Debt Zero

I have been involved with Debt Zero for almost two years. I can tell everyone to please do not use this company! Its initial representation of what they say they are going to do and what they actually do is so unbelievable. I lost my job due to an emergency surgery I had in 11-09, scared of what to do since our credit was always good, we had to make some fast decisions--either file bankruptcy or consolidate our loans. The sales person we spoke lied to us about the services and told us that the company is local in Sacramento. Should we need anything, we could drive to his office.

Our initial cost was high and in total, we had about $35,000 in debt, not so high. We were told of that $35,000 on average and we could get it down to about $15,000 to $12,000 on a settlement. We have paid for almost 2 years at $600 per month. We were served papers to appear in court and had to pay a high processing fee, that Debt Zero did not reimburse us for.

Every time I called to complain, the call center was in Costa Rica and I had a great deal of trouble understanding them. Each person had a different story. I have made so may complaints and we are knee-deep in paying them every month. We are hopeful to complete what they said they were contracted to do. I have debt settled accounts myself much quicker then they have and it did not cost me anything to do.

My biggest disappointment is that in the beginning, when it all sounded too good to be true, I referred several friends to them. They have all found the service and the promises to be misleading. I would like to seek information on obtaining all my fees back. I did speak to the legal department regarding my concerns and to tell you the truth, they were very helpful and advised me to complain to the proper channels.

Debt Zero has truly done nothing to relief me of my financial problems. They have taken more money from me than they have paid my creditors. This company is a rip-off. It is making a big profit off something you can do by yourself, and that has not paid your bills. The $75 maintenance fee they charge is crazy because they are not doing anything. I rate them a "zero", because they have done nothing and I've paid them $500 per month since June 2010. Debt rip off!

After paying $500.00 for 21 months, my wages were scheduled to be garnished. They stated they could help if I had another $10,000.00 to help them fight. I would not be seeking assistance if I had that type of money available.

This is my experience and my opinion. Debt Zero sales people told me they would talk to my creditors and explain what was going on, and keep them off my back. After paying $415 a month for a year, I still got calls from my creditors. Debt Zero said they won't talk to creditors until I have enough money to pay off a negotiated debt in my account.

They also charged $75 a month for the bank account to keep my money in (a big rip-off). They wrote three NSF checks in one year. I never missed a payment to them.

I ended up going to court three times being sued for collections because Debt Zero had not even talked to the creditors. I ended up negotiating and paying off two of my 6 creditors myself because I couldn't get the help I was paying for.

There's no money given back, of course. Then when Discover would not talk to me, Debt Zero did get a 20% debt reduction for me there. I had to borrow to pay them to stop wage garnishment.

The last payment to Citi by Debt Zero was to be paid by September. Debt Zero people told me it was paid and as the last payment had been made. I then cancelled my contract with them. In November, I received a call from Citi saying I still owed another payment because they had received the three NSF checks and still had one to be made up. I checked and found out they were still taking out $75.00 per month for the checking account. I asked for the September and October $150.00 deductions to be returned but they refused.

God bless you and try somewhere else for help.

I wanted to get my bills reduced. I was led to believe they were a debt consolidation company. They deducted over $500 to start paying creditors. When I noticed nothing is happening, I called them to investigate. They advise me they were a debt settlement company and I would need to add to the amount so they could negotiate with my creditors. Meanwhile, I am getting collection calls from my creditors. I asked for a refund and they advised me that the money was for startup fees and they would only give me a courtesy 10% back. It doesn't make sense that a company that is supposed to help alleviate debt made my debt worse by making me $500 short and making me behind in my bills. Do not use this company.

I submitted $1200 over two months to start a consumer debt consolidation but found out that it was a settlement plan not a consolidation. Therefore, I asked for my refund. They sent me $132 of the $1200. When I responded to reconsider the refund, I have not heard back. Approximately $1100 of processing fees seems absorbent. They should have kept the $132 for processing and return the rest. I want my money returned.

I was an unemployed educator for the summer and thought this would be a solution. $1200 could have been used in a better way and I thought I was reducing my debt in a timely process. Debt Zero doesn't make immediate payments to the creditors they want until you're bankrupt or when collection process is started by the creditor. Therefore, they are putting me in a more disadvantageous position in Fico scores.

I needed help quickly because I had a company breathing down my neck with the threat of a lawsuit. They guaranteed we could get started right away. My creditors continued hounding me three months into the consolidation process. They hadn't heard from any debt settlement company. When I asked Debt Zero about this, they said I should not be telling people I'm using their company, and that they need to have a substantial amount contributed to my 'account' before they could do anything. Needless to say, by then I was already served papers for the lawsuit. I demanded a refund, but only got a partial one.