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Grandmother signed up for a scam - need advice

Atty

Atty

Golden Member
Long story short, my grandmother got a letter from a company saying she can write off all of her debt if she agrees to pay $360 for 30 months. She's 80 years old and is easily confused.

She calls, a charismatic sales guy sells her on it, and she signs a contract and hands out her checking account number and routing number.

Tonight while I am with her she gets a phone call that her credit cards were never paid. The same ones that the company said they were taking care of. She tells me all about it and I call her bank. We list it as fraud, they stop payment, etc. They listed it as a company who claimed to be using the funds for one reason (debt consolidation, medical bills she has) and has instead used them for other reasons. They will be contacting her (us?) soon with more details.

My questions:
She apparently signed a contract with this company? What legal repercussions does she now have with stoping payment?

What actions can I do to help ensure this never happens again? I'm asking her to add me as a signatory on her account so I can help her manage this situation and stop it from getting worse.

Sigh. 🙁
 
I'm no lawyer, but I think if she paid them to take care of her credit cards and they didn't, isn't that a breach of contract?

Although I'm sure they've written it well enough to cover themselves. You'd need to get a copy of the contract.

Oh yeah, what state?
 
Kelvrick said:
I'm no lawyer, but I think if she paid them to take care of her credit cards and they didn't, isn't that a breach of contract?

Although I'm sure they've written it well enough to cover themselves. You'd need to get a copy of the contract.

Oh yeah, what state?
Click to expand...
Florida.

I read the contact. Second paragraph of the backside reads, "...This company is in no way associated with resolving any debts to other companies. Please seek advice from your debt consultants."
 
It isn't really a scam per say but shady business practice. The company stops paying your credit cards so your credit is ruined. Then the company negotiates with your credit card company to settle the debt for less than the original amount. But the company has to ruin your credit first or the credit card company won't deal.
 
nickbits said:
It isn't really a scam per say but shady business practice. The company stops paying your credit cards so your credit is ruined. Then the company negotiates with your credit card company to settle the debt for less than the original amount. But the company has to ruin your credit first or the credit card company won't deal.
Click to expand...

Yup. No credit card company, or any company that loans you money, is going to just choose to significantly alter your debt unless they are confident you won't be paying. If your bills are current you best keep on paying.

I'd call the CC companies, or any company affected and discuss the matter with them directly. They will need your grandmother first to authorize you to discuss if that's your intent. Explain the circumstance, work with them to ensure things can get current again and discuss changing their entries with the credit bureaus if they reported and that's a concern.

Don't let a front line agent agent turn you away either. Escalate if necessary.
 
We're always told to listen to older people because they're smarter, wiser and have more life experience.

Old people always go on about how young people don't know what they're talking about and how older people know so much more.

Buy why then are they the ones that always get scammed?

You can president when you're 70+, but then so many 70+ old people get conned by the simplest scams. Makes you wonder.
 
RocksteadyDotNet said:
We're always told to listen to older people because they're smarter, wiser and have more life experience.

Old people always go on about how young people don't know what they're talking about and how older people know so much more.

Buy why then are they the ones that always get scammed?

You can president when you're 70+, but then so many 70+ old people get conned by the simplest scams. Makes you wonder.
Click to expand...

In other news, sources now say the word President is now a verb.
 
they wont do shit. get new checking account and phone number. If the scammers come after her then worry about it.
 
Contact the authorities. Ensure her account is blocked.

As far as it not happening again, be aware, science has recently found that older people have the part of the brain that helps with skepticism not work well.

That's a big reason why they can be overly trusting of scammers. Encourage her to get you or someone to review any financial arrangements.

Mention that it's to help her remain independent, not to intrude.
 
Contact the Consumer Fraud division of your local DA's office, or state attorney general. They've dealt with this before, and can provide assistance.
 
My aunt (who doesn't work; lives off her meagre savings while she takes care of my ailing housebound grandmother) called me yesterday about a virus she picked up and just couldn't understand it because those nice men called from CyberWizard her last week out of the blue about her slow computer and they fixed it all up! Only cost her a couple of bucks on her credit card. I had to break it to her... 🙁

Assholes.
 
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