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SupportKids dishonest, ripoff, fraudulent, thieves Austin Texas
I want everyone to know what thieves the people at SupportKids are. I am a single mother, and called SupportKids to ask for help in collecting Back-owed Child Support! I thought I asked all the Right Questions! I wanted to make sure that they Would NOT take Child Support paid to me through my court order. I was told that they only collect Back Owed Childsupport!
I finally agreed to open a case, after thinking it over for a couple of months, and speaking to SupportKids representatives many times. I was assured that my Court Ordered ChildSupport would not be touched! BIG LIES!
As of today, SupportKids has NOT collected a penny for me, but have stolen hundreds of Dollars from me! I have been told that they WILL NOT close my case, and continue to Steal from my children!! They advised me to get a copy of my Ex-husband's Wage Garnishment, and they would then close my case!
Well, as it turns out, this is against the law! They still refuse to close my case! I want all parents to know what a scam this place is! Don't let them take your money! They will tell you everything that you want to hear, and do nothing but Steal from you! Someone has to stop them!
Pamela
Sierra Vista, Arizona
U.S.A.
10 Updates & Rebuttals
Ummto2
Houston,Texas,
U.S.A.
Hope this helps someone
#11Consumer Comment
Mon, September 29, 2008
I signed up with this company too because I thought the state agency was taking too long to find my ex. A little while after I signed up I got notification from the state agency that they had finally served my ex with the court docs and were taking the payments out of his check. I got a copy of the court order and realized it was served on the same day I applied with supportkids so they had no part in locating him. This didn't stop them from intercepting payments from CSE and applying them towards the initial fee! I sent them all the evidence that they didn't have any part in locating the absent parent or collecting the money and requested they refund the two payments they intercepted and close my case.... that was over a month ago and I haven't heard from them about it yet. I sent in the forms to have the money sent to me and had a revocation of power of atty notarized and put on record at the state agency so they can't steal anymore of my payments. I suggest anyone in a similar situation sign a revocation of power of attorney as well or they can continue making changes on your account and acting on your behalf.
It wouldn't be a big deal if they were the ones locating the NCP and collecting the money but all they do is turn it over to the state agency and let them do all the work (that you probably already have them working on anyway for free) and then have the payments routed through them so they can take out their fee before you giving you what's left.
The state of Texas should also probably regulate them a bit more as well. It seems a bit unfair to collect 33% for the lifetime of the payments to pay for work they did in the beginning locating the NCP. There should be a limit to how much they can take after the NCP has been paying regularly for a while IMHO. It really seems like they're preying on the vunerability and desperation of single mothers.
If you need to file a complaint against them the link for the TX atty general is http://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/complain.shtml
Also, the Texas Dept of Banking is who regulates/monitors their agency and you can file a complaint with them as well at http://www.banking.state.tx.us/pcsea/ccpcsea.htm
To file a complaint with the BBB of Austin, TX the website is http://austin.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=40&id=ab12ce37-3680-42cc-9817-df71ecfda32e
You can also contact YOUR state representative, governor and mayor for assistance.
I'm plan on giving them until the end of the week to be honest and do the right thing with my case and then I'll report them to all of the above as well.
Good luck!
Cynthia
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
I Am being ripped off TOO!!!
#11REBUTTAL Individual responds
Tue, April 17, 2007
Dear Wanda,
Can you please give me the link of the DA in texas again. They will not close my case.. I wrote them because I am a single mom and since the Department of revenue in the state of florida threw the dead beat dad in jail, he has decided to pay. He sent me a check of 610.00 dollars and support kids sent me 89.00 dollars out of it.
My electricity got cut off and I had nothing for my children.. you know what gets me though. When i first started with them, they sent me a letter to change the address at my local office from the state disbursement unit to their's, and I refused and threw the letter away.. then how is it that they changed it without me knowing or signing, please give me some numbers or websites to help me and my children... anyone who is out there that can direct me to a number or site, please let me know..
Rhonda
Howard,South Dakota,
U.S.A.
The only case they closed....
#11Consumer Comment
Fri, December 15, 2006
Shortly after I started with them, the state of SD, had found my ex, and had a wage garnishment, they made the State of SD close THEIR case. Supportkids claimed THEY garnished my ex's wages!!! I know full and well the state had, because I recieved the letter about 3 days after I had sent the paperwork to TX. (mailing time from SD to TX is approx 5 days) I had been in the process of talking to and filling out the paperwork so the state still had my case technically, but once Supportkids found out that the state had put in a wage garnishment, they called me up and made me try to get the state to close the case over the phone. The state wouldn't do it without something in writing, supportkids tried to fax their agreement, the state wouldn't accept that, they had to have a hand written letter from me, so I ended up driving 40 or so miles to deliver one to the local office. What a hassle!!!
