Mrs. Stewart was a referral to RAM Financial Services through one of our affiliates, Pinnacle Financial. All clients entering our program will undergo a triple verification process as I will explain in order so that the client fully understands our program inside and out. We want our clients to not only successfully complete our program but we need to set the expectations not only from our end, but our clients end. Once these are met, clients will be successful and there are no surprises that arise.
Mrs. Stewart enrolled into our program Feb. 5th of 2009. On July 14th, 2009 Mrs. Stewart was extremely pleased with our program that she not only added an additional $11,920 of debt to her program but sent us a survey with excellent marks across the board and noted:
"Geoff welcomed me into the program and explained everything with much detail...he is a God send. Thank you."
- Rosie Stewart.
She had approached Pinnacle Financial initially seeking help with her mortgage and enrolled into their loan modification program. She also mentioned to Pinnacle Financial that she had quite a bit of unsecured debt that she needed help with and expressed that bankruptcy was out of the question. Mr. Geoff Lewelling of Pinnacle Financial explained in detail how our program worked and after the explanation Mrs. Stewart informed Mr. Lewelling that she wanted to enroll into the settlement program. Pinnacle Financial had Mrs. Stewart hand sign her Debt Program (payment breakdown) to confirm she understood the payment plan in detail and how it worked. This breakdown contained an overview down to the penny of our fees, her savings, and the settlement amount that we strived to achieve. With our program, our clients control their fund account. Along with this he also had her sign the agreement for our services which explains the program in detail - the good, the bad and the ugly - so there are no surprises, to add to that, the agreement is a non binding agreement and can be cancelled at any time by either party. Once we receive her enrollment forms, Mrs. Stewart was then contacted by our Client Services Department to ensure that she was fully aware and understood how the process of debt settlement worked as well as how her program would work, the breakdown of fees and savings to pay her creditors, and what to expect with regards to her creditors calling, collection agencies calling, and the possibility of getting sued -- more importantly that all correspondence form creditors/collection agencies be passed on to RAM Financial. As part of the verification and welcome process the client is then mailed a welcome packet that explains everything again and contains copies of everything the client has signed, including the agreement and program breakdown. We also include a Verification Checklist which the client will manually check and mail or fax back to us. Finally their assigned Negotiator will call the client to not only introduce themselves but to also reiterate how the program works and what to expect.
Our clients receive several monthly phone calls from their assigned negotiator and their client services representative to answer any questions and or problems they might be having; our clients also have access to them any time of the day via email or phone. We send out monthly newsletters and each and every one of our clients at RAM Financial is enrolled into our Debt to Prosperity program. This is a comprehensive financial coaching and mentoring plan where the client receives monthly lessons via email lessons, mp3, and video, D2P newsletters, and calls from a financial advisor and is engaged with our clients to complete the monthly lessons. The goal of the D2P program focuses on "Learning the Rules of the Money Game" and learning to properly manage your resources, financial choices, and lifestyle. These are effective powerful lessons that will teach our clients:
• How to insulate yourself from rising prices, recession and tough economic times
• Why just paying off your debts isn't enough to keep you out of debt
• How to always have enough money for the important things in your life...without borrowing
• The difference between being wealthy and having true prosperity
• How to immediately start building true net worth
As you may or may not know the industry we are in has a negative connotation associated with it and I hope after reading this letter that you understand that we are a company of full disclosure to our clients and take not only our mission to help our clients very seriously, but also our reputation. We are registered with our Chamber of Commerce, and have no complaints with the BBB (until recently with Mrs. Stewart which was resolved). With only 15 months of being in business, we have many clients who have been successful in becoming debt free. With their permission of course, they would be more than happy to talk to you and attest to our program and how it has changed their lives.
With respect to Mrs. Stewart and her request for 100% of her fees which amount to $11,764, we simply cannot refund the entire amount. Though Mrs. Stewart believes we did not do work on her program, we have done quite a bit of work since she enrolled in February. Creditors and collection companies will tell clients just about anything to scare them into working solely with them, and in Mrs. Stewart’s case it worked. We are willing to give Mrs. Stewart the benefit of the doubt in not understanding our program and can offer a refund of 75%.
We have been reported to the Better Business Bureau, Channel 3 on your Side, and slandered on the internet in which I firmly believe at no fault of ours. However if providing Mrs. Stewart a healthy refund protects our reputation, all 20 of our employees and their families, and last but not least our clients’ trust, then we are more than happy to do so.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Nicoli W. Menninger | Director of Operations
RAM Financial Services
