Sunday, September 27, 2009

Minnesota AG Targets Three Outfits In Civil Suits Alleging Upfront Fee Rackets Promising Help With Credit Card Debt

From the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General:
  • Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson [...] filed three lawsuits against separate companies that promised consumers they would lower the interest rates on their credit cards in exchange for payments of up to $1,995 but then failed to provide the promised services.(1)

***

  • [The] lawsuits were filed against Priority Direct Marketing, a Washington corporation charging consumers fees of up to $1,590, Clear Financial Solutions, a Florida corporation that charged consumers fees of up to $999, and Moneyworks LLC, based in Georgia, which charged consumers fees of up to $1,995.

For the entire Minnesota AG press release, see AG Swanson Files Three Lawsuits Against Companies Claiming To Help Consumers Lower Their Credit Card Interest Rates (Swanson Warns Minnesotans To Be On Guard Against “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” Companies That Charge High Fees for Supposed Debt Assistance Services During These Tough Economic Times Then Disappear).

(1) Swanson warned the public to be on guard against fly-by-night companies seeking high payments from consumers in exchange for supposed financial help. She said that many companies are aggressively seeking out struggling citizens to exploit during these tough economic times--in which people face record high levels of credit card debt and high credit card interest rates. After the citizen pays the money, however, the companies often disappear, fail to return phone calls, file bankruptcy, or go out of business, driving consumers even deeper into debt.