Have you ever received pre-recorded sales calls from Rachel from Cardholder Services, Bank Card Services or Credit Assistance Program? Well, she has been put out of business so you will not be receiving any more calls from her.The Federal Trade Commission and the Florida Attorney General’s office have shut down the illegal robocalling operation.
On Tuesday, June 14th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Florida Attorney General’s Office announced a lawsuit against Life Management Services of Orange County, an Orlando-based company the FTC says is behind hundreds of thousands of these calls.
According to the FTC, the company swindled people out of their money by offering two types of phony credit card debt services: interest rate reduction and debt elimination. It promised lower interest rates or government funds to pay off debt and asked people to make initial payments ranging from $500 to $20,000. But almost no one got the help that it promised. In all, the complaint alleges the robocall scheme bilked consumers out of more than $15.6 million since at least January 2013.
A federal district court in Orlando has temporarily stopped Life Management Services from making illegal robocalls and selling its services pending an upcoming hearing. “This is the latest effort by the FTC and our international, state, and federal law enforcement partners to stop illegal robocalling operations that harass consumers day and night with unwanted calls,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
“These scammers use robocalls to hide their identities and exploit consumers,” said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Working jointly with the FTC, our actions to stop these schemes and hold the scammers responsible will not only keep Floridians from falling victim to these scams but also protect consumers nationwide.”
The first complaint alleges that the Life Management Services used generic names such as “Bank Card Services” and “Credit Assistance Program,” and falsely claimed to be a “licensed enrollment center” for major credit card networks like MasterCard and Visa. They deceived consumers by claiming that they would work with their credit card companies or banks to lower their credit card interest rates, to save the consumers thousands of dollars in a short period and allow them to pay off credit card balances three to five times faster. People were required to make up-front payments of between $500 and $5,000 for these services.
In reality, the defendants sometimes made an attempt to contact the consumer’s credit card company, but people complained that they were almost never able to obtain the promised rates or savings, the agencies charge.
The second complaint alleges that Life Management Services also pitched a bogus debt elimination service which promised that the consumer would have access to money from a government fund to pay off their credit card debt in 18 months, a service for which people were required to make up-front payments of between $2,500 and almost $20,000.
In reality, no such government fund exists, and consumers who paid defendants’ up-front fee wound up deeper in debt with damaged credit scores and higher interest rates and late fees, according to the complaint.
In bringing the case, the agencies charged the defendants with violating the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. They are seeking to eliminate illegal robocalling and to secure money for consumer refunds.
According to the FTC, you should avoid doing business with any company that promises to settle your debt if it:
- charges any fees before it settles your debts
- touts a “new government program” to bail out personal credit card debt
- guarantees it can make your unsecured debt go away
- tells you to stop communicating with your creditors, but doesn’t explain the serious consequences
- tells you it can stop all debt collection calls and lawsuits
- guarantees that your unsecured debts can be paid off for pennies on the dollar
A safe choice for debt relief services is CuraDebt
a respectable debt relief company that does not try to mislead consumers. It has a solid reputation and is currently ranked #1 Debt Relief company in the United States by Top Consumer Review.