Complaint Review: Elite Financial Solutions - Ft Lauderdale Illinois

I received a call from one of their consultants asking me if I had any credit card debt, Hospital debt, or utlility debt. I said yes and he asked me how much I owed which I told him approx. $19k. He told me that he was a debt settlement agent and that he can get that debt down to $8k. He then asked me how much I could afford each month to pay towards the $8K and I told him i was out of work for a year and a half and that I just got a job offer to start towardsd the end of October and I think I can manage $300.

Then he asked if I would be able to make a $500 payment. I tolk him I was unsure and that I probably couldn't make payments until December. He said that was fine. I was stupid enough to give him my Bank Acct info so they can debit my account for the monthly payments. He didn't mention it was to pay for the fees they charge. I put them out of my mind through November and part of December when was shocked that they took $509 out of my account.

I immediately called the bank and asked if they could put the payment on hold until I find out who the comapny was that took money out of my checking account by calling the number on the transaction. Sure enough it was Elite Financial Solutions and he told me that I agreed to start making the payments in Dec. and then I asked him what the status was on settling my debts with the companies I gave him name of that I owed. He said they are working on it. I told him that he was suppose to call me before I made payments to make sure they were in communications with the creditors.

I then asked him the status of the settlements and he was reluctant in telling me. I told him this is how they handle things, then I want out. I want reimbursed for the $509 and I will take care of paying these off myself. He said it takes time. I told him 2 months have passed and I didn't hear from anyone. I still keep getting correcspondence from my creditors. Then he told me that the $509 was non-refundable. This made me mad and I asked why is it not refundable, it was my payment towards the $8k. He then told me that was the fee they charged and they are non-refundable.

I told him he wasn't honest in telling me that from the beginning and that I wish not to proceed. He started hollering at me and told me it was too late to get any of the money back that was taken out of my account without my approval. January came around and the same thing happened. I was just starting to get back on my feet paying on my defaulted mortgage, when I looked in my account because it was less than I expected and they withdrew another $509 from my account. I was furious because I told them back in Dec. that i wanted to cancel and not have my account debited anymore, that it was making it hard for me to pay my mortgage and other billes that have piled up.

This time I demanded they put the $509 back into my account and he said thay can't reverse it once it was taken out. I told him I cannot afford the payments and then he asked if I wanted them reduced. He then told me I can reduce them to 250 per month and I said whatever but I don't want to do it anymore. I was very persistant and so was I in telling him to cancel me. He kept at it and I finally hung up. Well, February went by without any payments taken. March was a different story. I noticed my accountwas short by about $240 and after looking at my account online, they took out $257.23 from my account without my approving anything.

I was furious at this point and when I called and talked to someone different, thay told me that it was ok to cancel and they did it while I was on the phone. I said I should be getting the 2 $509 payments and the $257. they said I was only getting the $257 becasue thay charged me the 2 $509 payments as their fee. I told them the agent that initially set this up didn't mention to me that the fiirst payments will be the fees they charge. If I would have known that, I would have not gone through with it because I didn't want to pay anything up front until they performed the service that they promised to do. Now I am out $1018 and they didn't do anything. It was free money for them.