Hargrave & Associates Beware - Serious Rip-Off Artists and Predators. Do research or fix your own credit Jacksonville Florida
I heard their ad on the radio after being harassed by NCO Financial and decided to give them a try before doing my research (8/22). I spoke to a very nice representative that told me they not only helped to erase bad credit for a nominal fee but they also offered credit counseling in which the could contact NCO on my behalf and attempt to set up an arrangement for me to pay. I thought "sounds enough good to me" and ponied up the $169.99 as a partial payment for them to get started with the understanding that I would pay the rest of the $250 within 2 weeks.
For some reason after forking over the cash I looked them up on the BBB and found that not only did they have an unsatisfactory record but they have a history of not resolving conflicts. That scared me and I immediately regretted my decision and called back to cancel with them and request a refund.
I spoke to the same person that took all of my information and cited "family/financial" issues since telling them that I thought they might be guilty of poor business practices would almost ensure that I would never see my money again. She was very understanding and sympathetic - she also said they cannot take cancellations over the phone and that I would have to wait for the paperwork to be sent to me (within 10 business days) and at that time opt out. I did not see the logic in this but feeling that it was better to play their game and get my money rather than rumple some feathers and flush my $169.99 down the toilet.
Needless to say the paperwork arrived (8/27) and in it an e-mail address specifically for cancellations. It said that I had 5 days to cancel from the execution of the contract (8/22) and once received it would take 30 days for a refund. I sent a short e-mail letting them know that I would like to cancel and receive a refund (8/27). I felt relieved - like I dodged a major bullet and would avoid becoming one of those embarrassing statistics comprised of people who don't do their homework and subsequently get ripped off. Well, it happened to me.
9/4 - I called to check on the status of my refund and I am glad I did. This is where they stopped being so polite and I got the major runaround. I was told several times that "it was being checked into" and "someone would call me back." Through my persistence I found out they never got my e-mail and feigned confusion as to where I got that address from in the first place even though it was clearly a part their "contract." At this point I refused to allow someone to call me back until we got to the bottom of this. I was instructed to forward my initial e-mail to another person at the company and promised that I would get a call back confirming its receipt.
I reluctantly agreed and someone did indeed call me back to let me know that they got my e-mail and it was going to "the board" for approval and I would be contacted (9/6). I did not hear anything back that day so I called (9/7) to check on the findings of the board.
At this point, I was given the official brush off...basically the "don't call us we'll call you" routine as it "takes time." I was unsure how to take this since at this point they were basically holding my money hostage and refusing to give me a straight answer. 9/10 - I call again this time in search of another person I could speak to that would have a little bit more information that they could give me which would at least make me feel better through this waiting game.
During this conversation my fear was confirmed - they are crooks. The story changed from it has been reviewed by the board to "it is in accounting waiting to be submitted to the board" a clear step back from the previous week and a step in the process that was not initially divulged to me. I then ask for someone in accounting - I get stone walled, I asked to speak to a Supervisor and was told that I was already speaking to one. She refused to give me her first name and again took my numbers for someone to call me back.
When I got off the phone with Hargrave I called my bank to find out about disputing the charges due to fraud. She asked if she could try to give them a call to mediate. I thought it might help since a different voice might melt her now icy resolve.
My bank representative was hung up on not once but twice and basically told to "do whatever you have to do because she had 3 days to cancel and she will not be getting her money back!!," totally unprofessional and untrue. Let's completely ignore the fact that when I called back the same day to cancel I was told to wait on paperwork that would arrive in 10 business days - I was never informed of a cancellation timeframe and if that were the case she should have taken it over the phone that day.
Not only that, their own contract stated that I had 5 days after the execution of the contract to cancel - which I did by an e-mail address they provided. Let's also ignore the fact that no one ever followed up with me to go over my credit or find out if I had given NCO Financial my permission to negotiate on my behalf since they allegedly did not know of my intent to cancel the process should have began.
Only after I started calling asking about my money did someone contact me via e-mail (9/6) saying they could help me, I even told them I was seeking a refund. For a reason that is still confusing to me he called me at my home number the next day with the same song and dance. Which leads me to believe they never intended to help me with anything except to take money that I could have put aside to help pay off my debt that is in collections. I know this has been a long post but I feel duty bound to let people know about my experience with them and although it wasn't a million dollars they took my hard earned money under false pretenses and did not honor their own contract!
They are shady, dishonest predators that take advantage of people in desperate situations only succeeding in making it worse. Don't be fooled by the friendly facade - they will take your money with a smile and give you nothing but excuses in return.
BTW - I called the Florida Department of Consumer Protection and spoke to someone in Citizen Services and was told they had received several calls on this company and if people continue to complain/report Hargrave they will be investigated since Debt Services is unregulated in the state of Florida and the Attorney General will not get involved in individual disputes.
Girlfriday
Atlanta, Georgia
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
A
Jacksonville,Alabama,
U.S.A.
Companies like that make me SO mad
#2Consumer Suggestion
Thu, October 18, 2007
I am by *ALL* means not taking up for hargrave. In fact about 5% of our clientell are people who were with them and did not get anything done. I am just here to offer you some FREE advise on what you need to do.
I would first state that you need to go to Ken Amaro, he loves busting bad credit repair agencies and actually, he doesn't even require proof. There was one complaint about our company that went to him and they just bulldozed us right over even though the person complaining about nothing happening to her account even though her account was suspended with us due to non payment. They still aired it and even mentioned she did not pay. I wish the owner of the company would have sued the news station but that would be like taking down a lion with a toothpick.
