The Credit Exchange,The Credit Exchange-Chris Paskvan-Stephen Vanderhoof rips off employee's and client's-Chris Paskvan-Stephen Vanderhoof Las Vegas Nevada

You were right on in all of your comments about the pushy sales reps. Unfortunately, many people in debt that call The Credit Exchange are not as savvy as you and are intimidated by these sales reps. These people are scammers and are under-the-gun to recruit people to sign up for debt programs in literally a 20-minute phone call. Any responsible individual that is serious about alleviating debt is going to do their homework, as you did. The Better Business Bureau should be the FIRST step in anyone going online to sign up for a debt program, regardless if the company is local or nation-wide. Kudos to you for doing your homework and sparing yourself a lot of grief and wasted money. These crooks need to be put out of business!

i am amazed!
this report has been so entertaining.

i have googled the credit exchange to see some information about the company, since the first phone call with them was so "fishy" i had so see what's going on, and found this report.

Jim, or whatever our real name is , you are an angel, thanks to your comments, and others responding to you, i have saved myself big mess in the future and will not be using their services.

i felt something wrong and reading this confirmed my feeling so i feel great and want to thank you.

all the sales rep. wanted is my BANK ACCOUNT info, so he can "set me up on the program NOW" and save me like $10,000- ......................... ya right.

so so so pushy,
so unprofessional (rep was very cool to talk to, fun and outgoing, but that is nice for partying mode, not so much when dealing with bank issues.....)


i have contacted a small law firm to handle my credit and put me in a program , not a "PROGRAM" .

thieves !

thank you again. great stuff .

This is a rather interesting back and forth. To the Steve guy who was employed for 3 short weeks you sure know a lot about the credit exchange, and how people are paid and the history of the BB and why they hate you.

Yup you sure sound like someone who worked there for 3 weeks.

This is the latest Better Business Bureau complaint from April, 2009:


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Significant Complaint Details


The Credit Exchange
4 Hutton Centre, Suite 1000
South Coast Metro, CA 92707
Contact: Travis Whiteside (Customer Service Manager)
Phone: (800) 810-3390



Complaint
Complaint Description - Posted 4/7/2009
Summary - High pressure, aggressive, pushy, and lied in order to get what they wanted out of my wife

Initial Complaint
This is a copy of the letter sent to them to cancel the program:
Dear Michelle Croy:
Not knowing about this program I tried to get information out of Kevin Vyas in order to receive some help getting my bills paid. I was never told how much it would cost to get it started or any other information that I had requested to find out more about the program. I was not informed that giving any personal information would start the process and make it binding since I was under the understanding that I would have time to talk to my husband before anything was done. In doing so I told him that I couldn't do anything without my husband, Frank Nimmo's consent which he said that would be okay and to talk it over with him. When my husband called Kevin back, he said that he wasn't interested because I wasn't in charge of the finances any longer; he was told that all he had to do was cancel it, but was not told how to do so. When trying to cancel the program my husband was being pushed to continue it even though he had already made it clear that he didn't want to. When money was withdrawn out of our account I called and that was when I was informed that just giving my information started the process for the program which Kevin had neglected to tell me this I am formally requesting that this be cancelled. I would like to find out how to get my money refunded considering that it was continued and processed without our consent to continue.

Resolution Sought
I would like them to give me a reasonable/complete refund do to them continuing pressure on my wife and that all she wanted was information about the program and she was told that nothing would be done until I was talked to which is where they lied and I had also told them that I didn't want it and they went ahead and charged my account anyway.

Additional Information

Date Problem First Occurred: 2/13/2009
Product or Service: Credit Card Restructuring
Model Name or Number:
Date Purchased: 2/27/2009
Order Number:
Amount In Dispute: $498.95

Here is a brief description of what typically goes on daily at The Credit Exchange. This complaint is one of many. Other complaints can be viewed on The Better Business Bureau website.

