Complaint Review: CCDN (Credit Collections Defense Network- Robert Lock Jr Attorney , Phillip Manger, Managing Member - Chicago Illinois
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- Author Confirmed
- CCDN (Credit Collections Defense Network- Robert Lock Jr Attorney , Phillip Manger, Managing Member 7144 North Harlem Avenue, Suite 323, Chicago ,Illinois 60631 Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.
- Phone: 877-831-5588
- Web:
- Category: Credit & Debt Services
CCDN (Credit Collections Defense Network- Robert Lock Jr Attorney , Phillip Manger, Managing Member Credit Collections Defense Network (CCDN) a Scam/many judgments and R & G better pay heed Chicago Illinois
*Consumer Suggestion: CCDN - In response to Robert Lock's Response to Britta.
*Author of original report: Robert Lock Responds to Britta's CCDN Complaint
*Consumer Comment: Robert Lock jr of CCDN Responds To Britta's Article
*REBUTTAL Owner of company: A Note in Response
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I would like to respond to what R and G have written on this site. My husband and I have been clients of CCDN for over 18 months now. Hence, we have been in 'long enough' to have experienced some 'proof of performance or lack thereof' and results. We have dotted every 'I' and crossed every 't' that CCDN sent our way. Suffice it to say that our experience has been very negative and has caused us great harm. 3 judgments and one on the way with bank accounts being attacked and a garnishment on the horizon are not what we came into this program to experience. After 18 months only 2 accounts have been filed with 13 more still sitting there. At this rate we could be in this process for years which is unacceptable and untenable. CCDN has endeavored to make us think we ALONE are experiencing this calamity while in their program but the truth is that there are many many others who are in the same position REGARDLESS of which marketing company they entered in under. The marketing companies merely bring the people to Robert Lock and Phil Manger. The marketing companies represent what Robert Lock/Phil Manger of CCDN are 'selling'. Robert Lock is the legal entity behind this program and CCDN his umbrella organization and the marketing companies act as confederates for Robert Lock/CCDN. I am truly tired of CCDN trying to leverage blame for our issues on their marketing company(s).
While in this program we were promised customer service calls weekly which Phil Manger acknowledged. This never happened. Communication and customer service are truly horrible. We were told our case was with the paralegals when it never was. We were told they had our complaints and files and later we were told to send them in?! When we expressed our confusion over why we were told two different things we were told that they never said that and to just 'do it'. Fortunately I have kept all the communications so have a running log of our experience with this program.
I was sued in state court about 9 months into the program and when we expressed concern and asked about where our federal complaint was, we were told it would not be ready in time. We were then told to 'get an attorney to represent us in state court' and then were given Robert Locks contact information and an email telling us we would need to put up 2,500 dollars as a retainer fee!!! I contacted our marketer because I was not getting any information or help in regards to this ridiculous situation. The marketer contacted the attorneys and support and was told that I had REQUESTED an attorney!!!! An absolute lie. I had told them to perform on their promise to file a fed compliant when a client is being sued in state court. Read all the CCDN marketing sites under FAQ and it states that the minute you are sued in state court CCDN files a federal complaint for you. Both times I was sued (well into the program) CCDN did not have a federal suit ready and I had to represent myself in court. This caused me great stress, emotional duress and embarrassment as I could not adequately defend myself. I lost all three times now, even the last one with a federal complaint filed. This did not stay the court or the judgment.
The court and the Plaintiffs have seen through CCDN's poor paperwork and stated and ruled from the facts that "the documents filed by the Defendant .....replies on citations from a non-Wisconsin jurisdiction (e.g. Illinois) unrelated to the issues in this case and legal theories unsupported by any citations of law. Curiously, the Defendant also spells out what documentation is legally necessary to prove a credit card account balance due, which is precisely the documentation submitted by the Plaintiff in this case. It appears as though the Defendant is relying on canned pleadings, affidavits and briefs generated by others, without regard to whether or not their contents have anything to do with this case."
