is absurd.
Again, I had some obstacles and speed bumps with them, but I am glad I did it and I am out of debt. You want us to feel bad for you that you let your accounts go neglected and just called them to be intimidated. Nobody can intimidate you into staying with them and you seem to want to sit back and shift all the blame. I'm sure it is not all as one-sided as you make it out to be and both parties here have some responsibility.