- I am tired of receiving unsolicited emails from scam operations such as the one I just reported on. If you have been receiving this crap as well, please feel free to use my complaint as a template to file one of your own. My concern is that companies send this information out hoping to get an unsuspecting consumer.
- Additionally I do not favor that these companies have access to our three credit reporting agencies in accessing our information for such practices. Not to mention that I am on a do-not-mail list.
- 10/22/13/10:40 AM/Filed a complaint
- BBB serving Dallas and Northeast Texas
- 1601 Elm Street, Suite 3838
- Dallas, TX 75201-3093
- (214)220-2000
- complaints@dallas.bbb.org
Complaint filed:
Thank you for using the Better Business Bureau’s Online Complaint System.
Your complaint has been assigned case #.
Correspondence regarding this complaint will be emailed to : @yahoo.com
Please print a copy of this for your records.
Filed on : October 22 2013
Filed by :
Stanley Thornburgh
Columbus OH 43204
Filed against :
Nationwide Debt Direct, LLC
3803 Parkwood Blvd Suite 100
Frisco TX 75034-8644
Complaint Description:
I do not appreciate receiving unsolicited invitations to settle my debt when I am not looking to do so. I have good credit and pay my bills. Additionally I am tired of being told that “records indicate have not responded to previous attempts…”.
When you call the company to be removed from [the] mailing list they state that they must have reference number on letter. Since I do not trust the company I do not want to provide that as it will imply authorization to pull my credit report further. When they call they are not friendly and are not accommodating in anyway when you express concern about not receiving future mailings. Some of these letters have a name on them and when you ask for that person they state the person does not take messages. I am on a do not mail list and state that upfront. My biggest concern is that these companies somehow are pulling consumers credit reports to make these solicitations. I believe this is fraudulent activity and is an attempt to prey on otherwise unknowledgeable consumers in this matter. I do not feel that an “F” rating company with the BBB should be allowed to buy or access your consumer credit report for any reason. These companies operate under different names throughout the [country]. I want this company and all companies that do business in this matter to not mail or call me for any of their supposed claims of settling consumer debt. I want this company to issue me a formal apology either thru the BBB or on one of my social media blogs.
Your Desired Resolution:
I want this company and all companies that do business in this matter to not mail or call me for any of their supposed claims of settling consumer debt.
I want this company to issue me a formal apology either thru the BBB or on one of my social media blogs.
This case will be reviewed by a complaint specialist at the Better Business Bureau, and then forwarded to the business for their response. It is our policy to allow the business 30 working days to respond to your complaint. You will be notified when the business has responded.
Menschheit: A prospective from Stanley E Thornburgh II 
I read another of your post a while back and I enjoyed it. I copied the link, not to come back and find this nonsense. You know every time I find a blog or site with these crazy ramblings, I get annoyed. It doesn’t matter the topic, just plain ignorance that could cause another to suffer needlessly really gets me in the gut.
I get aggravated just like you. Who likes junk mail? But I also use common sense, not just farfetched notions. Your complaint is with the companies that sell your information; the same companies that sell your name in order for you to receive Credit Card Offers, and all other unsolicited mail. The credit bureaus sell our information. Who else knows you have credit card debt? Credit Bureaus are for profit businesses like any other. When you buy a car, you start receiving offers for warranties and all other car related crap where is the list generated? The DMV. When you register your business, you get all kinds of mailings. Where do they get your information? The county registrar or the state comptroller. Filed a BBB complaint on them? Many businesses sell their client list because it is an income stream and other businesses will buy it, that’s how the USA works. Why did I copy the link to your blog, instead of “follow” your blog? I didn’t want any unwarranted solicitations; I didn’t want to be on yet another list.
As far as your credit report, you will never find a credit inquiry from these companies on your credit report. They don’t have your personal information besides your name and address. They are not extending you credit, hence the phrase “We do not lend or assume debt”, so they have no way of pulling your credit. And as you know all hard and soft inquires will appear. Have you found any? Phrases like “you may qualify”, “… your eligibility”, “Example Savings” should have been your clue that the above was merely a marketing piece, another advertisement.