So CCDN is practicing law in states they have no licensing in with inadequate canned templates which are not specific to individual cases, nor to individual states with a " one size fits all" approach. This results in a defective case that has no relevance in the state of Wisconsin. They have left us defenseless with defenses that don't work and cause us to lose. Perhaps CCDN took a methodology and tried to apply it across the board without honing it to individual cases. This is how it appears as my paperwork is exactly the same in violations as a man in Minnesota! This is evidence that CCDN is not sure what they are doing and are experimenting with everybody lives. I could have decided to do a debt consolidation but chose CCDN instead. However their paperwork so far have compounded the injury and damages. I have spoken with another CCDN client who had sanctions leveled against him resulting from an angry judge who evidenced poor paperwork, legal arguments and an obvious canned/one size fits all approach. This client had to defend himself to and paid dearly for this. This is completely unacceptable for a program we paid 6,400 dollars for. We do not care how CCDN and their marketing arm split the monies. That is their agreement but the fact remains we paid their marketers who bring people to them and CCDN got their cut. What we do care about is that they have not performed and that they have caused great harm in these past 18 plus months to us. This has compromised us incredibly.
This was sold to us at a time CCDN itself stated it was a 9-12 month program. Then it was apparently switched to 12-17 months for COMPLETION! Again, no one notified us of this. We had to dig and question to get this 'new' info. At 18 months only two were filed, no attorneys gotten and we have 12 more accounts they have done nothing with. So how this fits into the 12-17 months is beyond us! CCDN has been unable to answer any questions that specifically try to nail down these and other issues. CCDN also state that they have the paralegals who immediately go into your accounts actively looking for violations. The paralegals did not even have our files until well after 14 months or more into the program. We were told our files were with the paralegals at LEAST 6 months prior to them having them in reality! So far in this 'program' we have had to represent ourselves in state court many times and CCDN was not there, was not prepared with federal complaints and caused us to get 3 judgments with 1 more on the way this month.
CCDN instructed us initially to send out Cease and Desist letters to our creditors. We did. We then found out from Phil Manger that indeed they do not 'do this anymore' as it eliminates the calls in which the violations can occur. They admitted they had 'changed strategies'. However this 'change' was only noted after I pursued them with questions about our violations and the non performance issues. So in essence they admitted they don't do Cease and Desist anymore as it was not a good idea but it was 'water under the bridge'. Again, we were at the experimenting hands of CCDN to our detriment.
This program is supposed to keep you out of state court as that is where judgments occur and most people lose. This program states it will file federal complaints the minute you are sued. They don't. This program states they have a network of attorneys nationwide. They don't. Funny, I've spoken with others and they have been given the same story. They are told there 'was' an attorney but there's always a 'story' about something happening to that attorney so they are no longer available. Just recently CCDN did finally connect me with an attorney once our two federal suits had been filed for over a month and I was hammering on them for an attorney (that is another mess of inadequate paperwork and performance) So our federal complaints were filed pro-se which made us nervous as we did not feel competent to file on our own with no experience and represent ourselves. CCDN makes it sound like you don't need to be an attorney and that they are there for you. The truth is that they have canned templates that are not working and you have to read between the lines, understand all the stuff and end up representing yourself for the most part. Also the information is sketchy, the communication non existent and the support a joke. As to the federal filings my husband and I were getting nervous as they had promised attorney representation but had not come up with representation. We could see the handwriting on the wall from the past non performance of CCDN, meaning we would most likely be left hanging to represent ourselves in federal court despite what they say under their FAQ's which states that 'you will not have to appear in federal court'.
Recently I contacted Colleen Lock (Robert Locks wife) who provided us with our supposed CCDN attorneys contact information. I contacted the attorney who was completely confused and told me that he did not know who CCDN was, who Colleen Lock was and did not know who we were. I explained and he told me he was uncomfortable with these internet canned template debt elimination programs. So much for the professional attorney referral provided by CCDN. Through my own tenacious research I managed to get a hold of an attorney who has done some work with some CCDN filings but DOES NOT WORK for CCDN. He made that clear. Colleen Lock had apparently asked him to locate an attorney for us. He contacted me and provided an attorneys name (someone he literally ran into in the hall in court who did do federal filings in our part of the state) who was not with CCDN, familiar with their process and I would have to contact him and see what I could work out with him. The attorney who found this attorney in the hall instructed me NOT to mention anything negative about our experience with CCDN as I might 'scare him away'. I placed a call to this attorney and we spoke briefly. I mentioned nothing of CCDN in any light other than to state we'd been in a program and had filed two federal complaints and asked if he would look them over and let me know what he thought in terms of representation. He confirmed they were federal filings and read as such. He stated that it was his concern whether we were in too deep with this case for him to get in and take over. This was what CCDN has 'provided' with their so called network of attorneys nationwide who know the CCDN process, are familiar and ready to roll with it and defend you! Our experience; you file pro se, you wade through all the paperwork and you have to bang on them to get an attorney and STILL we are without one. Interestingly enough I have not 'dropped' CCDN but apparently they dropped us because they have not done anything since my complaints and have just ignore us, blaming us. We have paid and gotten nothing but damaged. Bankruptcy would have been kinder and more clean. Again, this is completely unacceptable.
