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Complaint Review: CCS - Consumer Credit Service - First National Card - First National Credit - Las Vegas Nevada
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CCS - Consumer Credit Service - First National Card - First National Credit
PO Box 17800 Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas, 89114-7800 Nevada, U.S.A.
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800-7171278
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CCS Consumer Credit Service, First National Card - First National Credit ripoff scam deceptive fraudulent crooked BAD BEWARE SCAM Las Vegas Nevada
SINCE March of 2001, filed on this website Rip-off Report
Over 890 Rip-off Reports filed on CCS
Over 110 filed here under the name Consumer Credit Service
Over 695 Reports filed here using the name First National Card
Over 1,470 complaints under the name First National Credit filed on this website Rip-off Report.
Rip-off Report has been after the Nevada authorities since March of 2001 about this company with their many different names. More than likely they will only get a slap on the wrist when the authorities decide to do something...
Read below the article that was written by LAS VEGAS SUN in Nevada...
June 08, 2004
A few firms draw hefty share of complaints
Better Business Bureau asks why companies aren't shut down
By Michelle Swafford
LAS VEGAS SUN
Hundreds of consumer complaints have piled up over the past three years with the Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada involving just a handful of companies, leading the bureau to ask why regulators don't shut them down.
There is no simple answer, state regulators say.
"People think if something doesn't get shut down, we aren't doing our jobs," said Kathleen Delaney, deputy attorney general with the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the attorney general's office.
She said businesses cannot be shut down until there is evidence that they are fraudulent.
"It's essentially the same as innocent until proven guilty," Delaney said.
There are several government agencies and consumer advocacy groups such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) that accept complaints against companies, but they have different roles and limited authority over businesses, making it difficult to stop allegedly deceptive practices.
The local BBB -- a membership organization for businesses that is often associated with holding members to ethical standards -- has received more than 600 complaints each on these non-member companies: American Values and its affiliates, Capital Credit Alliance Inc., Consumer Credit Services Inc., National Audit Defense Network Inc. and Source One Credit Solutions and its affiliates.
The companies have an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB because "they showed a pattern of the same kind of consumer dissatisfaction or didn't answer complaints," bureau President and Chief Executive Sylvia Campbell said.
She works with other states' governments to hold the businesses accountable since they often operate in other states, Campbell said.
"I talked to the media and talked to consumer advocacy groups in other locales since I couldn't get anything done here," Campbell said. "I've tried to take it to interested parties; whoever is interested in the fact that their consumers are being ripped off."
Nevada Consumer Affairs Division
The Nevada Consumer Affairs Division, an agency within the Department of Business and Industry, is a regulatory agency that accepts complaints and works to resolve consumer concerns through mediation. It has had complaints against many of the same companies as the BBB, but state law restricts it from reporting more than one year's worth of complaints. Thus, it is unknown whether the government agency has received as many complaints as the BBB.
Consumer Affairs reported it has received between 1 and 83 complaints for the companies that the BBB has numerous complaints against.
"We are a regulatory agency," Consumer Affairs Commissioner Patricia Morse Jarman said. "We have to establish that a pattern of deceptive trade is being committed."
"We look into every complaint to see if it falls into our authority," she said.
If a business is accused of engaging in deceptive practices, the business is sent a copy of the complaint and has 20 days to respond in writing, Morse Jarman said.
"Many times what is presented to us (in the complaint) is not the way it really is," she said.
If a business does not respond to the complaint, a follow-up letter is mailed and if there is still no response, then the company's records can be subpoenaed, Morse Jarman said.
Consumers and companies can agree to mediate the complaint in lieu of small claims court, but it's voluntary for the business to agree and only about half do so, Morse Jarman said.
Nevada attorney general's office
"It's up to the Consumer Affairs Division to make a determination if they're getting a substantial number of complaints about a business or business practice to refer that to us," said Tim Hay, Nevada's consumer advocate who works in the attorney general's office. "If they get a handful of complaints involving deceptive trade practices, specific abuses, they refer them to us."
Some of the complaints the BBB receives are more customer satisfaction issues rather than deceptive trade practices, Hay said.
