Consumers Beware
Complaint
smh
Country: United States
Consumers Be Careful.
It has come to the attention of Morgan Drexen and its networks of law firms that there are individuals and their companies fraudulently attempting to impersonate themselves as Morgan Drexen. They are doing so by displaying our 800-868-1458 phone number as their caller ID when attemping to call you.
To further protect your identity, NEVER disclose to anyone including any Morgan Drexen employee your full credit card account numbers. Morgan Drexen debt consultants will only request a partial number if necessary. To insure thet you are working with Morgan Drexen you may also log onto the website as a client of one of the law firms confirming your status with Morgan Drexen.
Morgan Drexen has contacted and is working in full cooperation with the Colorado State Attorney General, the Missourri Attorney General, as well as a senior prosecutor with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the 'spoofing' of Morgan Drexen's Caller ID.
If you have received a fraudulent telephone call displaying 800-868-1458 please call us at 800-868-1458 and press '0' and ask to speak with Protective Services
It has come to the attention of Morgan Drexen and its networks of law firms that there are individuals and their companies fraudulently attempting to impersonate themselves as Morgan Drexen. They are doing so by displaying our 800-868-1458 phone number as their caller ID when attemping to call you.
To further protect your identity, NEVER disclose to anyone including any Morgan Drexen employee your full credit card account numbers. Morgan Drexen debt consultants will only request a partial number if necessary. To insure thet you are working with Morgan Drexen you may also log onto the website as a client of one of the law firms confirming your status with Morgan Drexen.
Morgan Drexen has contacted and is working in full cooperation with the Colorado State Attorney General, the Missourri Attorney General, as well as a senior prosecutor with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the 'spoofing' of Morgan Drexen's Caller ID.
If you have received a fraudulent telephone call displaying 800-868-1458 please call us at 800-868-1458 and press '0' and ask to speak with Protective Services
Comments
The "variety cabaret" dance act that is featured in those pics is L'effleur des Sens. You can learn more about them here: http://www.leffleurdessens.com/
The company does great work for people that REALLY want to get out of debt.
They make no bones about the fact that you may be sued if you stop paying your bills, and that your credit report will suffer, but they will help you. Honestly if you are looking to use a company like this your credit is shot anyways so why would you care about if your rating will suffer while in the program?
They do in fact work with attorney's to settle debts for clients that are willing to stay with the program as intended.
They are working with the FTC to regulate and fix what is wrong with the industry.
Think about it, if one buys a new car and it works what does one do? One would drive it. If that car breaks down all the time and is always in the shop, what does one do? One complains about it to everyone, even if the company fixes every problem one will still complain that there were problems. This is human nature.
The fact that there are so many complaints on here I liken to people that were not happy with some aspect of the program, miscommunication and most definitely an upset ex-employee or two.
Lets all use common sense here people. Does everyone really think that the 100 or so people that you read complaining are representative of the tens of thousands that are customers or that have had a good experience and decided not to work with this company?
Call, talk to them, if you get a bad vibe say no thank you, if you think what they say is correct then use them. But don't just listen to crackpots that have nothing better to do than sit around and bash something they have never tried, or something they did not give a chance.
It all started with William Mitchell who was the CEO of BBB of the Southland and he was a Springboard director. It is a tradition for the heads of better business bureaus to be on the boards of local credit counselors….which is Consumer Credit Counseling Program and the credit card companies fund that program.
Since Morgan Drexen is alternative to traditional debt settlement company and trying to provide administrative support to attorneys to get clients out of the credit card debt, there was a conflict of interest.
BBB of the Southland was corrupt and even if there was no complains being unresolved every debt settlement company including Morgan Drexen would get an F rating.
Mitchell attacked debt settlement companies as a part of his plan to destroy organizations that promote debt negotiation as an option for eliminating consumer debt. Mitchell was sued and accused of failing to disclose the very close relationship between the BBBS and Springboard, a consumer credit counseling service organization.
Its not because of Morgan Drexen’s poor job but because of the corruption of BBB and their practices. People trust BBB and they are not an organization to be trusted.