I have called, written, emailed and tenaciously pursued resolution with this company to perform. We have been directly lied to, mislead, stonewalled and come out with nothing to show 18 months into the program but 3 personal judgments and one coming at months end for my husband. I have personally spoken with 2 other CCDN clients (NOT from the Kayden group and one that came through R & G so CCDN can't blame Kayden for this) and they too have the same experience and have judgments and are having to file bankruptcy. There are many others also in the same boat.
As a side note. I was very concerned about the judgments being awarded against me. I spoke with Tracy Webster CCDN support regarding the injury from having these judgments against me which COULD have been prevented potentially had CCDN done what they state on their websites, which is to keep us out of state court and file the fed complaints immediately upon being sued. He told me not to worry. Any judgments that happened while IN the program would be overturned at the end and I quote. He said if someone comes into the program WITH EXISTING judgments THOSE could not be overturned. So we understood that even though CCDN did not perform as they stated, the judgments coming from their 'lack' of performance would be overturned at the end. Upon an inquiry just recently in which I reiterated this fact, I was told that this was NOT true. He stated that ONLY judgments that happen AFTER a FEDERAL FILING is filed could be overturned at the end!!! Two completely different statements/misrepresentations or lies. And when I expressed my dismay at the fact the information had been changed on me, I was told that he would 'not discuss it and had not said that'.
I have fortunately kept track of all communications of all the issues and details which I do not have room for in this report. Suffice it to say that I wrote and called Robert Lock with these concerns and issues. I am pasting his reply below. He had the right tone to his response and 'owned' and apologized and then promised to 'make us whole'. I responded thanking him and telling him that I appreciated the tone of his letter. However we needed specifics and an outline as to how he would accomplish what he promised in his letter as timing was critical for us. With 2 fed suits filed and 3 judgments (a 4th upcoming) and looking at garnishment we needed to have answers NOW and an outline of very specific follow through and legal assistance. Sad thing is that proof is in the pudding and we never heard back from Robert Lock again. Nada. He wrote with a promise and failed to answer with a plan and the information we responded with. We found that pretty sadly indicative of our experience overall with CCDN. And to this day we have simply just been 'dropped' into a black hole of no further communication or follow through. We are labeled 'difficult'. The truth is we are consumers who expect performance at the price we paid for a service that was marketed and sold to us. We have been scammed by this internet program and suffer from the consequences of it. So R and G, I would advise you to take the high road and call up all your clients and ask if they are having results, good customer service and if what is being sold is being done. That is the only thing to do that has integrity. Watch for the fallout that is coming from this program in terms of harmed people with variations of the same story. Even if only one person experiences harm from this program it would behoove a reputable company to listen to the complaints, address them and to offer to refund their monies. I have requested this and have not gotten any response.
I have emailed Colleen Lock, Roberts wife who is an Administrator but her MO is continually to 'blames the victim' and makes statements as bizarre as, 'you scared away ALL the attorneys they sent your way', 'your the ONLY ONE with these problems in the program' and 'the Kayden marketing group lied to you'........'not our fault'. The FACTS are that CCDN sent only ONE attorney who did not work with or for them and had no interest to do so, did not know us and did not like the type of program CCDN represented. Collen actually 'apologized' and stated that she had spoken 'too soon'. Very 'seat of your pants and unprofessional for a program like this at the price point charged and with the expertise espoused. The other attorney you read about above. Point 2, I am not the ONLY ONE with these issues as they glibly like to report and the fact remains that the Kayden group said the exact same things on their site that R & G state. I believe it was a 'money thing' that separated Kayden and CCDN. Kayden provided phone conference calls from Robert Lock so I heard the marketing directly from the horses mouth. So no lies to me from Kayden.which caused our problems. The issues we have had have nothing to do with Kaydens marketing although CCDN routinely likes to use that as a smokescreen.