"Even though they (the BBB) don't have enforcement authority, it's a valuable source for consumers," he said.
The attorney general's office can ask businesses that are engaging in misleading practices, such as not disclosing terms in an advertisement, to enter into an agreement whereby the company doesn't admit wrongdoing but pays a fine and agrees to comply with the regulations, Hay said.
If the company continues the deceptive practice after entering into the agreement, Clark County District Court could require them to comply through a court order, Hay said.
The attorney general's office cannot always elaborate on investigations, but occasionally sends out consumer alerts to describe practices that consumers may want to be aware of, Hay said.
Deputy Attorney General Delaney said Nevada regulators might not file charges against Nevada businesses, but that doesn't mean nothing is being done.
"First and foremost there are a number of government agencies that are dealing with consumer fraud cases," she said. "Just because the state may not be actively pursuing these cases does not mean the state is not supporting the efforts."
When another government agency is pursuing a case against a Nevada company, Nevada regulators assist by sharing documents and information instead of duplicating the investigation, Delaney said.
"The state has directly brought its own enforcement action, is currently bringing its own enforcement action or is supporting the efforts of another government agency to bring an enforcement action to these (five) companies (or affiliates identified by the BBB)," said Delaney, referring to the handful of companies the BBB has numerous complaints against.
American Values
Several of the companies with numerous complaints with the Better Business Bureau are affiliated with one person and his company, American Values. It has racked up 847 complaints with the BBB since May 2001, 338 of which were resolved because the company responded or the consumer dropped the complaint, Campbell said.
The company also operates as Continuity Partners Inc., Blitz Media Inc., UTalk Unlimited LLC, CPI, Wellnet and Washballs. Continuity Partners and Blitz Media have a business license with the city of Las Vegas and UTalk Unlimited did, but is now listed as out of business. Continuity, Blitz Media and UTalk have Nevada incorporation papers listing Brian MacGregor as the owner. MacGregor couldn't be reached for comment.
The Birmingham, Ala., field office of the U.S. Secret Service is investigating one or more of the MacGregor companies as part of a larger probe, said Chris Murphy, special agent-in-charge for that Secret Service office. The Secret Service is responsible for investigating a variety of financial crimes involving counterfeiting, computer and telecommunications fraud, money laundering and electronic funds transfers.
The Alabama investigation is phase two of a multimillion-dollar case, Murphy said.
In the first phase, the Secret Service investigated and gained indictments against two men who were involved with processing credit card payments from telemarketing companies, which tend to be high-risk transactions because of the rate of customer returns, Murphy said.
Phillip Arcand, a middleman broker who worked with telemarketing companies to process their credit card payments, and Jean Pierre Harper, a former Compass Bank employee who accepted money to process the high-risk card payments, pleaded guilty in Alabama to conspiracy to defraud. Both men were sentenced to federal prison and fined several million dollars, Murphy said.
"We're now pursing the actual companies that Arcand brought to the table," Murphy said. "Their credit card purchases were ultimately processed through Compass at that time."
On May 19 Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller barred Continuity Partners and its affiliates from doing business in the state and is requiring refunds of any Iowan who requests one. Miller said customers were offered $200 worth of gasoline coupons in exchange for a debit of $1.95 for shipping and handling from their bank accounts. Customers told Miller's office they received unauthorized charges against their bank accounts following the initial solicitation and had trouble getting refunds.
Abilene, Texas, resident Lisa Gonzales signed up in February for a $1.95 trial membership with Wellnet, an affiliate of Continuity Partners, that was supposed to provide her with hundreds of dollars worth of free gas coupons.
"Unfortunately, I gave them my checking account number for them to take that out," Gonzales said. "I didn't realize I had signed up for two or three others. They had $1.95 taken out three times. They have a recording and it's so quick you don't understand what you're saying yes and no to."
She said she called the customer service number within the trial period and told them she wasn't interested in any of Wellnet's products and not to debit her bank account anymore. Shortly after Gonzales called to cancel the services, she said her checking account had $139 and $124.90 debited by UTalk Unlimited. The first week of May, Gonzales received a check from UTalk for the charges she says she never authorized, but she is still awaiting a second refund check for other charges associated with the initial solicitation.