My debt was a little over $9000. If I kept paying only minimum monthly payments, I would end up paying over $13000 in interest and would not be able to pay my debt off for the next 30 years.
After 18 months, I only paid $3400 and my debt was settled and paid off. That has included all the fees. I thought that was a great deal.
I am a former employee for MORGAN DREXEN (MD) and the reason for writing this message is to warn people against this misleading and cheating company. Please understand that MD and other “debt settlement” companies are only the middleman between you and real debt settlement attorneys. What they do is gather “clients” for a group of attorneys and get a commission for doing so. Here is a breakdown of the company and how it works:
After signing up each client is assigned a “Client Coordinator” (whom you´ll never speak to unless you want to cancel) because we are trained to tell you that they are away, on another call or any other excuse. This “client coordinator” is nothing but a contact between you and your assigned attorney, they have no real legal power. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE A CLIENT OF AN ATTORNEY, NOT MORGAN DREXEN. All MD does is paralegal work for the attorneys. They make their money form you for doing basically nothing. Once you sign up they will assign you an attorney and will send an “AUTHORZATION TO NEGOTIATE LETTER” to your debtors which basically states you are being represented by so and so attorney to negotiate on your debts. These are some of the law firms MD works with:
Willamson lawfirm, Levinsohn Consumer attorneys, Howard Nassiri.
PRACTICES
MD´s call center is located in BOLIVIA (South America) this is where I worked and served as a customer service agent. So mind you, ALL YOUR INFORMATION, including Social Security number, credit card numbers, bank accounts, medical information is readily available for foreigners to see and use, although the integrity of the agents (my co workers) is unquestionable and you would have nothing to worry about. All we would actually do is screen clients by asking them all their information and password so we could transfer clients to the right department. So we were basically screeners and nothing else but still had access to all your documents which are scanned an uploaded. When you sign up they fail to fully explain how the program works, they lead you to believe that MD will start negotiating right away and that calls from creditors will stop, They will get you to sign up really quick and charge you $100 right away before you get a chance to get the Welcome Kit and read the DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.
When you sign up they will calculate a monthly payment amount based on how much you can afford and how much your total debt is altogether. So let´s say you enroll 4 credit cards (CC) and the total amount of your debt is $12, 000 and this amount is divided like this CC#1: $1,000 CC#2: $2,000 CC#3: $3,000 and CC#4: $6,000. Now let´s say you r assigned “enrollment fee” (or attorney fees that you have to pay first when you enroll) is $1,500. Now let´s say all you can afford to pay monthly is $200. That monthly payment amount will not change during the course of you r enrollment but now let´s apply it to real life. Keep in mind that out of those $200 you have to subtract the $50 “maintenance fee” that MD charges for doing nothing so in theory all you will be paying towards the enrollment fee is $150. So after doing the math it will take you 10 MONTHS (almost a year) just to pay off the enrollment fee and in the mean time your accounts will accrue LATE FEES AND ridiculously HIGH INTEREST all while your credit rating is ruined. That could double the amount you owe in the first place. And the larger the amount of the debt, the bigger it will snowball into. We were instructed to tell clients not to worry about it because we would settle those accounts for about 40% and you would not pay all the interest and fees. LIE! (Although some credit cards do, not all of them settle for 25%, 30% or 40%. Some credit cards will not take less than 80% of what you owe).
Okay, so now you´ve paid off the enrollment fee. Now your monthly payment is going towards what MD calls a “Trust Account” which is basically like a savings account. MD usually tries to settle the smallest account first so that the look like they are getting things done. So from our example , they will try to settle CC#1 which at the beginning was $1,000 and let´s say with after 10 months of not paying it turned to $1,500 with late fees and higher interest. In order for MD to send a settlement offer they need about 30% of what you owe. So from our example they would need about 30% of $1,500 (current balance of CC#1) which would come up to about $450. So based on your monthly payment of $150 it would take you 3 more months to come up with $450 to make the first settlement offer. So it would basically take you 13 MONTHS (more than a year) to pay off a $1,000 debt. But that is not it, so CC#1 which was $1,500 was settled for $450, so in theory MD saved you $1,050 ($1,500- $450) now you have to pay the 25% settlement fee first before they move on to the next account which for this account would be $262 (25% of $1,050 or amount saved). Now DID YOU REALLY SAVE ANY MONEY?? You ended up paying $450+$262=$712 out of a $1,000 so you saved a miserable $288 right? WRONG!! What about 13 months of maintenance fees?? $50x13=$650. And this is ONLY for the first account!! Imagine the remaining three accounts which are much higher. Imagine what CC#4 ($6,000) will turn into by the time MD tries to “settle” it. How much will you have paid in monthly fees and god forbid you have to go to court for it and have to pay extra legal and court fees.