I would go in the office ( when I know it is the busiest) and I would start demanding answers. This should usually work, if you do not get a refund within 30 days (and that is a LONG time to process a refund, most of these types of companies dont even have a "refund department" and that is if you deserve a refund based on their the refund policy that you signed with them) I would contact the BBB and the state attorneys office and turn them in for fraud. They are not totally DEBT REGULATION they are also a CREDIT REPAIR COMPANY, i think this should fall under a different heading
But, ( and there is always a but) You need to go over your contract that you signed with them. What does the refund policy state. Ours is VERY descriptive but some are not so much and I don't know what Hargraves is. If you do not have your contract, they better. Once again, I do not know 100% if it is illegal but if you get in a legally binding contract with a company I think they still need to have you sign it and have it on file, and I think you are allowed to see your file anytime you please. If they do not give it to you, report that as well as an added bonus.
This is, even if you signed a contract. If you did not sign a contract then I honestly do not know what you can do. Florida law is that you legally have 3 business days from date of SIGNING the contract to back out without any repercussions what so ever. Although, most legitimate companies give you more. however, if you blindly sent them money with no contract then I think you really are in a boat with no oars. ( I sincerely hope this is not the case)
Now, since Hargrave was obviously no help at all to you, let me tell you some things that YOU can do for YOURSELF to get your score up.
First things first, got credit cards? NEVER PAY THEM LATE. Also, call them and ask them to hike your limit and lower your interest rate. Once they hike your limit do not and I repeat DO NOT spend more than HALF the limit. So lets say you have a card for 500 dollars with an interest rate of 10% DON'T spent 249.99 and have the interest pop on next month and take it over the 500 mark. This is called OVERSPENDING and it really starts to mess with your debt to income ratio. The safe thing to do is NEVER go over 1/3 of your limit, this gives you a buffer from the interest and also annual fees if you have them.
If you are an authorized user on a credit card, have that user call and ask that a NEW card get opened in YOUR name. Take precautionary measures stated above.
If your credit is so bad you cannot get a regular ( visa, master, American express) credit card. Go to a department store. They will usually give anyone a card as long as they have had some sort of good account open on their credit. Granted, the reason they do this is to make A LOT of money off of you, so expect to pay upwards of 18 - 25% interest on these cards, still stay with the rules above.
If you cannot even get a department store credit card, you need to talk to a rep. at your bank. Make them tell you about a secured credit card. What this is, is a card that has a limit of usually 250 dollars and upwards. The reason it is secured is because they will lock that amount of money up for you and you cannot touch it. However, you will still have to use the card like a regular revolving credit card, the money that is locked cannot be touched to pay the bill. Depending on the bank and the card they keep it secured for 6 months to a year and then they give you a real revolving card.
Do not just cancel services with a company and not pay them because you did not like the way they treated you. ( first try to get a district managers number of the company and speak to them, I have found they are much more helpful than the floor managers in the call centers) Most utility companies like Comcast are notorious for putting the same collection account on a credit report more than once. Same goes for Gyms if you have a family plan, sometimes they will break up the amount owed and put it on your credit multiple times with different account numbers.
If you do get a collection letter from an original creditor ( what this means is someone like JEA, not someone that JEA sold your debt to like MAF collections) PAY IT even if it takes a payment plan. Actual collection companies like MAF or Asset Acceptance have no integrity. What I mean by this is they will set up a payment plan with you, you will stick to it, and in the middle they will sell this debt and you will have made no headway. Also, when things get sold to a collection company they will add their own collection fees and interest on top of what you already owed. Collection agencies can sell a debt to a new agency at anytime. What this means for you is, sure MAF has been on your report for 6 years and 11 months and you know that they are not legally allowed to report it for more than 7 years. All MAF will do is sell it to a NEW collection agency who will add their OWN fees on top of it. I have seen a little 60 dollar medical bill go to a full blown 2,000 dollar debt with a collection agency because it has been bought and sold so much.
since you are having problems with a debt with an actual collector, make sure you paid in certified funds that can be proven, that way if they DO sell the debt you can prove you did pay. Also have a CONTRACT with the debt collector stating that as long as you are making payments and you are making them on time they are not allowed to sign off a profit and loss and sell the debt. Do ANY and EVERYTHING you can do to make sure that they do not rip you off.
DO NOT PAY ANYONE TO DO DEBT HELP. The credit repair business I work with charges like this, lets say the debt is 1,000 dollars, you give us 70%, in this case 700, we then talk to the creditor. Lets say the creditor settles for $500.00. That means that $200.00 is left over, we take half , $100.00 as a fee and the other half gets refunded to you. that means you saved 40% off the debt, but we tell everyone they can STILL do this BY THEMSELVEs and if you are assertive 9 times out of 10 you can get them to take at LEAST 20% - 60% off the debt.
Another thing to do is wait until christmas or tax time, you will almost ALWAYS get a settlement letter from these collections companies for about 50% off the debt if you settle with them by a cerian amount of time. If I were in the position to pay at least 50% off and have it settled I would preferably do that compared to a payment plan of 100 dollars a month on a 1000 dollar debt.
Side note - never listen when they, being collection agencies or companies that you owe a debt that is on your report say they will " take it off" I do not know if they CAN but i do know they WILL NOT. If they say they WILL, once again, get it in writing, however I do not know how to get it off the report because by a legal standpoint if you send in the letter stating a debt is paid on a collection, you are technicall verifying the debt was yours, hince the reason it was on your report in the first place. If you settle with them for less than the amount owed, that will go in notes on your report and this looks just as bad as the debt itself. If you pay it, it will still show as a paid collection for SEVEN years. however a FULLY paid collection will look better than a settled collection on your report to mortgage brokers.
I hope this helps you out, if you need more help feel free to respond to this with a way to get in contact with you.