Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada, Inc. Company Reliability ReportCopyright 2002 by the Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada, Inc. BBB Reports generally cover a three-year reporting period, and are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgement.information contained in this report is believed to be reliable however, it is not guaranteed. Additionaly, our reports are subject to change at any time as new information becomes available. If the company being reported on is a member of the Better Business Bureau, it will be indicated in the body of this report. Report Date: July 23Capital Credit AllianceGeneral Information Street Address: 1050 E. Sahara Ave. #402 Las Vegas, NV 89104 Telephone Number: (702) 734-5500 Type of Company: Corporation BBB Business Classification: Mail Order & Catalog Shopping Original Business Started in: Aug-1997 Local Business Started in: Aug-1997 BBB Opened File in: Oct-1996 Principal Contact: Jack Schofield President Principal Customer Contact: Gloria Ambler Customer Service Asst. ManagerBBB Customer Experience Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to two or more unanswered complaints. On June the Better Business Bureau received correspondence indicating this company has again filed for a name change, from Continental Direct Services to Capital Credit Alliance. The City of Las Vegas Business License Department lists this license number as M14-00074. According to consumers, this company also uses the address of P.O. Box 46101, Las Vegas, Nevada 89114-6101 in their advertising. Licensing InformationMany local municipalities, cities and towns require licensing, bonding or registration in order to lawfully do business. The Bureau encourages you to check with the appropriate agency to determine if all of their requirements are currently being met. Government ActionsSeptember 6The FTC charges Capital Credit Alliance. It misled consumers through credit line and cash advance offers. Order marks first commission action against a provider of Payday LoansThe Federal Trade Commission announced two proposed agreements settling charges that Capital Credit Alliance (Consumer Money Markets, Inc. (CMM), Continental Direct Services, Inc. (CDS) and several individuals and firms connected to the companies violated the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) by falsely representing that consumers who paid a membership fee of $149 to $169 would receive a credit line of thousands of dollars, along with cash-advance privileges.in reality, after paying the up-front fee consumers found that they could only use the credit line to buy items from CCA's catalog, and that the cash-on-demand' provision amounted to nothing more than high-interest payday loans short-term loans of $20 to $40, with interest rates of up to 360 percent or more per year. The settlements would enjoin Las Vegas-based CMM, CDS, CCS and two related companies from engaging in such deceptive practices, require the company and its principals (including a list broker) to disgorge $350,000 they received from consumers and forgive an additional $1.6 million in outstanding consumer debts. The Nevada Attorney General's Office is joining the Commission in its TSR allegations, and also alleges violations of Nevada state law. CMM was created in the summer of 1996. Pitching products such as its MoneyMarketCard, the company sent direct mail solicitations to consumers who had been identified from lead lists.in the solicitations, the consumers were told they would receive a credit line of $5,500 at 14.99 percent interest, regardless of their previous credit history. CMM implied that consumers could use the credit line for general shopping but the company failed to disclose that, in fact, they could only use the credit line for CMM catalog shopping. To use the card, CMM required that consumers put down 30 percent on the purchase of all goods. Also, the initial loan amount represented as up to $150 per transaction was only $20.instead of the consumer having a revolving line of credit, the entire amount had to be paid to Interstate Check Services, Inc. (ICS) CMM's cash-loan affiliate - within 30 days. ICS charged $6 for each $20 loan, the equivalent of 360 percent interest for a 30-day loan and 720 percent for a 15-day loan. Few consumers ever applied for larger loans, the Commission said, with only eight of nearly 4,800 applicants receiving loans of more than $100 in 1999. The complaint further contends that CMM's (and later CDS's and CCA's) disclosures regarding their catalog, loan fees and high-interest loans were inadequate and in violation of the FTC act, TSR and the TILA. As actual providers of such credit, they also failed to give adequate written disclosures to consumers regarding the APRs, finance charges and other critical information before finishing the transaction.in addition, the defendants failed to alert consumers to the severe limitations of both the catalog credit line and cash-on-demand. The proposed settlements concern the activities of CMM, ISC, CDS, CCA and several associated individuals. The most comprehensive order covers William S. Kelly (the list broker who provided CMM with consumer names) Date Tech Solutions, Inc. (Kelly's wholly owned Subchapter S corporation), CDS, Raymond Elia (owner and manager of Interstate Check Services), ICS, and Gary Allen Balazs (who became CMM's Director of Operations following the death of founder Jimmy Miller). The order would enjoin the specific misrepresentations found in CMM's and CDS's advertisements. Additional fencing-in relief would be provided with respect to alleged FTC Act, TSR and TILA violations, and would require the defendants always to disclose the APRs and finance charges of payday loans in future advertisements when offering them in connection with prepaid membership or credit offerings. The defendants would also be prohibited from exaggerating the contents of their catalogs, and would have to clearly disclose: 1) the membership fee; 2) any purchasing restrictions (such as catalog only shopping); #) any down-payment requirements; and $) the distinctions between the company's cash advances and cash privileges of ordinary credit cards. Finally, the order contains standard "fencingin" relief regarding TSR violations and misrepresentations of material fact. The second order would require Ana S. Miller (president and sole owner of CMM from November 1998 to July 1999) and CMM jointly to pay $100,000 in disgorgement. These funds, and the additional $150,000 from Kelly and $100,000 from CDS, may be applied to redress and consumer education or as disgorgement to the U.S. Treasury at the Commission's discretion. Copies of the news release and legal documents related to this matter are available from the FTC's web site at http://www.ftc. Gov. (FTC file No. 982-3150: Civ. Action No. CVS001071-PMP-RJJ) Additional InformationCapital Credit Alliance is a mail order company which offers to sell consumers a "membership" card. Membership allows the consumer to purchase products through the Capital Credit Alliance shopping network. According to literature sent to consumers by the company, a consumer must call for membership acceptance; there are no additional fees or costs for receiving the MONEYFIRST CARD other than a membership fee; a maximum amount will be available to purchase items from the catalog once the new "credit card is assigned;" the credit card number may change once assigned; and cash on demand is a loan-free deferred-deposit service giving members access to immediate cash. Consumers should note that correspondence from the company's representative, Mr. Gary Allen, has indicated that "membership and/or association fees are NOT REFUNDABLE, and that these transactions are final upon accepting membership." THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU WARNS CONSUMERS TO READ AND UNDERSTAND ANY CONTRACT BEFORE SIGNING IT. Consumers should use extreme caution before giving financial information to any company which is not known to them. An example of such information is the consumer's bank account or credit card number, date of birth, and/or social security number. Additional InformationAdditional Phone Numbers: (702) 260-8333 (702) 697-5278 (702) 697-5280 (702) 733-9400 (800) 227-7056 (702) 734-1212 (800) 636-0076Additional Doing-Business-As Names: CDSCMM (Previous DBA) Consumer Money Markets (Previous DBA) Continental Direct ServicesCCACredit Service DivisionAdditional Locations: P.O. Box 46101Las Vegas, NV 89114-6101As a matter of policy, the Better Business Bureau does not endorse any product, service or company. KaylaPrescott Valley, Arizona
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