Complain about a product or service

Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp.

67 Hunt Street
Agawam, MA

Travis of Ochlocknee GA (01/18/08)
When my wife and I joined CCC we were told the same as many other people. We had a high upfront fee to join, endless empty promises. After joining, we received several threatening phone calls inquiring about why we had missed 6 months of payments and our credit score plummeted and we couldn't get financed for anything without paying an astronomical finance charge. I made numerous phone call and emails with no success. When we finally got out of CCC we were in more debt then than when we started and was out of a tremendous amount of money. I would love to know if there some sort of legal action I could pursue.

Barbie of Hearne TX (09/26/07)
In January of 2001 I paid Cambridge too consolidate debt and for monthly payments to be made to may consumers.This never happened and Cambridge kept my money. I was contacted concerning a class action settlement, I returned all documention I was mailed along with copies from the original papers in my files from 2001. To thtis day I have never heard any thing else from Cambridge and the settlement. I would like to know what happened and why I have never recieved anything from the settlement?

Failure to comply with the agreement that I had with Cambridge to consolidate my credit caused me to lose money and more problelms with my credit and creditors. I really feel I deserve to be included in this settlement and that my money should have been refunded years ago.

Paulette of District Heights MD (09/12/07)
I paid them for three and a half years. When I started paying them I was 41,000 in debt. When I stopped paying them I still had $37,520 outstanding. I then joined CCCS in Washington and in three years and 2 months my debt was paid off.

Stacey of Colchester VT (08/29/07)
They told me that they would help me reestablish my credit. With a low interest rate. They took out $250.00 out of my checking account. I have tried to call all I get is an recording and i leave messages and they still will not call me back.

Murhaf of Kent WA (06/14/07)
I have subscribed with Cambridge Credit Counseling in Dec 2005, and they set up a monthly amount of $279.00, recently I have checked up my credit report and I found out that my payment was late for six consecutive months from March, 2006 to August 2007.

I called the customer representative many times and explained them the situation but no help or response. Finally I spoke to the manager personally and explained to her my concerns and she promised me to resolve the issue as soon as possible which never happened.

Because of the late payment on our credit report we couldn't sell our house and buy new car. Also we are paying $27 monthly fee to Cambridge Credit to process our payment on time.

We couldn't get any loan, because our score is around 600 or under and if we get it the APR is going to be too high. When we signed up the contract, the customer service representative told me that if I signed up with them my credit score should go up as long as I am making payment on time and should increase my credit score.

Marlene of Center Line MI (05/30/07)
I signed a 59-month agreement with Cambridge Credit Counseling. I have never missed a payment and took it upon myself to completely pay off two of the four creditors covered under the agreement. One of the remaining creditors was sold to another company.

I experienced nothing but confusion and shock dealing with Cambridge. They bounced me back and forth in an effort to change dates/amounts, etc. After four years, one of those balances is almost as much as when I started. I paid $544 up front and a monthly fee to Cambridge being told that professionals are managing your accounts and instead of sending out countless checks each month, you make one simple payment ot us and we will take care of the rest -- they sure did!

Additionally, I was told that my balances would be reviewed by Cambridge annually, so that we can confirm that your balances are decreasing according to your debt repayment schedule. That never happened!

Bethann Smith of Marysville MI (04/21/07)
We have been at Cambrdige Counseling for 3 years- we had to pay 1,806 up front and paid 180 a month (processing fee) that has recently been reduced to 50.00- so all and all Cambridge has taken 6,126 in processing fees in the last 3 years and my accounts have barely gone down. I was also told that my accounts would be paid off in 3 years- we are going on 3 1/2 with no end in site and we have been told by Cambridge that if we leave all the money that we have been towards our balances would be for nothing becuase our interest rates will go back up to 22%!- I did file the paperwork for the lawsuit but I have not heard anything yet. Please help.

Mary of Mccloud CA (04/15/07)
we have been using ccc for about 5years now and it has worked for us and we have almost finished all are bills they worked on.

Thomas E Wilkie of Gaffney SC (02/27/07)
I was told I cambridge credit would cut high interest rates on my credit card. After a few months I noticed my late fees. Discover card froze my account. Sears want let me us their credit card either. So I felt it was best if I paid the credit cards myself instead of Cambridge credit. The fees were hurting & the high interest rates did not go down.

Its hurt my with Discover card services and sears. Now I can not use theses credit cards at all.

Linda of Oregon IL (12/12/06)
My husband and I were ripped off by this company. We paid $429 per month for two years and many of our debts increased instead of decreased. We did recieve a form for the class action suite--but unfortunately misplaced it before it got mailed back.

Wendy of Shelby NC (11/14/06)
I have been a client of Cambridge since 2002 and they told me at the time I signed up that it would only take me 2 years to pay off my debt. It has been over 4 years and I am still paying them. My balances have barely gone down on the credit cards. I received a document to send in to an attorney regarding the lawsuit against Cambridge stating that I was eligible to receive money back from the suit. But I have lost the paper and need to receive another one. Can you help me with this?