FEES
In the case your assigned attorney reaches a settlement with your creditor, MD gets a 25% commission or “settlement fee” from the money they saved you (for instance if you owe $10,000 and they settled that debt for $4,000 MD charges you 25% of the $6,000 you “saved”) so basically they are keeping or charging you $1,5000 for DOING NOTHING.
These are the fees that MD charges “clients” and don´t tell you at the time they sign up:
A $900 “enrollment fee,” which is usually more than that based on how much you owe. This fee has to be paid first before ANITHING gets done.
A $50 “maintenance fee” that comes out of a client´s monthly payment that supposedly is for faxes and postage costs. So, for example, if a client´s monthly payment is $150, out of that amount MD keeps $50 again for doing NOTHING and the rest goes towards paying the “enrollment fee” which they claim is the attorney fees.
As for legal help, don´t expect that the attorneys will be available to answer all of you questions. Unless you receive a SUMMOS you will NEVER even speak to the attorney assigned to you. You will have a legal appointment over the phone about once or twice but if you case goes to court MD will send you a LIMITED SCOPE letter which is kind of like a menu at a restaurant with all the cost for additional legal help. These charges range from $45 for a phone consultation with a local attorney up to $100 for other legal services. So don´t expect that the attorney will be there so help you right away, they have hundreds of clients and in the case you are served with a summons they will only have you fill out a document for ANSWERS that you have to deliver YOURSELF to the court.
There are numerous other fees for late payments, check handling and moving payment dates around.
From the moment we are hired we are trained to mislead “clients” by telling them to STOP paying their debts, not to answer any calls from creditors. And not to worry about any threats because they are “scare tactics” designed to scare clients and get them to pay their debts. If your debt is delinquent it will get sold to a collection agency, if the collection agency is unable to collect it will be assigned to an attorney who will most likely serve you with a SUMMONS and SUE you for the amount owed. This is serious. That is why I was appalled and felt horribly about telling clients “not to worry about it” and that it was only “scare tactics.” DAMN RIGHT you should be scared and take care of it right away. If there is no money on your trust account there is practically nothing that can be done.
What infuriated me the most is the thousands of elderly Americans that barely survive on Social Security and are being CHEATED by this company. These are people who are sick dealing with cancer and other illnesses and were still worried about not missing a payment. These are hard working, honest people who want to do the right thing and pay their debts and they are not aware that this company is taking their money and actually doing more harm than good and are scared to death when they are served with a SUMMONS to appear in court. I lost sleep over this, I would not want anybody doing this to my parents or grandparents, some calls were heartbreaking and I would ask people to cancel out of the program.
The most devastating effect of dealing with companies like MD. Once you stop paying creditors they will obviously call you and send letters because they want to get paid. By failing to make payments your CREDIT RATING will be severely affected and will stay there for 7 YEARS!! We were trained to tell customers or clients (you) that once debts were “settled” that their credit rating would improve right away. Depending on the delinquent status of the debt (how long it is past due) Clients would start getting letters and calls from attorneys which we were instructed to tell clients to fax to MD right away so that “the client´s attorney can take care of it right away” All MD would do is notify the creditor´s attorney that they were enrolled in the program and sent them a copy of the Authorization to negotiate letter. If you were just starting the program it would take you at least a year before any settlement offers were sent out.
