“The Credit Counseling Industry's Largest Trade Association ...

"The Credit Counseling Industry's Largest Trade Association" October 26, 2009

Donald S. Clark, Secretary Federal Trade Commission Office of the Secretary Room H-135 (Annex T) 600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20850

Comments on the Telemarketing Sales Rule, Debt Relief Amendments, R411001

Dear Secretary Clark:

On behalf of the credit counseling industry, the American Association of Debt Management Organizations (AADMO) is pleased to provide the following information to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in its consideration of proposed rulemaking to 16 CFR Part 310, the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).

AADMO is the largest trade association for the credit counseling industry. Nationwide, the majority of licensed and legally operating credit counseling agencies are members of AADMO.

AADMO is an industry education and advocacy organization the mission of which is to promote and ensure the continued operation and viability of credit counseling and debt management organizations.

AADMO members are consumer credit counseling agencies, debt management organizations, credit counselors, personal finance educators, credit and debt information educators, bankruptcy pre-filing counselors, bankruptcy pre-discharge educators, consumer lawyers and many others.

AADMO is the only trade association to have held state law compliance workshops with the New York State Banking Department and the California Department of Corporations upon enactment of their respective laws governing credit counseling. AADMO is also the only trade association for the industry to publish a formal summary of state laws that has been reviewed by state regulators.

Unlike other organizations in the industry, AADMO represents the entire credit counseling industry: tax-exempt, non-profit and for-profit organizations.

AADMO is making our comments in light of the proposed extension of the TSR wherein "The Commission intends that the definition of "debt relief service" encompass a broad swath of debt relief activities, including offers of debt settlement or negotiation services and debt management plans".

American Association of Debt Management Organizations 4582 Kingwood Drive ? Suite E - Box 187 ? Kingwood, TX 77345

Phone: 281-361-2325 ?

The FTC has stated, "...the proposed amendments are intended to address consumer protection concerns regarding telemarketing of debt relief services and are based on evidence in the record to date suggesting that deceptive and abusive acts are pervasive..."

"The growth in the industry (debt relief) has been accompanied by a rise in the volume of complaints about deceptive, unfair, and abusive practices involving debt settlement."

We believe that sound public policy is based on accurate data and accurate analysis. At present, the "evidence in the record" in this matter is flawed and taints the evaluation of the commingled "debt relief" industry.

As you know, AADMO made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of the FTC for all consumer complaints filed with the agency against credit counseling agencies, debt management organizations and debt settlement companies (collectively "debt relief") in 2008.

The data was reviewed and determined that in 2008 there were 7308 individual consumer complaints filed. AADMO reviewed each consumer complaint by company name and address and used publicly available information to ascertain the business type of each company.

In reviewing the data, AADMO conducted internet searches for each company using first the address of the company and then the name of the company. This helped identify questionable or incorrectly spelled company names and solidify the identity of the respective company.

In our data provided to the FTC concurrent with these comments, Column A is the number of complaints alleged against the company. Column B is the FTC's "name" of the company. Column C is our categorization of the company based on public information. The categorization in Column C is derived from Column F - the supporting URL source of the data. In instances where the search could not yield a meaningful confirmation of the company at issue, we have designated the company categorization as "unknown". The categorization of any specific entity was based on the best available data that provided a logical connection between an entity, address and internet presence.

In the data, there were several hundred complaints that were unable to be identified or classified due to a complete lack of company name or vague references that also caused the identification of the company to not be made. We found:

No designation at all

464

Unable to designate

100

"Account Services"

42

"Card Services"

62

"Credit Card Account Services" 25

"Credit Card Services"

62

"Financial Services"

20

"Unknown"

443

The data also yielded a substantial number of creditor complaints that were not against "debt relief" organizations but rather actual lenders or their servicing partners. For example, the data includes the following complaints:

2

America's Servicing Company Capitol One Citi Financial HSBC Pay Pal Sears Wells Fargo

47

119

51

1,036

683

118

16

Within the complaint universe, there were numerous complaints that clearly had no relevancy whatsoever to "debt relief". These included auto warranties, carpet cleaning services, the Disney movie club, Country Music Television, freight forwarding, gift cards and 8 complaints against government agencies.

The data also has extensive groupings of complaints against credit card processing, credit bureaus, credit repair, currency exchanges and 116 separate creditors.

AADMO does not offer an opinion about the data other than to state that the classification of the complaints is inconsistent and clearly erroneous with the inclusion of creditors, collection agencies, insurance companies and other enterprises not properly contained in the "debt relief" definition.

We hope that this information will assist the FTC in its consideration of its proposed rulemaking for the TSR.

