Debt Resource Center

Hi,
I have been speaking with a company called premier debt center of america LLC, or legal debt center. They claim that they work with attorney's to lower your total debt by 45% (You are only responsible for 55% of your total debt) They claim they have attorney's that work with your creditors to lower the total amount. They charge $400 for the first month and $209 for each additional month paying my debt off in 36 months. They charge $39 per month + the initial $200 fee.
Have you heard of anything like this? Would it hurt my credit (they say it doesn't) Do you feel it is a scam?
Please respond.
Thanks,
Jenni

jenni @ 2008-01-30 13:11:50 [ID:76308]

hi jenni,

i've been speaking with the same company and wonder if you decided to work with them. have you found out if they're legitimate or not?

thanks,
lynne

Lynne @ 2008-02-21 12:57:40 [ID:79378]

The way they negotiate "45% of your debt" down is by stopping all payments on the account, that way it will go to charge off status and show as a collections account on your credit bureau then creditors can go lower on settlements, what they dont tell you is that any difference betweent he actual balance and the settlement amount the IRS considers income and you end up having to file a 1099C form and pay income tax on this amount. They also don't tell you creditors considerer you a higher credit risk because the creditor you did business with agreed to take a loss on the account resulting in higher interest rates in the future. The kicker is that these settlements you actually have a better chance of getting on your own because a creditor can get to know your personal situation, whereas, with those companies if they are given those settlements to one, they will have to give them to all of them. They are not worth the money by ANY means. Premier Debt center also is not looked very highly by the BBB either.

dan @ 2008-02-22 11:14:31 [ID:79509]

Hello,
I was briefly speaking with this company also until what I considered to be a strange conversation took place between myself and the representative. The rep continuously stated that they (Premier Debt Center) did not recieve any funds as payment and all payments went into an escrow account to pay the creditors when a settlement was reached. I then asked the rep, how does her company get paid. She was offended by the question and ultimately told me she did not know. I was amazed that what seemed to be a reasonably intelligent woman could work for a company but not know how that company made money to pay her salary. Needless to say Premier Debt Centers will NOT be getting my business!!!

JB @ 2008-02-28 14:17:41 [ID:80415]

DEBT VALIDATION IS A LOT DIFFERENT THAN CONSOLIDATION. WITH VALIDATION, YOUR DEBT NEVER GOES INTO DEFAULT. THEY USE FTC LAWS TO MAKE SURE YOU PAY WHAT YOU LEGALLY OWE WHILE HOLDING THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES AND CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES ACCOUNTABLE. THIS IS NOT FORGIVEN DEBT(LIKE CONSOLIDATION) SO THERE ARE NO TAXES TO BE PAID ON THIS DEBT. PREMIER DEBT CENTERS WORKS WITH CONSUMER ATTORNEYS THAT DO VALIDATION, NOT CONSOLIDATION. MY BILLS ONLY SHOWED LATE ONCE AND THE ATTORNEYS GOT THAT LATE REMOVED AND THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY GOT FINED.

HEATHER @ 2008-03-03 12:19:29 [ID:81020]

Jenni go to CCCS in your state
Consumer Credit Counseling Services
They are not a scam and can help you

Cindy @ 2008-03-10 18:00:50 [ID:82134]

I'm ready to sign a contract with this company. I can't find them in the BBB. Does anyone know if they are legit or not? Is there more current info on these guys? I scared to sign a limited power of Attorney form? Is this too good to be true? Please reply ASAP.
Help, Help Please

Abby @ 2008-03-11 15:54:54 [ID:82283]

hi,
i checked on this company and they are affiliated with another one (premier debt center, like lots of these companies is a call referral office and they are under another bigger company). i asked the woman i spoke with to send me a copy of their contract and the name of the main company was on it and i checked that company with the better business bureau and they had a "D" rating. i'm sorry but i've just blanked on the name of the main company!

after that, tho, i decided to go with a debt settlement company called e-limidebt that has a B+ rating with the BBB. they don't do debt validation (they'll give you an earful about why that isn't a good way to go) but they seem to really know a lot about debt settlement. i'm just about to start with them so i can't give you any personal experience except they have been very willing to answer all of my questions and they made me kind of leery of the debt validation route.

good luck,
lynne

lynne @ 2008-03-11 21:28:31 [ID:82309]

Credit card companies will not negotiate a settlement on an open, active account! They may lower your APR, but that's something you can do on your own with a few phone calls.