In conclusion you DO NOT NEED debt settlement companies. You can go DIRECTLY to any attorney specialized in consumer debt and not pay unnecessary fees that will only enrich cheating scumbags that prey on the desperation of people. They are only middlemen who get a commission based on getting clients for the attorneys they work with. We were basically paid to tell client LIES while their credit was ruined. It may have worked for some people who were able to afford large monthly payments and start settling accounts right away (while still paying unnecessary fees) but for the average client it took an average of three years to graduate the program. Bottom line is you can do it yourself. Call your credit card and try to negotiate yourself by showing hardship documents (medical expenses, etc) if they don´t want to work with you then try to find a local attorney DIRECTLY who will help you. Not all creditors will settle and if they do, it will vary greatly how much they´d be willing to settle for. It depends on how much income you make, assets you own, hardships you are going through like medical expenses and many other factors.
PLEASE keep in mind that I am in no position to give ANY LEGAL ADVISE and everything I have shared in this post is based on my experience from working for Morgan Drexen as a customer service agent in BOLIVIA and my disgust at their business practices. I hope this has helped in some way to answer your questions. Please watch the report below on the TODAY show from the BBB website and read the article for further insight.
http://www.bbb.org/us/article/bbb-talks-debt- ... oday-show-20670
http://specials.msn.com/A-List/Jailed-for-deb ... ebt&FORM=MSNIIT
http://specials.msn.com/A-List/Jailed-for-deb ... ebt&FORM=MSNIIT
Robin is from Saint Louis, MO. In her interview with Morgan Drexen, Inc., she explained her hardship. Due to her medical condition, she was forced into early retirement; therefore, her income was drastically lowered. Now she is on a disability income, which isn’t enough to cover her needs.
Additionally, she was also financially helping her elderly mother who was battling Alzheimer’s disease. Robin’s debt amounted to $26,244 and she couldn’t afford to pay it back. The minimum payments increased. That caused Robin’s debt to snowball because she was using her credit cards to supplement her income. One of the credit card companies tried to sue her and she was afraid to go to court. She didn’t have clarity of the situation and she didn’t know her rights either. Robin decided to look for legal help.
Robin contacted the Williamson Law Firm who are supported by Morgan Drexen. These attorneys are helping consumers avoid the scar of bankruptcy. Morgan Drexen and the Williamson Law Firm settled her debt and saved her $11,207. They also helped her with a judgment and settled her debt with a creditor before the court date.
Morgan Drexen CEO Walter Ledda said, “Reaching any settlement without the protection of legal counsel is dangerous, and can leave you trapped into deeper debt,” warns Ledda. “Negotiating with credit card companies on your own, or through so-called ‘credit counselors’ who actually may work for the credit card companies themselves, is very foolish and can be fatal to your long-term financial health.”
Robin is very happy that she saved money and was spared of going to the court. She is thankful to Morgan Drexen. Since she has been debt free, she learned how to differentiate between needs and wants. She cut up her credit cards and she learned to live on her income only.
The Bradshaw Law Firm and Morgan Drexen, Inc. helped Michelle avoid the scar of bankruptcy. Michelle is a single woman from Havre, MT. She went through an expensive divorce and used her credit cards to pay for the divorce attorney. During her marriage, she was the subject of mental, emotional and physical abuse by her husband. She has been through counseling and was on anti-depressants.
Sadly, after she divorced, she started drinking heavily and gambling. During the spring of 2007, she went into a treatment for alcohol and gambling addiction. Her medical insurance didn’t cover the rehab so she had to pay for it with her credit cards. Her income decreased so much, that she couldn’t make payments to her creditors. Michelle was struggling to get out of debt. Creditors were aggressively calling her and harassing her every day. She decided to look for help.
Michelle wrote to the Bradshaw Law Firm and Morgan Drexen, “I am in a downward spiral. Please help me.” Morgan Drexen work with local and regional attorneys to substantially lower credit card and other unsecured deb. They strive to help consumers build a secure financial future. The Bradshaw Law Firm and Morgan Drexen settled her debt for only $8,000 and saved her $8,000
Michelle is very happy with the savings. Since then, she stopped gambling and she is finally financially stable again. Through the process, she learned not to use her credit cards, to supplement a lifestyle beyond what her income can support.