The FTC is advised that due to information gaps and limited identification criteria, some complaints may not be attached or ascribed to the proper company. The data is for demonstration purposes only and may not reflect the performance history of any specific organization. The categorization of companies in this data is generalized for discussion purposes and may not accurately reflect the actual business operations of any organization.

If you have any questions or require any additional information, please feel free to contact me at 281361-2325.

Sincerely,

Mark Guimond Executive Director

3

Due to information gaps and limited identification criteria, some complaints may not be attached or ascribed to the proper company.This data is for demonstration purposes only and may not reflect the performance history of

any specific organization. The categorization of companies in this data is generalized for discussion purposes and may not accurately reflect the actual business operations of any organization.

464 No designation at all

Unknown

100 Unable to make designation or identification 1 101 Financial 2 1st Freedom

Unknown Mortgage Acceleration Financial Services

1628 E. Southern Ave #9-304

kuhuku Tempe

------------------h-t-tp--:-//-w--w---w--.-

1 1st National Merchant Services

Credit Card Processing 3901 S Broadway St

WICHITA



1 1st Pyramid Financial

Mortgage Broker

4 West Las Olas Blvd

Ft. Lauderdale



3 3scoredebtsolutions

Debt Settlement

6136 Frisco Ste. 400

FRISCO



1 4 Pillars Consulting Group

Canada

405 King St N

WATERLOO



3 411 Tax Relief

Tax

10559 Jefferson Blvd

Culver City



1 800CreditCardDebt

Lead Generator





4 A & L Financial Solutions, Inc.

Mortgage Rescue

1755 N Brown Rd Ste 200

LAWRENCEVILLE

Inc/53242495054

2 A A A Cook County Consolidation Co.

Credit Counseling

7366 N Lincoln Ave

LINCOLNWOOD



1 Success Credit Services

Unknown

22647 Ventura Blvd

Woodland Hills

1 A Debt Free Foundation Inc 1 A Financial Solution

Credit Counseling Unknown

380 East 720 South 984 Pointe South Pkwy

OREM JONESBORO

h-t-tp--:-//-w--w---w--.-organizations/utah-county-ut-utah.asp

1 American Software Solutions

Credit Repair

P.O. Box 674406

Marietta

h-t-t-p--:-//-w--w---w--.-atlanta/business-reviews/credit-services/americare-software-solutionsin-marietta-ga-27163612

2 A Plus Credit and Debt Help Association

Credit Counseling

3811 N Oracle Rd

TUCSON



1 A R S International Services

Computer Services

Escondido



1 AAA Credit Repair

Credit Repair

26734 I-45 North

Spring



1 AAA DebtManagers.ca Inc

Canada

2434 Clearbrook Rd

ABBOTSFORD



2 AAA Fair Credit Foundation

Credit Counseling

230 West 200 South Ste 3104

SALT LAKE CITY





1 Abacus Financial and Insurance

Insurance

128 E 18th St

CHICAGO

1793906.html

3 ABC Debt Relief

Debt Settlement

9330 Amberton Parkway

Dallas





1 ABC Financial

Collection Agency

PO Box 6800

SHERWOOD

cp190685.htm

3 Able Debt Settlement, Inc

Debt Settlement

2351 W Northwest Hwy STE 3355 DALLAS



1 Above All Financial Services

Unknown

7319 Indno Road, Suite 1

Palm Beach

3 Academic Financial Solutions, LLC

Creditor

6700 Lakeview Center Drive

TAMPA

h-t-tp--:/-/-w--w---w--.school-loan-consolidation/aboutus

5 Accelerated Debt Relief

2 Accelerated Financial 1 Accerated Financial Center, LLC 1 Account Corp of Southern Nevada

4 Account Recovery Consultants, Inc. 42 Account Services

1 Ace Cash Express 1 Achieve Financial Security 1 ACM Enterprises, Inc. 1 Active Link 1 Credit Collections Defense Network

Debt Settlement

Debt Settlement Debt Settlement Collection Agency

Collection Agency Unknown Pay Day Lender Debt Settlement Gift Cards Unknown Attorney Network

120 E FM 544 Ste 72

2505 S 320th St 927 Fern St Ste 2300

Murphy

Federal Way Altamonte Springs

3864 S. Kettering Blvd. Ste #105 DAYTON

NC Action





WA Action

/dsi_financial.asp







inc_2181.html

3050 1st Ave N 4500 Salisbury Rd #340 PO Box 48469

SAINT PETERSBURG Jacksonville TAMPA

h-t-tp--:-//-w--w---w--.



