ComplaintsforStart New Financial

• Initial Complaint

  07/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Payoff of account. Final payment was scheduled and received. Received notice of additional payment needed, after payoff amount was paid.

  

  Business response

  07/22/2024

  Hello ************ - Please excuse our initial miscalculation.  No further program payments are required to process your program completion.  Congratulations on your graduation and we wish you all the best for your future.  **** care :)

• Initial Complaint

  07/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company sends out predatory mailings that are deliberately misleading, they look like debt collection correspondence and list a phone number *************) while not listing their company name. I get one of these letters at least once a week for either me or my husband, and sometimes for my ex husband who has not lived with me for over 10 years. I have never done any type of business with this company before, and with practices like this I will not do business with them in the future. The sheer number of letters could constitute harassment, while the deliberately misleading look and language of the letter is pretty typical of an identity and financial fraud scam. This company is using underhanded tactics to get more customers, which tells you how bad of a company they really are. If they were a decent and above board company they would not need to stoop to these levels to get customers. Yesterday is a day too late for them to go out of business. Stop the harassment.

  

  Business response

  07/09/2024

  Hello *************** - We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.  We make every attempt to make sure our marketing efforts are measured and thoughtful.  Having said that, we understand we will not always meet all consumers' expectations.  We have removed you as a potential client so you should no longer receive any correspondence.  Again, we're sorry for the inconvenience.

• Initial Complaint

  06/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been calling Start New Financial for over a 6 weeks. My question is what is the balance owed on my account and pay off date? I can not get anyone to answer my question, reasons why, you have a payment pending in 3 days, I do not know why the creditor is no longer accepting money from you, and my personnel favorite, we do not have a supervisor available, they will call you back in 48 to 72 hours. Only the customer service rep calls back, agrees you have waited a long time for an answer, and will send the question back, please be patient, another 48 to 72 hours.

  

  Business response

  06/20/2024

  Hello ***** - Thank you for reaching out about your concern.  We're sincerely sorry that our service has not met your expectations.  Not an excuse, but the circumstances of your account were somewhat unique and that likely contributed to our difficulty in effectively communicating with you the status of your account.  The end result is positive - we are able to complete/graduate your file at this time.  We'll have a member of upper management contact you to further discuss and confirm your account completion.  We apologize for the inconvenience and also thank you for your business.  

• Initial Complaint

  05/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I started with this guys in January 2024. I needed to cancel in May, because I lost my job in March. I contacted **** and other guys and they told me I had 738 in ****** and that I would be getting that back. I just found out today (5/17/2024) via email the following:"*****************************,We have completed a review of your account. After applying any fees due, your account balance is ****** your request on May 13, your Global dedicated account ending in 6475 has been closed."First of all they never got the rest of the creditors to settle, I was paying only one creditor. Yes, maybe it would have taken longer for them to come on board or not! What happens if they don't. How obviously suspicious that you are now charging a total fee of what my total escrow was, that you said you were going to refund back to me, you now plan to keep! Your fee was being taken out with every monthly payment...I can't believe I let them con me! Don't trust these guys they talk nice, but are devilishly sneaky!yes, they charge half per month, meaning they got there payment for services rendered ON A MONTHLY BASIS, but still say they are cutting there losses by taking money that no longer should be allocated left in my escrow instead of refunding that amount back to me, because of the cancellation. They decided to just keep it! NOT COOL!

  

  Business response

  05/20/2024

  Hello ****************** - Thank you for sharing this feedback.  While we certainly don't want to argue with you, it seems only fair to point out that we negotiated a settlement with your largest creditor to where you were required to pay back only 53% of what you originally borrowed.  Please understand we did not act deceptively in our collection of settlement fees earned for work performed.  On the contrary, and due to your decision to cancel the program, we collected significantly less income than we contractually earned.  Having said that, we do understand your right to cancel, especially considering the nature of your financial hardship.  Regardless, we're sincerely thankful for your feedback and will use it as an opportunity to improve where we can.