Better Business Bureau
Start With Trust
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties of Southern California


The Credit Exchange
4 Hutton Centre, Suite 1000
South Coast Metro, CA 92707
Contact: Travis Whiteside (Customer Service Manager)
Phone: (800) 810-3390


Complaint =
Complaint Description - Posted 1/19/2009
Summary - Representative got hateful and high presssure when I refused to make a decision withouth discussing it with my husband.

Initial Complaint =
Their rep Joseph Bird called in response to my husbands entry of info on their website. During our conversation my husband found on the internet their BBB rating. I brought it up and told him I was no longer comfortable giving him specific info. We continued the conversation without him asking for the specific info but then when I refused to make a decision and commit to a start date and a date when I could get their first payment to them to start their program without speaking to my husband first he raised his voice and got very hateful and pushy. I told him that I was not going to commit to something that could affect us for the next 3-4 years and our credit for the rest of our lives without discussing it with my husband first. I told him that if he was going to continue with the high pressure our conversation was over and he hung up on me.

Resolution Sought =
I would like an apology via email for the high pressure tactics that took place and I would also like proof that both their representative, Joseph Bird, and the company as whole has deleted all of our information including any account numbers that they may have from their system.

1. The two compliance officers (Nick and Larry) at The Credit Exchange are there for quality assurance monitoring to make sure a "debt counselor" does not give an exact amount, price or time limit. It was not ever stated that they were there to monitor calls that were not slammed into sales. That is the Supervisors jobs. You are trained not to let someone off the phone, regardless of where they are, i.e. at work, driving in their car, eating a meal with their family. Pertinent information is filled out on applications at a later date; the main motivation is to get the client to sign the contract ONLINE with their computer, clicking in the right boxes and get that down payment date.

2. There is no communication with clients once they have enrolled in the program and there are NO monthly financial email newsletters being sent to the clients! Remember, The Credit Exchange is a referral company and once the client has been shipped off to another company, The Credit Exchange will tell the disgruntled client to contact the company they have been assigned to.

3. Of course Mr. Vanderhoof was devastated about Lindsey's death in January, 2009. It was a very sad and sudden thing. She was one of the newer top sales reps, had a real estate background, and much more class than 99.9% of the usual group of convicted felons and drug addicts employed there as "debt counselors." I can assure you if it had been another low-performing, new employee, Mr. Vanderhoof would have not displayed that performance.

4. Last but not least, The Better Business Bureau is a membership organization and their members are under the radar to adhere to customer service and that all complaints must be rectified or their rating will be down-graded. ALL you have to do is pull up The Credit Exchange's rating with The Better Business Bureau and it is there in BLACK & WHITE: every complaint is documented with names and dates, this has not been fabricated by The Better Business Bureau. Complaints offer information on customers being pressured, the "debt counselors" names are identified, the amounts of money the clients had pulled from their bank accounts after cancelling, and the combative results they had to deal with thereafter.

The only thing I can agree with you on is that your three week employment tenure with The Credit Exchange and being fired was a true blessing for you.

I too am an ex-employee of The Credit Exchange, and while reading all these descriptions of people and events, I must admit that I was, and am, totally entertained. It just amazes me how two people can view the same person or event in two drastically different ways. My tenure at The Credit Exchange was short, literally 3 weeks. I too was fired. Unlike "jim" or whatever his actual name is, upon termination, I went around thanking various managers and supervisors for the opportunity to work for such great company. Today, I feel the same way about The Credit Exchange as I did the minute they fired me. This company was the best place and the nicest environment I've ever worked in. You see, I understand the meaning of projection, and that it's never right to blame others for my failings. "Jim" needs to look within, only then will he learn and admit his failings. I am going to rebutt each and every claim I can remember reading to clear up the many slanderous and incorrect statements in this thread.