CCDN's lack of quality work which is state and case specific, their lack of performance on things they state they do but don't and the lack of follow through from Robert Lock himself and his CCDN organization leaves us with no choice but to file with the Attorney General and the Bar Association and to seek help in the damages caused. There are many many others out there who have experienced the same harm while in their program. CCDN uses intimidation, shame and relies on the fact that most folks in this program are vulnerable and seemingly without much recourse and burned out. Their SOP is to blame the client making them think they are at 'fault' and that they are a 'problem child'. I am gathering the names of all those who feel they have been harmed in this program and plan to have an attorney go after them for a return of the funds and punitive damages. Here is the letter from Robert Lock responding to my letter of concern and complaint to him.
Robert K Lock Jr wrote:
> Dear Mrs. ...........,
>
> I was able to discuss your case with Kevin Benjamin, and I am confident that
> we will be able to have a licensed attorney intervene on your behalf and
> bring these matters to a resolution that you will be satisfied with.
> Irrespective of whatever happens as far as the federal cases go, I am
> offering you my assurance that the CCDN will make sure that you are made
> whole from this process.
>
> The lack of communication that you have had to deal with is unacceptable on
> every level. Even more troubling is the fact that you were not properly
> supported during the process. For this I am deeply sorry, and will do
> whatever I can to make sure you walk away from this relationship satisfied.
> I have developed a spotless reputation as a consumer rights attorney over a
> 19 year career. I would never risk sullying that reputation by creating
> anything that did not serve the best interests of anyone who came into
> contact with me or any organization that I am affiliated with.
>
> Please understand that despite your experience and perceptions, we are a
> reputable network that has referred hundreds of consumer cases to consumer
> attorneys throughout the nation. Through our efforts, and the efforts of
> the independent attorneys who take on cases that we refer to them, we have
> helped countless numbers of consumers to resolve difficult credit collection
> situations. At the time that you were referred to the CCDN, we had an
> attorney in Wisconsin who indicated that he wanted to receive referrals from
> us. He then disappeared from the face of the earth. We ultimately
> determined that his father had become ill and ultimately passed away. This
> is not to excuse the way that you have been treated, but merely to ensure
> that you understand that the CCDN has not proceeded with any ulterior
> motives in your case.
>
> I know that you have been through an extremely difficult time in your
> dealings with our organization. While I rely upon those in the support
> structure of the CCDN to make sure that no one ever ends up in the situation
> you are in, ultimately everything that occurs is my responsibility.
>
> I thank you for the incredible level of patience that you have exhibited in
> your dealings with our organization, and look forward to resolving the
> difficult situations that you have been subjected to as quickly as possible.
> Respectfully,
> Bob Lock
Britta
Madison, Wisconsin
U.S.A.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 01/07/2008 05:06 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ccdn-credit-collections-defense-network-robert-lock-jr-attorney-phillip-manger-managing-member/chicago-illinois-60631/ccdn-credit-collections-defense-network-robert-lock-jr-attorney-phillip-manger-managi-297864. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
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#4 Consumer Suggestion
CCDN - In response to Robert Lock's Response to Britta.
AUTHOR: Kimberley - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, February 20, 2009
Very nicely written & exactly what I had expected from this program.
Written by Robert Lock:
There is a considerable amount of information about the CCDN on our web site at http://www.ccdnlaw.com. Rather than going through all of it here, let me just say this. We have developed a reputation over the past several years of providing significant assistance to consumers across the nation. We have connected consumers with attorneys and worked with those attorneys to identify state and federal consumer protection claims that have resulted in significant benefits for consumers in cases that are too numerous to mention. That being said, we are also human. What occurred in this case was the result of miscommunication, and Britta feels wronged as a result of it. I will work with Britta to resolve her issues, as I will with any consumer who feels that CCDN has failed them in any way. In addition, we have made significant investments in technology and resources to better manage the communications between our staff and consumers.
If there is any truth in these statements, please speak with Tracey Webster or Linda Johnson because I am a consumer/client who feels that CCDN has failed me.
Thank you.
#3 Author of original report
Robert Lock Responds to Britta's CCDN Complaint
AUTHOR: Britta - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Saturday, January 12, 2008
I thank Bob Lock for stating that 'whatever happens within the CCDN I take responsibility for the manner in which consumers are treated'. This is as it should be given he is the owner/head of this company CCDN. Bob states that it was 'communication failure' which resulted in me 'feeling' victimized. Let me state for the record that the failures with the CCDN communication are merely a symptom of a far more injurious problem and failure. That is simply the failure to perform and when they do not perform, lies are provided. So my issues with CCDN cannot be chalked up to 'bad communication'. That just exasperated the issues which are apparently 'viral' at the CCDN.
