Setup Fee: 3%
Monthly Fee: $29
Settlement Fee: 15%
TASC Members: Yes
BBB Complaints: 0 (39 as DTS Financial)
In Business Since: 9/2000
New Era Debt Solutions, formerly known as DTS Financial, has a much different program structure than most debt settlement companies. They have a small setup fee (3% of your total debt amount) and a settlement fee of 15%. They also charge you $29/month after the first 90 days. Lets take a look at their fee structure compared to most other settlement companies:
With 15k of total debt, you would pay an average debt settlement company $2250 plus monthly fees. With New Era, if they settle your accounts for 50% (industry average), they are going to make $1125 from the settlement fee. This means that not only will you pay less in fees, you won’t pay them any fees until after they have done the work. This gives their company a real incentive to save you as much money as possible.
New Era Debt Solutions is an accredited member of TASC. They are one of only 12 companies nationwide to be Elite BSI certified by TASC. They also offer a money back guarantee is you are unhappy with their services.
UPDATE (2/18/10): New Era Debt Solutions has changed their fee structure since this review was written over a year and a half ago. Their settlement fee is now 15% of the enrolled balance, not of the amount saved. This means for the above 15k debt example, you would pay them $2250 instead of the aforementioned $1125. This fee would be paid at the time the settlements were made, not upfront.
- : 4.7
- : 3.6
- : 4.7
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I love the idea of a web site like Debt Settlement Reviews that honestly reviews and rates Debt Settlement companies with accurate information. I, as president of New Era Debt Solutions, would love the opportunity to speak with the owner of this web site.
Thank you! Dan Smith
I am a bit perplexed by the review on this site as it is incorrect. You state that New Era only charges a fee of 15% of the savings. That is not correct. They charge a fee based on 15% of the total debt. This is a critical fact, since the point of your review is to say that they charge half of what most debt settlement companies charge. I am reading their contract and this is the line that states clearly their fee is 15% of the savings.
“c. Settlement Fee: A fee charged each time CLIENT agrees to and/or enters into a settlement with a creditor that has
been submitted by CLIENT to NEW ERA for negotiation. The fee is an amount equal to fifteen percent (15%) of
the amount of each account when entered into the program (“Account Balance”).”
I understand your error because I have spoken to many consumers that have been mislead by New Era sales people to also believe that the fee is only half of what it is.
I thought it was only prudent that I bring it to your attention as I know you want to keep the integrity of your reviews.
However, what I am the most perplexed by is that Dan Smith would come on and praise the review with such a clear and significant error.
Clearly the president of New Era Debt Solutions must have noticed that this review mistakenly misrepresented the fees and claimed that their fees were half of what most companies charge. Not only does he not correct the error but he claims the review is accurate. I find that to be the most telling part of the review as it pertains to New Era.
This is like an Omen, the worst debt settlement company in history. No services done and over $2000.00 in charges. What a mess? Let anybody call or e-mail me. I will show them never to trust this company. Thanks.
My experience with New Era has been great. I found them on the internet and called them. After talking to 4 or 5 other companies I felt New Era really answered my questions. The service has been great and they always were there to take care of me. When I started I had over 45,000 in debt and in less than 2 years my debt is gone and I saved over $20,000. I highly recommed New Era.
Thank you very much for correcting the review promptly when it was brought to your attention. It will certainly go a long way toward helping consumers to compare apples to apples. Also I did make a mistake in my previous comment.
I said that the contract states clearly that their fee is 15% of “savings”
I of course meant 15% of “total Debt.”
Screw New ERA Debt Solutions. I have a friend who had been working their a month. He was already doing better than most of their staff and had never been late, never left early and had not missed one day. His teenage son has a rare liver disease that makes monitoring his blood sugar closely, well his son’s levels reached critical levels instantly and his son had to be rushed to the hospital. My friend had to leave work a few hours early because any hospital visit means his son is on death’s door. My friend had to stay the next day also, so we are talking about one day missed. What did this heartless company do? They fired him and told him he could come back when he got all this straightened out. STRAIGHTENED OUT?! What do you expect?! The kid to have a miraculous healing?! WHAT IF THIS HAD BEEN YOUR KID?!?! You wouldn’t fire one of your family members if this had happened to them. You can’t treat people like this and to think I almost used this company upon recommendation of my friend but screw them!
Hello Everyone,
I am VERY proud to announce that NEW ERA DEBT SOLUTIONS is the first company to be in compliance with the new FTC Ruling for Debt Settlement companies.
New Era has been providing the quality service for a decade based on performance and we will continue with the same standards keeping the client’s best interest at hand, ALWAYS!
We could not be happier for the “Advance Fee Ban”. In the last decade we have seen the industry grow and attract the people that were only looking for a quick buck, therefore consumers would fall pray to cheap sales tactics.
Our fees have always been and will continue to be based on performance, as consumers we understand it is our responsibility to deliver to our clients.
Please read the FTC ruling-
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/07/tsr.shtm
Sincerely,
Alex Viecco
VP/Co-Founder
New Era Debt Solutions