2010

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Contents

How to Consolidate Student Loans

How to Reduce Student Loan Debt

How to Defer Student Loans

How to Apply for Loan Forgiveness

How to Consolidate Your Bills

How to Freeze Your Credit Report

How to Get a Low Interest Rate Credit Card

How to File Taxes Online for Free

How to File for Unemployment

How to File for Unemployment in Texas

How to File for Unemployment in California

How to File for Unemployment in Kentucky

How to File for Unemployment in Michigan

How to File for Unemployment in Nevada

How to File for Unemployment in North Carolina

How to File for Unemployment in Ohio

How to File for Unemployment in Oregon

How to File for Unemployment in Rhode Island

How to File for Unemployment in South Carolina

How to File for Unemployment in Tennessee

How to File for Unemployment in Florida

How to Apply for Financial Aid

How to Apply for Financial Aid at Ohio State University

How to Apply for Financial Aid at New York University

How to Apply for Financial Aid at University of Southern California

How to Apply for Financial Aid for College

Avoid Scams in Bill Consolidation Services

Scamming is prevalent, not just in business and trade. Rather, it has enveloped a rising service that is very much needed by a huge percentage of the United States population - the bill consolidation service industry. Statistics show that day by day, more than a hundred people complain about fraudulent activities in the field of consolidate debt loans. If you are not careful, then you might be the next victim.

Bill Consolidation - A Common Scenario

Recently, a debt consolidation lawyer is South Florida went out of business as she received a law suit and her former customers were “forgiven” of their outstanding debts. Hundreds of customers filed a complaint against Laura Hess, a lawyer from the Hess Kennedy Law Firm. According to case reports which were filed against Hess and the law firm, the lawyer allegedly “stole millions of dollars from Florida residents who were trying to get out of debt.”

As like in any other bill consolidation service, debtors employ the help of lawyers. The lawyers act as the liaison officer between the debtor and his creditors. They will help the debtor devise an effective repayment plan through negotiations with the creditors. They will also be responsible for handling any communication between the two parties. Aside from the service fee, the debtors will have to send their supposed monthly debt repayments to the lawyers and then these lawyers will distribute the funds to the creditors.

Based on the claims of the victims, the bill consolidation clients of Hess sent her the money in the form of direct deposits, on a monthly basis. They thought that she was paying their creditors and in effect, reducing the debts that they owed. However, the victims claimed that “their bills weren't paid and their credit scores dropped hundreds of points.”

An Unexpected Reward

Unlike other scam victims, the alleged victims of Hess received an unexpected relief. The Broward County judge who handled the case announced that “Hess is barred from doing any more business related to debt consolidation.” She might also lose her license.

What’s more is that according to the attorney general of Florida, “Some banks have decided to forgive the debts of many of Hess' customers.” Among these were Capital One and H.S.B.C. There are also some other banks which are considering the option of erasing the consolidated debts of the victims.

Despite the fact that the victims of Hess were quite lucky, it should be noted that not everyone are as fortunate as they were. There are many victims of bill consolidation scams who end up with bigger debts and ultimately ruined credit scores.

Preventing Scams and Unfair Bill Consolidation Services

To prevent being a scam victim, debtors should examine the credibility of those who are offering bill consolidation services. Referrals and consumer complaints should be taken seriously and background checks must be made.

Once a debtor avails of a bill consolidation service, he should make it a point to conduct regular checks and appointments with the lawyers or debt counselors. He must also check his credit scores and get reports from credit reporting agencies once every year.