For once, a site that doesn’t put down other ways of getting out of debt. At the same time, the site doesn’t get into a lot of details as to how they perform the job they do. They do encourage you to contact them, and they do say that they’ll not only help you set up a budget that will help you get out of debt by putting money you pay them into a savings account, but they also say that they’ll contact your creditors to tell them that you’re working with them. They also mention that they will wait for a fair offer before they will make payments for you, which could be problematic if it takes awhile for your creditor to accept a lower payment.

Eagle One Debt Solutions belongs to some pretty good organizations. One of those is the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce. Another is the United Consumer Advocacy Network, LLC, a consumer advocacy company based in Pennsylvania that defends the rights of consumers against unlawful, unfair, and deceptive practices by creditors and their bill collectors. This would assume they have nothing to hide, and is a good sign that they would work with such a company in their own state.

Along with that, they’re also members of The Association of Settlement Companies (TASC), which has certification processes for companies that are a part of their organization. Membership in the group depends upon debt settlement companies being able to demonstrate that they comply with the standards set out in the bylaws.

There were no negatives that could be found on this company on the internet. At the same time, there were no testimonials for the company either. As a matter of fact, there’s little at all online regarding this company, good or bad, which is rare for a company that’s been in existence for three years. This is probably another good statement about them; either that, or the fact that they’ve joined groups that helps them commit to doing the right thing.

Eagle One Debt Solutions seems to be a very reputable debt consolidation company for people living in the state of Pennsylvania. If you need debt settlement assistance, giving them a call might not be a bad idea.

Photo Credit: www.torontobankruptcytrustee.com

The one industry that seems to be weathering the bad economy the best is the collection agency industry.  Sure, they’re a needed commodity, but it seems that many of the ones around today have come out of nowhere and are going after dollars that either have already been paid or aren’t allowed to be gone after in the first place.

Rubin & Raine Inc., whose company’s corporate offices are out of Eatontown, NJ, was recently the subject of an investigation by the state of New Jersey for attempting to collect on bills that were past the state’s statute of limitations, which is only six years.  Some of the bills they were trying to collect on were also already paid.  These were old hospitals bills, and they hadn’t verified whether any of the bills had already been paid before starting their efforts.  They have agreed to cease trying to collect on any claims older than six years and to verify whether the accounts are open or not.  This could be a problem since the hospital whose claims they’re working closed in 2007.

In another story, a Michigan collection agency, International Collection Services, has lost its license to do collections in the state because they were collecting payments from people, then instead of informing their clients that they had received the payments were using the money for other purposes, in essence keeping people’s name on credit reports instead of closing out accounts and sending their client’s the portion of what they’d collected. 

And finally, in New York State, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo hit 3 collection and debt consolidation businesses with penalties totaling $245,000 and got agreement to change their collection techniques.  The three companies were Creditors Interchange Receivable Management, LLC, Capital Management Services, LP and Tri-Financial, LLC.  There was no official word on what they did, and none of them admitted any wrongdoing, but all said they would comply with the Fair Debt and Credit Collections Act. 

This followed Cuomo closing a collection agency, which actually ended up being two agencies owned by the same person. Lamont Cooper and two debt collection firms he owns that operated in the state, Emanee Development, Inc. and Dial Tech LLC., were ordered to shut down, and Cooper was ordered to pay restitution to consumers statewide. Cooper and his companies are permanently barred from engaging in the debt collection business and acting as brokers that buy and resell portfolios of consumer debt.  The attorney general’s office alleged that Cooper’s companies told debtors that they were criminals, threatened lawsuits and arrest, engaged in third party disclosure, and other violations.

Not all debt collection agencies are bad, but the behavior of these agencies points out that all of us have to be vigilant in protecting our names and our credit histories.  If you believe you’re paid a bill and are still being pursued, fight it.  Ask for proof, and if you’re not satisfied, take it to someone higher.

Fidelity Debt Solutions – www.FidelityDebtSolutions.com (no hyperlink for you Fidelity!) – is a debt consolidation company based in California. They’ve been in business since 2004, although they claim they’ve been in business longer than that. It’s possible they’re counting the years they were a mortgage company before going into the debt consolidation business.

From the first page of their website, you’re left with the impression that there’s something inherently not right. They’re working hard to denigrate other types of debt consolidation efforts, and most of what they’re saying is incorrect.

To begin with, creditors don’t care about working with outside collection agencies. First round collection agencies only get paid if they can get money from people, so creditors don’t lose anything in the process. Once an account gets past a certain age and it’s been charged off, the creditors have basically collected some part of the money from insurance companies, and sell your debt to the next round of collection agencies for a fraction of its worth.

Second, most consolidation loans are not as high as 24%; if that were the case, banks wouldn’t be giving out loans in the first place because people probably wouldn’t be qualifying for them. Also, if one does qualify, debt consolidation loans, if they’re high enough, will cover some of the items Fidelity Debt Solutions says they don’t cover.

On the page where they talk about debt consolidation, they give a definition that supposedly comes from the FTC, Federal Trade Commission. However, that definition is nowhere on the FTC website. What they do say is this:

“You may be able to lower your cost of credit by consolidating your debt through a second mortgage or a home equity line of credit. Remember that these loans require you to put up your home as collateral. If you can’t make the payments — or if your payments are late — you could lose your home. What’s more, the costs of consolidation loans can add up. In addition to interest on the loans, you may have to pay “points,” with one point equal to one percent of the amount you borrow. Still, these loans may provide certain tax advantages that are not available with other kinds of credit.”

That’s as far as one should have to go to wonder if they’re dealing with a disreputable company. The next step is to do an investigation online to see if there are any complaints. For Fidelity Debt Solutions, there are a lot. We can start with the Better Business Bureau, which gives them a “D” rating; very bad. Next we can see many negative reports from consumers, all saying that the company took their money, and didn’t call any agencies while they continued receiving collection calls. Some people did get sued for high debts by creditors, which the site says will not happen, and when some people talked to these agencies, they were told that Fidelity Debt Solutions hadn’t talked to them, which they won’t do until your credit rating has been trashed.

In other words, Fidelity Debt Solutions is a debt consolidation agency that you should stay away from. They are typical of many debt consolidation agencies who are only out to take advantage of consumers, and there’s plenty of evidence against them. Don’t get taken.

See more:

ComplaintsBoard.com – http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/fidelity-debt-solutions-c96065.html

DebtSettlementReviews.com – http://debtsettlementreviews.com/fidelity-debt-solutions

ChoiceRevu.com – http://debtconsolidationservices.choicerevu.com/fidelity-debt-solutions/

RipOffReport.com – http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/348/RipOff0348606.htm