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Apr 122012

Debt settlement robocalls – What happens when you press "1"? 

Category : Debt settlement companies, Debt Help, Consumer Proposals

My name is Bill Courage and I’m a Senior Vice-President and Trustee with BDO. Daily in my practice in mid-western Ontario, I help people deal with debt.

Like many other Canadians, I recently received a “robocall” asking if I had debt and wanted to pay less money to get rid of it.  Instead of hanging up, I pressed "1" to see what would happen.  I left a message, told them I have a line of credit with a $38,000 balance on it and waited.

I received a call from Velocity Processing, a debt settlement company.  velocity_logo.jpgThe caller confirmed my debt amount, estimated a payment and advised that they would contact my creditor, reduce the debt by 40% and make payments to them which would include their fee.  It sounded like it was too good to be true! 

I asked how they did this.  They advised me that an attorney would contact my creditors.  I asked who they were and where they were located.  Immediately the caller suggested that, simply by asking questions, perhaps I was not really interested in their program.  He asked if I was on a “do not call” list.  When I stated that I simply wanted to get some more information, he referred me to their website and hung up.  After looking at the website I found that Velocity Processing operates out of Fresno, Texas. 

What was interesting about my experience was that Velocity did not want me asking questions. When I didn’t immediately sign up for their program and tried to find out more, I was shut out.  He provided no information about the effect it would have on my credit rating – either during the phone conversation or on the Velocity website. From experience I know that any type of debt settlement arrangement will negatively effect credit rating.  They also did not address the fact that debt settlement is a negotiation process with creditors and results can’t be guaranteed, unless the arrangement is made and accepted by creditors through a formal consumer proposal.

In Canada, if you are struggling financially, a consumer proposal provides a far more effective way of addressing outstanding debts.  There is immediate protection from creditors, it deals with all creditors on a consistent basis, has a regulated and fully disclosed fee schedule, and the process is overseen by government licensed professionals.  Call your local BDO debt help office for information.  Unlike Velocity Processing and many other debt settlement companies, we WILL answer all of your questions about the debt settlement process.  ​

 

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