by Debt Settlement Reviews on July 30, 2010
Yesterday (June 29, 2010), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made a HUGE announcement on new rules that govern the Debt Relief industry. These rules will greatly affect the debt settlement industry’s future. The rules change a number of things, here are the highlights:
- Debt Settlement companies can no longer charge any fees until they have settled your debt
- More disclosure of information required – this includes exact program costs and length as well as negative consequences
- Can no longer make false or unsubstantiated claims about the service
These rule changes go into effect on October 27, 2010. Of these 3, the first one is obviously the biggest change. Almost all settlement companies charge 15% of your total debt amount which generally means your first 3 full payments plus part of your monthly payments for the first year. TASC has fought this change vigorously and claims it will put many settlement companies out of business.
What does this mean for you, the consumer? It means that there is going to be a very turbulent period over the next 6 months in the industry. A large amount of settlement companies will undoubtedly shut down because of this. I would strongly suggest people to try to wait things out until the end of the year if you are thinking about signing up for a debt settlement program. Another good option is to try a do it yourself debt settlement program.
by Debt Settlement Reviews on July 27, 2010
Setup Fee: 15%
Monthly Fee: None
Settlement Fee: None
TASC Members: No
BBB Complaints (Total): 2
BBB Complaints (Closed): 2 (1 was a no response, this means Silver Leaf failed to respond to the complaint)
In Business Since: October 2009
Company Address:
14275 Midway Rd., Suite 200
Addison, TX 75001-3614
Silver Leaf Debt Solutions, sometimes spelled Silverleaf Debt Solutions, is an Addison, Texas based settlement company that has been doing a LOT of online advertising lately. Someone posted a comment to the site asking about them, so here is the review. They have only been in business since last October of last year and are members of USOBA and the IAPDA but not TASC. They have received 2 BBB complaints since starting (1 was resolved and 1 they did not respond to). Silver Leaf appears to be a front end for Lloyd Ward and Associates, a Texas based law firm. All email correspondence with the company came from the Lloyd Ward Group but contained Silverleaf branding. Their program charges the standard 15% of your debt amount.
The BBB has given Silver Leaf an F rating but that is not really a surprise considering their recent campaign against debt settlement companies. One interesting point is they claimed I would not be sued because they are a law firm. I’m not sure of the regulations on being both a law firm and settlement company but I’m quite confident that your creditors can still sue you. The settlement company and law firm combo is nothing new to the industry and I don’t think it really provides much of a benefit. You, a debt settlement employee or an attorney are all going to get pretty much the same settlement as the collectors don’t care about anything but closing out the account.
Important Questions
Money back guarantee: Minus fees.
Stop creditor calls: No, they can give them an alternate number though.
Make monthly payment to creditors: No
Can I get sued while on program: No, we are a law firm and we will negotiate with your creditors.
Tax Consequences: Depends on your creditors.
Credit Impact: Your credit will decrease but we can rebuild it.
Where do they hold money: Trust fund.
