CONSUMER NEWS    RECALLS    COMPLAINT FORM    SCAM ALERTS  


Complain about a product or service

Small Claims Guide | Class Actions | Lemon Law | FAQ | Resources | Newsletters | Spanish
Automotive    Education    Electronics    Family    Finance    Health    Homeowners    Shopping    Travel   
NEWS   Latest |  Archives |  Auto |  Cells, etc. |  Computers |  Financial |  Health |  Homeowners |  Parents |  Privacy |  Scams |  Seniors |  Travel

FTC Charges Express Consolidation Misleads Consumers



January 9, 2007

Credit Counseling
FTC Charges Home Buying Operation With Credit Repair Scheme
FTC Charges Express Consolidation Misleads Consumers
Debt Free Agrees to West Virginia Refunds
Ohio Sues "Credit Counselor" For Deceiving, Threatening Consumers
Debt Management Telemarketers Settle FTC Charges
FTC Shuts Down 20 "Credit Repair" Schemes
FTC Sues "Debt Elimination" Programs
AmeriDebt Founder Settles FTC Charges for $35 Million
IRS Plans to Yank Tax-Exempt Status of 20 Credit Counselors
IRS Revokes Tax-Exempt Status of Four Credit Counseling Agencies
Three Debt Management Firms Settle Federal Charges
AmeriDebt To Close as Part of FTC Settlement
Credit Counseling Riddled With Fast-Buck Promoters, Congress Finds
Credit Counselors Not Always What They Seem
Credit Counseling Scams On the Rise
Lenders Ratchet Down Payments to Credit Counselors ---

More about Credit Counseling

A nationwide debt consolidation business violated federal law by misleading and illegally telemarketing millions of consumers, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The company operates under the names Express Consolidation, Express Consolidation Inc., and Consumer Credit Consolidation Inc.

According to the FTC's complaint, the scheme, which bills itself as "America's Premier Debt Consolidation Company" is violating the FTC Act and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), led by a Florida attorney who is using a sham nonprofit company to violate telemarketing rules that exempt legitimate nonprofit entities.

According to the complaint, the defendants have violated the FTC Act and the TSR by falsely claiming:

• that they are a nonprofit entity;
•that the only cost for their services is a monthly administrative fee that is less than $49 and/or that there is no application fee;
•that their services will result in estimated savings of a specified amount, typically several thousand dollars; and
•that their services will reduce the consumer's monthly payment or total debt, or will improve their credit rating.

In fact, the complaint states, in addition to a monthly administrative fee, the defendants charge a fee equal to the monthly payment, which is collected from the consumer's first payment; they overstate the estimated savings, if any; their services do not necessarily reduce the consumer's monthly payment or total debt; and they do not provide any service to improve, or prevent deterioration of, a customer's credit record, history, or rating.

The complaint contends that the defendants also violated the TSR by failing to disclose the program's total costs, and by telling consumers that certain payments are refundable without disclosing all the limitations of the program's refund policy.

The defendants' other alleged TSR violations are calling telephone numbers listed on the Do Not Call Registry, calling consumers who have stated they do not wish to receive such calls from the defendants, failing to pay the fee to access the Registry, and "abandoning calls."

According to the complaint, the defendants have used computerized telemarketing services for "voice broadcasting," the delivery of recorded messages to telephone answering machines and voice mail services. The TSR requires that such calls answered by a person be connected to a live representative within two seconds.

This restriction on abandoning calls by hanging up or playing a recording when someone answers applies to calls selling goods or services, and calls for charitable contributions.

As noted in the complaint, one telemarketer the defendants used is The Broadcast Team (TBT). TBT was sued by the U. S. Department of Justice in December 2005 at the FTC's request for TSR violations. According to the complaint, TBT caused almost 11 million abandoned calls on the defendants' behalf.

Urging consumers to contact the defendants, one recorded message delivered to answering machines stated, "We are a nonprofit agency that can consolidate your credit cards, lower your monthly payments dramatically, and reduce your interest rates down to as low as 1.5 percent."

The defendants also use mail and Web sites -- www.expressconsolidation.org and www.expressconsolidation.com -- to get consumers to contact them, the complaint alleges. Once consumers provide information about their debts, defendants' agents give consumers a specific monthly payment they would have to make to cover payments to creditors and the program's fee. These total monthly payments are typically several hundred dollars.

Besides the companies, the defendants include attorney Randall L. Leshin, Randall L. Leshin, P.A., and Maureen A. Gaviola.



Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.


Consumer News

September 5 2008

Recent Recalls & Safety Alerts



FREE CONSUMER NEWSLETTERS

The Daily Consumer
Afternoons M-F

Sign up now!


Consumer News & Alerts
Every Sunday

Sign up now!


Knowledge is free.
Knowledge is power.



Back to the top |

Advertisement


Home | Complaint Form | News | Recalls | FAQ |
Consumer Resources | Small Claims Guide | Lemon Law | Newsletter | Contact Us
Advertise With Us | Testimonials | Newsroom | RSS Feeds |


Terms of Use Your use of this site constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use

Advertisements on this site are placed and controlled by outside advertising networks. ConsumerAffairs.com does not evaluate or endorse the products and services advertised. See the FAQ for more information.

Company Response Welcome If complaints about your company appear on our site, we welcome your response. Please see the Response Form for more information.

For more information, see the FAQ and privacy policy. The information on this Web site is general in nature and is not intended as a substitute for competent legal advice.  ConsumerAffairs.com Inc. makes no representation as to the accuracy of the information herein provided and assumes no liability for any damages or loss arising from the use thereof. 

Copyright © 2003-2008 ConsumerAffairs.com Inc.  All Rights Reserved.    The contents of this site may not be republished, reprinted, rewritten or recirculated without written permission.