Couple Falls Victim To Credit Scam

Thursday, August 16th 2007, 7:18 pm

By: News On 6

A Green Country couple is facing a credit nightmare. Carolyn Williamson says a company that promised to help shrink their credit card debt actually did nothing but take her money and leave them worse off than before. Williamson and her husband made their credit card payments every month, always on time and had good credit. News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports they just wanted help reducing the amount they owed, but all they got were empty promises and a lawsuit.

A consumer lawyer says they are not alone. There is a growing industry of predators out there and you could be their next prey.

Caroyln Williamson never dreamed she'd be in a lawyer's office, feeling scammed and being sued. She says she and her husband faithfully paid their credit card bills but were only able to make minimum payments, so they could never get ahead.

She saw Credit Solutions online. Their website says they won the JD Powers and Associates Customer Service Award, and they have news stories touting their success.

She paid them more than $1,000 and in exchange, they promised to negotiate with the credit card companies and reduce the amount owed so the Williamsons could pay it off.

"They said they'd make everything right, work 100% with the creditors. We didn't have to do anything,â€ Williamson said.

She says the company told her not to even talk to the creditors because Credit Solutions would do all the talking for them. She thought they were doing the right thing until she was served with a lawsuit in June from the credit card companies.

She called Credit Solutions.

"I said what do I do? I don't know what to do. I thought you guys were doing this for us and everything. Why are we being served papers?â€ said Williamson.

As far as she can tell, Credit Solutions did nothing and now, no payments have been made in six months and she and her husband are worse off than ever.

That's when she called attorney Luke Wallace, who says this type of thing is a growing problem.

"These types of companies are predators, they're parasites,â€ Wallace said. â€œWhat they do is expose people and take them when they're most vulnerable."

He says if you are lied to or cheated by a company, you have rights. Williamson says money troubles come at a terrible cost.

"It can really destroy your life, and it has, it has destroyed our life,â€ she said.

Wallace says beware of anyone telling you not to talk to your creditors. He says never sign a document with an arbitration clause in the fine print, because it means you can never take the company to court.

Finally, pick a trusted debt consolidation group like Credit Counseling Centers of Oklahoma, a non-profit agency through the United Way.

Just because a company advertises or has a website, does not make them legitimate and if they want hundreds or thousands of dollars, walk away.

Credit Solutions didn't return any of our calls.

Watch the video: Local Couple Scammed By Credit Company