In 2007 my husband had 2 major surgeries in which we lost alot of income causing us and rack up nearly $10, 000 in credit card debt. One day in 2008 my husband was listening a radio station and heard a commercial for FreshStart. We decided to give them a call and discuss our situation. Of course they could make it so we could be debit free within 2 years (for a fee). They explained how to go about this, so we set up an automatic monthly withdraw. They told us once 50% of a credit card balance was reached they would negotiate and pay off that card. No cards were paid off. One of the credit companies filed a law suit and when we called, Fresh start said, "don't worry it will never go to court. Just give us the information." In Sept. 08 we requested withdraw from the program and our $2000 back. 60 days has turned into 6 months. We contacted many of our creditors on our own and have settled those accounts ourselves. We have one card left to pay off and it only took us 6 months to get to this point. Infact the company that was going to take us to court has helped tremondously. Thanks for nothingAcushield/Freshstart. WHERE'S OUR MONEY!!! (please include your fees)

URGENT- Can anyone help? Jan 2009

I have been with Acushield Financial for 4 years now and they have dissappeared off the radar with my set aside balance- a hefty sum (this was after they had settled a debt but not put the transaction through).

I have researched and found out that they have been issued with a desist and refrain order from the California Corporations Commissioner on the 23rd of Dec 2008. Since that time they have not been returning phone calls and the emails bounce back saying that its an invalid email address. I have contacted other businesses associated with Acushield such as Global Client Solutions, but no-one seems to know how to contact them or what has happened.

I am extremely concerned that they may have done a runner with everyone's money and I am urgently seeking any information from anyone which will shed any light on the matter. Does anyone know if legal action has been brought against them? Or is anyone thinking of doing it?

Please email me if you know of anything- [email protected]

Many thanks for any support coming through!
Jim

Do not get involved with this company. I paid them over $4000.00 to basically ruin my credit. Their sales pitch is deceiving, Their contract references items which are not contained in the contract, they do not settle any debts as promised in their business service. I was just hanging on with paying all of my bills when I started doing business with AcuShield. My credit/Fico scores were respectable.

After 10 months with this company, my scores have just about bottomed out, they refuse to negotiate with creditors as promised and I am now in further debt because of them.

Do not get taken by this company as I have. I have filed a complaint with the BBB-Las Vegas and the FTC. I encourage all of you who are in the same boat to do the same. Protect those individules who have not yet been swindled by AcuShield and let's stop companies like these from praying on individuals who may be head into or are already in financial crisis. They will ruin our life and take your money while doing so. Use this money to negotiate on your own. You will be much better off!

I signed up for Acushield Financial - Fresh Start America in January of 2006. They were great about taking my money on time each month, but then when it came time to do their job they were nowhere to be found.

Earlier this year I had a court order sent to me for a lawsuit from a credit card company. I notified acushield to settle before the courtdate. I called daily and each day my negotiator was 'out sick' but they assured me my case would be handled in time. Needless to say they didn't handle it and I went to court and had a judgment against me even though I had the funds available.

I finally decided to terminate my business with acushield as they made my credit situation worse (and I paid them $5000 to do so). I faxed a letter of termination at the end of June. I phoned two days later and they stated they didn't receive it so I refaxed it to a new number. I was sent an email (per my request) on June 28, 2008 stating they received my letter and a refund for my set aside (around $3000) would be sent to me within 60 business days. Four months later I still have not received my check. I have left several messages and finally filed with the BBB.

I am still waiting to hear back but I imagine I will have to take legal action before anything is resolved. If you have credit card debt, do NOT go to acushield financial. I started calling the credit card companies myself. I found out the hard way you can negotiate your debt yourself with out paying thousands of dollars to an unreliable company.