I have received numerous mailings from this company and several others, just like you. One day when bored, I too called to be removed from the mailing lists. I too was asked for the reference number, but unlike you I provided it. Because unlike you, I realized the person on the phone had no idea who I was. How could they find me out of a database of thousands or millions of names? I was informed that I may get one more notice, due to the frequency of the mailings, but no more after that. And guess what? I haven’t received any more. Funny how that works… kind of like don’t piss off the waiter before you get your food…. you catch more flies with honey… just plain old common sense. And while I didn’t need the service, because of how I was treated, I gave the flyer to a family member considering bankruptcy. And guess what? The service is working for them. On the other side of the coin, I called to be removed from another company in Frisco TX who sent me pretty much the same flyer. While I was also removed from the list it was a pain staking process to be grilled for my decision to be removed from their database… hence my decision to shred their flyer and give my family member the other.
I wonder exactly what taking the time filing a complaint with the BBB is supposed to do? If you weren’t in the market for electronics and received an advertisement from Best Buy, would you also file a BBB complaint on Best Buy? It is nearly 2014, have you not realized that the BBB is also a business? They are independently owned in each area and are selling Grades to businesses that purchase them while penalizing companies who do not. Can a business become accredited without paying? No, they cannot. The government has shut down several BBB franchises around the country and 20/20 did an investigation on them years ago. The BBB is a great quick resource to find out how long a company has been in business, who the owners or contact personnel are, and if there a lawsuits. Again in 2013 we all know by now, BBB grades and accreditations are absolutely meaningless. As a business owner myself, I’m baffled by how we use the BBB to check out companies we’ve never heard of and won’t do business with them if they have a poor “grade”; but don’t care that large companies like Chase, Bank of America, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s all have F ratings. Ever heard of Trustlink? It’s a BBB company. Newer businesses that aren’t yet accredited or cannot become accreditated, for yet another fee, can get listed on this BBB site and get positive reviews. Sound ‘trust’ worthy to you? Your comment that all of these companies are somehow the same really shows how farfetched your theory is. Did you bother to research online for Free your claim before you made it?
So as an informed consumer, when I find these “opinion” sites that sputter false accusations, I get a little frazzled. How many complaints of a company’s BBB profile are from misinformed consumers pretending to be intelligent? How many complaints are frivolous babble from people who are self entitled and feel the need to be heard? Really… you received an advertisement in the mail, you chose not to provide the information needed to be removed from their mailing list, so you filed a frivolous complaint with the BBB. And you wonder why the BBB has lost its power as a viable source of consumer information. Besides the fact they are a business with bills and employees to pay so greed kicks in… it’s also because of the ramblings by misinformed know-it-alls filing unwarranted complaints.
I say all of this because these ill-guided opinions could cause someone not to get the help they need in this economy. Yes, we should pay our bills, but there’s also a reason the banks were sued by the government and consumers alike. People needing help didn’t get into the situation alone. Some folks don’t even realize they need help. Had I not received this flyer, my family member would have compounded their financial situation by filing bankruptcy. Companies advertise to bring in clients. Ever heard of commercials? Advertising brings business in the door by informing consumers that you are there.
Why do these companies exist? They fill a need. Can a consumer do this without paying a fee? Yes. Who would pay for the service? The same consumer who pays a barber, beautician, mechanic, tax preparer, or uses a microwave would pay these guys too. It’s easier to pay someone than take the chance of doing it wrong.
And if you’re wondering, yes I paid my membership fees to the BBB for my “A” and my Chamber of Commerce. Why? Because there are people like you who trust anything you find online without using common sense so it’s just more marketing dollars I have to spend every year.
Shame… Shame… Shame!!!
Sounds like you are the company I reported. Kind of like sending mass mailing coupons for beef burgers to vegetarians because they “just” should have it.
Thank you for taking an interest in my post. Sounds like you are the company I have an issue with. I appreciate your points but I think you miss the point of my post in that when you continually receive such items in the mail especially when you are on a do not mail list and the fact that this is prey tactics for less knowledgable consumers not to mention that these types of services can be best handled for free at one’s local Consumer Counseling Services, one becomes concerned about what information is indeed available from the Consumer Reporting Agencies to these questionable companies.
Kind of like providing free beef steak coupons to vegetarians because they “need” to have it.
I was going to get with this company but now with all this negativity I am scare but she has our social so now what should I do?
Always be careful when giving out your social security number. Since you gave it out that may be permission for them to go ahead and start the process. I would seek council of an attorney. This is my opinion and I am not a professional in this matter. Keep us posted if you would like. Best to you on this.