"They made it sound like I would have to call one number (to cancel)," Gonzales said. "(Customer service representatives say) if you're not interested just call this 800-number and they'll cancel all your orders. So, that's what I did, and they didn't."
Gonzales is among the consumers who filed a complaint against American Values with the BBB of Southern Nevada.
One of the reasons the BBB may receive more complaints than government regulators is because it's better known to consumers and has an online complaint form, BBB Chief Executive Campbell said.
"We try to make it easy, which I think other agencies don't do," she said.
She said the BBB asks consumers to also file a complaint with the Nevada Consumer Affairs Division since it has regulatory power. Campbell said she also contacts the Nevada Consumer Affairs Division, the Nevada attorney general and other federal and state government officials when a company has a lot of complaints or is engaging in what might be illegal or deceptive practices.
Consumer Credit and Capital Alliance
Another Las Vegas-based company with numerous consumer complaints is Consumer Credit Services Inc., which has 743 unresolved BBB complaints and 157 resolved ones for the past three years, Campbell said. The company also operates as CCS and First National Credit Card. Its sister company, Capital Credit Alliance Inc., has 902 complaints with the BBB, 146 of which were resolved, Campbell said.
"On the surface it looks horrible," Consumer Credit President Eric Peterson said. "There have been some problems, and we've taken corrective measures to minimize it."
He said the number of complaints is negligible given that more than 400,000 members with bad credit have signed up for the company's credit card and catalog during the three-year complaint period and 55 percent of them renew annually.
"We have a market where the people don't pay their bills," Peterson said. "We market to the sub-prime market and in lieu of them paying their bills they file a complaint."
Peterson said some of his customers contact the BBB instead of calling the company to rectify their concerns.
Consumer Credit Services, which is not affiliated with nationally known Consumer Credit Counseling Services, provides a credit card for catalog purchases to people with lower credit scores to help them improve their credit ratings, Peterson said.
Once consumers are solicited they can sign up for an eight to 14-day free trial to look at the credit card disclosure and a flier about the product catalog, Peterson said.
If consumers do not cancel by the end of the free period, $199.99 is debited from their bank account for a one-time membership activation fee to be able to shop from the catalog. Most consumers, if they elect to, also receive a no-interest $8,500 credit card that can be used for catalog purchases. The membership fee is offset with a $200 catalog merchandise credit. The catalog offers name-brand electronics, home furnishings, appliances, toys, clothing and furniture.
Cardholders are also charged a $99 annual fee, which is charged to the merchant credit card. Cardholders receive a $100 merchandise credit to offset that fee, Consumer Credit says.
There are two optional benefits that are $99.99 each and are automatic unless canceled. The first is a "security guard," which waives the balance on items that are stolen within 30 days of purchase or if the cardholder dies. The second benefit defers the card balance for six months if the cardholder becomes involuntarily unemployed or permanently disabled.
Consumer Credit and Capital Credit solicit in 40 states -- but not Nevada.
Peterson said Nevada consumers are not included because he didn't want to have to deal with state sales tax and he doesn't want consumers showing up at his office wanting to see the catalog products, which are shipped directly from out-of-state distributors.
Tampa, Fla., resident Dan McBride said he received a credit card offer from Consumer Credit in November and he agreed to pay the membership fee to build his credit.
McBride said he didn't realize the card was limited to Consumer Credit's catalog purchases but decided to try it since the catalog had some nice items.
He said he was shocked when his checking account was debited twice for $99 for the credit protection programs.
"There's no way I would agree to this," McBride said. "I never would agree to pay $99. I work for a financial company."
When McBride had the debits reversed from his checking account, the company added the charges to his credit balance.
"I'd had the card four months and ran up $536 in charges on a card I'd never used," he said, referring to the company's fees.
McBride filed a complaint with the BBB and the company refunded his application fee and closed his credit account. He said he doesn't believe Consumer Credit would have refunded his money had he not filed a complaint with the BBB.
