fraud\scam or good service??

Tara,

Having been falsely accused myself earlier in the evening, I was being a little nicer about it than usual ; ) but yeah, we've seen these kinds of traps on here with some regularity.

I just enrolled with them this summer (July 2012) it is now the start of the new year . They have kept me apprised to everything about the company AS LONG as I inquired. It seems like most people on here are looking for that "magic trick" to erase their debt issues. That isn't this company. That doesn't exist, period.

This company works if you work with them. It's a life altering change. If you decide to stay with them, they will eliminate your debt, I trust them in that regard. I know that if I get cold feet and bail out of the company, I'll be back to where I started beforehand or worse. There is no easy out to debt, but there is help and so far, they have not done me wrong. I plan to stick with them till they resolve my issues.

Paying scammers to help you with "debt" problems will absolutely be a life changing experience! Maybe not quite the experience your victims had in mind, but life changing nonetheless.

Call your creditors and ask them if you have been enrolled in a "debt consolidation program", they would know for sure, if they do not have in a program, (call all of them not just one), do not make any payments, especially on a Sunday. If someone is trying to rob you, then NO, you are not obligated to be a victim.

I would get a credit report ASAP as well, may be ID theft as well, also put a freeze on your credit, that will stop anyone from opening an account in your name without verification from you.

I really hope that the company is legit, but if it isn't, start acting on it straight away, do not delay with the credit report and freezing of your credit.As recommended, you can negotiate yourself, get good rates and it is free.

Rephrasing the same arguments which have already been trumped in this thread is the shills' idea of rebuttal? Hopefully they've shot all their bullets.

Please enjoy the collection calls and creditor lawsuits as the "debt fixer" continues gladhanding you and hoarding your money. Seems only Silvercock Thorneburn is the one promising magic.

This thread is almost 14 months old. I don't know how many people dealt with them in their earlier years that are still posting about them now, but I found it hard to believe how much negativity was coming out of here. I just wanted to do a quick post to briefly touch on my situation, but it seems evident that people are quick to respond and criticize unknowingly so I'll explain my experience a little more thoroughly.

After filling out their form online (maybe 6 or so basic questions. Name, phone number, province debt amount, etc.) a representative called me up and left a message. When I spoke with her she was very clear and up front with everything. She informed me my credit would be damaged, she informed me this program was better than bankruptcy. I was told I would be paying into a trust account. No one at this company "promised me magic." I knew that I would be putting away a lump sum of money each month and that by doing so I would be defaulting on my payments (to the creditor). In doing so, this gives them leverage to negotiate. From what I was told, the creditor doesn’t care that I’m just making the minimal payments because they are STILL getting payments. I knew that it would be accumulating over time in order to pay off my creditor in one shot. She then gave me a timeline of how long it would take (2 years, at the most) if I paid about $260 per month into the program. The monthly payment included the attorney’s fees. I wouldn't be paying a fee once I signed up; the fees I paid were broken down and wrapped into my monthly payment. Once they reached (I believe) 40-45% of the total debt amount, they would begin negotiating with the creditor. She also explained these are just rough numbers, which I understood. I know this isn't an exact science. I'm on track to be at 45% of my total debt in April of this year.

I know there’s no way to prove to you guys that I am legitimately 6 (almost 7) months into the program, and the open forum posting of the internet is an unsavory playground for people to exploit, or the popular term on here seems to be a shill. There is no way to prove that I am not a part of this company other than my word, but I will gladly post my progress as it continues, whether good or bad.

It means it will "gladly" post more of its marketing copy here first. That's its "job".

Eric, you've given us the same party line we can all read on the Cockburn website. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief in your motives just long enough to review what has been said repeatedly of this "service".

Does your contract look like the one submitted to Steve Rhode? If so, you've nothing to crow about. The S&L/C&A drones pat you on the head each month and tell you how well you're doing to distract you from the truth. You are an income source, not a valued client, which incidentally makes them no better than the banks you're defaulting on.

AGAIN, if your great plan is to starve out your lenders, you DO NOT NEED to pay some schmuck posing as a paralegal to hold your hands while you wait. AGAIN, breaking your lender contracts gives no one "leverage to negotiate", but it surely gives the lenders leverage over you!