1. TCE(The Credit Exchange) employs two compliance officers, Nick and Larry. It is these men's job to monitor most phone calls, and reprimand employees, not for failing to "hammer" a sale, but for lying or even exaggerating. For instance, if an employee states a number associated with price, time, or other significant figure without preceeding such word with "approximately", "about", or similar non-precise word, they are called to the compliance office, made to listen to themselves utter such wrong words, offered suggestions of how to avoid making such mistake, and usually given a simple written warning the first couple of times. Nick and Larry do not get paid based on an employee's ability to sell and would have no motivation to criticize one's failure to "hammer" a customer. Look within "jim".

2. Steven Vanderhoof not only lives, breathes and sleeps the belief in his product, he verbalizes these beliefs to his employees with a near superhuman zeal. At last year's Christmas party, in the middle of music, dancing and food, he interrupted the MC, took the microphone, and stresses, to all present, that everyone's true goal and responsibility is to HELP the indebted consumer. He went on and on about the topic, and I must admit, it was getting old, but this is Steve. Even after someone enrolls in one of his programs, he sends such customers monthly emails offering suggestion of how NOT to repeat past mistakes. I seriously question "jim's" claim that Steve admitted his program was a scam. This is totally out of Steve's character.

3. "Jim" goes on to state that Steve does not care about his employees. Not true. Steven makes himself available to all, from janitor to manager. Though I was not present, I did hear from a reliable source, that when one of his young employees was recently found dead in the bathroom of her home, Steve shed tears in front of the entire company. He then demanded that all 150 or so employees create a circle, hold hands, and pray for her soul. Steve recently wrote a book, you might consider reading it "jim".

4. The topic you mentioned regarding the BBB is interesting. To answer such question, it is important to consider all the facts. The founder of the Southlands BBB is a man named Bill Mitchell. Bill, in the past, was on the board of a credit counseling company located in Southern California, of which name currently illudes me. Because TCE, Steve's company, offers debt settlement services that compete with credit counseling services offered by Bill Mitchell's past post/company, Bill Mitchell automatically blacklists all debt settlement companies based on the industry. Don't believe me? Go to the Southland BBB website and do a search using the words "debt settlement". You will then be offered numerous companies listed. You can then check and confirm that all listings have an "F" rating. This policy is limited to Bill's branch BBB, which would explain the absence of "F" ratings to debt settlement companies in other jurustictions assigned to the local BBB. I do believe this topic will find a way to court soon, but consumers must remember, the BBB is a membership organization. They offer higher grades to paying members. They call this "accreditation" or "accredited". If you want to perform a neat little experiment, go, again, to the Southland BBB website, and review the record of Google, Toshiba, AT&T, or maybe even a local church you attend. Read all the details. If this does not convince you of the value, or lack there of value, associated with a BBB rating, you must be braindead. I heard that Disneyland just recently bought their "A" rating through accreditation. In summary, the BBB is a business. Plain and simple. If you pay, you'll get a higher grade.

Too all concerned, I hope this convinces all that "jim" might be stretching the truth at minimum. Unlike "jim", I am not afraid to use my real name.

Steven Hallsted

I am attaching something from another former employee who had seen red flags on The Credit Exchange back in 2007 and Hess-Kennedy, which is the law firm that The Credit Exchange was putting clients into for debt settlement programs, fully aware they were scams:

Hess Kennedy is a law firm that specializes in handling credit counseling claims and debt negtiation claims. The 2 founders of the law firm are Laura Hess and Edward Kennedy (formely known as Edward Cherry). I am a former employee of a company called "The Credit Exchange" and I can tell you that my manager would push me to know end on placing debt burden consumers into a settlement/reduction program because the commission was higher and the company made more money. The owner of "The Credit Exchange" is Steve Vanderhoof and to say the least he is a very egotistical person who only cares about his pockets....so does hit puppet Joshua Dryman (he hired me). I am glad that I got out of that office it was very stressful. The programs we offered are complete scams. Hess Kennedy came into the picture, along with another outfit called ESS (Not sure what that stands for, I believe Enhanced Solutions). ESS is located in Tampa or Orlando FL. I can't remember which one, but everytime a client was not getting a call back I would refer it to our in house customer service rep Travis Whiteside. He would do his best and I feel really bad for the poor kid as he would get hundreds of calls a day.