They couldn’t afford to pay the debt back, due to their low income. The couple fell behind on their payments and the late charges started mounting. The debt kept growing along with the late charges and fees. Creditors were calling them daily and demanding a payment. They were even calling their jobs and jeopardizing their employment. Nick and Terri decided to find help, because their financial situation was getting out of control.
The couple contacted the Williamson Law Firm who were offering an assisted debt relief program supported by Morgan Drexen.
Morgan Drexen, provide legal services and a software-based platform for attorneys. The Williamson Law firm with Morgan Drexens help settled their debt and saved them $3,800
Their financial situation is stable now and Terri and Nick are finally without a debt and ready to start a new chapter of their life. There were two ways to enter the next chapter, either you were financially free or you were not financially free. Terri and Nick are financially independent, free, and hopeful for a better financial future.
Morgan Drexen CEO Walter Ledda said, “Americans who have taken the higher road by settling their unsecured debt and successfully avoided Bankruptcy are to be respected for their resilience.”
Additionally, she paid $7,800 for her daughter’s school tuition. Due to loss of income, Barbara couldn’t afford to make payments to her creditors. She was living paycheck to paycheck not seeing any signs of progress. Her accounts defaulted and interest rates increased over 20%. Creditors were calling her daily because of missed payments.
She decided that she needed help so that she can take control over her finances again. Barbara called the Williamson Law Firm, who is supported by Morgan Drexen.
Morgan Drexen provide administrative support, staffing and marketing services to many law firms throughout the country. These attorneys help consumers to avoid the scar of bankruptcy. They strive to help consumers build a secure financial future. The Williamson Law Firm and Morgan Drexen settled the debt and saved her $22,882.
Morgan Drexen CEO Walter Ledda commented, “Reaching any settlement without the protection of legal counsel is dangerous, and can leave you trapped into deeper debt,” warns Ledda. “Negotiating with credit card companies on your own, or through so-called ‘credit counselors’ who actually may work for the credit card companies themselves, is very foolish and can be fatal to your long-term financial health.”
Additionally, her daughter was diagnosed with a terminal liver disease, which prevented her from working. Angela stepped in, to take care of her ill daughter as well as financially helping her family. She found a part time job so that she can earn more money and keep up with her bills. However, she still wasn’t able to pay off her credit card debt.
The interest rates on her credit cards were over 30% and she couldn’t even afford to make minimum payments. Her debt amounted to $19,284. The creditors were calling her at all times to collect the payment. Once they started calling her place of employment and jeopardizing her job. Angela decided to look for legal help.
She decided to call the Howard and Nassiri Law Firm and Morgan Drexen who offer an alternative to traditional debt settlement services. They provide integrated legal support software to attorneys across the United States. These attorneys help consumers facing the scar of bankruptcy. The Howard and Nassiri Law Firm with Morgan Drexens help settled her debt and saved her $5,595.
Morgan Drexen CEO Walter Ledda commented, “Reaching any settlement without the protection of legal counsel is dangerous, and can leave you trapped into deeper debt,” warns Ledda. “Negotiating with credit card companies on your own, or through so-called ‘credit counselors’ who actually may work for the credit card companies themselves, is very foolish and can be fatal to your long-term financial health.”
Misty is a single mother from Whitefish, MT. She has two children and she was receiving very little child support. Sadly, it was always late and never when she needed it. She had multiple sclerosis and was in a wheelchair therefore she couldn’t work outside her home. Misty was self-employed but her business was not always profitable. She started using her credit cards to supplement her income.
Soon she accrued so much debt that she couldn’t pay it back. After she missed a few payments, creditors started calling her. They were harassing her daily and she decided to find a different way out of her debt. Priscilla contacted the Howard and Nassiri Law Firm supported by Morgan Drexen.
Morgan Drexen is an evolving alternative to traditional debt settlement services. They provide integrated legal support software to attorneys across the United States, who help consumers facing the scar of bankruptcy. The Howard and Nassiri Law Firm with Morgan Drexens help settled her debt and saved her money.
