Consumer complaint received 2019-06-20
Company: New Direction, Inc
State: NY
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Debt settlement
Issue: Confusing or missing disclosures

Complaint:
I have enrolled with New Direction Debt Relief program https : //nddebtrelief.com/ in XX/XX/XXXX for a 36 months programs to consolidate and pay off my debt across 6 creditors : - Upon enrollment on the phone I asked two questions 1 ) would the enrollment in the program have a negative impact on my credit in any way, shape, or form and the answer was an explicit NO and was told if anything this will help improving my credit. This was not the case as New Direction apply a technique of withholding payments from creditors to push them into settlement lower than whats owed to the creditors. This caused severe damage to all my credit scores and derogatory remarks on my reports that will be there for 7 years. 2 ) the program markets itself as no fees program so I asked how they make profit and the answer was their profit would be the difference between the payments I make over the 36 months and the total settlements amount they reach with the creditors. This is based on their estimates of the settlements they anticipate to reach - The total amount I was supposed to pay by the end of the program {$16000.00} to cover all settlements. I have paid to date {$15000.00} ( as per agreement I should owe {$300.00} ) this is due to New Direction reaching out to me in XX/XX/XXXX asking if I could make additional {$150.00} monthly payments for 10 months for a total of {$1500.00} because they were able to reach another settlement agreement with one of the lenders but needed more cash flow to make payments. I have made all these payments and agreed the amount paid will be deducted from the total and shorten my program to end in XXXX with last payment being {$300.00} ). They adjusted my payments schedule to reflect this but later on changed the last payment in XXXX from {$300.00} to the regular amount of {$450.00} which would make the total {$140.00} higher than what we agreed on in when I enrolled. 
- I called today to inquire about the status of my accounts and was told to pay off all accounts I need to extend my payments of {$450.00} to XX/XX/XXXX. This would make the total payments {$1900.00} higher than the original agreement for a total of {$18000.00}. By now the have reached a settlement with 4 out of the 6 creditors for a total of {$10000.00} with the remaining two accounts totaling {$2200.00}. Even if the last two accounts settle for the full amount the total would be {$12000.00}. I have already made {$15000.00} which is enough to pay off all accounts. New Direction now wants me to pay a total of {$18000.00} for a total obligation as of today equal to {$12000.00}. They are making me pay a few more thousand dollars on top of what I already paid which is already enough to cover all my obligations plus {$3600.00} in profit ( assuming the two remaining accounts settle for full amount ). This is not what I was told on the phone when I enrolled and agreed to the terms. I have already covered my obligations and New Direction is making a profit but they are trying to maximize their profit on my account by making me pay {$1900.00} more than what we agreed on.

- New Direction is taking advantage of naive consumers that are desperate to get out of debt by confusing them with the terms ( verbal vs. written ) and by pushing them to continue paying beyond original agreement. They are extremely shady practice and definitely cheat consumers both through their misleading verbal agreements/marketing and their operational practices.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation