Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/14/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We agreed upon a settlement with start new financial Ive been doing my monthly payments and my credit cards are not going down so I wanna know were is my money going to ?? Is this a scam???

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/15/2023

  Hello ***** - Thank you for reaching out to express your concern.  You are correct, within your third month in our program, we achieved a settlement on your second largest enrolled account, for approximately 50% of the enrolled balance.  This is a fantastic accomplishment and you should be very encouraged with such early progress.  In our program, your monthly program payments go directly into a special purpose savings account that belongs to you (the account is in your name).  The money that goes into that account belongs to you and is used for the sole purpose of resolving your enrolled debt.  You chose to enroll in a 48 month plan and so we anticipate that it will take approximately that long to resolve all of the debt you have enrolled.  Over the coming months, we will negotiate settlements on your other accounts just like we did for the initial account we settled.  Sometimes settlements will overlap, sometimes they will occur one by one, depending on the funds you have available in your special purpose account (mentioned above) and also depending on how flexible your creditors are with settlement terms.  This is not a scam by any stretch of the imagination.  We're so happy and honored that you have given Start New Financial the opportunity to assist you, the way we have with so many others just like you.  Please do not ever hesitate to reach out to our Customer Support team should you have further questions.  We are here to help and support you during this time.  Have a great day!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/05/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My wife and I signed up for this **** consolidation, toy story. We both HAD a high 700 credit score. We both now have a low 500 credit score. I lost two vehicles in a storm last month. I had two 2019 camaros, the one I purchased, had one month. Interest 19 per cent, **** a month payment, 878 dollars towards interest. The complaint is I wasn't told about the hit on our credit. We would have never signed anything knowing what was going to happen. When I asked ******* about our credit, we we're told due to our high credit score it will have little affect. Over 200 points isn't a little. I now have no car as I can't afford the high interest rates. What I want to do to *******. For being so dishonest with **. This place of thieves are people who can't afford to pay there bills. We owed 50 grand, we now owe 176 thousand dollars in late fees and interest. It's going up every day. This is my complaint. They do not list a address I can't imagine why, maybe someone would do.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/07/2023

  Hello ****************** - We are sincerely sorry for your disappointment and frustration and we appreciate you giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.  We will make it a priority to review who, how, and what was explained and disclosed as part of your enrollment process.  Honesty and transparency are cornerstones within Start New Financial's foundation.  Those are the two key traits that have allowed our company to become one of the leaders in the industry.  We take your observations and criticism to heart, and we have already taken steps to further enhance our already robust policies and procedures for client enrollment.
  
  
  Beyond what we've already stated above, we'd like to take this opportunity to perhaps shed some positivity, or at least an alternative perspective to your debt/credit circumstances.  Your description of a 200+ drop in your credit score is not something with which we would argue or dismiss.  Start New Financial does not monitor your credit score.  We're a debt resolution/reduction company, not a credit repair company.  When we enroll clients who are in financial distress, our primary (if not only) objective is to help them resolve their debt as quickly as possible, not necessarily with regard to an increase or decrease to credit score.  You are enrolled in a 48 month plan to resolve $55,953 worth of debt.  Currently you are in month 16 and we have resolved $26,749 worth of your debt.  In other words, we have worked with you to resolve over 47% of your enrolled debt even though you are only 33% through the length of your program.  Your program is ahead of schedule and you are doing great!    
  
  
  As referenced earlier in this response, Start New Financial's expertise and objective is not credit repair.  Having said that, we have repeatedly seen that a natural, ancillary, and eventual by-product of paying off a considerable amount of debt is usually an improvement in a consumer's overall credit profile.  It is generally understood that a consumer's debt-to-limit ratio is the second-most heavily weighted factor used to determine a credit score, often times accounting for as much as 30% of the overall score.  
  
  
  To be clear, we're not making a case against your claims.  We are apologizing for our apparent inability to effectively communicate and set expectations at the onset of your enrollment.  We are also attempting to point out that as a result of our working together through this program, you are well on your way to becoming debt free.  We would encourage you to stick with the plan and allow things to play out as far as your credit profile.  We are here to help.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/09/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/12/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  After losing my husband suddenly, I contacted Start New Financial to consolidate my credit card debt since I would be on a fixed income and unable to pay everything off on my own. There were six credit cards total. After making monthly payments to Start New Financial for over a year, I received a court notice from three of the six credit cards stating no payment was ever made to them. Start New Financial suggested going to court but not mentioning their company. I took out a loan to be able to settle that debt that Start New Financial did not settle, and I contacted Start New Financial to inquire where to send the check for the remaining balance of the credit cards they were supposedly paying monthly. They told me to send the check to Finxera based in **, so I immediately sent it out and it was cashed immediately. About 2 months later, I received more court notices from the remaining 3 credit cards that I wrote the check for that was already cashed stating they never received the payment and now the agreed upon settlement was null and void. So I am now left with more debt than I started out with, and I made payments to Start New Financial for over a year that they never reimbursed me with. They will not give me any explanation or resolution.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/14/2023

  Hello ********************* - Thank you for taking the time to share about your experience with Start New Financial.  Your feedback provides valuable perspective to which we might not otherwise have access.  Upon a management level review of your file, it does appear that we've made several genuine efforts (12/1, 12/19, 12/22, 3/30, 3/31, 4/5) to explain to you the sequence of events leading to this point, and also possible resolutions.  If things are still unclear to you, then we sincerely apologize and accept responsibility for our inability to communicate the message effectively.  We do this every day and so we need to understand that what might easily make sense in our headspace might not always make immediate sense to the consumer.
  
  The simple explanation to a not so simple set of circumstances is that creditors and collectors behave in ways that generally serve their best monetary interest, regardless of the financial hardship their consumer is facing.  You hired Start New Financial to help you navigate a difficult financial circumstance, and we believe we were on the right track.  Within the first 12 months of your program, Start New Financial successfully negotiated money saving settlements on three (out of six) of your enrolled accounts.  Within those same 12 months, your creditors filed three lawsuits and arbitrarily (at least on the surface) and unilaterally cancelled the three settlements that were in place, to which you had already paid portions of the settlements.  The creditors offered no recourse other than to re-settle the accounts.  This explanation is not about shifting responsibility, or even demonizing creditors, it is simply stating the truths surrounding the situation.  Although Start New Financial can and does do whatever is in its power to shelter you from aggressive creditor behavior, creditors have rights and they tend to exercise those rights to the maximum, even when the consumer might be at their minimum.  We understand this explanation may not provide any tangible relief to your situation, but we sincerely hope it will provide further context and perspective.
  
  In the meantime, as you are probably already aware, all of the money in your program's savings account has been refunded to you.  Beyond those funds, there is simply no other money available for return.  Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further information or assistance.  We are here to help as best as we can.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/25/2023

   
  Complaint: 19929424
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Start New Financial did NOT accomplish what was promised to me at the start of their debt consolidation plan.
  
  
  Communications to me were practically non-existent and I had NO IDEA of the troubles I was to face in early October, 2022.
  
  
  In early October I was served with a complaint, from the sheriff of Monroe County, who personally came to my home in *********, **., indicating I was being ***d for non-payment of one of the credit cards being handled by SNF.  It came as a complete shock to me!  Especially since I was NEVER contacted by SNF.  I called SNF right away, but wasnt able to speak with anyone.  
  
  
  A few days later, a woman called me.  I automatically figured that SNF would represent me with my impending court case as well, since they were in charge of my credit cards.  But I was sadly mistaken as I was told that the creditors had every right to bring me to court.  (Trouble was, I knew NOTHING of this beforehand!). The woman I spoke with told me there werent enough funds in my account at the moment to negotiate a settlement with Synchrony bank.  I couldnt understand that, since they had been taking $473.00 out of my checking account since September of 2021.  She then asked if I had $1,000.00 I could put towards payment for this creditor.
  
  
  The reason I became a client in the first place was because I suddenly became a widow and my income was basically cut in half.  I am retired and on a fixed income, so how in the world would I be able to come up with an extra $1,000.00?!  
  
  
  I realized I was on my own!!!
  
  
  So, after my court appearance, I was granted a continuance.  Only trouble was, two more of my creditors came forward to *** me as well.  Things were spinning out of control in my life as I was getting NO HELP from the people who were supposed to be handling my creditors.  I was frantic!!
  
  
  I enlisted the help of my daughter, ****, for help.  Together we formed a plan to take out a loan, to negotiate and pay off all the outstanding balances of my creditors.
  
  
  We spent two weeks on the phone with the different lawyers, negotiating an acceptable pay-off amount to satisfy and close my accounts.
  
  
  We also spoke with a woman at SNF, who helped us with the remaining three creditors.  She gave us the already negotiated balances and told us to send a check to Finxera, where they would distribute the money allotted to each creditor.
  
  
  At the end of December, 2022, I sent out all the checks to all my creditors, and by early January, they were all cashed.  Even though Im now saddled with a payment of $500.00 a month for the loan, I felt such relief that I wouldnt be bothered with court is***s in the future.
  
  
  But again, I was wrong!!  Finxera NEVER paid off my accounts with the three remaining creditors.  Again, I was being ***d!!  And this time, the creditors that had been receiving payments monthly for over a year, reverted to the original balance!!  
  (Synchrony Bank accounts) 
  
  
  I tried for weeks to get a response from SNF, and when they finally contacted me, they NEVER took accountability for their irresponsible actions, saying it was neither my fault nor theirs.  I vehemently disagreed with them and told them that it WAS THEIR FAULT.  They held all the cards as far as my accounts were concerned.  Again, I was NEVER contacted that they werent payed.
  
  
  My daughter and I negotiated again, and I had to come up with almost double the amount of money, that I sent to Finxera.  Family members pooled their money together so I could make up the difference!
  
  
  In the end, SNF did nothing for me.  In fact my health has suffered because of this.  I am still suffering with the grief of losing my beloved husband, and my heart wasnt up to all this additional stress My blood pressure shot through the roof.
  
  
  I feel that people need to be warned about the careless inefficiency of this debt consolidation company, because instead of helping me, they hurt me in the worst way.  They should not be allowed to be in business anymore.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/09/2023

  Hello *********************-
  We are in receipt of your reply to our response to your initial complaint.  Thank you for taking the time to further express your feelings.  Start New Financial goes to great lengths at the onset (and duration) of of a client's program to inform and educate them about the potential risks and rewards associated with a debt resolution program.  All Start New Financial clients are provided a "Start New Financial Debt Resolution Agreement", a "Start New Financial Welcome Packet", and a "Start New Financial Welcome Call", each of which are designed to provide a variety of disclosures, acknowledgements, and waivers, to help make sure our clients have a solid understanding of the program.  Our clients also have the ability to cancel the program at any time, without any penalty.  We don't mention all of this as an attempt to shift responsibility and/or in any way attempt to put the blame on you, the consumer.  As we indicated in our response to your initial complaint, if things were still unclear to you, then we sincerely apologize and accept responsibility for our inability to communicate our message effectively.  However, we believe it was not for lack of effort or concern for you as a person.  Over the years, thousands of consumers have enrolled in our program and thousands of consumers have had a positive experience.  We have also had a number of consumers who have not had as much success.  We understand that our debt resolution program is not for everybody, which is the exact reason we make such a point to be as transparent and up front as possible.  It's unfortunate and as disappointing to ** as it is to you that we were not able to meet your expectations.  No matter the circumstances, our goal is for every client walk away satisfied but we realize that is probably not always realistic.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/11/2023

   
  Complaint: 19929424
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Start New Financial refuses to take any responsibility for all the trouble they caused me.  They just repeat their responses with form letters

  I paid $473.00 every month from August, 2021 until December 2022 They took their cut right from the beginning, and only paid minimal monthly payments to three of the six credit cards they were handling for me.  The other three were suing me because Start New Financial neglected to negotiate (or include me in on the negotiations).  I was hit with court notices thats how I found out I was being sued.

  it was only after I took out a loan to pay my creditors off, and sent a check a check to Finxera, which they neglected to distribute to the monies owed to my creditors, and was being sued again for my last three creditors, that they sent back my check, plus $1,000,00 that they said was still in my account.

  I wound up in a lot of trouble, which caused a huge burden on my already burdened life

  I need them to own up to what they did and to compensate me for the extra money I had to come up with because of their inadequacies as a business.

  i dont want any more form letters excusing themselves, and I want to prevent them from taking advantage of another person in my predicament giving them FALSE SECURITY!

  Sincerely,
  

  
  *********************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/15/2023

  Hello ********-

  We don't have or write form responses.   The very few complaints that we receive, we take very seriously and look at individually.  Our responses to you have been genuine.  We appreciate that you want to prevent consumers from being taken advantage because we share the same goal.  We are only here to help consumers and we believe our track record speaks to that statement.  For the most part, we humbly disagree with your opinions and assertions and do not feel we owe you any compensation.  Having said that, we're sincerely sorry we have not met your expectations.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/16/2023

   
  Complaint: 19929424
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  It disgusts me how Start New Financial is totally excusing themselves of any wrongdoing with regard to the mishandling my accounts.
  

  Its an insult to me, that they have no problem dismissing me and not acknowledging the struggles I faced as a result of their total lack of professionalism and efficiency.  
  

  In essence, they are telling me I have no reason to be upset with the consequences I suffered because of the incompetent decisions they made.

  I feel they are exonerating themselves, and therefore will be able to carry on with their shoddy business dealings, and put some other poor person at risk of having to suffer the way I did.  And thats totally unacceptable to me.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/06/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I went into a payment agreement to pay off my credit cards I paid ****** per month for almost 2 years put since I live on social security I could no longer pay so I cancelled and asked them for a list of the accounts they paid off. As of today I have not received the list and Im being contacted by most of my credit cards for payment.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/07/2022

  ******, 

   

  We show you had a total of 15 accounts enrolled in your program with us, reflected as follows: 

  
  Bank of America ending in **** with a balance of $2,750.11 - This account was satisfied with a *****% settlement of $1,651.00, and our earned settlement fee was collected in the amount of $508.60
  ******* (*********) ending in **** with a balance of $1,968.00 - This account was not settled
  ******* ending in **** with a balance of $1,633.73 - This account was satisfied with a *****% settlement of $899.00, and our earned settlement fee was collected in the amount of $269.80
  Best Buy (Credit Control) ending in **** with a balance of $1,818.68 - This account was not settled 
  ****** Bank ending in **** with a balance of $2,293.00 - This account was not settled
  Capital One ending in **** with a balance of $3,865.28 - This account was satisfied with a 40% settlement of $1,546.11, and our earned settlement fee was collected in the amount of $654.20
  Capital One ending **** with a balance of $1,519.00 - This account was not settled
  Capital One (********* ********** P.C.) ending in **** with a balance of $1,354.05 - A 73.85% settlement was finalized in the amount of $1,000. A total of $667.00 was paid toward the arrangement prior to cancellation, and our earned settlement fee was collected in the amount of $119.20
  Comenity (CCB) (Second Round) account ending in **** with a balance of $5,962.92 - A 45% settlement was finalized in the amount of $2,683.31. A total of $20.00 was paid toward the arrangement prior to cancellation, and $69.40 was collected toward our total earned settlement fee of $964.40
  Credit ******** (Credit Control) ending in **** with a balance of $2,154.95 - This account was not settled
  Credit ******** ending in **** with a balance of $636.00 - This account was not settled
  Greensky account ending in **** with a balance of $4,736.51 - This account was satisfied at *****% for $2,369.00, and our earned settlement fee was collected in the amount of $909.20
  ******************* (Philips and *****) account ending in **** with a balance of $3,991.15 - A 45.02% settlement was finalized in the amount of $1,797.00. A total of $687.00 was paid toward the arrangement prior to cancellation, and our earned settlement fee of $657.20 was collected
  Synchrony Bank (Portfolio Recovery) account ending in **** with a balance of $5,089.28 - This account was not settled 
  Synchrony Bank (Second Round) ending in **** with a balance of $1,911.30 - A 40% settlement was finalized in the amount of $764.52. A total of $82.52 was paid toward the arrangement prior to cancellation, and we collected our earned settlement fee of $309.00

  
  Please let us know if there is anything else we are able to help you with! 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/21/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was looking into doing debt consolidation but decided this route was not for me. I asked to cancel within 24 hours. They say to cancel within 72 hours. I reached out to cancel on 10/4. On 10/10 they finally sent me the email to cancel. The agreed payment was supposed to come out on 10/18 but since I canceled, no payment was due. Well on 10/18 the money was withdrawn from my account. I called global and they said they did not get the cancellation request until the 18th. They are refunding my money but I have to wait 5 days. I just feel that this is unacceptable.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/06/2023

  Hello ************ We appreciate you reaching out to inform us of this series of events.  We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.  Please understand that there was no malicious intent and that this was simply an unusual breakdown in our normal procedures.  Your valuable feedback has allowed us to identify a snag in our system and implement the proper fix to prevent this from happening again.  Again, we are sorry.  **** care.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/18/2022

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My father is ****************************************** 2020 about consolidating debt. They instructed him to stop making any payments while they negotiated a settlement. I now learn they haven't even begun a settlement with one of his creditors. Prior to contacting them he owed approx 21k and after working with them owes over 22k. My sister was told about a year ago that he had 22 payments left and the pay off amount was $6,687. Today I was told he has 23 payments for a total of $9,545. They also say his payment end date is approximate. To date he has paid $12,865. There are some good debt consolidation companies out there, but this is not one of them. Is there any way out of this?

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/19/2022

  Hello,
  
   
  
  First, I would like to thank you for bringing this to our attention and our hope is that after your review this response, it will give you a better understanding of how our program works.
  
  When enrolling onto our program, one of the main things we review with our clients is that if the accounts are current, we are unable to settle the debt at that time. If the accounts are not current and payments are no longer being made, it is mentioned that interest and late fees *** accrue which causes the balance to increase. In this case, if you are referring to the *********** account, the day this account was enrolled onto the program, that balance was $19,288.00. The day that we reached a settlement on this account, the balance had increased to $20, ******. The difference between those amounts is likely due to the interest and late fees that had accrued during the time that payments were not being made.
  
  You mentioned that we have yet to settle any of his accounts, but that is not correct. We settled his *********** account (the one referenced above) on 9/10/2020 in the amount of $10,961.97 which was broken down into the following payment arrangement:
  
  First payment in the amount of $321.97 and 35 remaining payments in the amount of $304.00.
  
  The first payment that was made towards this settlement was on 9/11/2020 and all remaining payments were scheduled for 10/21/2020-8/21/2023.
  
  The remaining balance for this settlement is $3,344.00.
  
  The only other account left to be settled is his Citi account that is currently with Resurgent.
  
  You asked if there was a way out of the program and there is, he can cancel the program if he would like however, since there are only 11 payments remaining on the *********** account, I would suggest at least waiting until that is settled in full. If he cancels the program while being in this settlement and does not continue to make the payments, there is a very good chance that this settlement will go null and void, which would then cause all the payments that have been made towards the settlement, would then go towards the original balance of $20,******. If he would like to remain on the program and have us strictly focus on paying the settlement for the *********** account, he also has the option to remove the Citi account from the program.
  
  Again, I apologize for any confusion that *** have occurred, but I am hoping that this gives you a better understanding.
  
  Thank you for bringing this to our attention and if you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to us.
  
  
  Thank you,
  Start New Financial

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/01/2022

   
  Complaint: 18241119
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  Certainly the increase in the amount owed initially and at the time of settlement was due to late fees which Start New Financial said we would incur as they asked my Father to stop making payments. I would have expected as an honest broker they would have negotiated those fees away as they were incurred at there suggestion. 

  Next it appears threatening for Start New Financial to state that if we get out of this arrangement now we may make the arrangement with Cap One nul and void.

  Is the $3k plus mentioned the payoff amount? I hope so, and expect they will use this payoff amount as an honest broker to honor their agreement and settle the Cap One account. With the $3k plus mentioned we would have paid over $13k which is more than enough for a company who has not even begun to negotiate the Citi account, just imagine the late fees associated with that account.

  So in final, I would like this matter settled with a payoff amount and the understanding that there will be no threatening language suggesting that the funds would not be used to pay off the Cap One account. I expect documentation showing the Cap One account to be closed and satisfied.

  I would like Start New Financial to relinquish any management of the Citi account. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/21/2022

  Hello,
  
   
  
  Thank you for the information that you have provided. To better assist you with what you have asked to be completed, we would like to reach out to you. You will receive a call within ***** hours.
  
   
  
  Thank you,
  
  Start New Financial

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/07/2022

   
  Complaint: 18241119
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I have previously rejected this same offer and given my reasons.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/18/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I started the debt settlement in Dec 2019 with Start New Financial (SNF). Starting 7/18/2022 my payments being made to Convergent Outsourcing (creditor) were being reversed and I was never notified. I reached out to Convergent on 9/16/22 to see what was going on and was told that I may have lost the settlement for non-payment because they hadn't received any payment since June 2022. I reached out to Global Holdings who referred me back to SNF. I had multiple "payment reversals." On 9/20 a $1,263.00 payment was made to Convergent and when I inquired with SNF about this they stated when setting up the settlement between SNF and Convergent they could only set up the 1st 24 payments of the 36mo payment arrangement, and the payments started getting reversed 7/2022 bc the remaining payments were not set up with Convergent. I was advised by SNF on 9/21 that the settlement was still approved and that a payment of $1263.00 had been paid and CLEARED my account on 9/20/2022 for all reversed payments.. I cancelled my agreement on 9/21/22 due to this disaster of a company. Convergent contact me on 9/28 and told me the payment of $1263.00 had ONCE AGAIN BEEN REVERSED due to "account not found". SNF refused to speak to Convergent with me, they refused to speak to me with Global Holdings, and neither would speak to Convergent. After getting a manager at Global Holdings to speak with me and Convergent on a conference call Global Holdings stated that refunding the $1263.00 back to me to make the payment to Convergent on my own was the best solution in which Convergent agreed, so that I would not have to go back and deal with SNF. While SNF settled other debts they did nothing to resolve this problem. I am requesting the "convergent fees" SNF charged me for a total of $732.00 be refunded back to me as they did not make July, August or Sept payment on my behalf, I had to make them and fix their mistake which could have cost me the settlement. June 2022 payment also had been reversed.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/06/2023

  Hello ****** - Thank you for taking the time to put your thoughts into writing.  After a thorough review of the events that took place, it appears this was a situation where there was an honest miscommunication.  Although admittedly inconvenient and frustrating, it seems reasonable that with four different parties involved (Start New Financial, Global Client Solutions, Convergent Outsourcing, and yourself), that lines could get crossed.  We do not feel that Start New Financial acted inappropriately or negligent.  We understand you inserted yourself into the situation to expedite a resolution to the issue, and we sincerely appreciate your efforts.  Having said that, we humbly feel as though we had the situation resolved.  Again, we understand your frustration but these types of situations with creditors are not uncommon in our industry.  Ultimately and fortunately, there were no "damages" as a result of these events, and so we respectfully decline your request for a refund.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/16/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  By your own admission, in your last response, my July, August, & September payments were not received by Convergent outsourcing, why? I made made my monthly payments on time for all of those months. Why were my monthly payments not being made in a timely fashion by Start New Financial? I also noted this in the my demand letter sent to Start New Financial. Not at any time was I advised I almost lost the settlement that was negotiated because of non paymnent on your behalf. Once I confirmed my payment had cleared on 9/21 I requested for my account to be closed with Start New Financial. I don't feel that I'm being unreasonable requesting the fees be reimbursed for these 3 months. Did you charge me a fee for July, August, and September to make ON TIME payments to Convergent Outsourcing as agreed, yes, for $244.00 each month,  did Start New Financial follow through on their end of the agreement, no. My monthly payments were not being made as agreed by SNF, and my monthly payment was not $1,263.00 so why would I be waiting for a $1263.00 payment to clear my SNF portal? 

  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ****** *******************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/17/2023

  Hello Ms. ******* - When we came to terms with Convergent (6/2020) for the settlement of your LendingClub account, per the terms of the agreement (attached), we scheduled all of the required payments to Convergent, within Global Client Solutions.  One of the attached documents is a screenshot showing that all of the payments for the entire settlement arrangement were created on 6/29/2020.  Even though the payments were available to be pulled, Convergent stopped pulling the payments after they pulled the first 24 installments.  Why Convergent stopped pulling at that time is seemingly a matter of Convergent policy.  When we recognized what had happened, we contacted Convergent and per their instructions, we cancelled any of the payments that they were considering past due and set up the $1,263 payment to bring the settlement up to date.  Convergent did not charge any late fees or penalties and there were/are no damages to you.  The $1,263 was scheduled to process until your Global Client Solutions account was closed on 9/21/2020, at your request.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/29/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I started the debt settlement in Dec 2019 with Start New Financial (SNF). Starting 7/18/2022 my payments being made to Convergent Outsourcing were being reversed and I was never advised of this. I reached out to Convergent Outsourcing (creditor) on 9/16/22 to see what was going on and was told that I may have lost the settlement for non payment because they hadnt received any payment since June 2022. At that time, I reached out to *************** who referred me back to SNF. I had multiple "payment reversals." On 9/20 a $1,263.00 payment was made to Convergent Outsourcing and when I reached out to SNF to inquire about this they stated when setting up the settlement between SNF and Convergent they could only set up the 1st 24 payments and in July 2022 the payments started getting reversed bc SNF hadn't set up the remaining payments of the 36mo settlement. I was advised by SNF on 9/21 that the settlement was still approved and that a payment of $1,263.00 had been paid and CLEARED my account on 9/20/22 for the reversed payments going back to July to Convergent. I cancelled my agreement on 9/21/2022 due to this disaster of a company. Convergent Outsourcing contacted me on 9/28 and told me the payment of $1,263.00 had ONCE AGAIN BEEN REVERSED due to "Account not found". SNF refused to speak to Convergent Outsourcing with me, and no one wanted to communicate with Convergent Outsourcing and myself. Resolution, *************** agreed to speak to Convergent and agreed that sending the funds back to me for $1,263.00 was the best solution and avoided any further issues with SNF. While SNF settled other debts for me, and sent me to the retention **** who tried helping, and did call me back AFTER the fact. There fees are high and then they try to put your into a loan for 27% interest. SNF should be held accountable, be required to reimburse the "convergent fees" for a total of $732.00 on the 3 reversed payments that I ended having to make on my own

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/05/2022

  ******,
  
  Thank you for this information. After reviewing this account, I wanted to provide further clarification on this matter.
  
  On 9/19, we were notified that Convergent did not cash 3 of the payments towards the settlement and they were unable to provide us with a reason as to why. All the payments that we were able to setup, were in fact set with Convergent until the next set of payments needed to be setup. We reached out to Convergent that same day to find out if they would honor that settlement. They did in fact honor the settlement and advised that we needed to setup a lump sum payment which covered all the uncashed payments, which equated to $1,263.00. Once we confirmed this amount on our end, we contacted Convergent on 9/20 to setup the total uncashed amount of $1,263.00.
  
  The reason for why this payment did not process is because the following day, on 9/21, you contacted *********************** at approximately 11:02am EST and spoke with ********* to close and cancel your account. Once you closed this account, no funds were able to be deducted, which includes the payment that would have processed and been applied to the Convergent settlement. The funds that would have been used to pay that settlement were then reversed and sent back to you since you closed your GCS account.
  
  We were unable to speak with Convergent regarding your account because we were told that you had removed the ***** of ********* so we could no longer speak on your behalf.
  
  Here at Start New Financial, we are here to provide our clients with excellent customer service, and we continue to try and uphold that by helping our clients settle their debt. Like any other service provider, there is a fee associated with the service that is being provided, which in this case is to settle accounts. We did settle this Convergent account, and we were able to have this settlement honored despite Convergent not cashing payments, this was not something that went wrong on our end. Due to the timing of you closing your third-party payment processing account, those funds could no longer be allocated to that settlement, but we followed through on our end with providing the service of settling the account on your behalf which is why the fee was collected.
  
  I hope those provides you with more clarification. If you should have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.
  
  Thank you,
  Start New Financial

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/30/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Ruined my credit promised to help me fix it.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/01/2022

  *****,
  
  Settling credit card debt does have an impact on your credit score however, it's temporary. We explain this process during your enrollment call, and welcome call. We understand seeing a reduction in your credit score can be frustrating, but most clients find it's worth the temporary hit to live a debt free life. You have made 6 payments into the program and one of your eleven debts has been placed into an active settlement. As settlements get completed this slowly helps your score bounce back as the account is no longer effecting your debt to income ratio, and will reflect a zero balance on your credit report. We see you have requested to close your account, and we respect whatever decision you decide to make. Please contact customer service if you need anything at all.
  
  Thank you,

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/16/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We agreed upon a settlement amount with the company. We paid the full amount up front. They have continued to draft withdrawals from our account. They will not discontinue the drafts until the account is closed, even though they have all their money. They are now telling me I need to call 4 days before every draft to put a hold on the draft and when I request a refund of extra money drafted it takes over a week for the refund to occur.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/19/2022

  ****,

  We have settled 9 out of the 10 debts enrolled. The outstanding account left to settle is your *********** account ending in **** which has been sold to a company by the name of Digital Recovery. We do not have the necessary funds to resolve this final account, which leaves two options; 1. We can close your account and you can handle the final *********** outside of the program, or 2. We can provide you with the settlement amount and you could draft to complete this final account. We will have a representative from our team reach out to review both of these with you.

  Thank you,

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/20/2022

   
  Complaint: 17722444
  
  I am rejecting this response because: we paid Start New Financial all funds required and agreed upon within the first 3 months of the contract. There is no need for more funds to be withdrawn from our account. We were also told it would take no more then 6 months to complete this process but shorter if we had the money upfront, which we did and provided. It has been 10 months and only getting more results because I have been calling frequently. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/24/2022

  ****,

  Debt settlement is an estimate, we don't know with certainty what each creditor will settle for which means payoffs can't be an exact science. Unfortunately, we simply don't have the funds to settle the final account. Which leaves us with only two options; 1. We can remove the account and close your file, or 2. draft accordingly to complete the final *********** settlement. Please let us know how you would like to proceed.