So once in a while I would call the ESS customer service department and get hung up on or placed on hold myself. All I wanted to do was find out what was going on with clients I enrolled. They have a manager over there who's name is Anthony and he is very rude ignorant person not only with me but even some of the managers at the credit exchange. I can only imagine what he was saying to customers on the phone. The other person who I spoke with is Kristen or Sharon.

The bottom line is that all of these companies are cheating thousands if not millions of dollars a month out of customers bank accounts. Hess Kennedy would periodically visit our office in California to more or less just go over how much they can continue to offer. The ownders of Hess Kennedy, ESS and Mr. Vanderhoof will be dealing with the Attorney Generals office and FBI very very soon. They will not last!

Jacob Goldman
Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:41 pm Subject: Former Insider.

Since I first reported the credit exchange as the fraud they are I have been threatened. The thing is the guys doing the threatening way 110 lbs soak and wet. Instead of ripping people off chris and stephen need to get a real jobs. You 2 guys are real clowns taking advantage of people who are in trouble to make up for all of your losing real estate deals!!!! You both are a disgrace. If you think your threats are going to get me to stop telling the truth you were wrong. Ripping off people is what youy guys do. Charging people large sums of money and watching them get sued. I wouldn't do business with any company that has an F rating with the BBB. There are class action lawsuits agianst the credit exchange going on as we speak. Stephen VanderHoof told me to my face that his programs are complete scams. If you think that either one of you are man enough to take me on just let me know. I hope to see both of you real soon. But I doubt you have the balls to follow through on your petty threats. How do you losers sleep at night. The Credit exchange has homeless people working for them, passing themselves off as credit counselor's. Most of there employees dont even have transportation. Consumers stay far away from the credit exchange.

Jim
las vegas

"Whoever this ex-employee is, is bitter. So, don't listen to them. They probably got fired and the Credit Exchange is hiring people. So to get fired, means that they were not team players. We are a company, and we help people. So if you need some help, to get out of debt. Or, you know someone who needs some help, then give us a call and we will help you. No pressure, we will just give you the facts, tell you the truth, show you the numbers, and let you make the decision. I don't sell dreams, but I do help people sleep better at night. So, call the Credit Exchange at anytime, and we'll help. Don't listen to upset employees,,, sorry I mean ex-employees. Have a great day. Talk to you soon."..........

Tanus: No, I am not bitter. I am working for a superior company that has an "A" rating with The Better Business Bureau and has legitimate relationships with credit card companies. The Credit Exchange recruits employees without doing background checks so you are basically working side-by-side with convicted felons, drug addicts and everything else you can think of. These are not so-called "Debt Counselors", but employees that are pressured to use slam-dunk tactics to get people to sign contracts on-line. The "No pressure, we will just give you the facts, tell you the truth, show you the numbers and let you make the decision" is the furthest from the truth. Employees are monitored on the phone and called on the carpet and reprimanded if they did not slam the client. Look at The Better Business Bureau file on The Credit Exchange for submittals from clients in January 2009, just a few months ago. It all speaks for itself. Thank you.

Justin,

Whoever this ex-employee is, is bitter. So, don't listen to them. They probably got fired and the Credit Exchange is hiring people. So to get fired, means that they were not team players. We are a company, and we help people. So if you need some help, to get out of debt. Or, you know someone who needs some help, then give us a call and we will help you. No pressure, we will just give you the facts, tell you the truth, show you the numbers, and let you make the decision. I don't sell dreams, but I do help people sleep better at night. So, call the Credit Exchange at anytime, and we'll help. Don't listen to upset employees,,, sorry I mean ex-employees. Have a great day. Talk to you soon.

