*This summary of my experience with PDM International intends to help other consumers in dealing with this horrendous company who have already been duped and is notice to others to NEVER agree to their services. This is lengthy, but if you want your money back, I suggest you read in its entirety.*
I was contacted by PDM International in September claiming that they could negotiate with my credit card companies to reduce my interest rates and, in turn, save me money in the long run. After agreeing to their offer, which they record (more on this later), I was told I would receive a package in the mail to fill out all of my relevant information relating to my credit cards. I received the package from a company called DMCC Corp, a credit counseling company who services the accounts for PDM. I returned the information packet and a representative then set up a time for when I would be contacted by a credit counseler.
The rep called me and said she would begin by calling my credit card companies one by one with me on the line. To my amazement, the only thing this representative did was simply request a lower interest rate for my card. It does not take a genius to understand that YOU are fully capable of contacting your credit card company and requesting the same exact thing. After being completely unsuccessful in lowering any of the interest rates, the representative attempted to have my higher interest rate balances transferred to my card with the lowest interest rate. Again, is this not something you can do ON YOUR OWN? I asked the representative if this is the extent of their services, and she affirmed. I then asked if she thought this was something I could do on my own, and she once again affirmed. I told her I was no longer interested in proceeding with the process.
The next steps in dealing with PDM proved to be the most infuriating experience of my life. I called their telephone number 1-877-354-5485 only to reach an "answering service" that forwards your message along to the people at PDM. The answering service did not have a direct line to PDM and could not provide any additional information simply because they did not know. I do not exaggerate when I say I called and left at least 12 messages before someone finally returned my phone call. I asked the girl who often took my messages if she receives calls from frustrated individuals like myself and she replied, "all the time." You can understand how incredibly angry I was at this point.
When a representative from PDM finally called me, I described my interaction with the credit counseler with DMCC Corp and ultimately told the PDM representative that because they were unable to lower my interest rates and save me 2 to 3 times the fee charged by PDM (which in my case was $490) as promised, I expected a full refund. This is where the situation gets saucy. I was told by PDM that there was an additional step in the process to ensure the savings of 2 to 3 times the processing fee. PDM expected me to open ANOTHER credit card at a lower rate to facilitate a balance transfer for all of my outstanding balances. I truly could not believe what I was hearing considering the fact that PDM NEVER once mentioned anything about a balance transfer as being part of their program. I argued and argued with the PDM representative on the phone and had her play back the phone recording of the original conversation with me agreeing to their services. The recording clearly stated that PDM's program would save me 2 to 3 times the processing fee and that if they were unable to do so, I would receive a full refund.
I contested their latest stipulation because it was ridiculous that I would have to open ANOTHER credit card for a balance transfer and the fact that they NEVER said anything about it. I again reaffirmed that they were unable to provide their services and I wanted a refund. I was then told that since I was not agreeing to the balance transfer, I was essentially opting out of their services and would receive no refund. I was about to lose my head at this point. I demanded to speak to a manager. The great manager that I got to deal with was Gary Limburg (not sure of the spelling).
My conversation with Gary was very similar to the one I had with the original PDM representative. He would not budge from his position. I was told I would be receiving a follow-up letter from DMCC that outlines the balance transfer possibilities and the amount of anticipated savings I would receive by accepting the balance transfer. I was again warned of the fact that if I did not accept their advice, which included the balance transfer, I would be opting out of their services. What great advice, let me tell you. I proceeded to tell Gary how ridiculous PDM's program is and how they did not provide any worthwhile service. He didn't seem to care. I asked him how many accounts PDM services on a monthly basis and he replied, "around 3,000." I then asked why he was giving me such a hard time in refunding my money when he clearly has 3,000 other accounts to STEAL from each month. I did not receive a substantial answer. Lastly, I asked him if anyone in the past had ever objected to their services in the way I had and he replied, "No." What a joke. Gary finally said that if the balance transfer could not provide the stated savings, I would need to receive correspondence from DMCC saying so.
