Merchant Account Underwriting Tools

Banned from debt relief; must turn to acaia berries. Or maybe government grants

For Release: 01/20/2011
FTC Settlement Bans Marketers from Debt Relief Business
Defendants Must Pay $500,000 to Settle Charges

Three companies and their owner, who allegedly falsely claimed they could help consumers quickly eliminate their credit card debts and stop calls from debt collectors, have been banned from the debt relief business under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants, doing business as The Hermosa Group and Financial Future Network, deceptively advertised debt relief services, in English and Spanish radio and television ads, claiming that consumers could pay thousands less than what they owe on credit cards. The defendants themselves did not provide any debt relief services. Instead, the advertising was meant only to generate sales leads – the names and phone numbers of consumers who called the defendants’ toll-free number – which the defendants sold to debt relief providers or other sales lead generators.

The defendants’s ads included sales pitches such as:

* “With one simple call you can eliminate your debt in a fraction of the time and for less than you owe.”
* “Find out today how quickly and easily you can eliminate your debt.”
* “Stop the harassing calls!”

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/01/hermosa.shtm

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