Dear Jim,

I know your real name.And I know, that Steve V. The CEO of the Credit Exchange did not tell you, that his company, that has been in business for ten years is a scam. You forget, there were people standing right next to you, when you were talking to Steve. You decided that, you were going to bad mouth the President of the Las Vegas division Chris P, to the ceo of the company. That was totally unprofessional. You need to grow up. Stop trying to make Chris give you money, because you need to support your habit. Why didn't you use your real name. We all know who you really are. You were making good money, but I guess you have to always missrep, when you talk. You can't lie over the phone, our conversations are taped and recorded. And you can't steal money from the President of the company. You made your bed, lay in it. The Credit Exchange was good to you. Its a very comfortable place to work, but it is real work. So, just leave the company alone. Quit hating on Chris, who we know helped you out a lot. Have a good day, bye bye.

Justin - You had a phone consultation that did in fact give you all the information about the program IF it worked. The Credit Exchange is a referral company and all they care about is grabbing your down payment. Then they match you up with one of many debt settlement/consolidation companies. The problem is these companies are not working in your best interest either and the customer service is very poor, IF you get through to them. The Credit Exchange continued to put clients into debt settlement programs with a law firm called Hess-Kennedy in New York last year, WELL AWARE that Hess-Kennedy was being investigated and was eventually shut down. Hundreds and hundreds of clients still have their money tied up in trust accounts with Hess-Kennedy that were to be used for settlements. If you want further information on the situation with Hess-Kennedy Law Firm, I suggest you google it. Again, it can sound nice, logical and to good to be true on the phone but wait until you are an actual client and have been in the program three to six months and everything hits the fan.

How exactly is this a scam? I caleld the company and pretended to be a customer and it seems like they disclose everything about how the programs work. I am curious as to how it is they are ripping people off? Don't the people who have thousands of dollars in debt have some responibility in this?

How exactly is this a scam? I caleld the company and pretended to be a customer and it seems like they disclose everything about how the programs work. I am curious as to how it is they are ripping people off? Don't the people who have thousands of dollars in debt have some responibility in this?

How exactly is this a scam? I caleld the company and pretended to be a customer and it seems like they disclose everything about how the programs work. I am curious as to how it is they are ripping people off? Don't the people who have thousands of dollars in debt have some responibility in this?

How exactly is this a scam? I caleld the company and pretended to be a customer and it seems like they disclose everything about how the programs work. I am curious as to how it is they are ripping people off? Don't the people who have thousands of dollars in debt have some responibility in this?

You don't have to be a financial wiz to figure out The Credit Exchange's main job is to slam-dunk people into signing up for the program and before they have Buyer's Remorse, their down payment has been taken out of their checking account and if they do decide to cancel, The Credit Exchange still absorbs the down payment, which is ALL they care about anyway. Once the referral companies step in to take charge of the client's debt, The Credit Exchange has already ran with their money. ALL consumers have to do is check The Better Business Bureau. The Credit Exchange has a "F" rating. I don't know which is worse with this company: the way they treat incoming clients on the phone with their high-pressure tactics OR the threatening, high-pressure tactics they use on their telemarketing employees who make minimum wages. And, that is all these employees are: telemarketers in a Boiler Room who call themselves Debt Counselors. Any rational person who has mounds of debt is going to do their homework before giving sensitive banking information online. But, when people have a lot of debt and are upside down, they do not think rationally and this is where The Credit Exchange gets their victims. I don't care if the have been in operation for nine years, their time will come and they will eventually be closed down like other scam operations have.

The person that reported this doesn't make any sense. First of all, the program works or it would n't be on every major financial website or every financial news program. Second of all, this guy was falsely representing the Credit Exchange and was let go. He tried to extort the owner Chris Paskvan and the contract he signed stated the commission guidelines. He was paid what he was owed.