Kimberly
Orlando,Florida,
U.S.A.
How Do I Know?
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, April 18, 2006
i FILED WITH SUPPORT KIDS SEVERAL YEARS AGO. THEY EVENTUALLY DROPPED MY CASE SAYING THAT THE DEAD-BEAT DAD WAS ON WORKMANS COMP AND THEY COULDN'T GARNISH THAT. I SIGNED ALL KINDS OF PAPERS. NOW I AM WONDERING IF THEY ARE COLLECTING, HOW WOULD I KNOW? SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME, HOW CAN I FIND OUT? THEY MAY BE GETTING MY MONEY AND I GET NOTHING. WHAT EXACT FORMS DO I USE TO SEND TO ATTORNEY GENERAL, ETC?
Wanda
Hawthorne,Nevada,
U.S.A.
not true, supportkids still ripping me off
#11Consumer Comment
Thu, September 09, 2004
bryon
supportkids,refuse to stop and will not respond to my e-mails, letters or calls..i have asked them to stop collecting my child support...i have never repeat got a check from them and cashed. they have collected all the money and kept it.
they have never repeat never sent me a letter telling me what i owe them or how long they will be taking my full amount of child support.
meanwhile i am raising 2 boys without the court ordered support that is legally my kids..i have found others like me. now as for this chief officer of customer service, you fail to give information,like phone number or how to get ahold of them? why is that? as for zipperer read the news paper,check out the internet,and read for yourself..i found many things writen about supportkids, all very negative, so warning to all parents dont sign anything unless your willing to give up your rights to the child support. and say good by to it, as it will be along time till you see a dime of it..as for talking to these people,they dont want to talk or respond..lets see
its been since feb that i have told them to quit.
how long does it take for them to respond? and lets not confuse past owed childsupport with current?? supportkids doesnt see it clear,they take the whole amount. so employee? bryon? how about clearing up the confusion on support kids side and help? the d.a's office was collecting first before supportkids,and still they didnt close the case, why? you stated they do close the cases when state collects? AND bryon my locally D.A.s office did try to contact supportkids but got the run around. so there it is,like to respond this bryon?
Pamela
Sierra Vista,Arizona,
U.S.A.
I let them know that I had been deceived, and would take action, wrote to them via Email on a daily basis, No Longer A Victim
#11Author of original report
Wed, September 08, 2004
I originally posted a rip-off report in reference to SupportKids. I would just like to say that they are no longer taking from my Children. I wrote to them via Email on a daily basis. I let them know that I had been deceived, and would take action, as many people before me had. After months of writing, I received an email stating the closing of my case. Shortly thereafter; I received a check for the total amount owed! They returned every penny they had taken! I just want everyone to know that SupportKids is NOT the way to collect childsupport!!
Bryon
Austin,Texas,
U.S.A.
Chief Operating Officer customer service department to assist in any answering questions or resolving concerns
#11UPDATE Employee
Tue, September 07, 2004
Supportkids provides case specific solutions to collect child support for families not receiving support. We handle the most difficult casesoften the non-paying parent resides in a different state and has avoided paying support for years. Despite these challenges, Supportkids has collected over $200 million dollars in the past 13 years for families in need.
We've been successful because we are able to collect where others have failed. Our clients come to Supportkids because they are not getting any child support owed to them. Our success is evident in the fact that many of our new clients come from referrals from existing clients.
We use a variety of enforcement techniques in order to enforce the rights of our clients, including the use of wage garnishments, liens on assets, and other enforcement methods. The outcome of our efforts can take several forms, including the establishment of regular payments, a payment toward child support arrearages, or a combination of both. There are times when the non-paying parent has no assets to secure payment on arrears, but Supportkids can help a family by establishing regular payments for our clients.
In some instances, both the State and Supportkids will be attempting to collect child support at the same time which can result in some confusion. If a State agency begins to collect child support through their independent efforts, Supportkids will agree to close a client's case upon request and with proper documentation.
Finally, the class action lawsuit filed by Patricia L. Zipperer in the state of Wisconsin, was won by Supportkids, not the plaintiff, as indicated in the Ripp-Off Report mentioned above. Regardless, Supportkids takes the concerns of our clients seriously and has a dedicated customer service department to assist in any answering questions or resolving concerns.
