Hi there! I am Michael, and I founded Consumer Recovery Network along with 2 friends and dedicated debt coaches, Dean and Dayna, back in 2004. I want to share more about the unique approach to coaching and helping people through debt and credit problems we set out with back then, and that continues today.
Credible debt coaching, where you get expert guidance in order to navigate a tough financial patch, was not commonly available to people when we started CRN and launched this site. There was only one other operation doing the stuff we envisioned at the time (we did not know the other guy then, but he later became, and remains, a good friend and associate).
Nearing two decades later there is still a terrible lack of experts available to coach people through unfamiliar territory when negotiating with banks and debt collectors (of all variety and size). And there is no other company that offers DIY debt relief education and coaching while also providing expert debt negotiation services to those who want or need it.
Our Intention.
The intentions of CRN, and this website, can be best spelled out like this… we figure that if you knew what we know about resolving debt and credit challenges, you could solve your problems yourself and save a bunch of money in fees (some debt relief companies charge a lot).
This simple concept is the foundation of what we do daily with site visitors; how we handle free telephone consults; and the one on one debt coaching we do with customers.
I have personally helped tens of thousands of people to overcome mountains of debt, and to achieve their financial goals. I look forward to exchanging comments with you here on the site, and to speaking with you, should you request a consult.
Cheers to your success – Michael
Greeting to all, my name is Sid and this is my personal experience with CRN and especially MR.M Bovee as my first contact and through end of my case. Of course every individual situation is differ from other person but we all have a common dilemma and that is, how to deal with our disastrous financial conditions. Regardless of how we got to this nightmarish cross road, most of us are looking for a light at the end of tunnel, rescue raft before begin devoured by financial sharks ((all banks, collection agencies, debts buyers, attorneys and so many other dark and shadowy characters … )) Ordinary people, like me, after recovering from initial shock of, how and why I got to this mess, would look to/for advised from all resources available to us, I started with friends which had similar financial problems, the result was astonishing from **Do not do anything to different tricks and sometime magical acts** then I start searching the internet, there are hundreds of individuals and Companies which all promise GOOD results in shortest time, by the way some of these elaborate claims are so astonishing, you would not believe your eyes ??!! BUT if you do search and study enough, you shall come up with some ideas of your own, for me it was the moment which I decide that, I DO need professional guidance/help to get through my debts challenges. I talked to some people which I found through Internet, and checked their background, this is an arduous task, but for me I choose CRN and my friend MR.M, Bovee. THESE are my personal reasons to choose him ((your reason to accept him or not depends on your personal taste, understanding and choice)) he sound and act easy, friendly with all from beginning, he does not try to lure you in by scaring you to death and show himself as your only rescuer, he try to explain all your options to you right from start and would repeat them in all follow up phone calls, he is very punctual on timing, would encourage you to solve your bad credit problems by yourself ((mental coaching)) but if you preferred, he would do it for you, his fees are reasonable comparing to others and CRN would follow the governmental guidelines, in short he practice whatever he preach, My story start with CRN last May(2020), we talked once a months and I study very hard through internet to understand better my situation, I approach all my creditors and made dissent settlements with all of them(always consulting with Mr. M Bovee), at end I recommend CRN to all the people with similar or more complicated financial predicaments((B.K, Attorneys, Judgements….)) to try them. Sid_Dast
P.S; Good luck to all
Phone
(714) 345-6836
Thanks so much for the call Michael! I really appreciate you listening to my financial problems and hope I can work through the negotiations myself and get out of debt free soon.
Thanks again! I have been watching some of your youtube videos since i first contacted you. Very helpful! I would and will direct anyone else I see with debt to your videos and website. I appreciate what you do! God bless!
Hello, I have debt from years ago that I could not pay due to hardships in example loss of job, having nowhere to live and I want to correct these debts. While I can’t afford to pay the total amount I would like to pay something and get this taken care of!! If you could guide me on how to go about this, I greatly appreciate it!!!
Thank you,
Steffany
Who are the creditor or debt collection companies involved at this point?
What are the balances owed?
Were you ever sued?
When did you stop paying on the accounts?
Yes, I am going to be writing much more later this month about our whole situation however, one I haven’t seen on here is what I am wondering about. I have a loan with affirm that was charged off a month ago. They have gone with true accord which appears to be a gentler collection firm. They offered 30% off online. Have you had any luck with getting them to 30 to 50% settlements? Hoping I can negotiate down
I do not typically see True Accord approve deals that low. Sometimes you have to wait to see who gets your account next in order to see if you can get a better settlement deal.
Hi Michael – months ago, I had a telephone conversation with you regarding my mountain of debt, and I wanted to thank you for that. It was very helpful. Since that time, my husband and I have been able to pay down the debt a bit more than anticipated, and have managed to keep his debt on 0 balance cards, etc. I was able to get on a debt management program which, unless the COVID 19 thing continues forever, which of course it won’t, I anticipate making the payments and actually getting the debt handled sooner than five years. I wanted to mention that I am using Cambridge Credit Counseling (I think I saw that on your website, or the Resolve website at some point) and I am very pleased with them so far. I am newly on the DPM, and the reduction in interest rates has been amazing to me. So just a shout-out for them, and a thank you to you and your associates for being there for people like me!
Thank you for posting an update Mary! Glad to hear things have smoothed out for you.
Wow, your web site is really great and helpful! Thanks so much for providing so much useful information. Here is my situation. My brother has dementia and made a mess of things, and I am dealing with his creditors. He has almost no assets and is in a care facility. We are starting the process of applying for Medicaid. He has a $9K debt to Discover, which was charged off two months ago. We haven’t heard anything from them since then – no calls or demand letters. We’ve settled his debts to Chase and Citi at 32 cents and 36 cents on the dollar. His only income is Social Security and a $200 monthly pension. He should get a stimulus check for $1,200. By the time we sell his car and empty his bank account, we can come up with maybe $3K. The posts on your site from some time ago make it sound like Discover holds onto the debt instead of selling it, and they play hardball. They may sue quickly without even trying the usual phone calls and letters. Is that still their policy? How do you suggest we deal with them? I don’t want my brother’s final years bothered with litigation or hassles from bill collectors.
Yes, Discover is still mostly the same with their collection practices.
If your brother has no assets and only income is protected, I am not sure I would be going through with settling Discover. They cannot force the payment even if they did get a judgment.
I am with you on wanting to make things easier for him though. You just want to know that is worth the roughly 50%-ish needed to deal with Discover.
Let me know if you want help with this one.
Are you a Not For Profit or For Profit Organization?
CRN is profit organization, but mainly with a free to the public publishing goal. There is a network of helpful service providers available to people. Some are nonprofit, others for profit, some attorneys, and even a public benefit corporation I helped found.
Hello,
I have a debt with MCM about $6k. They sent paperwork and court documents to an old address from 5 years ago. They then of course had the right address when it was time to try and garnish wages. They sent me a Notice of Court Proceedings to Garnish Wages Notice. After researching and talking to a few friends I went to the court and filed a motion to vacate the judgement due to being served improperly. I have a hearing in about 3 weeks. I called today to try and settle with MCM they said I had to pay in full and wasnt eligible for any discount at this point. I told them I would just go to court to vacate the judgement. Is there anything else I should be doing or aware of at this point?
Until the outcome of that hearing, not really, but I would talk to an experienced debt collection consumer law attorney in your state about this.