Guy and Pam came to see me yesterday, after the got sued by Citibank. They got sued by Citibank, because they thought an outfit called Pure Solutions told them to stop paying their bills.
Stop paying your bills?
Like most people, Guy and Pam considered bankruptcy as last resort. So when they started to get behind last summer, they answered a mailer from an outfit called Pure Solutions. (Their website is yourpuresolutions.com.)
The mailer promised help with their debts, so Guy and Pam called. And they signed up for, well, something.

What do you get when you sign up with Pure Solutions? they send a verification letter to everybody you owe money to. That verification letter is not from you; it’s not from your lawyer. And it does nothing.
Most “avoid bankruptcy” scams tell people to stop paying their debts. Pure Solutions materials do not tell you anything about what to do with your debts.
The materials from Pure Solutions just tell you to send your bills and a payment to Pure Solutions.
Guy and Pam figured when they sent in their bills and started to pay Pure Solutions, they should stop paying those bills. But nowhere in print does Pure Solutions actually say that.
(At least on the printed stuff–I don’t know what their Case Managers actually tell people.)
What happens when you stop paying your debts? Well, obviously three things.
Some companies leave you alone.
Some companies offer a settlement.
Some companies take you to court.
The first three or four months of not paying, nothing much happens. It looks like it’s working. Then the court papers start to come, usually, and you realize you’ve been scammed.
What Makes Pure Solutions Different?
The “avoid bankruptcy” scams I mostly see, promise to settle your debts. And it’s true, if you stop paying, many credit card companies will accept a cash settlement of fifty cents on the dollar. (You don’t need to pay somebody a fee to tell you that–I just told you for free.)
It’s also true that most people who can’t pay their bills don’t have the money to make a cash settlement. That’s why debt settlement programs fail. And because they usually fail, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau warn people to watch out.
Pure Solutions avoids the government crack down on debt settlement companies–because they don’t promise to do debt settlement. They don’t promise to do anything for the money you pay them.
Well, it’s not quite true they don’t promise to do anything. They promise to send a letter to the people you owe money to, asking them to prove you owe them money. That letter, of course, does nothing. It’s not from you; it’s not from your lawyer; it’s nothing. (They know they never get answers to their letters–in fact they guarantee it. They promise to refund your money if the creditor actually answers!?! They call that their Pure Solutions Money Back Gaurantee. Huh?! They are guaranteeing that nobody answers the letters they send out.)
And they let you know another way that they know their letter does nothing.
At the back of their welcome packet, they tell you six different ways, that they are promising nothing.
Here’s what they say:
Pure Solutions is “not…providing legal advice.”
“Your use of Pure Solutions website is entirely at your own risk.”
“Our services as provided ‘As Is’.”
“Pure Solutions does not make any …representations whatsoever…”
They make no “warranties of merchantability and fitness…”
“You agree that Pure Solutions …shall in no event be liable for any…damages.”
On top of all that, if you still want to try to sue them, you have to sue them in a court you can’t get to–“determined solely by Pure Solutions.”
(You can read their “we do nothing” warning in full here. Pure Solutions Disclaimer.)
If you think you’ve been scammed by Pure Solutions, is there anything you can do?
At least as I’m writing this, they seem to be members of the Better Business Bureau in San Diego. And from the comments, it looks like if you put in a dispute with the BBB, Pure Solutions is refunding people’s money.
Also, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
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