Peterson said the company refunds the membership fees to all consumers who file a complaint whether it is with the BBB, their attorney general or other government agencies.
"We respond to every complaint," Peterson said. "That's where the Better Business Bureau is wrong. If they make an agency complaint, every member gets a refund."
He said the BBB's unresolved complaints against his company are either being processed or haven't been sent to the company yet to respond.
Peterson said he and his Washington, D.C., attorney plan to meet with Campbell and other BBB staff to resolve the consumer complaints.
In 1999 Consumer Credit agreed to settle state and Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The settlement prohibits the company from engaging in the alleged deceptive trade practices, which included misrepresenting the products and services it offers.
The settlement also requires the company to comply with Nevada registration and bonding requirements. Consumer Credit agreed to pay a $5,000 fine to the state to be used for consumer protection initiatives but did not admit any wrongdoing. The company is continually monitored by the FTC as part of the settlement agreement.
"The government said the (credit card) disclosures were unclear," Peterson said.
Capital Credit, which operates exactly like Consumer Credit, is wholly owned by William Shane Kelly. The companies split their customer solicitation lists and share a fulfillment center.
In 2000 Capital Credit settled with the Federal Trade Commission, when it operated as Consumer Money Markets Inc. and Continental Direct Services Inc., on charges that it violated the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Truth in Lending Act by allegedly misrepresenting its company and products to customers.
As part of the settlement, Kelly was required to pay a fine of $150,000 and post $500,000 worth of permanent bonds to be able to continue operating his business, but he admitted no wrongdoing. Continental Direct was also required to write off more than $1.6 million worth of consumer debts it inherited and pay $100,000 in fines. The FTC continually monitors the company as part of the settlement agreement.
Consumer Credit Services and Capital Credit Alliance have taken some steps to improve their business and customer relations since consumer complaints started accumulating, Peterson said.
An internal complaint log is analyzed to look for complaint patterns, and some of the changes include adding telephone operators to minimize the time spent on hold for incoming calls and using scripts to make sure consumers are informed of credit card disclosures, Peterson said.
"If we see some administration solutions we can employ, we do," he said.
Source One Credit Solutions
Source One Credit Solutions is also accumulating numerous complaints with 604 at the BBB over three years, 302 of which are closed but were not necessarily resolved to the consumers' or bureau's satisfaction, Campbell said.
The company does not appear to have a local business license and operates under several aliases including Credit Education Group, CEG, First Choice, Dynamic Credit Services, Shipper IMS and Vision Credit Group.
The BBB does not know who owns the business, and addresses provided by consumers are post office boxes in Las Vegas and Boca Raton, Fla. The Ripoff Report, a Web site that allows consumers to complain about companies that allegedly ripped them off, says this company offers consumers Visa and MasterCard credit cards with high limits and a credit repair service in exchange for paying nearly $300 from a checking account.
Consumers on the Web site allege they never received the information they were supposed to receive to repair their credit after having $300 debited from their checking accounts. They also allege the company is unreachable by telephone. The customer service telephone numbers listed by consumers are out of service.
National Audit Defense Network
One company closed on May 26 after mounting lawsuits tied to several government investigations about its trade practices. National Audit Defense Network Inc. claimed to sell tax and audit services and had more than 1,000 complaints with the BBB and the Consumer Affairs Division and was being sued by the Federal Trade Commission and the Nevada attorney general's office for allegedly failing to uphold a money-back guarantee.
In April the Internal Revenue Service filed for a temporary restraining order against National Audit Defense for allegedly running a tax scam and filing false federal income tax returns for customers.
The company was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and, after closing, filed to convert its bankruptcy to a liquidation.
National Audit Defense President Weston Coolidge said in a Sun story May 28 that the decision to close the company was not related to a single event and that the state and federal allegations were unfair.
"We have been totally harassed," he told the Sun. "If they don't like what you are doing they harass you until you go out of business."
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All contents ? 1996 - 2006 Las Vegas Sun, Inc.
