Complaint Review: RESQDEBT And RESQSTOP

In November 2008 I was desperate and knee-deep in debt for a variety of reasons. I heard an advertisement on the radio for RESQDEBT and contacted them, thinking that this would alleviate a) the phone calls from the credit card companies and b) they would negotiate good settlements for me. They asked me to save over $600 a month on my bank account, which they would then deduct for their own accounts. Only when their exorbitant fee had been met, would they then start to use some of these funds to pay off the credit cards. They also agreed to negotiate with the credit cards for me. I did save the required amounts and so far, RESQDEBT has received $3,436.75 from me, not one penny of which has gone to pay any of my debts. I soon realized that this company was doing nothing - when I called the credit card companies, they all assured me that it is against company policy to even speak with debt settlement companies, since the credit card companies can themselves offer the same services to clients for free. They had no records of any phone calls having been made my RESQDEBT to any of them. RESQDEBT had in fact sent letters to each company stating that they had limited power of attorney from me to negotiate and that when the time was right, i.e. when I had saved enough funds (AFTER paying their huge fee) they would begin to negotiate. None of the credit card companies have these letters on file. Bank of America told me that they are thrown out as soon as they arrive - no one pays any attention to them and they are not kept on a customer's file. Every time I asked representatives of RESQDEBT what was going on, they gave me a hard time and I decided to try negotiating the debts myself - and found that this was easily done! I made all settlement negotiations myself, agreed on payment dates and signed contracts with the credit card companies and/or their collection agencies myself. When I tried to terminate the agreement with RESQDEBT, a fellow called KEITH TOUGH gave me a long long argument about how "the proof of their work lay in the fact that I had received such great settlements." When I asked for any proof or documentation from Mr. Tough and any of the many other agents there (Brian Cupp, Charles Mitchell, Ray Williams, Scott Sanderson - always someone different - of the work they claim to have done in order to earn their exorbitant fees, they refused point blank, repeating over and over again that "the proof lay in the achieved settlements" and no matter how often I reminded them that I, not they, had negotiated the settlements, they continued to argue with me, trying to convince me otherwise. These men (all men) are highly trained to deal with clients like me, who are desperate and in real financial difficulties. They stay clam and collected, they don't hang up and they repeat the same nonsense over and over and over again. I have done a lot of research on this matter with the credit card companies. Bank of America has promised to send me a letter stating their company policy in reference to debt settlement agencies, i.e. THEY DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM - EVER. I plan to take RESQDEBT and RESQSTOP (the same people) to Small Claims Court.

hurting
Port Jefferson, New York
U.S.A.