I would weigh the consistency of complaints over time before the age of this thread, else you'll develop a Beaten Wife Syndrome. Don't be fooled by a corporate name change or a soothing rep's voice. You're not so special and their plan for you is not going to be different this time. You are being set up like a milk bottle on the carnival midway. One day a creditor will pay his dollar and connect a baseball with your face while your Cockburn sales rep stands aside in a candystriper jacket and grins.

But sure, meet us in a trimester if you're still standing. 03 May 2013 ... save the date.

recently signed with SLF for debt proposal (6 months) to date have paid over $3.000. but nothing has been done to help us.  They keep advising they can't until funds are built up in the account, but this does not happen for at least 20 months. Our situation went from bad to worse.  If you are experiencing difficuly conact your local Credit Counselling who will counsell you and refer you to a trustee who will then advise if you should proceed with bankruptcy or alternative options.

This is true!!!!!

I followed their written instructions. They got my money but I did NOT get the help THEY promissed me!
I will be putting more information out there on this when I get the REAL HELP I NEED!

Libby.

I must ask some questions; My job is to flush out the truth!!! Or flush the excrement!!!

Lets get to the facts.

What are the written instructions?

Did you speak to someone?

Why would you do anything without getting all the facts first?

How much money did they get?

Its like this guy Eric in the post...WAY TO VAGUE!!!!

FACTS!!!!!! PLEASE PRESENT FACTS!!!!

Hello,


I have a couple of things I would like to clear up here. First and foremost if they were a complete scam, then they wouldn't even exist, all credentials revoked and everyone locked up.

Second of all, The staff at Steve Rhodes is a opportunist. No guy is going to spend his personal money and keep his website alive (GetOutOfDebt.Org) for free..No one posts videos of " free help" FOR free, without any special interest. This guy and the people running this site, they pretend to be heroes. They pretend to be a watchdog, take your information and redirects you to other financial services aka his buddy Damon at http://damonday.com/consultation/ and I quote ..."A 1 hour phone consultation is only $147 dollars."...Damon Day and Associates...It's called lead generation this people generate people (like you) who FEEL they have been burn by false complaints on the web, OR ABOUT to enroll in a company..so they can then convince them that these companies are a scam then they refer these burnt people to services like Damon & Associates and other referrals, and Steve gets a collection for this work ( a cut pay ). Everyone wins..Your telling me all those graphics, web pages, videos, long articles are done voluntary? lol really?


Third, Who cares if they got a new name ? Did you know that TD Bank brought MBNA and vice versa? Lawyers do that, it's not a problem. A company buys out another company, no big deal.


Fourth, every consumer is a source of income to financial institution in this case BANKS, you can't be so ignorant to say " You are an income source, not a valued client"..I'm not even going to comment indepth about that.


Fifth, starving out lenders is a leverage, you just have to know who to call, who not call and what to say and what not say, it's called being experience. How can you then explain the settlements that were achieved by the company?


I can now say with confidence that by you being defamatory because it hurts your business or any sort of interest.


For everyone else, if you had a business and some smhuck starts writing derogatory and defamatory comments on the websites that hurts your business which obviously is false. Just keep in mind, if these companies were a scam, they would be out of business, credentials removed, PERIOD. You can not reject the service performed and accomplished, that's rejecting reality. There are some horrible customers that create the stigma and portray the company as a "scam" but I see that only as a personal problem to the customer.

I have to completely disagree with Resident47 about their opinion that "if they were a complete scam, then they wouldn't even exist, all credentials revoked and everyone locked up".  You should see the letter you will get from Cockburn and Associates if you decide to cancel out of the program.  You have to sign acknowledging that they did absolutely no legal wrongdoing and you or your heirs or anyone representing you cannot sue them.  Remember that this is a law firm and it's run by a lawyer.  Lawyers already have a bad reputation among the general populace as a rule of thumb.  They also know how to legally cover their a*s.

errm .... That's not my quote but a claim made by an apparent C&A employee. My position would be that the world is full of companies with a fraudulent business model which somehow never show their critical vulnerability long enough, or fail to [***] the right people, to get their officers fined or jailed.