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Did you get a mailer from Americor, Credit9, TriPoint lending or see the ad below stating you have been pre-approved for a "consolidation" that will drastically reduce your monthly payment, and are you wondering what the company's reviews are?
At the time of this writing, Americor had a 3.7 rating on Glassdoor, with just 66% of people recommending it to a friend. There are reviews that highlight that Americor is a "great company" with "growth and opportunity."
That said, let's look at what employees say regarding Americor's potential marketing tactic of pitching a low-interest rate debt consolidation loan, just to show that you only qualify for a debt consolidation program.
This individual stated on Glassdoor that the marketing information sent to clients tell them that they are getting loans with low interest rates, but more often than not, they are getting enrolled in a debt consolidation program (debt settlement).
This individual calls the company's marketing tactics "a bait and switch, " hurting vulnerable clients who desperately need help.
This individual states that this company offers fake loan offers to get clients into their debt settlement program.
You see these employee reviews, but notice that the client reviews are much better.
You may be looking at Americor's client reviews and wondering why they are so good. Can these reviews be trusted?
One hypothesis may be that Americor asks clients for a review soon after showing how much they will save the individual in debt payments, not when the individual may face collection calls, a lawsuit, or a drop in their credit score.
That said, let's look at Americor's reviews from a 3.0 rating based on 4 reviews on Site Jabber.
Americor is an A+ rated, BBB Accredited Business. They have a decent amount of reviews on the platform as well! There are 5,291 reviews with an average rating of 4.74 out of 5 stars.
After reading through some reviews, however, it is clear that many of the 5-star reviews are from potential clients who had a discovery call with an agent and were excited about what they were promised.
Intermixed were negative reviews of individuals who had actually completed the program and were frustrated with how things ended. Although some people seemed more upset because they didn’t realize there would be an extra charge aside from their debt repayment, there are a few reviews that mention Americor was slow to communicate and delayed important action when time sensitivity was needed.
Americor has over 15,000 reviews on TrustPilot, with an average rating of 4.7.
Again, it's interesting to note that most of the 5-star reviews simply praise the individual's first phone call and not the entire debt relief process.
It appears that Americor might intentionally be requesting clients to leave them reviews right after their first phone call.
This is a common tactic that many businesses use to raise their average ratings on specific platforms. They might end their phone calls with something like, "If you found this phone call helpful, please consider leaving us a 5-star review on TrustPilot."
Because the individual was just promised thousands of dollars in savings, they are more likely to do this. However, since they have not gone through the debt relief process with the company, the review is not substantial regarding actual services. While this may or may not be the case with Americor, it is easy to see that a majority of the 5-star reviews were done after the first point of contact instead of after the entire debt relief process.
On Americor’s website, there are also testimonies of people who did the different debt relief options that they offer. While these are no doubt going to be glowing reviews (since they were likely done by Americor and are posted on their website), they are still worth watching as they show real people who have gone through the very thing you might be considering.
Again, since these are on Americor's website, negative reviews are unlikely.
The reviews should be overwhelmingly positive. Americor can decide what their website looks like! However, it won't necessarily give you an unbiased review. Keep this in mind while watching the testimonials posted on Americor's site.
At the time of this writing, Americor had 256 complaints in the past 3 years on BBB. You may be surprised by what you see when you look at the complaints. Can you relate to this?
Many people believe they are trying to sign up for a debt consolidation loan, not a debt consolidation program. Here are some of those reviews:
Let's cover some of the differences between a debt consolidation loan and a program:
Loan: By consolidating your credit cards into a single payment, you may see an increase in your credit score if payments are made on time. The funds are typically deposited into your account, allowing you to pay off creditors, and you would then make a single payment to the creditor each time.
Program: You can save money, but debt consolidation companies typically negotiate when accounts are past due. This may negatively impact your credit score, lead to overdue debt, increase the risk of lawsuits for unpaid balances, and result in collection calls.
To best understand how a company works, it can be helpful to examine both employee reviews and client reviews. So, let's first examine what employees have stated on Glassdoor.
Yes, Americorfunding.com does a redirect to Americor.com, so the companies are the same. I am not sure why they add "funding" in the URL as the main website pitches debt relief which is different than a loan, which we will cover later. That said, it's possible that Americor Funding does provide debt consolidation loans and then pitch debt settlement if individuals do not qualify.
Debt settlement is when a third party negotiates with your creditor on your behalf. The goal of a debt settlement firm is to find a lower payment that will fully satisfy the debt that you owe. I was the previous CEO of a debt settlement company, and I know that debt settlement may be a good option, but it also may not be compared to other options.
According to their website, Americor is the “Nation’s Leading Provider of Consumer Credit and Debt Relief Solutions.” While no study or research has been provided that backs up this claim, it appears that Americor is a huge player in the consumer debt relief field, with over $2 billion of total debt relieved through its company. Americor offers assistance with debt settlement and debt consolidation - if that is something you are considering. They are located in Irvine, CA, but they serve over 30 states nationwide and have been in business for over 14 years.
If you have recently come to realize you have a debt you cannot afford to pay back, you may have started researching the best debt relief companies. While different debt relief companies offer various services, three main types of debt relief are offered. These include: debt settlement, debt consolidation, and debt management. While these can be difficult - or even impossible - to do on your own, debt relief companies tend to have the skills and resources available to do them all well. Unfortunately, their services are not free.
While most debt relief companies don't broadcast what they charge, we can estimate the general charges. Debt settlement companies don't typically charge a flat rate. For example, let's pretend you have $2,000 in debt. Americor can settle that debt for around 50%. This would mean you owe your creditors only $1,000. However, on top of that, you also owe money to your debt settlement company. Generally, debt settlement companies charge anywhere between 15-25% of the enrolled debt amount. So, in this scenario, Americor could potentially charge you anywhere between $300-500. While this may not feel like a lot, larger amounts of debt forgiveness leads to larger charges.
Many times, these companies charge closer to 25%, which is quite high. In fact, Americor states on their website that the average savings is 43% (source: Americor.com), but that number is BEFORE program fees, so it seems that they are stating that they settle the debt at an average of 57% of charges. Finder.com states that Americor typically charges 25%, which can be VERY expensive compared to a company that charges just 15% of enrolled debt.
Ultimately, the decision is yours to make! That said, some of the reviews, both from clients and potential employees, are mixed. For example, some people may get out of debt using the debt relief program, but others may think it was a debt consolidation loan.
If you are struggling with debt and want alternatives to Americor, please consider taking our free debt resolution cost and options calculator.
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