Katie
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Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on CCS Credit Service Division aka First National Credit
CLICK HERE to read about Credit Card Scams... find out how to get your money back. Consumer makes harsh but accurate statements. *Rip-off Report Investigation follow-up provides valuable information.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on First National Credit
CLICK HERE to read about Credit Card Scams... find out how to get your money back. Consumer makes harsh but accurate statements. *Rip-off Report Investigation follow-up provides valuable information.
Over 890 Rip-off Reports filed on CCS
Over 110 filed here under the name Consumer Credit Service
Over 695 Reports filed here using the name First National Card
Over 1,470 complaints under the name First National Credit filed on this website Rip-off Report.
Rip-off Report has been after the Nevada authorities since March of 2001 about this company with their many different names. More than likely they will only get a slap on the wrist when the authorities decide to do something...
Read below the article that was written by LAS VEGAS SUN in Nevada...
June 08, 2004
A few firms draw hefty share of complaints
Better Business Bureau asks why companies aren't shut down
By Michelle Swafford
LAS VEGAS SUN
Hundreds of consumer complaints have piled up over the past three years with the Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada involving just a handful of companies, leading the bureau to ask why regulators don't shut them down.
There is no simple answer, state regulators say.
"People think if something doesn't get shut down, we aren't doing our jobs," said Kathleen Delaney, deputy attorney general with the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the attorney general's office.
She said businesses cannot be shut down until there is evidence that they are fraudulent.
"It's essentially the same as innocent until proven guilty," Delaney said.
There are several government agencies and consumer advocacy groups such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) that accept complaints against companies, but they have different roles and limited authority over businesses, making it difficult to stop allegedly deceptive practices.
The local BBB -- a membership organization for businesses that is often associated with holding members to ethical standards -- has received more than 600 complaints each on these non-member companies: American Values and its affiliates, Capital Credit Alliance Inc., Consumer Credit Services Inc., National Audit Defense Network Inc. and Source One Credit Solutions and its affiliates.
The companies have an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB because "they showed a pattern of the same kind of consumer dissatisfaction or didn't answer complaints," bureau President and Chief Executive Sylvia Campbell said.
She works with other states' governments to hold the businesses accountable since they often operate in other states, Campbell said.
"I talked to the media and talked to consumer advocacy groups in other locales since I couldn't get anything done here," Campbell said. "I've tried to take it to interested parties; whoever is interested in the fact that their consumers are being ripped off."
Nevada Consumer Affairs Division
The Nevada Consumer Affairs Division, an agency within the Department of Business and Industry, is a regulatory agency that accepts complaints and works to resolve consumer concerns through mediation. It has had complaints against many of the same companies as the BBB, but state law restricts it from reporting more than one year's worth of complaints. Thus, it is unknown whether the government agency has received as many complaints as the BBB.
Consumer Affairs reported it has received between 1 and 83 complaints for the companies that the BBB has numerous complaints against.
"We are a regulatory agency," Consumer Affairs Commissioner Patricia Morse Jarman said. "We have to establish that a pattern of deceptive trade is being committed."
"We look into every complaint to see if it falls into our authority," she said.
If a business is accused of engaging in deceptive practices, the business is sent a copy of the complaint and has 20 days to respond in writing, Morse Jarman said.
"Many times what is presented to us (in the complaint) is not the way it really is," she said.
If a business does not respond to the complaint, a follow-up letter is mailed and if there is still no response, then the company's records can be subpoenaed, Morse Jarman said.
Consumers and companies can agree to mediate the complaint in lieu of small claims court, but it's voluntary for the business to agree and only about half do so, Morse Jarman said.
Nevada attorney general's office
"It's up to the Consumer Affairs Division to make a determination if they're getting a substantial number of complaints about a business or business practice to refer that to us," said Tim Hay, Nevada's consumer advocate who works in the attorney general's office. "If they get a handful of complaints involving deceptive trade practices, specific abuses, they refer them to us."
Some of the complaints the BBB receives are more customer satisfaction issues rather than deceptive trade practices, Hay said.
"Even though they (the BBB) don't have enforcement authority, it's a valuable source for consumers," he said.
