Cambridge Credit Counseling Corporation fraudulent service, ripoff Agawam Massachusetts

9 August 2005
Dear Sir/Madam:
I joined Cambridge Credit Counseling Corporation in October 2001 with $24,000 in credit card debt and have made on time monthly payments of $530 (minimum payment and service fees) to them from the start. My credit report states that I have been making late payments, and I am confused as to what service I am paying for.

I have many concerns with this unscrupulous business, however, my biggest concern is an error on my former account with Chase Manhattan. Cambridge Credit Counseling Corporation transposed some account numbers and, as a result, the account was charged off to a collection agency (World Asset Management).

World Asset Management has been charging me the maximum legal amount of interest (24%) since 2001. I was not notified of any of these changes until I starting calling the credit card companies in 2004 when I was supposed to be finishing the counseling program. My balance has increased by thousands of dollars on the former Chase Manhattan account since 2001.

Cambridge Credit Counseling has admitted to creating the error on the account but refuses to correct the problem! A representative had the audacity to tell me, “If you would have caught this sooner maybe we could have done something about it.”

Since October 2001, I have paid over $24,000 to this company and am still $17,000 in debt. I find this appalling since over half of my accounts have been charged off with a 0% interest rate, something that was supposed to be avoided. Some months I sent more than the $530 minimum payment, and Cambridge Credit Counseling Corporation charged me a higher service fee.
I am not sure where my money is going.

I have documented records that illustrate the debauchery that has taken place with Cambridge Credit Counseling Corporation. I am a college student trying to fix past mistakes the right way, and am very frustrated.

Lindsey
Navarre, Florida
U.S.A.

Suits have been filed by the District of Columbia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas against AmeriDebt. Id. Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. has been sued by Massachusetts, North Carolina and Illinois. AG Files Suit Againt Agawan Nonprofit, Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. BOSTON GLOBE, Apr. 6, 2004 at E2; Press Release, N.C. Attorney General’s Office, Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. to Give More than One Million Back to N.C. Consumers (Jan. 11, 2005) (on file with the North Carolina Banking Institute Journal); CONSUMER FED’N OF AM. & NAT’L CONSUMER LAW CTR., supra note 3, at 38. The majority of states do not enforce against non-profits that have attained federal non-profit status. See id. Many states debt pooling statutes explicitly refer to § 501(c) status. See e.g., IDAHO CODE § 26-2222 (2004).

Excerpt
With $30,000 in credit card debt, Jolanta Troy’s divorce left her unable to pay her bills, but she became more hopeful after seeing a television commercial for the non-profit company AmeriDebt. 1 Concerned she would lose her home, Ms. Troy contacted AmeriDebt where a counselor suggested she enter a debt management plan (DMP). 2 Under a DMP, Ms. Troy would send one reduced monthly payment directly to AmeriDebt, and AmeriDebt would in turn pay her creditors. Ms. Troy wanted to weigh her options, but after she hung up the AmeriDebt counselor called her back four times. 4 The counselor reminded Ms. Troy that AmeriDebt was a non-profit organization and warned her she needed AmeriDebt’s help. 5 Eventually, Ms. Troy relented and agreed to a DMP with AmeriDebt. 6 Although she remitted her first payment of $783.00 to AmeriDebt, Ms. Troy began to receive calls from her creditors demanding payment. 7 Ms. Troy contacted AmeriDebt and learned that her initial payment was considered a “contribution” to AmeriDebt. Missing payments to creditors only worsened Ms. Troy’s fiscal condition and forced her to file for bankruptcy.

Profiteering in a Non-profit Industry: Abusive Practices in Credit Counseling Before S. Subcomm. on Investigations, 108th Cong. 16 (2004) [hereinafter Senate Hearing] (statement of Jolanta Troy, Customer, AmeriDebt).Id.

NORTH CAROLINA BANKING INSTITUTE to Credit Counseling Agencies (CCAs) for help. Advocacy groups including the Consumer Federation of America and the National Consumer Law Center have documented these practices among a select group of Recent Entrants to the credit counseling industry.” These Recent Entrants systematically deceive their customers and prey on individuals who are already too indebted to pay their bills.

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