So, I finally received my follow up letter from DMCC. It contained an offer for a credit card with a low rate balance transfer option and also displayed a table showing how much money I would be saving on each of my credit cards if I were to accept the balance transfer offer. I called the DMCC rep who signed the letter, Jeremy Montanti, and I told him that his analysis would not save me the 2 to 3 times the processing fee. His analysis calculated a scenario that had me paying off my credit cards over 3 years. I told him that I pay well over a $1,000 a month on my credit card balances and therefore would be paid off well in advance of any savings I would receive through the lower interest rate. He agreed that I would not reach the stated level of savings. I had him send me an email stating this situation and then forwarded to Gary at PDM. To no suprise, Gary did not acknowledge my email. I had to track him down.
After trying AGAIN to contact PDM through their "answering service", I tried to find another way to directly contact them. I did a search on google maps for PDM International, Inc. And successfully located them in Bedford, Texas. Fortunately, google displayed the direct line to PDM's "customer service" department (Isn't that the funniest joke you have ever heard of in your life? PDM and Customer Service in the same sentence. The guy on the recording even hesitates to call it "customer service"). That telephone number is 817-354-5478. Dial "2" to reach Gary directly. Dial "3" and you will receive the wrath of some lady named "Marty".
I finally got a hold of Gary. Said me, "Gary, why have you not returned any of the messages I left you to return my phone call?" Said Gary, "I have not received any of your messages." So much for a functional "answering service". Anyways, I had to resend the email from Jeremy Montanti to Gary while I was on the phone with him to make sure he received the correspondence. Gary accepted the email saying I would not receive the promised savings and he proceeded to tell me he would forward the request for a refund on to the "refund department". Yes, apparently at PDM they have an entire "refund department". I asked Gary to copy me on the correspondence he was sending to the "refund department", but he never did. I had to follow up with him, again, to ask why I was not copied on the email. He replied that he had been "very busy with work." Apparently too busy scamming other consumers. He said it would take 24 business days to process the refund (funny that it took minutes for them to charge my credit card with the initial fee). After 24 business days had passed, I called PDM again demanding to know where my refund was. This is when I spoke to "Marty" who was probably the rudest person I spoke to during this entire ordeal. She told me I was being ridiculous in demanding to know where my refund was and I was eventually hung up on.
TO MY UTTER AMAZEMENT, I actually received my full refund of $490 three days later. This was received on December 17. That totals three months in dealing with PDM International. The unfortunate thing about my dealings with PDM is that if I was not as persistent as I was, I would have never seen my money again and truly would have been scammed out of $490. PDM's apparent intention is to make it so incredibly difficult to contact them that people will eventually get frustrated and stop pursuing that matter and give up on any hope of getting their money back. They try to suggest you are not agreeing to their terms and, therefore, are opting out of their services, resulting in no refund. They will try and bring up other conditions of their program that were NOT originally stated, even when the original phone conversation recording is replayed. They try to charge you for services that YOU can do ON YOUR OWN if you need to negotiate with your credit card companies. One thing is for sure... PDM will SCAM YOU.
With all of the above being said, make sure you tell them that they will NOT be saving you the promised 2 to 3 times the processing fee because you plan on paying down your credit cards much faster than their stated scenario. You have to be persistant and simply outsmart PDM. Make sure you call the 817-354-5478 number instead of the fraud they call an "answering service" that they have listed on their website and print materials. Most importantly, do not accept their offer if you are contacted by pdm international. I was fortunate enough to get my money back, but I am sure thousands of people just like me and you have never seen a dime of a refund from PDM International.
I cannot believe that companies like PDM International can exist given the attrocious business practices they employ. I never wish any type of hardship upon anyone, but I sincerely hope that one day PDM International and everyone associated with this fraud of a company is hit with such a massive lawsuit that they are bankrupt and no longer exist.
Please feel free to reply to my post if you would like to discuss my dealings with PDM International. You are best off avoiding PDM International at all costs.
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