FTC LOOKS TO SHUT DOWN DEBT SOLUTIONS FIRMS

March 23, 2006

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The Federal Trade Commission is asking a federal judge to shut down a group of companies the Washington’s attorney general had previously sued for marketing a “debt elimination program” whose effectiveness was questionable and whose salespeople used aggressive telemarketing tactics, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported yesterday. After DSI Financial, Debt Solutions and their affiliates settled with the Attorney General’s Office in 2004, they apparently stopped marketing to Washington residents but continued selling to the rest of the country. The companies, which are incorporated in Florida , had operated from Spokane , with a call center in

Federal Way
. The companies paid more than $250,000 in refunds to Washington residents after they settled with the state and have followed the agreement, said Don Kellman, their Spokane-based attorney.
The FTC and the Washington attorney general filed a joint lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle , accusing Debt Solutions and its affiliates of violating telemarketing laws, misrepresenting its business to consumers and failing to disclose material conditions of its sales.

FTC Looks to Shut Down Debt Solutions Firms