In June finding myself about $30,000 in debt I decided to try the program offered by Better Budget Financial Services, Inc. (BBFS) According to BBFS I would be out of debt in approximately 3 years for about 50% of what I now owe.
I was to put $601.38 into an account over which they had a Power of Attorney to take $29.95 per month as a management fee. They would negotiate with my creditors to settle my balances one by one. This was supposed to be better for me than filing bankruptcy as I was making an effort to repay my creditors.
My lowest balance was about $1500. My balance in my escrow account was up to almost $3000. I called BBFS after it got to $750 and then a few times after that to see when I was getting a settlement to get this account cleared up since the creditors were harassing me and my family.
BBFS would promise to send them a Power of Attorney and call the to try to settle the debt. I was also told they were waiting for a certain person to call back or that so-and-so is handing my account and they'll call me back soon.
NO ONE ever called me back from BBFS, not once. When they were trying to get me to join their program after I made my initial inquiry the salesman called me repeatedly promising to help me with my debt problems. That is the last time anyone from BBFS has ever called me.
I finally called BBFS up and asked if they could try to settle with my second creditor since it seemed the first one was unwilling to settle. They said they would contact them and call me back. No contact. Nothing happened. I'm busting my behind to put $601.38 into an account every month that my creditors could be getting and two of them could be settled at 50% according to what BBFS says on their website, and nothing is happening.
I have since had trouble opening bank accounts and found out that my credit rating that was once over 700 is now barely over 400. I'm not even going to mention all the tears shed over rude creditors calling me. I decided to call the individual creditors and see if I could start paying them again because BBFS was simply taking my $29.95 and doing nothing with this management fee.
I was told by all four of my creditors that the ONLY thing they had on file was my Cease Communication letter that I sent them at BBFS's request. NONE of them had any record of any Power of Attorney from BBFS or any contact from them whatsoever.
I decided to terminate my agreement with BBFS. I wrote to them and advised them of such as is required by their contract. I recieved a letter from them dated 01/30/04 stating that, The termination was processed and valid upon fifteen (15) days of receipt of your letter. That would be the middle of February.
Now I get a letter today from my bank saying that they again tried to draft $29.95 out of my account on March 2. Since I took all of the money out to try to pay something to my creditors I only had $8.33 in there. Now I have -19.67 in my savings account and owe the bank money because they charged me a $23.00 return fee.
I am now in the process of filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. I'll just let my attorney deal with this because I am honestly so upset I am about to cry. If I would have known how much this would have ruined me financially I would have continued to pay my creditors and preserved my once pristine credit rating.
One thing I might also mention which I found out on my own and was never told by BBFS is that when a creditor reduces the amount of money you owe them you have to pay taxes on the amount it was reduced (provided it was over $600) as if it were income.
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