fraud\scam or good service??

} I have paid $3100 in 3 months to Cockburn. This is their administration fee. Now, I am to pay them $1000 a month until I have pooled enough money for them to settle on each account I owe, one at a time. But Cockburn will take 17% of the total settlement number. What Cockburn did not tell me is that it was even possible for me to settle with the banks/credit card companies MYSELF ....

} ... Cockburn told me that my credit rating would be free and clear after all was said and done ...

This is a bad deal even when doing business eyes wide open. I'm sure there are critical disclosures in addition to the lopsided contract. I also believe that Silverthorn-Cockburn-Whoever prays that you don't read or comprehend what those disclosures say, that you fail to see unwanted consequences. Every "debt fixer" outfit I've seen plays hard with emotional appeals to distraught consumers, many of whom also entered their lender contracts with the same lack of understanding. (.... not that predatory lenders ever assisted their education without being forced to)

The Cockburns of the world turn a handsome profit on people already pre-qualified by one industry as ignorant, negligent, or underinformed. Clearly the "fixers" don't have a problem with welching on their own promises and making others they cannot keep -- such as magically cleaning up credit trade lines, which are shot to hell the day they go default and won't "improve" anything until they are deleted.

I've said it before and will some more: If your entire plan is to starve the lenders, paying some stranger to hoard money you need for rent and groceries is needless insanity. Cockburn will not come running with an umbrella when collection phone calls and creditor lawsuits are raining down. It does not have supernatural bargaining powers and it won't lift an eyebrow until paid fully in advance. By some accounts, it won't do anything for a person but keep trying to siphon more fees. Seriously, would you prepay a roofer or mechanic or pest controller to fix anything? Would you let them tinker and stall on the job for months while handing you excuses for *not working* on the problem? Hell, no, since any of them could leave a huge mess and run away, an outcome reported repeatedly by Cockburn's clients. If you begin a strategic default, you can and should, and inevitably will, manage the risks yourself.

For very good reasons, as I've also written before, US Federal law made the Cockburn business model impossible. Here it's illegal to charge upfront for debt "fixing". It's illegal to make empty promises regarding credit reporting. It's also illegal to make false testimonials a routine part of marketing and/or reputation salvage. S&L/Cockburn was shut out of the States and spun round to start hunting on fertile Canadian soil. The consumer abuse will continue until the Provinces all wise up and build fences to repel these coyotes.

What law firm did you deal with in Kitchener, Ont?

Wow! I am both stunned and much better informed by all that I have read here. I have sifted thru page by page reading everything everyone has had to say about Cockburn. I actually just spoke to them TODAY and they have emailed me the application so that we could "get started" but after what I have read today I am much more inclined to go about solving my debt issues in a much different manner! I would like to thank each and everyone one of you for your input. Some very enlightening while others were so ridiculous it made me laugh out loud! I am grateful for both the knowledge and the humour!

I just went to the BBB.org site and Cockburn and associates are not BBB accredited ....... That alone has got to mean something. Considering one of the reason is due to complaints...... Just saying : )

I am in a contract with Cockburn and have been so for just over 2 years.  To date, they have settled 1 account for me.  They keep asking for more money.  I have told them I am done with them.  Now, they say I owe them just over $600.00 in admin fees.  Funny, because on June 5, they sent me an account saying I owed them $135.00.  19 days later, and it is over $600.00??

My question to anyone who can answer:  If I put a stop payment on my bank account, can they still come after me?  They have told me that if I refuse to pay them their money, they are going to pull back all the money that has been sent on my behalf to one of my creditors.  We have since talked to that creditor who said that was BS.

You'd have to check with the bank on that one to be honest.

I'm not sure the bank would be able to answer that question, having worked at a bank for 5 years.

I am wondering if they have any rights to sue me for the money? I can't imagine that they do, but I wonder if anyone else has put a stop payment on their account, and what Cockburn did after that??

Oh this just gets better and better!

Yesterday they said it was $635.96 and today I owe them $876.76.  I emailed my customer service person back and told her it was total [***]

Hey Thomas,
Wondering if there has been any action regarding you talking to the RCMP and FBI?

I would just like to say that I dealt with Cockburn & Associates to help with my son's debt.  I was very sceptical and kept thinking "is this a scam" as it seemed too good to be true.  Yes you receive a lot of emails from them, yes you have to make monthly payments and for the first six months they take a large portion of your monthly payment towards their fee, which all lawyers do.  But in the end they do take care of your debt.
In my sons case we ended up making a deal with the collection agency and Cockburn & Associates gave him back all the money that was put into a trust fund for him each month.  This was done by them contacting us, not us contacting them, to get our money back.  So I do have to say that they at no time were dishonest with us and would advise anyone who needs help with their debt that if you cannot come to a decent arrangement with the collection agency, to talk to Cockburn & Associates without being scared of it being a scam.
My son is now out of debt and that would not have happened if we had not contacted Cockburn & Associates and followed their advise.

>> Yes you receive a lot of emails from them, <<

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) includes statements such as this:

* Every collector must send you a written “validation notice” telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don’t think you owe the money.   ["Written" means snailmailed ... not emailed or texted]

Source:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection

-------

Yet another shill .... reported.

} for the first six months they take a large portion of your monthly payment ... which all lawyers do

.... which is precisely the problem with this business model, and also its primary objective. Not "all lawyers" need to front-load their fees, and those who do in exchange for "credit repair" in the US violate federal law. The reasoning behind this restriction is not hard to comprehend. A fully prepaid debt "fixer" has no skin in the game, no incentive to fight for the goals a distressed consumer hired that person to meet.

Your own shill story upends itself when Sonny cuts his own discount deal while C&A sits and does the nothing it had planned to from the start. He could have bargained months sooner without letting a stranger hoard his money or give him flimsy "advise". I won't even touch the absurdity of having "come to a decent arrangement" with a debt collector before any thought or discussion of debt validation or illegal agency conduct.

If your son can buy his own way out of debt, he can afford his own internet access and post his own glowing and badly spelled testimonials. The "loving mother" routine isn't selling your credibility.

More I could critique, but not without repeating myself from three months ago.
https://800notes.com/forum/ta-44bff334d310726 ... 801559894778249

I have just filed a complaint with the Canadian Anti-fraud Call Centre regarding C&A.  Wondering if anyone else has either?  They were able to tell me that there are complaints going back to 2002 under a David Cockburn.  Any relation to Sheila, does anyone know?

They are not BBB accredited and their score is D+

Don't trust Solverthorn Offices.
They advise you to stop answering your banks. They get you when you are at your weakest. Christa will start by convincing anyone that they are legit. Then a generic lawyer/customer service starts sucking up your money. By that time your bank is repeatedly calling you. I happened to answer - and the bank said - at least do such a plan with a government approved firm. They stole my money and ruined my reputation. They are bunch of thieves. Andrew from customer service will act like a lawyer. Notice how their family names are not on the signature?? I hope karma will hit them in a form of cancer and make them watch their loved ones die slowly. I lost everything because they got me at a weak moment. The minute I called to inquire - they wouldn't let me go before signing. Thieves