Bob Lock states that some areas of my report do not comport with the facts communicated to him. I would challenge Bob to go BEYOND what was 'communicated' to him as history shows that the communication at CCDN is rife with critical breakdowns, miscommunication and outright lies. So if Mr. Lock would truly like to 'fix' what's broken, then it would behoove him to search out the truth and all the harmed clients with vigor and have a concrete plan to make things right.
The first 'lie' is that they keep stating that they attempted to connect me with 3 different attorneys and in each case my attitude so alienated the attorneys that they 'refused' to take me on as a client. Supposedly ALL indicated to Bob Lock PERSONALLY that in all their conversations with me I sounded erratic and unwilling to listen to their counsel. Again Mr. Lock, let us set the facts straight. I posted this information previously but you ignored it obviously and continue with this charade.
Attorney number one your wife Collen Lock sent to me as evidenced by this clip from her email to me:
Good Day,
Enclosed is your attorney contact information. Please contact him at your earliest convenience. Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Thanks,
Colleen Lock
CCDN Administration
then from the attorney Mike, Colleen sent me to:
Britta, I'm a little confused.
What info do you need? I was in court Wed. and Thurs. and in my email was
something from a "Colleen Lock" who I have never spoken to and I certainly do
not represent her. Don't know how she contacted me either.
Why don't you call me at ...... and tell me what this is all about
because I'm not sure what this is about. Thanks.
Michael -------
Hi Britta,
Although I don't represent you, I'm not a big fan of these template
lawsuits, particularly in Federal Court and particularly against a law firm.
This kind of filing, if there is no real basis, can come back to haunt the
plaintiff.
I don't know if your claim has a valild legal basis or not. All I'm saying
is make sure YOU know and understand the legal basis of any claim you file.
Britta,
I spoke with you for about 30 minutes last week and could not have made it
more clear that I AM NOT your attorney nor am I, nor have I ever been, a
part of the CCDN network or whatever they call themselves. I made it clear to you that I will not become part of CCDN network in the
future.
Then again from Colleen at CCDN:
Hello,
One of our attorneys, his name is Kevin Benjamin. He is working with Michael in Wisconsin and handling CCDN federal cases. Obviously our attorney
did not mention any up and coming federal cases. I have contacted Kevin and
just waiting to hear back for him. I will contact you as soon as they have
discussed your case. Kevin was to contact you earlier today. Sorry for the
confusion.
Sincerely,
Colleen
CCDN Administration
Now from Kevin Benjamin who "DOES NOT" work for CCDN as he states so clearly:
Britta, I do not work for CCDN. I work for myself. I am licensed in the Eastern
District of Wisconsin and they asked if I would accept a referral but you
are in the Western District and I am not licensed there. I can not
represent you. I only mentioned Michael to them to see if he would accept
the case - he is not part of CCDN either. And he declined representation.
I do not know if he is licensed in your district but it does not matter.
So Kevin is NOT licensed in my part of the state so how does he count as 'one who CCDN provided who turned me down'?????. Hence he could not be my attorney and therefore logically cannot be counted as an 'attorney provided by CCDN'. How Bob Lock can say that either Mike or Kevin count as attorney referrals for me is beyond logic and reason.
Now here is an email from Kevin telling me of an attorney he has found. This is the 3rd of the 3 that Bob Lock must be referring to. Kevin phoned me leaving a message stating he literally ran into this guy in a hall and for me to contact him. Here is his email:
Britta,
I met with an good federal litigator today. An attorney named Larry. He is
in Chicago and I am referring several cases to me. Larry tells me his is
licensed in Western District of WISC. I could not open your file as you
know, fax me the stuff. Bob told me he is sending me things as well and I
need to see if Larry will take the case. But I need to go over the file
with him. Larry was here but again, I could not open your stuff so I could
not review it. But I may have your problem solved. I leave in 10 minutes
but fax me the stuff. Thanks. I am out of pocket tomorrow.
From Larry Smith the attorney mentioned above:
Larry Smith wrote:
The complaints read fine. A complaint in Federal Court is very easy to
accomplish. It's a matter of whether you are too deep into this case for me
to get into and take over. That's my concern
From me Britta:
Thanks Larry. I can't ascertain correctly if I'm 'in too deep' as Bob Lock who has CCDN (credit collections defense network).........that business 'does' all the paperwork and the querying back and forth. So the fed suit is the last piece. They 'traditionally' then find attorneys to handle the fed suits..............hence why Kevin Benjamin brought me to your attention and visa versa.
