Family Credit Counseling Corp. dishonest, no response, refusal to reimburse payment Lauderdale Lakes, Florida Florida

Jon,
I totally agree with you. These people should be shut down.....the question is how?
Here are a few differences in our cases. I do not have that clause anywhere in the paperwork that I have. It only states that if I quit the program will I give up that first payment. No where does it state that they can keep it for no reason.
I have yet to receive ANYTHING from them saying that my creditors have been paid off or even a letter telling me that they disqualified me from getting the initial payment. Nothing!!!!!
I talked with my attorney yesterday, not to sue but for advice on what I should do. I have affidavit papers from the Attorney General's Office in Florida and I have a few things to add, but I am sending them out as soon as I get it ready. I have not sent the Class Action papers in as of yet. My attorney said that, after reading them, that if I proceed with the suit, I would only expect to get maybe $30 to $40 at best. I guess you could say that that is better than nothing, but I don't think that applies with these people. I want my first payment, and in the paperwork for the Attorney Generals Office, I have requested that that is what I want to remedy the situtation. I also stated that I would like some kind of letter or certification that my creditors have been paid off. This was done on May 16 (I know because I called the creditors myself), but I have yet to receive anything from FCCC.
If you or anyone has any suggestions that will help any of us with these people, it will be greatly appreciated. They are crooked and dishonest and they need to be put out of business.
Later,
Tammy

Good morning Tamara,

When I set up my first account (I had six eventually...dumb me!), they sent me a contract in which it states that they could take the initial "fee" (that I had to pay, equivalent to the first months payment) and they would return it to me on completion of the program. I was not aware until they executed the privilege in the contract, that I would lose this fee FOR ANY REASON if I no longer participated in the program. I should look at contracts more closely for fraudulent companies such as the FCCC.

The illustrious "Office of the President" representative (and God there have been many), Mr. Donyale Dezmal (there was a Jean Frezin at one time...they go through "Office of the President" reps left and right), called me to tell me they were dropping me from the program. Why? Because they got so tired of me yelling and screaming at them for not paying the bills! Is that my fault? I don't think so. Should they take my initial fee because they are incompetent? Contractually, yes. But even this and taking into account the contract language, it could still be fought in a court of law and believe that I could win.

Mr. Dezmal would tell me that he stepped in month after month and took action to get these bills paid. Right. If you believe that you will believe anything. When I called him one time when he didn't do what he said he was going to do, he told me the people he had working for him didn't follow up on it and apologized. My gut feeling on how FCCC operates is that they do not have enough people to manage anywhere I have been told between 17,000 and 27,000 accounts. And from a former employees' post on this website, it is understandable they don't have enough people or can't keep people the way they are treated by Mr. Armstrong.

Check your "contract" with them if you have one Tamara and look it over closely. If you don't have that clause, lucky you. But if you want to get more than what they are saying is being paid under the class action suit, don't file the class action suit papers as you will give up the right to sue if you do. At least that is what I thought I read from the class action paperwork.

Smooth the way FCCC's lawyers are stating that the class action suit people won't be able to give more than $500,000 to the class action suit plaintiffs. I don't believe it because if they take all of the "fees" we have to put up front to pay for this so called "non-profit" organization assuming the average fee is $200, for even 17,000 clients, thats $3,400,000. FCCC should be closed down, liquidated and all of the people that lost their fee should be paid back.

What do you think?

Jon,
I have just read over all the paperwork that I have from FCCC and no where does it state that they can withhold the first payment "for any reason". I wish I could see yours, because it is not in mine. The only thing mine says that I will disqualify that payment if I pull out of the program, which I did not do.

As for the class action papers that I have, I will discuss that with my attorney also.
Thanks for the input. Every little bit helps.

Tamara,

Take a look at your contract again. Let your attorney read it as well. If it is like my contract, it says they can withhold the first payment for ANY REASON.

Furthermore, and respectfully suggesting you talk with your attorney on this matter as well, if you look at the class action suit document, it says that if you file the class action suit paperwork and elect to go with it with the other plaintiffs, you will lose your right to sue. Take another look...just trying to help you and all of us a well...regards, Jon

Since I posted my initial complaint on this site, I have consulted my attorney to see if the FCCC could withhold my first payment like they are saying they can. Actually, they cannot. There is nothing that says in any of my paperwork from FCCC that withdrawing the one card from the account before it was ever negotiated is reason for withholding the payment. I have paperwork from the Attorney General's office in Florida for filing a complaint, and with my lawyers assistance we are filing this complaint against FCCC. I also have received paperwork regarding a class action lawsuit against FCCC which I have filled out and returned.
These people are dishonest in their practices and they need to be held accountable for that. They have hurt a lot of people with the way they do business, and it is time that the people get the justice they deserve. These people were supposed to help, instead they made the situation much worse for a lot of innocent people.