The attorney general's office can ask businesses that are engaging in misleading practices, such as not disclosing terms in an advertisement, to enter into an agreement whereby the company doesn't admit wrongdoing but pays a fine and agrees to comply with the regulations, Hay said.
If the company continues the deceptive practice after entering into the agreement, Clark County District Court could require them to comply through a court order, Hay said.
The attorney general's office cannot always elaborate on investigations, but occasionally sends out consumer alerts to describe practices that consumers may want to be aware of, Hay said.
Deputy Attorney General Delaney said Nevada regulators might not file charges against Nevada businesses, but that doesn't mean nothing is being done.
"First and foremost there are a number of government agencies that are dealing with consumer fraud cases," she said. "Just because the state may not be actively pursuing these cases does not mean the state is not supporting the efforts."
When another government agency is pursuing a case against a Nevada company, Nevada regulators assist by sharing documents and information instead of duplicating the investigation, Delaney said.
"The state has directly brought its own enforcement action, is currently bringing its own enforcement action or is supporting the efforts of another government agency to bring an enforcement action to these (five) companies (or affiliates identified by the BBB)," said Delaney, referring to the handful of companies the BBB has numerous complaints against.
American Values
Several of the companies with numerous complaints with the Better Business Bureau are affiliated with one person and his company, American Values. It has racked up 847 complaints with the BBB since May 2001, 338 of which were resolved because the company responded or the consumer dropped the complaint, Campbell said.
The company also operates as Continuity Partners Inc., Blitz Media Inc., UTalk Unlimited LLC, CPI, Wellnet and Washballs. Continuity Partners and Blitz Media have a business license with the city of Las Vegas and UTalk Unlimited did, but is now listed as out of business. Continuity, Blitz Media and UTalk have Nevada incorporation papers listing Brian MacGregor as the owner. MacGregor couldn't be reached for comment.
The Birmingham, Ala., field office of the U.S. Secret Service is investigating one or more of the MacGregor companies as part of a larger probe, said Chris Murphy, special agent-in-charge for that Secret Service office. The Secret Service is responsible for investigating a variety of financial crimes involving counterfeiting, computer and telecommunications fraud, money laundering and electronic funds transfers.
The Alabama investigation is phase two of a multimillion-dollar case, Murphy said.
In the first phase, the Secret Service investigated and gained indictments against two men who were involved with processing credit card payments from telemarketing companies, which tend to be high-risk transactions because of the rate of customer returns, Murphy said.
Phillip Arcand, a middleman broker who worked with telemarketing companies to process their credit card payments, and Jean Pierre Harper, a former Compass Bank employee who accepted money to process the high-risk card payments, pleaded guilty in Alabama to conspiracy to defraud. Both men were sentenced to federal prison and fined several million dollars, Murphy said.
"We're now pursing the actual companies that Arcand brought to the table," Murphy said. "Their credit card purchases were ultimately processed through Compass at that time."
On May 19 Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller barred Continuity Partners and its affiliates from doing business in the state and is requiring refunds of any Iowan who requests one. Miller said customers were offered $200 worth of gasoline coupons in exchange for a debit of $1.95 for shipping and handling from their bank accounts. Customers told Miller's office they received unauthorized charges against their bank accounts following the initial solicitation and had trouble getting refunds.
Abilene, Texas, resident Lisa Gonzales signed up in February for a $1.95 trial membership with Wellnet, an affiliate of Continuity Partners, that was supposed to provide her with hundreds of dollars worth of free gas coupons.
"Unfortunately, I gave them my checking account number for them to take that out," Gonzales said. "I didn't realize I had signed up for two or three others. They had $1.95 taken out three times. They have a recording and it's so quick you don't understand what you're saying yes and no to."
She said she called the customer service number within the trial period and told them she wasn't interested in any of Wellnet's products and not to debit her bank account anymore. Shortly after Gonzales called to cancel the services, she said her checking account had $139 and $124.90 debited by UTalk Unlimited. The first week of May, Gonzales received a check from UTalk for the charges she says she never authorized, but she is still awaiting a second refund check for other charges associated with the initial solicitation.
