Century Support Services

Ms. Collins enrolled in a Century Support Services debt settlement program on 11/05/2020. According to the Debt Resolution Agreement, executed on 11/05/2020, she enrolled 4 debts having aggregate balances, as of the date of enrollment, totaling $59,279.00. Based on her financial ability, a monthly program deposit of $959.39 per month was established and a program length of 48 months was estimated. Throughout the enrollment process & her program journey, we never shared with Ms. Collins that all her accounts would be settled within 3 - 9 months. Our team got to work quickly and settled her largest account for 30% of the current balance of the account, within 4 months of her depositing into her program. This is what our team is great at and has successfully accomplished for many of our clients in the program. We are able to settle quickly and with really great settlement offers. Ms. Collins removed one of her accounts off the program because she wanted to continue to use that account. When that occurred, it prevented us from working on that account. She did later add the account back to the program, but then ultimately told us she was considering using it again to purchase $28K of lumber, for a project she was working on. Another of Ms. Collins accounts had specific requirements outlined from the creditor. The creditor provided a specific form for which Ms Collins could provide a signed statement indicating her financial hardship. This hardship document would be Ms. Collins restating the financial hardship that she shared with Century, when she enrolled into our program. Ms. Collins unfortunately would not provide this agreement and eventually told us she would handle this account on her own. The remaining two accounts we were able to settle for 40% and 44% of the current balances of the accounts. Our team worked daily with Ms. Collins for over 6 weeks to ensure the funds were available to settle one of these two accounts prior to the settlement offer expiring. Ms. Collins shared that she had experienced many communication challenges with her bank and the firm that manages her 401K to successfully transfer the funds into her dedicated account with the 3rd party payment processor, Global Holdings, LLC over the 3-week timeframe that it took. Century does not earn a settlement fee until we do the work for our clients. This is how we show our value. When we successfully negotiate a settlement on our clients behalf & they accept the settlement and a first payment is initiated to the creditor, only then have we earned the right to collect the full earned settlement fee. All fees are presented to a client, prior to enrollment. This allows for a client to know the cost of their program. We are sorry that Ms. Collins did not feel that this was a positive experience. Our team has been in close contact with her throughout the journey. Since June 2021, our CEO and team have, in some cases, daily communicated with Ms. Collins working to advise and guide her on a successful outcome. With Ms. Collins identifying that she had access to additional funds not previously shared with us, we were able to settle with these 3 creditors an avg. of 37% of the current balances within 8 months.

Philip, We appreciate you sharing your Century experience. There is not any fine print in Century’s Debt Resolution Agreement (the “Agreement”). Our goal is to negotiate a client’s delinquent debt for the least possible amount. Our program does not promote, nor is it designed to increase your credit score. In order for a client to have the most successful program with the most realized value, we disclose that settlements for less than full balance occur when accounts are delinquent so that a client can make the determination if debt settlement is the best relief option for their situation. The Agreement clearly states, in Section 3.B. iv. entitled “Effects of Participation in a Debt Settlement Program” that “failing to make your minimum monthly payments to your Creditors (a) will negatively affect your creditworthiness, (b) may result in "unpaid," "late," "uncollected" or "charged-off" entries on your credit report(s), (c) may cause the amount of a Debt to increase due to the assessment and accrual of additional interest, late fees, and other fees, and (d) could result in ongoing collection efforts and, possibly, legal action including being sued by Creditors or debt collectors. A Creditor may notify the Internal Revenue Service of any forgiveness of some or all of a Debt, and the amount of such forgiveness may be taxable income to you.” Furthermore, in the Agreement’s Section 3.C. Century disclosed to you (and all other clients) that “Century makes no claim that our debt settlement program will improve your credit rating…” Despite any obligation to pay federal taxes on balances forgiven in excess of $600.00, and pay our fees, we calculate that your participation in our debt settlement program saved you close to $11,000 even after paying a nominal amount of taxes on a portion of your forgiven debt. In Section 2 of the Agreement Century clearly disclosed that “your personal involvement in the negotiation and settlement process may be required for certain Creditors identified as “Difficult Creditors”, and we will provide you with the information identifying those Difficult Creditors as well as the information that you will need to participate in the negotiations and settlement process. To reduce the need for clients to participate in settlement calls with Difficult Creditors Century recently enlisted a law firm that will often be able to negotiate settlements without a client’s participation. Based on the approximately $11,000 in savings you realized from your debt settlement program we are proud of the results we achieved for you, but are sorry that you find these results disappointing.