So those are the facts Mr. Lock. I've spoken with Attorney Michael and actually am seeing him to help me repair what has been done to us. So Michael has not 'refused me' nor has he made any statements about me being erratic. And I did listen to his counsel, hence why I no longer am willing to 'ride' with CCDN and experience further injury. Another fact, attorney Larry Smith (number 3 in your charade) I spoke to only briefly and was 'coached' by Kevin Benjamin to NOT discuss the CCDN in any negative light. So our conversation was 'light' and just about getting his opinion. He did not commit to becoming our attorney and I did not pursue him further. This was because we had 2 federal filings sitting pro se and coming up immediately and we needed someone IMMEDIATELY comfortable with jumping into the CCDN process YESTERDAY. We have 13 other accounts sitting with CCDN and so need someone who, as CCDN states on their site:
Any lawsuits that are filed on our client's behalf by CCDN attorneys are soundly based in law and fact. So we need an attorney 'ready to roll' who 'knows the program' versus someone who is NOT with CCDN, knows nothing of them and doesn't know if they can pick up the case 'this far into it'.
As to Mr. Bob Locks assertion about the quality of the templates, the facts speak for themselves. These templates fail in state court as evidenced by my 3 judgments. Again the facts; the lawyer collection firms and the judge have seen that they are 'canned' and not specific to the individual clients nor the state in which they live. I found this out when I submitted our federal filings. They told me they didn't need all the forms in Wisconsin and I had to chose and my choice had some ramifications so I had to be legally savvy, which I was not. Also the CCDN marketing states:
Q. What type of educational background do I need in order to best understand your course?
A. You will not be required to perform any of the "leg work" yourself. Therefore you do not need any sort of legal or professional background.
Mr. Lock, what do you call having to be sued in state court and having to represent yourself? What do you call having the federal complaints provided to us with mistakes and then making us file them pro se WITHOUT a CCDN attorney? What do you call that? What do you call making us physically wade through them with a staff that strives with you? What do you call having to go file our own physically? I'd call that 'legwork'. Also your so called 'support' sent us down to federal court not telling us that in Wisconsin, when filing pro se you have to have your paperwork reviewed by their pro se liaison before they will file it. And guess what? That makes it take up to 2 weeks in most cases. The reason we had to file that day and not a day later was that we were promised the federal filing in time by Mr. Lock personally and when it was not there before our state court date where another judgment would be handed down, we were put in a severe time crunch AND having to wade through all the legal work and understand how to do it. Another 'crazy' instruction provided by CCDN support was this: when CCDN support stated that once again no federal filing would be there in time...........as usual.............they instructed us instead to call up the collector and make payment arrangements!!?? Now this seems really really counter intuitive and contraindicated by what the CCDN program purports.
Mr. Lock then goes on to blame the marketing company(s) for making people think it's 'debt elimination'. I have noticed that many of their websites have been 'altered' to remove that perception that they actually promoted. Now that they taking heat, they deny this. Whether it's termination, elimination, relief etc. The marketing group Kayden that they keep referring to had a site the same as the others. Bob Locks phone calls explained the rest. Again, avoidance of responsibility in that aspect. Also they allow a boasting of a 100% success rate.........see below. But maybe this is AGAIN yet ANOTHER 'bad' marketer. They keep coming up like the popping heads you hit with a hammer at midway at the fair!!! As their site at http://naesfreshstart.com states:
CCDN: Credit Collectons Defense Network Nation- wide network of Lawyers that specialize in negotiation and litigation of collection matters. They use federal laws to discharge their client's debts. You can stop your credit card and unsecured debt payments immediately and we have experienced an average rise in credit scores of 60 to 100 points in a few months. These Lawyers will represent you and sue any harassing 3rd party bill collectors in your behalf. The company has been extremely effective and has great customer service. The debt resolution process is for people who, of their OWN FREE WILL:
Have no incentive to pay and want to terminate their unsecured debt,
Do not want to file bankruptcy,
Do not want to attempt a debt consolidation or settlement,
Want to put an end to (debt collection agency) harassment.
To date the process has enjoyed a 100% success rate.