  Customer response

  05/28/2024

   
  Complaint: 21735605
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Global Holdings/Start New Financial were paid monthly which was half of the payment  of ****** in which half was sending to the creditor and half went to Global Holdings/Start New Financial.  Therefore they were paid their administration and all other fees, this was included in my monthly payments monthly.  The escrow belonged to me.  There $3000 and something was for the total amount should the payments have continued for the duration, but since I cancelled so should the rest of the fees.

  Send me my $738, which was promised to me.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  

  Business response

  06/18/2024

  Hello ****************** - Thank you for your response.  There seems to be a misunderstanding on how Start New Financial is compensated.  Due to your cancellation, Start New Financial was not fully compensated for the settlement it achieved on your behalf.  The collection of $743.99 on 5/13/24 was in accordance with the terms of your Debt Resolution Program Agreement.

  Customer response

  06/18/2024

   
  Complaint: 21735605
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  Again, you were taking out every month your payment, therefore I should not have owed you anything in accordance with your process.  You were paid on a monthly basis of half of what was going to the creditor, therefore you were already paid and what was in the escrow should have come to me.  That was my understanding.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  

  Business response

  06/19/2024

  Hello ****************** - Maybe a better way to explain it is that when we achieved a settlement on your One Main account, that entitled Start New Financial to a total fee of $3,142 (25% of the enrolled balance of One Main, $12,568).  When we started sending monthly payments to One Main (toward the settlement), we simultaneously started paying ourselves the fee that was owed.  At the time you cancelled, we had only collected roughly $430 of the total settlement fee to which we were entitled.  This is why we collected the remaining $743.99.  Even still our total settlement fee collected is still short about $2,000 from what is owed.  The same way your cancellation prevented One Main from getting was what promised with the settlement, Start New Financial's obligation was also not fulfilled.  It may be helpful if your review your transaction history with *************** (****************************) so that you may see exactly the flow of your program funds.  

• Initial Complaint

  05/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was enrolled in their program and scheduled to be finished June 17, 2024. Last month I called and made sure I was still on track and got a early payoff amount. I had them setup a auto draft to pay off balance. The payment cleared the bank and I celebrates paying off over a four year debt. Well today Start New Financial called wanting more money because a credit claims they never accepted a offer from Start New Financial. Start New Financial tells me they made a agreement with Global over the phone. So basically Start New Financial has been sending Global my money without a signed agreement and now wants another $747.00 from me to cover their mistake. I made my payments on time each month and never had any extensions. I even paid off early with a balance given to me by Start New Financial. This is wrong in so many ways and it should not cost me a dime.

  

  Business response

  05/14/2024

  Hello ********************** - Thank you for providing this feedback and giving us an opportunity to respond.  We'll promptly resolve this issue in a way that will not result in any further cost to you.  Thank you for your patience and we sincerely apologize for having raised this concern.  

• Initial Complaint

  04/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I called in to make a payment due to unsufficient funds a couple days after the due date, on 4/18/24. My Capitol account was closed the day after I called in to make a payment. A week later on 54/26/24, I received a text message stating that a settlement was finally agreed on. I called in after receiving the text and was informed that my account was closed last week. This company failed to notify me that my account was closed. I requested to speak to "upper management", However, the representative stating that she was a supervisor and would put in a request for another supervisor to call me. I received a call at 1:39pm from another supervisor who informed me that nothing could be done and that my balance in escrow was refunded to me. My balance was refunded to me with the company taking $2373.25 for fees. He made it clear that this was part of the contract, however, I was not notified of the account closing even while I was on a call with one of their representatives who was taking a payment from me over the phone. I do not feel that they have provided me the service that I signed up for. They failed to inform me of my account closing. I do not feel like they are allowed to take all of the $2373.25 because I was unaware of this situation. I asked to speak to upper management, which the supervisor mentioned the decisions were made through them. I requested the supervisor to provide me with their information. He refused to provide that information and stated that "this was as far as I could go.". He stated that an email should have been sent and that it is an automatic service and that sometimes emails don't get sent. I asked him how it was my fault that the account was closed when I called in the previous week to address the payment issue, Information was withheld from me and there was no communication on the company's end via email. They failed to inform me the day I called in to make a payment. I would like their service fee refunded to me, if not half of it.

