Lower Credit Card Interest Rate Scam
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 5:23 am
Hi have you heard of that lower or reduce your credit card interest rate scam?
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 5:24 am
You mean the Canadian firm? The one that the FTC stopped?
The complaint alleges that the defendants promise to effect credit card rates between 4.75 percent and 9 percent, thus saving consumers at least $2,500, and that if consumers do not save that amount their money will be refunded. The complaint also alleges that the defendants engaged in Caller ID spoofing, causing consumers’ caller identification services to display telephone numbers that do not belong to the defendants, but rather to innocent victims whose telephone numbers are misappropriated.
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 5:36 am
This is from the FTC,
The FTC charged the defendants with violating Section 5 of the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)...
On January 29, 2007, a federal judge issued an ex parte temporary restraining order prohibiting further violations by, and freezing the assets of, defendants Select Personnel Management Inc., based in Ontario, Canada, and doing business as Select Management Solutions, and its director, James Stewart. The Commission approved the filing of the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by a 5-0 vote. Search warrants have been issued in Canada.
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 5:39 am
So what's the verdict?
And how do these lower your credit card interest rate scam even start anyway? How to avoid them?
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 5:40 am
Still from the FTC:
NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law.
The case will be decided by the court.
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 5:56 am
Aside from the FTC, the according to the BBB:
It has received about 300 complaints from dissatisfied consumers who paid for these services (reduce your credit card interest rate scam), but says the number of people who have gotten such calls is unknown. Complaints started to trickle in mid-2007 but escalated during the latter half of 2008.How it works:
The caller would promise to reduce APRs between 6.99 percent and 4.99 percent on her two credit cards, which carried interest rates of 12 percent and 14 percent. He/she would promise to save the consumer anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000 in interest, but charge a large upfront fee, typically around $600 to $900. The caller asks consumers for their credit card information, including the customer service number on the back of the card. The advance-fee company then places a conference call with a customer service representative at the credit card issuer and asks to have the consumer's interest rate reduced. "That's the extent of the negotiation process from some people that we've heard (from),"according to BBB spokeswoman Alison Southwick.
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 5:57 am
How can the consumer be protected from these lower your credit card interest rate scam?
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 6:12 am
The consumer should be wary of entities that contact them with regards to credit cards or money for that matter.
If the consumer would like to have his/her credit card negotiated, it would be better to ask the help of a reputable credit counseling agency. The consumer can check its accreditation with the BBB, bbb.org and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling http://www.nfcc.org.
Posted on October 19, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Speaking of interest rates, some folks on another thread are talking about the creditors that raises the interest rates after a time and if that's legal. It happens when the consumer does a balance transfer at 0% interest rates and then after that offer period, finds out that their interest rates were jacked up - so they end up being deep in debt and falling for these lower your credit card interest rate scams.