5499 N. Federal Hwy.|7144 N. HarlemBoca Raton|Chicago|Cattw---w--w--.-a--c-t-i-v-e----d-e- ||

10 Acushield Financial|Fresh Start America 1 adiem consultants 1 ADP Financial Services 1 Advance Solutions 1 Advance Tax Resolution Inc 1 Advanced Consumer Services 2 Advanced Credit Systems 1 Advanced Debt Management Solutions 1 Advanced Global Network/CIG Realty 1 Advanta 1 Advantage Debt services 1 Advantage Financial Partners LLC

1 Advantage Mitigation Services

1 Advantage Tax Resolution Inc

1 Advocate for fair Lending 1 AEC FBO Primetime Savings Club

1 Aegis Management Receivable Corp 1 AEL Financial, LLC 1 aerocargas argentinas,inc 1 Affinity Law Firm|Foundation Capital Inc

1 AFS Advance Financial Service Inc 1 United Debt Counseling Services, Inc 2 AIG 1 A-L Financial Corp. 1 Fresh Start Solutions 1 Alberta Credit Counselors Ltd 1 All American Debt Settlement 1 Allegience Property Protectors

5 Allegro Law 2 Allen Credit and Debt Counseling Agency 1 Alliance Debt Care 1 Alliance Law Group 1 ALLIANCE SERVICES

4 AllianceOne 1 Allied Credit Services 2 allied debt solutions 6 Allied Services 1 ALLIED TAX SOLUTIONS 1 Allstate Financial 1 Allstate Financial Svc 1 Allstate Lending Group 1 Alma Financial Assistance Corp

Back-End Services Unknown Payroll Services Unknown Unknown Credit Card Insurance Unknown Credit Counseling Mortgage Broker Creditor Debt Settlement Financial Services

Debt Settlement

Tax

Law Firm Discount Club

Collection Agency Creditor Freight Forwarding Law Firm

Creditor Debt Settlement Insurance Unknown Debt Settlement Canada Debt Settlement Unknown

Law Firm Credit Counseling Debt Settlement Law Firm Unknown

Canada Credit Repair Credit Counseling Canada Tax Financial Services Unknown Mortgage Broker Credit Counseling

3291 N. Buffalo Dr. #9|3291 N BuffaloLas Vegas|Los Vegas

4570 van nuys blved #515

sherman oaks

5680 New Northside Dr NW

ATLANTA

CA Action adiem.

468 N Compton Dr #200

7162 Beverly Blvd 15303 Amberly Dr Ste B 51 Jackson Avenue PO Box 30715

2190 Gladstone Ct Ste E

2533 N Carson St STE 6147

Beverly Hills Orlando Los Angeles TAMPA Elmont Salt Lake City

GLENDALE HEIGHTS

CARSON CITY

-------------------F-T--C---A--c--t-io--n---h--ttp://os/1998/07/ascord.htm

h-t-tp--:-//-w--w---w--.contact/index.asp LIK&PGID=yp424.8081.1255990061451.43831326831

26376 Ruether Avenue

Santa Clarita



3750 E.Anaheim, CA PO Box 41171

Long Beach



SAINT PETERSBURG

|||

|||



600 N. Buffalo Grove Road

BUFFALO GROVE



8097 NW 67 St

miami



3740 St. Johns Bluff Road|3947 BouleJacksonville|Jacksonville





/claims/afs.htm

2950 W. Cypress Creek Rd.|533 N. NFort Lauderdale|Ormond

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW|| Washington||



675 N. First Street

SAN JOSE

| 150-10908 106 Ave

| EDMONTON

h-t-tp--:-//-w--w---w--.-

Sacramento

h-t-tp--:-//-w--w---w--.

AL Action

09%20Allegro%20Contact%20Info.pdf

1958 Brook St E

WESSINGTON





575 Anton Blvd

Costa Mesa



3 Chase Gayton Drive #422

Richmond

300 - 1220 Sheppard Ave. E

NORTH YORK

h-t-tp--:-//-o-n--ta-r-io-.-y--oolk.ca/business-services/adjustment-and-collection-services/alliance-one486.html

FTC Action

3275 w hillsboro blvd

deerfield beach



1811 Maple Leaf Drv

Ottawa

15455 DALLAS PARKWAY, SUITE 6 ADDISON 14241 Woodinville-Duvall Rd Ste 434 WOODINVILLE

w---w--w- .a-ll-i-e-d-ta-x-s-

3075 Sanders Rd

NORTHBROOK

3301 Buckeye Rd 1701 W Hillsboro Blvd

ATLANTA Deerfield Beach

h-t-tp-s-:-/-/-3-1--8--3-3--2-1223.AboutUS.aspx

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