Morgan Drexen is an evolving alternative to traditional debt settlement services. They provide integrated legal support software to attorneys across the United States, who help consumers facing the scar of bankruptcy. The Howard and Nassiri Law Firm with Morgan Drexens help settled her debt and saved her money.
In her letter to Morgan Drexen, Inc. she explained about her financial hardship. Ashley is a 25-year-old single mother of two. She is not receiving any child support and she is struggling with her bills.
Her credit cards interest rates were climbing and she realized that she would not be able to pay her debt. Because of her financial situation, she was very worried and depressed. Ashley needed help as soon as possible.
She contacted the Howard and Nassiri Law Firm who were offering a debt relief program supported by Morgan Drexen.
Morgan Drexen provide legal software services to attorneys. These attorneys are helping consumers avoid the scar of bankruptcy. Morgan Drexen provide full administrative support, staffing and marketing services to attorneys throughout the country.
Morgan Drexen and the Howard and Nassiri Law Firm enrolled her and she completed the program in only one year. They settled her debt and saved her a good amount of money.
Ashley is at peace and very happy. Now she is able to provide for her grandchildren debt free and without the use of the credit cards. Morgan Drexen CEO Walter Ledda said, “Reaching any settlement without the protection of legal counsel is dangerous, and can leave you trapped into deeper debt,” warns Ledda. “Negotiating with credit card companies on your own, or through so-called ‘credit counselors’ who actually may work for the credit card companies themselves, is very foolish and can be fatal to your long-term financial health.”
Additionally, he didnt have good medical insurance and his medical co pays were very high. He had to pay a lot of money for his hearing aid and extensive dental work. Once he missed a few payments his creditors were calling him on daily basis, he decided to look for legal help.
Howard contacted the Howard and Nassiri Law Firm who were offering an assisted debt relief program supported by Morgan Drexen. They strive to help consumers build a secure financial future. Morgan Drexen provide administrative support, staffing and marketing services to many law firms throughout the country. The Howard and Nassiri Law Firm with Morgan Drexens help settled his debt and saved him $37,383
They used their three credit cards to survive and rent an apartment. Once those were maxed out, they couldn’t pay them back. The debt kept growing with all the late charges and fees. Creditors were calling them daily and demanded payment. In order to pay off their debt, the couple knew that they needed to find a legal help.
The couple were advised to contact the Williamson Law Firm who were offering an assisted debt relief program supported by Morgan Drexen.
Morgan Drexen provide administrative support, staffing and marketing services to many law firms throughout the country. They strive to help consumers build a secure financial future. The Williamson Law Firm with Morgan Drexens help settled his debt and saved them money.
Jean and Fred are thrilled to be debt free. They are very grateful to Morgan Drexen who helped them out of their unfortunate situation. The couple now own no credit cards and they told Morgan Drexen that they would never get themselves in the same unfortunate financial predicament again.
Morgan Drexen CEO Walter Ledda commented, “Over 80% of those who use a lawyer supported by Morgan Drexen have successfully avoided bankruptcy.”
Aaron and Rebecca are from Fairfield, IL. Their financial trouble started when both of htem were injured at work. The couple were placed on a worker’s compensation and a short-term disability income. Rebecca’s medical condition was costing them over $800 per month for her medicine. Their short-term disability checks were only half of what they were making in their salary, therefore they started using their credit cards to survive. Soon they maxed out their seven credit cards. Due to their low income, they weren’t able to pay their debt back. Creditors started calling them daily and threatened them with lawsuits.
The couple couldn’t see a way out. They tried to make minimum payments but the principal balance was not decreasing. Aaron and Rebecca decided to contact the Williamson Law Firm who were offering an assisted debt relief program supported by Morgan Drexen, Inc.
Aaron and Rebecca contacted the Williamson law firm who are supported by Morgan Drexen, Inc.
Morgan Drexen work with local and regional attorneys to substantially lower credit card and other unsecured debt. The Williamson Law Firm and Morgan Drexen settled their $33,164 debt for only $17,427 and saved them $15,737.