  

  Business response

  04/29/2024

  Hello **************** - We apologize for the confusion; we could have communicated the closing of your account more effectively.  Wed like to be able to honor your refund request, but the reason we dont is due to the nature of our mutually accepted program terms.  Please understand that the closing of your account was the result of several previously missed/delayed deposits (December 2020, November 2021, December 2021, June 2022, and February 2024), not just the most recent incident in April 2024 which your complaint referenced.  The success of your program depends in large part on your ability to consistently make the agreed upon monthly savings deposits into your account.  The scheduled settlement payments that we arrange with your creditors are dependent upon your timely and consistent monthly program savings deposits, and so when there are lapses it creates a situation where settlements are cancelled and often unrecoverable.  While we are not excusing our less than perfect communication, the end result is the same in that we feel Start New Financial, in good faith, honored the terms of your executed Enrollment Agreement.  We'll have a member of our upper management team reach out to discuss further, give you a better understanding, and hopefully clear the air.  Thanks for giving us an opportunity to respond.

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid $419 starting in 6-1-2020 and finished 12-15-2023. I never missed a payment and paid a total of $17598. Today, a woman from Start New Financial called me and told me that they need to draft an additional $419 for 17 more months. If I had been told this from the beginning, I would never had agreed to the terms of this arrangement. What is to stop them from taking the additional $7123 they are requesting and then asking for more? This is obviously a scam.

  

  Business response

  03/15/2024

  Hello ******************** - Thank you for reaching out and giving us an opportunity to respond.  We can confirm that you've been a client with us since June 2020, and so we want to thank you for your loyalty.  Since it has been some time since your enrollment, it's understandable that you may have forgotten that we did communicate with you that your 42 month program was/is an estimated term length.  This information was communicated in the same Enrollment Agreement that you attached to your complaint.  The reason our program term lengths are estimated is simply because we can't predict or guarantee how demanding some creditors will be in their negotiations.  As much as we love our clients, we want our relationship with them to be as short as possible, because we want to resolve their debt as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately, creditors tend to take the exact opposite approach in that their business model  - they want to keep you in debt as long as possible.   Please understand that we sincerely share your frustration.  We have nothing additional to gain by extending your program.  Moving forward, money that you contribute to your program is for the sole purpose of finishing the job we started, and that is to resolve all of your enrolled debt.  If we have not properly explained this, please feel free to call us and speak further with one of our friendly Support Representatives.  We want you to have a pleasant experience with positive results.  You're almost there :)

• Initial Complaint

  02/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  About two years ago, we signed up to consolidate our credit cards bills for $14,000. At the time, I was paying them on time with a good credit report. I paid the debt off one year ahead. The contract was for four years. The selling point for joining this company is because they Guaranteed that my credit score would stay intact. They lied! It took them 3 months before they even started negotiating. Although the full amount has been paid, my credit is ruined! Also, the comments on my record will not allow me to use credit for 7 years, just like bankruptcy. I explained that I wanted to purchase a home. Those dreams are finished with a terrible credit report. Ive written and called for help to no avail.

  

  Business response

  02/17/2024

  Hello **************** - Thank you for expressing your concerns and for giving us an opportunity to respond.  The appealing aspect of our debt resolution program is that consumers enjoy the opportunity to resolve significant amounts of debt in a relatively short period of time.  In your case, $14,000 worth of debt was resolved within approximately ten months.  Please understand that we are not a credit repair organization, other than to the extent that we recognize that an individual's credit profile is a reflection of a consumer's debt.  Likewise, our program is not a bankruptcy provider.  On the contrary, we are an alternative to bankruptcy.  Your complaint mentioned that you've written and called for help.  We can't find any records of attempted communication from you since we last spoke on 9/28/2021.  We'd enjoy the opportunity to discuss with you and perhaps even shed some insight and positive light on how you are perceiving your credit situation.  We sincerely believe your situation may be much better than what is your current outlook :)

  Customer response

  03/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 21307968
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Your company took too long to reach out to my creditors to seek debt resolution.  Please remember, my credit score was 600 + when we started the process.  The promise was to keep it high, and to raise it higher.  None of that happened.  Your lateness of 3+ months to the negotiation table is what destroyed  my credit.

