I became a client of Optimal Debt Solutions in January of 2010, approx 10 thousand dollars in unsecured debt was giving to this company. They assured me that all accounts would be handled. I no longer received paper statements from any of my former creditors, unfortunatly I failed to cancel an automatic monthly withdraw from my bank account, this monthly withdraw went directly to my former bill consolidation company HSBC Beneficial. HSBC Beneficial continued to send paper bills monthly to Optimal. I never discovered this withdrawl due to the fact that the online name that showed up in my bank statement from HSBC so closely resembled that of my monthly car insurance name, both in wording and the amount that was withdrawn that it completley was over looked by me when I reviewed my monthly statements. That was until September of 2010 when both my car insurance and HSBC Beneficial ran back to back in withdrawl from my checking account.
I called HSBC Beneficial and made inquiries as to whether they had received my POA and cease and desisit order from both myself and Optimal, HSBC Beneficial assured me they had received these notices, but it was "MY" responsibility to cancel the automatic withdrawl from my account. True enough. The point to all of this story is I have since cancelled the auto withdrawls from HSBC, informed "Optimal Debt Solutions" of the problem, to which the young women who handles my account with Optimal also informed me that is was my responsobility to cancel any auto withdrawls with former creditors. I was never informed prior to this that I needed to cancel this option, I made the bad mistake of trusting that Optimal, who was recieving the monthly statements from HSBC, that they would have informed me of the still ongoing withdrawls. My counselor with Optimal claims that the statements she received showed no withdrawls being made.
I believe that future customers should be informed by Optimal about these little things that may or maynot be taken for granted, or over looked. I am wondering if anyone at Optimal even looks at the statements that their clients have intrusted with them, if just ONE person at Optimal had looked at any of my statement from HSBC that were being mailed to Optimal they would have seen the ongoing withdrawls. As it stands I have paid two separate companies for the same debt, both HSBC Beneficial..some $1200.00 dollars since last January when I signed up with Optimal, plus the $175.00 dollars I have paid Optimal for the same out standing debt.
I did keep one line of credit open after filing with Optimal, my BestBuy card with $700.00 dollars in credit. I have kept that card up to date and paid on it above and beyound the minimal payment. I opened the BestBuy card in February shortly after joining Optimal Debt Solutions in January of 2010. But I noticed that while I only owed a little over $200.00 dollars on the Best Buy account that my credit was still $0.00 after having $700.00 in credit. I called the BestBuy Company, which is handled by HSBC and found out that Optimal Debt Solutions have sent a POA to cease and desists on this account as well. The Power of Attorney notice was not sent to BestBuy until June of 2010, this was 6 months after I had started with Optimal. Again, my reresentitive from Optimal assured me that "they" did not and could not send BestBuy a cease and desist notice without my authorization, but yet I have the notice here in my hand. I am trying to get a hold of my representitive at Optimal to try and straighten this out. But BestBuy will not reopen my account with them.
Needless to say I am very unhappy with Optimal Debt Solutions and I am not sure at this point what to do.

Thank you, Michele