Dawn, We appreciate you sharing your Century experience. Our records indicate you spoke with your Senior Customer Advocate Kasey to review the concerns mentioned in your review. As discussed with Kasey Century’s program is not a consolidation loan. The Century debt settlement program is designed for clients in a financially distressed situation, when keeping up with even minimum payments on their unsecured debt, is becoming a financial burden. Our goal is to negotiate on your delinquent debt for less than the full balance. When you enrolled in your debt settlement program, a plan was created for you to meet your program goals over an estimated time. Every month, you deposit a preset amount into your dedicated reserves account. While funds are building in this account, Century Negotiators are reviewing your file for the most strategic times to initiate a settlement. Settlements can happen at various times and will depend on several factors, including your monthly deposit amount, the number of creditors you have enrolled, and the balance of each individual account New Credit America is a company that offers a loan. This loan can be an option for a client that wishes to accelerate completion of their debt settlement program which ceases additional interest and fees accruing on the enrolled accounts and eliminates any further collection efforts including lawsuits. This puts clients on a path to restoring their credit profile. New Credit America loans are used to fund the completion of the client’s current debt settlement program. We appreciate you giving Kasey the opportunity to address your concerns. We are regret to hear that you are not completely satisfied with your Century experience. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Lisa, Our team appreciates you sharing your feedback, which we do take very seriously. We acknowledge your feelings that there may have been a gap in our communication with your creditors. Your Senior Customer Advocate, Kasey, has made several attempts to follow up with you to discuss the concerns, mentioned in your review, and provide you with more details. Our goal is to negotiate on your delinquent debt for less than the full balance. When you enrolled in your debt settlement program, a plan was created for you to meet your program goals over an estimated time. Every month, you deposit a preset amount into your dedicated reserves account. While funds are building in this account, Century Negotiators are reviewing your file for the most strategic times to initiate a settlement. Settlements can happen at various times and will depend on several factors, including your monthly deposit amount, the number of creditors you have enrolled, and the balance of each individual account In our attempt to resolve your debt as quickly as possible, we may be presented with a settlement opportunity that would require you to commit to some additional funds, in order for you to take advantage. You are not required to make any additional deposits; however, we want to present you with these negotiation efforts so you can decide the best path to move forward. Each creditor employs their own policies, and some chose to only speak with their customer. Our team makes every effort to foster good communication during your Century program and the possibility of coached settlements on difficult creditors would have been reviewed in your Debt Resolution Agreement. We review our settlement strategies with our clients in advance and in our review of your program, we believe that by following these strategies, we would have been successful in settling the remainder of your accounts if given the opportunity to do so. We regret that we were unable to reach you to discuss the specific details of your concerns and that you were not completely satisfied with your Century experience, but we do appreciate the opportunity to have been of service to you.

Dylan, We appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with us and for speaking further with your Customer Advocate, Jennifer. Our goal is to negotiate settlements on your delinquent debt for less than the full balance. In review, we were able to successfully negotiate a favorable settlement on your largest debt account, with a realized savings to you of over $1,300.00. Being able to show a client the value of our program as quickly as possible is an important part of this partnership and we were able to achieve this successful milestone 3 months into your estimated 29 month program. When you enrolled in your debt settlement program, a customized plan was created for you to meet your program goals over an estimated time. The strategies involved in creating and executing on your customized program are based on years of experience working with creditors. Allowing the program to progress through the process will allow the strategy to play out and lead to the most success. As Jennifer explained, the funds that you deposit monthly were being utilized to pay the settlement agreement, on your first settlement. As funds build in your third party account, we have the ability to negotiate settlements on your remaining accounts. One of the major benefits of our program is that we do not earn a fee for our services until we've successfully negotiated a settlement, that settlement has been authorized by you and a first payment has been made toward the settlement to your creditor. The fees associated with the work our representatives do for your debt relief program are reviewed with you, prior to your signing of our Debt Resolution Agreement, and they never change during your program. This allows you to know the cost of the program before committing to this journey with Century. We regret that you were not completely satisfied with your Century experience, but we do appreciate the opportunity to have been of service to you. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.