OK, as to the length of time.........you initially marketed and still have sites that state:
Q. How long does the process take to complete?
A. Generally 6-9 months.
Then on another 'changed' site you state:
From start to finish our process, on average, takes approximately 12- 18
months to fully complete. As with any legal process, it is impossible to determine the exact amount of time that will be necessary to complete the process. CCDN estimates that the complete process should take approximately 12-18 months on average. This includes credit restoration, reconciliation of unsecured debt, and any action on the federal level.
So we're in 18 plus months and NOTHING is complete or even REMOTELY complete. This is a long time to be defending oneself in state court and also having to file your papers pro se in federal court!
Another quote from one of your marketing sites prior to the 'changes' reflected now at ccdnlaw.com
Q. Will I be sued?
A. A lawsuit is a possibility. However, if a creditor/collector attempts to sue while in this process, a lawsuit will immediately be filed against the creditor/collector in Federal Court. In the vast majority of the cases, the state court will not hear the case while it is pending in Federal Court.
This has NEVER been done. For me or any clients I have spoken with. They allow you to hang in state court. Now they state something different at the website Mr. Bob Lock is promoting. But that was not what was marketed by ALL their marketers. Even when I personally questioned this with Mr. Manger he acknowledged it but did not have a good explanation for why they don't show up as they state other than, 'well we have to have the violations audited before we do this'. So perhaps they are really slow, lose paperwork, make statements that paperwork is 'somewhere specific' when in reality it is not.
Mr. Lock I have communicated with you on how you can fix this and make it right. You write in your report how you will work with me to resolve my (our) issues. I have given you that opportunity but you chose not to respond despite writing me that letter previously stating you would make us 'whole' regardless. So you respond only when I have posted a complaint on this site. How does that look? I have given you the option to go to bad directly in our case and negotiate, debt relief, reduction, termination.......WHATEVER..........and then take that remaining amount and pay that off yourself. I have also stated to refund our money.......both your part and Kaydens. That's what you 'eat' when you have a business and 'bad people' working for you. It is your confederate, your umbrella, your marketing arms who bring you the people. But again, no results. The most troubling part is that when you go to the trouble of 'owing the responsibility' and stating you'll make us 'whole' .........when politely asked for the 'gameplan' you disappear. Now when people are coming together and CCDN is taking hits, you appear again sounding as if you want to work this out. I would love to believe that but I can no longer afford to court the lies that run rampant within this organization. It is truly troubling and again, unlike your wife Colleen has liked to state .............I am NOT 'the only one'. Britta
#2 Consumer Comment
Robert Lock jr of CCDN Responds To Britta's Article
AUTHOR: Credit Defense League - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, January 11, 2008
Mr. Lock's response is merely a self serving attempt to blame the victim.
Again and again they deny their very business plan.
The Marketing company who brags to be the most effective and long standing member of the Robert Lock club, R & G Marketing , run by Russ and Gregg in Florida,
Sell the illusion of Debt Elimination.
There pitch hooks the consumer on the story that it is the system that has entrapped you in the debt and that the legality of the process is in question
The credit that is provided is against national policy administered by the Federal Reserve.
Guys! get a life!
Many Conference calls ( sales seminars) in which Robert Lock was the main speaker occurred whereby these salesmen of CCDN , Phil Manger, Russ and Gregg,
go on and on and lay out a false game plan which sets the stage to the concept of eliminating debt.
Robert Lock and the boys have changed their approach so many times they forgot
what people are told and deny any point which is brought out which reminds them
that the reason the person signed up was because Phil, Russ and Gregg told the them that the Federal Program as they call it will be used to offset any debt they may have.
They use the clients as lab rats with hope to snag a lucrative harrassment case
which makes large settlements, for the attorneys this is a rare occurrence and not the norm as they would have you believe.
It has been told to me that Lock has copied the work of successful attorneys who actually do this. i find his results rather shabby
he will tell you of one success but not the pile of failures
I tell you hundreds have fell prey to this illusion!
The day of reckoning is coming soon
Mr Lock won't admit that once other Attorneys experience the program , which is sold to them as a business avenue , they run from the Lock Approach.
Simply because it doesnt work in the manner that run it.
I have spoken to many CCDN clients, like Britta who are facing Bankrupcy because of the judgments they now have beacuse of Lock"s and Manger's illusion of having
A FDCPA cross action to counteract the suits.
Any Attorney who knows the Federal Laws and is honest will tell you that the laws in place have been created to stop collection abuse not to eliminate a debt.
