West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw announced a settlement with Help Ministries Incorporated, d/b/a Debt Free, a credit counseling agency based in Mesa, Arizona. According to a statement released by the AG’s office:
Debt Free’s primary service consisted of arranging monthly payment plans known as “debt management plans” to assist consumers facing dire financial circumstances. West Virginia law caps the allowable fee for administering debt management plans at 7% of the monthly payment amount. However, Debt Free previously charged monthly service fees in excess of 7% as well as a one-time “set-up” fee that was not distributed to creditors. Debt Free also charged several other fees not permitted by West Virginia law, including a monthly fee for funds handling, a fee for “credit education,” and an administrative fee of $20.00 for failed electronic debits.
With these fees, I wonder if Help Ministries is actually helpful to anyone…except themselves.
This is the third settlement with a creditor counseling company/debt agency in 12 months. The WV Attorney General’s office has also entered into settlements with Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp., of Boca Raton, Florida, and Cambridge Counseling Credit Corp. of Agawam, Massachusetts.
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Tags: Consumer Scams, Credit and Debt
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