   

  I would have done better to continue paying the monthly, with a little extra all was paid off and still have the ability to use my credit cards!  

  Please, would someone review the terrible remarks listed by every creditor -creditors will now offer higher rates, higher fees and terms.  What about the fact that my credit score was perfect and on-time while in the program.  Now I can't buy a piece of bread with credit for 7 years.

  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business response

  03/01/2024

  Hello **************** - Thank you for your response.  Our program's focus is to help consumers resolve their debt within a reasonable time frame.  We understand that "reasonable" is a subjective term but we believe it's an accurate term when compared with the alternative of attempting to resolve a debt by making minimum monthly payments required by creditors.  Many consumers might make payments to their creditors for 15+ years and still not see any significant reduction in the principal balance owed.  Please understand that we are not dismissive of your comments and concerns.  We simply are focusing on the positive that a significant amount of debt was resolved in a very short period of time.  We think it's important to understand that a consumer's overall credit profile is significantly influenced by factors other than payment history.  The amount of debt owed (or not owed) is a critical piece of one's credit "worthiness".  Regardless, even though we believe that we achieved success with your program and met the conditions of our Agreement, we do sincerely apologize for and accept the fact that our program did not meet your expectations.  

• Initial Complaint

  02/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was told that they would resolve my credit debt but a bulk of the debt still exists and I don't know what to do.

  

  Business response

  02/01/2024

  Hello ************************ - Thank you reaching out through the BBB.  Perhaps a misunderstanding here that can be easily resolved.  When you blocked two consecutive drafts into your program, our interpretation was that you were not interested in us assisting to resolve your remaining debt.  Your program was proceeding beautifully as we had resolved two (w/ the largest balances) out of your three enrolled accounts.  We'd love the opportunity to work with you to finish the job.  We'll have somebody reach out to help us get on the same page.  Take care.

   

• Initial Complaint

  12/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I dont know where to begin by I enrolled in April 2023 and have made 8 payments of $1,066.73. I was promised that most accounts would be settled within 6 months of enrollment and on month 6 I may be able to qualify for a loan upfront to pay the accounts off sooner. 8 months later I received a summons on my highest account enrolled and while seeking support and guidance to handle and respond to the summons no one can assist me. I am now past the 30-day period to respond which puts me in a critical place and potentially having to pay more out of pocket. All because the company and people I put my trust in have me going around in circles and cannot provide proper directions and assistance. In the 8 months enrolled only one account has been settled and I am being charged extra fees by 3rd parties that I was originally reassured were all included in my monthly deduction. I am very upset, disappointed, and stressed it is beginning to affect my health. I have made the decision to cancel all my services with Start New Financial and have seeked legal assistance to help with my case. I was advised by Start New Financial that they will not return my funds because they have used it all to settle one account that is not completely settled. This does not make sense while I am being charged extra fess that I was promised I would not. To top it off they are stating that since I have cancelled my services it will completely void my current settlement. This is and has negatively impacted me and my family.

  

  Business response

  12/18/2023

  Hello ************** - Thank you for your feedback.  We're genuinely sorry to hear that your experience in our program did not meet your expectations.  We try very hard at the onset of a client's program to communicate his or her program parameters.  For example, we present a written agreement that outlines the length of the program, in your case an estimated 60 months.  Among other things, the enrollment agreement also outlines program objectives, expectations, costs/fees, and also the potential risks and rewards.  We also conduct an introductory welcome call with the client where we verbally review the major discussion points within the enrollment agreement.  Start New Financial's client facing policies, procedures, and scripts do not state that a client's total enrolled debt will be resolved within 6 months.  This is not to say there isn't always room for improvements in our onboarding process.  Your feedback is very valuable in that respect.
  
  We have set up a refund of the funds to which you are entitled .  These funds will be returned to you in the form of a physical check that will be mailed to your home address.  The check is scheduled to process on 12/19/23 and will be delivered as quickly as the **** can make the delivery.  We do acknowledge your concerns and respect your decision to cancel our program.  We are sorry that we won't get the opportunity to complete your debt resolution program and show you the positive and tangible results that so many other clients have experienced.  Again, we apologize that we did not meet your expectations.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