My credit looks worse than when I signed up with them and I'm still paying on the cards!!!

Suzette of Louisville KY (11/05/06)
In 2001, the financial advisors The Dolans recommended Cambridge Credit Counseling on one of the network morn ing shows. I was trying to get out of debt and to make it quicker, I called them and signed up. At the time I did this, I had excellent credit and was paying my bills on time, but they promised lower interest rates and the ease of one payment.

After a couple of years of creditors calling saying they had not received my payment even though I made it, I dropped out of their program and started paying them back. My cards are higher than ever even though they are closed out and my credit is completely wrecked. I have had to get loans against my house, etc. and there is no end in sight. I regret the day I ever signed up with them.

E.M. of Boston writes (4/30/03):
I have consistantly paid in excess of the amount specified in my contract. After 12 months, my account balances are higher than when I became a client. I have made several attempts to resolve this matter to no avail. I have contacted my state's attorney general's office for advice.

I have paid over $2500.00 to this agency. $25.00 is a service fee and the rest should have been applied to my account. My balances were NOT overdue when I turned them over to CCC. My credit report reflects late payments and charges of missed payments.

Jena of Jacksonville FL (4/21/03):
I received a letter from my credit card company, Household Credit stating that they "support my decision to use debt management services" and that they had cancelled my charging privileges and will report my account to the credit reporting agencies as being "managed by credit counseling service." I HAVE NEVER CONTACTED ANYONE ABOUT NEEDING A DEBT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

I immediately called my credit card company and they gave me the info that they rec'd by fax on 2/13/03 from a Cambridge Credit Counseling Services that I had agreed to $20 a month payments at 9%. I stated that I was not in the country at that time and it would have been impossible to set up those arrangements at that time and that I have never been late with payments and always pay more than the minimum payments. I contacted Cambridge and spoke to Angel who said he would have upper management fax a letter to me and to Household stating that I never signed up for credit counseling services.

Well, I have yet to receive that letter and Household says that they rec'd a call from CCCS that I had "dropped credit counseling services." I finally got Household to reinstate my card and notate that I was never enrolled in debt management services. Lisa at Household advised that I get that letter from Cambridge and send it to the credit reporting agencies to try to have this removed from my credit report, but Cambridge is still not cooperating. I do not understand why they are not willing to try to fix this. I'm not even sure what is the right way to fix this mess. It gets me that both companies are being uncooperative in helping me, when I have done nothing wrong.

Ronald of Fayetteville NC (3/6/03):
I signed up for the program carrying $7k in debt. The payments were reasonable, so I signed up. There is a one-time fee equal to your monthly payment to begin the program. That sounded fine, as long as it put the creditors at bay. It didn't. Four months into the program, I was still being charged late and overlimit fees, pushing me further into debt.

I called to complain and was told "I had to go a little backward to go forward". And, the payments they have set up are simply not enough to compete with the high interest rates I am still paying, which they have only seemed to lower about 2% at best. On one card, I am paying $20 a month and the interest is $10! How is this supposed to get me out of debt faster, if at all?

They charge $25 a month for "maintenance fees" that I could be using that toward my debt, since the company is in no hurry to do so. The final insult came when I finally qualified for their "Good Payer" program. After six months, you are told that you will recieve a cash rebate of "50% of all funds collected on your behalf". I thought this meant 50% of what I had paid in; it turns out that it is 50% of "Fair Share" contributions that the creditors send to these companies. Instead of $300+, I recieved a paltry $16! The language is monstrously misleading and I certainly would rather have negotiated with my creditors than patronize this program had I known what this company was really like.

Taggert of Trenton FL (8/15/03):
I enlisted the help of these folks to help manage my few credit cards. After discussion with Jimmy W., I was advised that they could assist me, and that my credit report and score would only get better as I progressed with the program. I was advised that they had contacted each of my creditors, and had negotiated lower rates with whomever they could.

But after several months on the program, the creditors still kept calling. I finally relented and spoke with each creditor, and lo and behold, to a T they each advised me that they had no agreement with Cambridge, nor anyone else working on thier behalf. Basically, all they were doing was underpaying each of my accounts, while keeping a fee for themselves at the same time. So *all* of my accounts are now behind, and most are also getting hit with over-limit fees and late fees that are greater than what Cambridge was paying each month. Except for 2 accounts that have charged off.

Charged off ... nice program they have. Of the rest of the accounts, I have notified them that I have dropped out of the Cambridge plan, and I have brought all but 1 current. That 1 account wants $1100.00 right now to clear the over-limit amount and bring it current. And the best part? I tried to buy my wife a truck a couple weeks ago, and was denied, because as I was told "...no one will write a loan to someone on a credit counseling program...". Good info, if you know it before you enter a counseling program...

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