"They made it sound like I would have to call one number (to cancel)," Gonzales said. "(Customer service representatives say) if you're not interested just call this 800-number and they'll cancel all your orders. So, that's what I did, and they didn't."
Gonzales is among the consumers who filed a complaint against American Values with the BBB of Southern Nevada.
One of the reasons the BBB may receive more complaints than government regulators is because it's better known to consumers and has an online complaint form, BBB Chief Executive Campbell said.
"We try to make it easy, which I think other agencies don't do," she said.
She said the BBB asks consumers to also file a complaint with the Nevada Consumer Affairs Division since it has regulatory power. Campbell said she also contacts the Nevada Consumer Affairs Division, the Nevada attorney general and other federal and state government officials when a company has a lot of complaints or is engaging in what might be illegal or deceptive practices.
Consumer Credit and Capital Alliance
Another Las Vegas-based company with numerous consumer complaints is Consumer Credit Services Inc., which has 743 unresolved BBB complaints and 157 resolved ones for the past three years, Campbell said. The company also operates as CCS and First National Credit Card. Its sister company, Capital Credit Alliance Inc., has 902 complaints with the BBB, 146 of which were resolved, Campbell said.
"On the surface it looks horrible," Consumer Credit President Eric Peterson said. "There have been some problems, and we've taken corrective measures to minimize it."
He said the number of complaints is negligible given that more than 400,000 members with bad credit have signed up for the company's credit card and catalog during the three-year complaint period and 55 percent of them renew annually.
"We have a market where the people don't pay their bills," Peterson said. "We market to the sub-prime market and in lieu of them paying their bills they file a complaint."
Peterson said some of his customers contact the BBB instead of calling the company to rectify their concerns.
Consumer Credit Services, which is not affiliated with nationally known Consumer Credit Counseling Services, provides a credit card for catalog purchases to people with lower credit scores to help them improve their credit ratings, Peterson said.
Once consumers are solicited they can sign up for an eight to 14-day free trial to look at the credit card disclosure and a flier about the product catalog, Peterson said.
If consumers do not cancel by the end of the free period, $199.99 is debited from their bank account for a one-time membership activation fee to be able to shop from the catalog. Most consumers, if they elect to, also receive a no-interest $8,500 credit card that can be used for catalog purchases. The membership fee is offset with a $200 catalog merchandise credit. The catalog offers name-brand electronics, home furnishings, appliances, toys, clothing and furniture.
Cardholders are also charged a $99 annual fee, which is charged to the merchant credit card. Cardholders receive a $100 merchandise credit to offset that fee, Consumer Credit says.
There are two optional benefits that are $99.99 each and are automatic unless canceled. The first is a "security guard," which waives the balance on items that are stolen within 30 days of purchase or if the cardholder dies. The second benefit defers the card balance for six months if the cardholder becomes involuntarily unemployed or permanently disabled.
Consumer Credit and Capital Credit solicit in 40 states -- but not Nevada.
Peterson said Nevada consumers are not included because he didn't want to have to deal with state sales tax and he doesn't want consumers showing up at his office wanting to see the catalog products, which are shipped directly from out-of-state distributors.
Tampa, Fla., resident Dan McBride said he received a credit card offer from Consumer Credit in November and he agreed to pay the membership fee to build his credit.
McBride said he didn't realize the card was limited to Consumer Credit's catalog purchases but decided to try it since the catalog had some nice items.
He said he was shocked when his checking account was debited twice for $99 for the credit protection programs.
"There's no way I would agree to this," McBride said. "I never would agree to pay $99. I work for a financial company."
When McBride had the debits reversed from his checking account, the company added the charges to his credit balance.
"I'd had the card four months and ran up $536 in charges on a card I'd never used," he said, referring to the company's fees.
McBride filed a complaint with the BBB and the company refunded his application fee and closed his credit account. He said he doesn't believe Consumer Credit would have refunded his money had he not filed a complaint with the BBB.
Peterson said the company refunds the membership fees to all consumers who file a complaint whether it is with the BBB, their attorney general or other government agencies.
"We respond to every complaint," Peterson said. "That's where the Better Business Bureau is wrong. If they make an agency complaint, every member gets a refund."