Wanda
Hawthorne,Nevada,
U.S.A.
thanks for sharing, but need your help
#11Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 18, 2004
i need to get in touch with other people like me who are having a problem with supportkids. can contact me thru this site care of the editor? as they wont let us put in our e-mail address. i have contacted the state att.gen of nevada and texas, i have contacted sentors of nevada and texas,i have contacted federal trade comm. and i got a copy of the papers i signed after i kept asking supportkids for months for them....looking over them there is a out...go to texas st. att.gen site..look for the REVOCATION OF AUTHORIZATION OF INFORMATION/PAYMENTS..form is 1A005.. fill out, get notarized,send one to your local D.A.s office then one to texas to st. attorney general office. it will stop supportkids from taking your child support. what it does is sign your child support back to you and you can collect it again..also in checking out,federal guide lines say that because its a federal program that the D.A.s office is to get the money first then send it on..what supportkids do is go around the D.A.s office and get a wage attachment and get the company to send the money to them instead of the D.A.s office like federal guide lines say to do.now contact your local news with the story..save your money,we are strugling parents raising our kids & need every dime..use what we can find and share,also there is a site where you can read about patricia zipperer,she sued support kids,she won,in wisconsin circuit court,county of manitowoc.. case number 30106
24 pages of good information..first cause of action fraud in the inducement,second cause of action-breach of fiduciary duty,3rd cause of action-violation of texas deceptive trade practices-consumer protection act. now as for you i am not sure what you did,did you get back support they took? or are you just now getting your monthly support with out support kids taking there cut of 34%? by the way just to let you know ,support kids said they opened a case in texas for me so they could get the att.general of texas to send the child support check to supportkids...guess what? there is no case filed in texas,as D.A.s office here locally and i both called and found out..strange huh? out of the 15 or so companys that do the service of child suport like supportkids i would say at least 10 or more are in texas..hum? does the state hide these business?
and in looking, the ceo of the company was on prez bush's transition team when he took office..hum,so how far does this scam reach and who is getting there pockets lined with child support that is getting ripped off? meanwhile we the parents are getting the short end,as the D.A.s office doesnt want to do anything and it takes getting sentors and governor and others to lit a fire under there seats to get them to help. i am lucky to have a person in the D.A.s office that is helping me and that really is trying to help. As they where telling me prior that they where going to close my case and they cant get me a raise in child support or insurance for the kids as long as i have another agency in the picture..its like they are mad at us for looking for help to collect the child support because federal program isnt working..we get told there is 200 cases our case worker has and guess what?we are just 1 of the 200..so in other words they are over worked and dont have the man power to trace down dead beat parents. so dont give up hope..i am a jewish mom, i believe in faith and god,good people as well. and i will not let these people rip off my boys..its been 5 months but its coming to a end..keep in touch
Kimberly
Doylestown,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
How I stopped being ripped-off by Supportkids
#11Consumer Suggestion
Tue, August 17, 2004
I completely understand your frustration with these people. They are very rude on the phone and they never refer your calls to the supervisor.
The supervisors name is Yvonne Johnson.
I finally got her name when I wrote to the attorney general in Texas, I got his name from the internet. The BBB was no help at all but at least the more complaints they receive the better it will be for you when and if you go to court.
Write to the BBB of Austin Texas. I wrote the rip-off report thats from Pa.
Like I wrote I had to send certified copies of my court dates that accured before supportkids became involved, once they were involved it was like a black mark on my credit because the court would not deal with me at all. The D.A. in my town told me all of these support collectors are a big rip-off. He said everything they do your court can do for free and they have much more resources.I am taking legal action against them. the more people that come forward the better.Please send me a rebutal as I know your pain and frustration.
I want you to know that S.kids considers all money back support, that is why they get away with taking your current support money. I called them once and asked them why there was no back balance and they were still taking my money, and that was what they told me. I even saved the phone records of all my calls, which I sent them copies of.
I have gone after them to try and retreive my money but they do not even respond. I am after the 6,770.32, which is the 35% they kept over two years. I finally was ready to fly to Texas I swear, but thankfully my persistance paid off and they are no longer stealing from me.
Wanda
Hawthorne,Nevada,
U.S.A.
need to know if your still getting ripped off by supportkids
#11Consumer Suggestion
Sat, July 31, 2004
i need to know if your still getting you chikld support checks taken by support kids? i am looking for other parents like me who have been ripped off...contact me via [DELETED]
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