Dear Sirs

I entered what I though was a legitimate "debt negotiation" program in October of 2004 with high hopes of clearing out my credit card debts and stopping the insanity of "minimum monthly payments" leading to higher and higher balances with no end in sight. I found them online, and signed a contract with what was then called "Best Debt Solution", set up my account, arranged for an automatic EFT withdrawal out of my checking account of nearly $400 per month, and was told I would be "debt free" in 34 months. At the time I entered the program I was current and caught up with all the payments to the 6 different credit card accounts I went into the program with, but just squeaking by making monthly minimum payments without ever seeing a reduction in my principle balance, which is why I decided to enter the program. Having already declared bankruptcy from post university credit card debt 15 years earlier when I was just out of college, I was legitimately trying to find a way to stop a recurrence of the madness and get out of debt.
Now, 3-1/2 years later, of the original 6 credit card accounts I originally entered the program with, only 2 have actually been settled (with the lowest balances of course), one having gone to legal court proceedings along the way. Interests and penalties on the remaining accounts have INCREASED my overall debt appreciably, my credit rating is in total shambles, and 2 of the remaining 4 accounts are currently in legal proceedings with the other 2 well on the way. 'Best Debt Solutions" has somehow in the interim changed addresses twice, become ACUSHIELD FINANCIAL, and continuously promised me that their "negotiators" were working hard on my accounts while I continued to pay a "maintenance fee" of $39 per month now 6 months PAST the termination of the original agreement. They still have nearly $6000 of my funds in a "set aside funds" negotiating account that has been sitting there unused for months while I wait for them to settle with accounts that have now gone to lawsuits and legal actions. They have charged me over $4000 in "education and maintenance" fees over the term of the original program, which supposedly went toward the management of said program, and which I am now trying to terminate so I can get BACK the money I have in there to use to begin bankruptcy proceedings,
This is a scam like you wouldn't believe. I truly went into the program legitimately looking for an option to get out of credit card debt. They preyed upon my desire for a relatively "quick fix", promised me impossible results, and ultimately did nothing but further ruin my credit and take money from me. This organization (and others like it) should be investigated, stopped, and put out of business before they can do any more damage to gullible, unsuspecting well-intentioned persons like myself.
I am not a cheat. I’m an intelligent, well-educated person who found myself on the credit card "merry-go-round", ending up in over my head and was trying to legitimately get out of debt. In the interim I have endured YEARS of credit collector harassment, lost my steady job which now keeps me from ever HOPING to get out of debt in the near future, and been totally used by these people. I did EXACTLY what I was told to do throughout my participation in the program, and yet there was always some mix-up in getting my information to my "negotiator", or I had to sign a new power of attorney, etc etc etc ad nauseum. Every time I called I had to start any explanation on the phone from complete scratch with a new customer service rep, and heaven forbid I actually voice my frustration or displeasure: I was actually threatened with termination because I swore at a the person on the phone at one point when she told me I should have just declared bankruptcy to begin with…..
ACUSHIELD has been flying under the radar so far: hence the name changes and changes of location for the company (they started out in San Diego, but have since moved to Las Vegas with their financial transactions now being handled in Phoenix, Arizona). I have complete records of the entire sordid history of my participation in this dreadful program, from my original contract to termination letter and countless emails and letters in between, and would like very much to find a way to blow the whistle and pull the plug on these vultures preying upon the unfortunate & gullible in the current economic climate of fear and hardship.
Thank you for your attention, and do not hesitate to contact me regarding these matters. If you know of anywhere else I might direct inquiries to deal with this situation, I would most appreciate finding out about them.
Sincerely,

G Matthews


Pertinent Acushield Information:
Acu-Shield Financial
Customer Service Team
3291 N Buffalo Drive, Suite 9
Los Vegas, NV 89129
Phone (800) 990-9694 Fax: (877) 418-0840
Email: [email protected]

Payment address:
Wells Fargo Lockbox Service
Payment Center
P.O. Box 53506
Pheonix, Arizona 85072-3506

Also:
UCAN (United Consumer Advocacy Network)~associated with ACUSHIELD
1061 Main Street
Banco Park, Suite 6
North Huntington, PA 15642
FAX: (724) 861-1035