Lock admits the truth when confronted and after the fact that when one of his CCDN victim complains that they are now in a mess he will pull out the remarks made in his reply.
Blaming the victim about being in debt or that they didn't follow the program.
Give me a break Bob Lock!
You are no more than a con man with a good line of sh-t.
I demand you publish all your results whether good and bad and let the world see your game
To set the record straight i reported to ripreport that Ageis Corp aka debt jurispurdence was presently marketing the CCDN program
I will retract this statement based upon the word of the CEO that he has realized
that Lock is a phoney , fraud, etc and has now cut loose of this BS artist.
I reccomend to Bob Lock to refund every penny including the R&G portion to the victims of this scam before the Federal authorities get involved
Which is in process.
#1 REBUTTAL Owner of company
A Note in Response
AUTHOR: Robert Lock - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, January 10, 2008
I was recently emailed a link to the report filed by Britta from Madison Wisconsin. As a preliminary matter, let me say that no matter what happens within the CCDN, I take responsibility for the manner in which consumers are treated. While I do not agree in all respects with Britta's perspective on the matters raised in her report, there is no question that there was a communication failure in this case which resulted in Britta feeling victimized. There is never an excuse for this, and I continue to maintain that our organization will do what is necessary to rectify this situation.
There are some areas of Britta's report that do not comport with the facts as they were communicated to me. Perhaps the most important one relates to our attempts to connect Britta with an attorney. As I communicated to her in correspondence, when she came to us, we had an attorney in our network in Wisconsin. Some time subsequent to that, the attorney ceased practicing to care for his father, who was very ill. We attempted to connect Britta with 3 different attorneys in an attempt to pursue the legitimate FDCPA claims that we had identified. In each case, her attitude so alienated the attorneys that they refused to take her on as a client. All indicated to me that in their conversations with her, that she had sounded erratic and unwilling to listen to their counsel. As such, they felt she would be a problem client and refused to take her cases. Two of the attorneys also commented approvingly of the federal claims that we had identified, and noted that they filed and litigated cases on exactly the same facts on a regular basis and were very successful in resolving consumer collection cases in this manner.
Another matter that I must make a particular note of, is Britta's characterization of the templates that are given to consumers for their education and use in consumer collection and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act matters. All of the documentation that Britta references has been developed in collaboration between dozens of attorneys throughout the nation. FDCPA materials are crafted from the materials filed in federal courts by the most experienced, knowledgeable and successful attorneys in this area of law. The materials have been used by attorneys in the CCDN to settle consumer collection matters for numerous consumers across the country. In fact, exactly the same materials were used by a consumer attorney to settle a collection matter in December. The settlement entailed the zeroing out of the consumer's credit card account, removal of any negative references in the consumer's credit report, $1,000.00 in damages to the consumer, and attorney's fees and costs. All of this was accomplished in 30 minutes by the attorney using the materials provided to him by the CCDN. This scenario has played out in numerous situations across the country, which says volumes about the strength and professionalism of the CCDN's materials and strategies.
It is my belief that one of the primary reasons for Britta's disappointment with our organization stems from the group who referred her to us in the first place. We ceased all connection with the group once we determined that their people were making erroneous claims about "Debt Elimination" and taking advantage of consumers in numerous ways. One of the problems which persists from this relationship is the tendency of consumers who were referred from this group to expect that there was some magic process to eliminate debts that they had lawfully incurred. That is not something that CCDN could ever commit to, and our consumer clients are repeatedly told this. However, once this notion is placed in a consumer's mind, it is hard to shake. This can be seen from Britta's professed desire to want to eliminate her debts, not pay them, irrespective of anything else.
There is a considerable amount of information about the CCDN on our web site at http://www.ccdnlaw.com. Rather than going through all of it here, let me just say this. We have developed a reputation over the past several years of providing significant assistance to consumers across the nation. We have connected consumers with attorneys and worked with those attorneys to identify state and federal consumer protection claims that have resulted in significant benefits for consumers in cases that are too numerous to mention. That being said, we are also human. What occurred in this case was the result of miscommunication, and Britta feels wronged as a result of it. I will work with Britta to resolve her issues, as I will with any consumer who feels that CCDN has failed them in any way. In addition, we have made significant investments in technology and resources to better manage the communications between our staff and consumers.
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to Britta's report, and look forward to this matter being resolved in a manner that is mutually advantageous.
Respectfully,
Bob Lock
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