My wife and I decided that it was time that we did something about our unsecured debt, so we looked into several of the debt settlement programs that seem to be so prevalent these days. We went with Fast Debt Solutions out of Carrolton, Tx. This was in November. Our first contact with FDS was with a man named Scott Boeder, who assured us that FDSs fees would only be equal to two months payment to the savings account that FDS was to set up for us. After that, they (FDS) would deposit monies that came from our personal checking account into a savings account, (which they set up with Global Bank) and begin to pay off our debt. They assured us that they could eliminate at least half of our debt, so we signed on. Our monthly payment was to be $857.00. We were ecstatic. That was less than half of what we were paying in interest charges alone. The first payment came out at the first of December. The next person that we dealt with was a woman named Jen Petersen, who was supposedly our case manager. We began calling Ms. Petersen after about two and half months because our creditors were still calling us every ten minutes. If we answered the phone, every last one of our creditors would tell us that FDS had never contacted them. So, we would call Ms. Petersen, who would assure us that our creditors had been contacted and that everything was fine and these were just tactics that were used by creditors to get us to pay twice, as they (FDS) were already taking care of our debts. After four months, when even the creditors that we owed miniscule amounts to were still calling and telling us that they had not been paid and that Fast Debt Solutions had never contacted them, we asked for an accounting of where our money was going. We asked seven times before Ms. Petersen told us that we had accrued just over $1500.00 in our Global savings account. This was at the beginning of April. Total payments to FDS at this point were $4285.00. If you do the math, youll see that not only did FDS take the agreed upon $1714.00 for their fee, they took over $1000.00 extra because suddenly, their fee included $334.00 per month for almost the entirety of the term we supposed to be in the program. To make matters worse, they hadnt even attempted to pay off any of our debt. So essentially, Fast Debt Solutions had taken over $2700.00 for what essentially amounts to getting a power of attorney and opening a checking account. Thats all that they did for us in five months. When I told them that I wanted to opt out of their program, they sent us a check for the money that was in our Global savings account and told me that their fees are non-refundable. I sent Ms. Petersen an email letting her know that their fee was ridiculous. However, being a fair minded person, I would forfeit $1,000.00 if they would send me another check for the balance, (just over $1700.00), of the monies paid to them. The next person that FDS had contact me was Sherri Dooley, who reiterated that FDS would not refund any monies, but said that I could continue the program on a contingency plan in which they would charge 25% of the money that they would save me. Since they hadnt paid off anything, or even talked to my creditors, I flatly refused and restated my position in my reply. I wanted just over $1700.00 returned to me and that they could keep $1,000.00. I also told her that she had two days to get back to me, or I would begin to put Fast Debt Solutions business all over the internet. Apparently Ms. Dooley either did not believe me, or figured that I was bluffing. Either way, it has been two days and I have not heard anything from FDS. This is the first of the many sites that I plan to visit. I also plan to talk to my local FBI SAIC to see if Mail Fraud charges can be filed against FDS. I may even file a civil suit. So, if you have been jacked around by Fast debt Solutions or one of its competitors, please make your voice heard here, or on another site.
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