Debt Consolidation Junk Mail: Sell A Picture To Us

A friend recently provided me his “notice” from Debt Advisors of America, which prompted me to research how the company works. I ended up on a rabbit trail until I came across an actual 2020 lawsuit against Debt Advisors of America where the company was sued with an exhibit A “notice” that was almost identical to the one a friend received in 2022.

So, we wanted to start the following program to protect others. 

1. You get a little cash
2. Your junk mail can protect others. Voila.

Based on my research, I found that there are two types of debt consolidation junk mailers, and I would like to write articles to expose the 2 practices, which are: 1) Too Good to Be True and 2) Get You Scared.  Let’s cover those now.

Types of Junk Mail We Are Interested In

We are most interested in debt consolidation type letters that fit the following criteria. If you receive a debt consolidation loan junk mail from a prominent lender, we are not really interested as we are most interested in deceptive marketing debt consolidation.

1) Too Good To Be True

Let’s say you have a high debt to income ratio and declining credit score, and are living check to check and suddenly get a debt consolidation letter that promises that you pre-qualify for debt consolidation with an interest rate of 3%.

You wonder how you would be able to qualify given your situation, but you decide to apply.

After applying, you find out you do not qualify for a debt consolidation loan, but you actually do still qualify for debt consolidation. What they don’t mention is that it’s not a loan, but a debt consolidation program. To add to this, these types of companies may use credit reporting data to target people they know would not qualify for a loan.

Debt consolidation programs ARE NOT debt consolidation loans.

Debt consolidation programs are also called debt settlement, debt reduction, debt negotiation or debt relief programs. In a debt consolidation program, your debt falls behind and the company tries to negotiate for a lesser balance after your credit score has been negatively impacted.

Now, there are legitimate companies providing these services, but if you are receiving a deceptive mailer, I would question the ethics behind a company.

2) Scare Tactics

Some companies use scare tactics to get you to call. Examples of this include language that may include:

1. Failure to notice language
2. You need to respond quickly or an event happens
3. Negative outcomes that could happen if you don’t call, such as your debt will accumulate more interest or your credit score will be impacted.

These types of companies could be just marketing shell companies that get you to call then will actually just enroll you in a debt consolidation program with an entirely different company. It seems that these deceptive marketing companies may do this to protect the parent company of unethical marketing practices.

Sell A Picture of Your Junk Mail To Us

I would like to expose these to debt consolidation companies (not legitimate banks or lenders that provide debt consolidation loans) before others fall prey to deceptive marketing practices, so we are now purchasing specific debt consolidation junk mail to write articles to protect people.

Here’s how it works:

1. Fill out the form below with your information and type of junk mail you have.
2. Make sure it is debt consolidation junk mail (not credit card offers or debt consolidation loans from legitimate banks) and fits this criteria 1) Too Good to Be True 2) Scare Tactics. If you have interesting junk mail that doesn’t fit the criteria, please fill the form out below and we will review on a case by case basis.
3. We will review whether we are able to purchase it. 
4. If we are able to purchase, we will reach out to purchase the junk mail image for $10 per piece, which would include a picture of both the envelope and the junk mail.
5. Your junk mail could help protect others! We will write an article, and redact all personal information to help protect others.

Here’s the Form To Complete. Write to us support@tryascend.com if you have any questions.