If you want your credit destroyed by these criminals, then by all means, knock yourselves out. The rest of you should pressure your elected officials to SHUT THESE PLACES DOWN!

Why do you think they prey upon the weak and desperate? Don't you think people with good credit and 30K in credit card debt wouldn't like to have their balances cut in half?????

Bottom line is, they make money and your credit is SHOT. On top of that, you get to carry the blame for being a BAD CONSUMER - unable to manage your money.

PS: IT DOESN'T TAKE AN ATTORNEY TO "WORK" WITH CREDITORS. ANY ATTORNEY WHO MAKES SUCH A STATEMENT IN ORDER TO PREY OFF YOUR SITUATION NEEDS TO BE REPORTED TO THEIR STATE BAR IMMEDIATELY.

Dan @ 2008-03-14 13:07:49 [ID:82743]

Look up this aricle, 2/22/08 The Consumer Law Ctr. was Blocked in North Carolina. according to court document,
Carolina residents paid over $500,000. since 1/2006 It is unknown what percentage of these funds were actually distributed to creditors. Clients were often left in worse shape than before. I also, saw this link
"IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT" It's stated Coral Springs, FL. 12 Defendant from the Consumer Law Center, LLC on Court documents
in front of the Judge. So, I have my answer. But, I still need help from some company.

Abby @ 2008-03-14 16:52:38 [ID:82768]

I had a account with them and I just tried to get ahold of them and the number they give me is no longer a working number. So I dropped out of there programs. It just doesn't work they only got one payment thank goodness

Connie @ 2008-03-22 13:41:02 [ID:83858]

If you're $100,000 in debt, and need this principal balance reduced by 45% in order to get out of debt then this can be done by the law firm. They’ve done it more than 30,000 times. However, there is a trade off. The "trade off" being that you are going to temporarily sacrifice your credit score for a few years. Excellent credit scores are only needed when you have a security clearance or when you need to qualify for mortgage financing. So essentially, if you don’t require these two things in the short term, then the debt negotiation service can be appropriate for those who need to resolve their debts for less than owed. Credit ratings can be repaired with competent credit repair services and over time. Keep in mind, the service is a bankruptcy alternative, it is not intended for those who can afford to make their payments but don’t feel like paying. Essentially, if you want to keep your excellent credit score, you will have to continue to pay your creditors on time, every time. And this means paying ALL of your bills on time including phone and utilities. Otherwise the creditors will pull their “universal default” clause on you. This means if you’re late on ANY bill, the creditor will consider you high risk and will increase your interest rates up to 30 percent. Since most of you that are writing on this blog seem to be uninformed, here is a fact you will need to keep in mind. There is NO service that can reduce your debt without sacrificing your credit score. And if you want your debt reduced and done by professions, then hire a law firm. You other option could be with a “Christian” debt consolidation company. That’s a good one. They will prey that the creditors will accept a settlement or you don’t get sued by a debt collection law firm. Anyway, where are the Jewish debt consolidation companies? One more thing, for those who rely on a Better Business Bureau membership to make an important business decision, beware. It's popular belief that the BBB is a government run organization funded by tax dollars, a neutral observer of business standards and practices, a place where one could get information on a legitimate business or where one could make formal complaints against a shady one. Put simply, this is not true. The BBB is a company just like Wal-Mart or McDonalds -- a company that seeks a profit. It has no legal authority over another business, and most importantly, there is an obvious conflict of interest problem. The BBB takes "membership" donations from businesses in order for the business to maintain a "satisfactory" record. This means that businesses are the BBB's source of income. But businesses are their object of complaint. So, if a consumer complains to the BBB, the consumer is complaining about their source of income. This is a serious problem and has led to many formal complaints against the Better Business Bureau. It is well known that many debt relief companies with horrible track records (companies so bad that they are being sued and shut down by the FTC) boast BBB memberships to gain your consumer confidence. Keep in mind, these companies ARE being sued and/or are being shut down and have "satisfactory" records with the Better Business Bureau! So when choosing a reliable debt relief company, it is not recommended to solely make your very important financial decisions on a BBB membership. GOOD LUCK!

matt @ 2008-03-28 19:53:11 [ID:84675]