He said the BBB's unresolved complaints against his company are either being processed or haven't been sent to the company yet to respond.
Peterson said he and his Washington, D.C., attorney plan to meet with Campbell and other BBB staff to resolve the consumer complaints.
In 1999 Consumer Credit agreed to settle state and Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The settlement prohibits the company from engaging in the alleged deceptive trade practices, which included misrepresenting the products and services it offers.
The settlement also requires the company to comply with Nevada registration and bonding requirements. Consumer Credit agreed to pay a $5,000 fine to the state to be used for consumer protection initiatives but did not admit any wrongdoing. The company is continually monitored by the FTC as part of the settlement agreement.
"The government said the (credit card) disclosures were unclear," Peterson said.
Capital Credit, which operates exactly like Consumer Credit, is wholly owned by William Shane Kelly. The companies split their customer solicitation lists and share a fulfillment center.
In 2000 Capital Credit settled with the Federal Trade Commission, when it operated as Consumer Money Markets Inc. and Continental Direct Services Inc., on charges that it violated the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Truth in Lending Act by allegedly misrepresenting its company and products to customers.
As part of the settlement, Kelly was required to pay a fine of $150,000 and post $500,000 worth of permanent bonds to be able to continue operating his business, but he admitted no wrongdoing. Continental Direct was also required to write off more than $1.6 million worth of consumer debts it inherited and pay $100,000 in fines. The FTC continually monitors the company as part of the settlement agreement.
Consumer Credit Services and Capital Credit Alliance have taken some steps to improve their business and customer relations since consumer complaints started accumulating, Peterson said.
An internal complaint log is analyzed to look for complaint patterns, and some of the changes include adding telephone operators to minimize the time spent on hold for incoming calls and using scripts to make sure consumers are informed of credit card disclosures, Peterson said.
"If we see some administration solutions we can employ, we do," he said.
Source One Credit Solutions
Source One Credit Solutions is also accumulating numerous complaints with 604 at the BBB over three years, 302 of which are closed but were not necessarily resolved to the consumers' or bureau's satisfaction, Campbell said.
The company does not appear to have a local business license and operates under several aliases including Credit Education Group, CEG, First Choice, Dynamic Credit Services, Shipper IMS and Vision Credit Group.
The BBB does not know who owns the business, and addresses provided by consumers are post office boxes in Las Vegas and Boca Raton, Fla. The Ripoff Report, a Web site that allows consumers to complain about companies that allegedly ripped them off, says this company offers consumers Visa and MasterCard credit cards with high limits and a credit repair service in exchange for paying nearly $300 from a checking account.
Consumers on the Web site allege they never received the information they were supposed to receive to repair their credit after having $300 debited from their checking accounts. They also allege the company is unreachable by telephone. The customer service telephone numbers listed by consumers are out of service.
National Audit Defense Network
One company closed on May 26 after mounting lawsuits tied to several government investigations about its trade practices. National Audit Defense Network Inc. claimed to sell tax and audit services and had more than 1,000 complaints with the BBB and the Consumer Affairs Division and was being sued by the Federal Trade Commission and the Nevada attorney general's office for allegedly failing to uphold a money-back guarantee.
In April the Internal Revenue Service filed for a temporary restraining order against National Audit Defense for allegedly running a tax scam and filing false federal income tax returns for customers.
The company was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and, after closing, filed to convert its bankruptcy to a liquidation.
National Audit Defense President Weston Coolidge said in a Sun story May 28 that the decision to close the company was not related to a single event and that the state and federal allegations were unfair.
"We have been totally harassed," he told the Sun. "If they don't like what you are doing they harass you until you go out of business."
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Katie
Mandeville, Louisiana
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on CCS Credit Service Division aka First National Credit
CLICK HERE to read about Credit Card Scams... find out how to get your money back. Consumer makes harsh but accurate statements. *Rip-off Report Investigation follow-up provides valuable information.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on First National Credit
CLICK HERE to read about Credit Card Scams... find out how to get your money back. Consumer makes harsh but accurate statements. *Rip-off Report Investigation follow-up provides valuable information.
