Hi, I'd like to add another comment about John LeBlanc and the CFW Group. I haven't been to this board in nine months, which is the time I met John.
Let me begin with my background. I went to school for 5 years and accumulated a Student Loan worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 40k. I also met the woman I'm spending the rest of my life with, who just herself graduated a few months ago. After leaving school, we both moved back to Victoria (we spent a couple of years out of town) where I searched for work and she continued with her schooling. I did get a job, but with just my income, it was tough to support my family( she has two children). Although we made it month to month, the student loan repayments went by the way side. Lots of stuff in between then and now, but essentially the lack of payments over the years introduced me to Federal Credit, whom I'm sure many of you know.
Upon initial contact, they seemed very friendly and they wanted to help me get my debt back on track. They explained that my interest alone was now $270/mo, so payments in the range of 5 or 6 hundred a month would clear me up in no time. Hmm...well, I was still the only full time earner in the house, and certainly couldn't pay what they were asking. In fact, paying the interest alone wasn't even possible! As you can guess, my new friends at Federal Credit didn't want to hear that, and became "less friendly". They started the early morning calls at home, they called me at work, they threatened to sue me and investigate myself and my wife for tax issues and I started to lose sleep at night. My employer was getting a bit annoyed with the calls and I just didn't know what to do.
My mother mentioned that she had 10k that she could lend me if I really needed it, so I approached FC to offer a settlement. After talking to the agent and offering to pay 10k to settle this, they convinced me to offer something like 12,534.92. Not exactly sure where I'd get the extra, I said OK. Looking back, I know now that they just hung up the phone, counted to 100, then called me back. They said the bank refused, and really, if I could offer 12 instead of 10k just like that, I could certainly come up with another 7 or 8 to make it an even 20k. They were sure the bank would go for that. After explaining that I wasn't able to do that, the threats of lawsuits started again.
Realizing I couldn't negotiate this myself, I contacted a lawyer's office to see if they could negotiate on my behalf. Sure, they said. Not that they had done this before with student loans, but heck, for a mere $1000 they would table the offer for me. The lack of confidence in their tone made me think twice. Now what was I going to do? I searched the Internet for any ideas on dealing with credit agencies, or changing my name and moving to Tibet. Instead, I found this site.
I posted a few questions about my situation, and got a lot of helpful advice and support from others in similar situations. One member in particular seemed very knowledgeable. A guy named Johnny.
This Johnny guy gave everyone advice that came to the board, and it appeared he was a well respected member. In fact, he even claimed to have personally helped people deal with collectors. After dealing with him a few times on the board, I sent him an email. He replied, explaining that I really needed to talk to him in person to fully appreciate what he could do for me. Being the skeptic I always am, I avoided calling him. Federal Credit, however, did not avoid calling me! Every day, two and three times a day. I couldn't deal with it anymore. I made the call.
Now I'm on the phone with this Johnny guy from the Internet, and I have no idea what to expect. John explains his background to me and also explains what he can do for me and others in my position. He states that with very little effort, and a cost to me that is affordable, he can make the phone calls stop. not only that, but he'll negotiate a repayment plan on my behalf that I could deal with without my family starving. And although I'm talking to a guy that is literally on the other side of the country and a complete stranger, I felt that John was being completely honest and forthwith about his abilities. I decide to take a chance.
After discussing the details over the phone, I filled in some forms authorizing John to deal with this issue on my behalf. That was nine months ago, and that was the last time I got a call from FC looking for money. That day stopped all the harassment and the threats and I actually got some sleep that night. But not too much sleep. This wasn't over.
John arranged for me to pay minimum payments with FC and it was an amount I'm sure the agency was unhappy with. I paid them every month for six months, and then had to renegotiate and justify the low payments. This wasn't an issue and in fact was only a formality. I still didn't have the money they wanted, so I was to continue to another 6 months of payments. However, you'll remember that I came to this board looking for advice on a settlement. John suggested that this might be the time to try again with an offer to settle, and I had a bit more money available to me from family. So offer we did. The agency and the bank refused. Ok, I said, back to making payments. John was not so quick to give up though, and told me to hang tough. John presented the offer again, using his knowledge of the agencies and banks and how they do things. John called me a couple of days ago to inform me that the bank had accepted the offer. So what does all this mean, you ask?
It means this. After paying the settlement offer, I can move forward with my life. I can build my credit again and know that this is behind me forever. It means when the phone rings at work, I know who isn't there to threaten and harass me. It means my kids don't get threatening call from collectors. It means I can sleep at night, free from the pressure of this hanging over my head for the rest of my life. More importantly, it means I owe a great debt of gratitude to John Leblanc for his persistence in seeing this through. If I hadn't made that call, I'm not sure where I'd be. The stress of something like this can affect your health, your marriage, your relationships with everyone in your life. The Canadian Financial Wellness Group helped me through this stress, making sure it didn't ruin the other more important things in my life. I now have an overwhelming sense of relief knowing I can move forward. I sat still for far too long, and I have John to thank for getting back on my way.
I realize this became rather long, but John helped me complete a long journey. For that, I thank him.
Brad