MOUNT VERNON — The director of a local credit counseling agency said she’s sorry that creditors of one of her clients were not paid, and wants to do all she can to regain the trust of her clients. She also said she is in the process of reviewing the files of every client and is taking steps to ensure the same problem doesn’t occur in the future.
Gwen Jackson, executive director of Financial & Debt Management Solutions of Mount Vernon, admitted that the creditors of one of her clients, Scott Burden, were not paid for about a two-month period. She said her own health problems this past year limited her ability to work full time and run the office, and added that internal problems within the office, which she did not learn about until fairly recently, contributed to the problem.
Burden said he enrolled in a debt management plan with Financial & Debt Management Solutions and paid the agency $1,678 between August and December, but his creditors were not paid in October, November or December. He said the ordeal has forced him into bankruptcy.
When an individual enters into a debt management plan, he or she works with a credit counseling agency. The agency works with the creditors to negotiate lower interest rates and a repayment schedule, based on the debtor’s income and debt.
Jackson said that although she is terribly sorry about Burden’s situation, she doesn’t feel it is fair to say her agency forced him into bankruptcy, because he could have remained enrolled in the debt management plan and avoided bankruptcy. According to Jackson, Burden decided he wanted his money back instead. She said she will see to it that all the money owed to Burden is returned to him.
Jackson said she learned that other clients had similar problems as Burden. She said letters proposing renegotiated payment terms for five other clients were not sent to creditors, as they should have been. In a few other instances, clients brought information on additional creditors into the office after they had already entered into a debt management plan, and the plan was not properly renegotiated.
“These people came to us for help,” she said. “To have hurt them in any way and to have this happen, it breaks my heart.”
She said she is taking steps to review the records of all clients to make sure the creditors have been properly contacted, that proposal letters have been sent and that they are being paid.
“I don’t want my clients to be concerned that this will ever happen again,” she said.
Jackson said she is working with an agency called Vanco, which is similar to a billing service. Vanco works directly with creditors and is able to make electronic transfers for clients to creditors. Vanco will be responsible for all payments and for collecting payments and dispersing those payments to creditors.
Jackson opened the agency after moving from New Orleans to Mount Vernon after Hurricane Katrina. She said she fully intends to stay in business in the area, and doesn’t want people to think that she came here only because she had to leave New Orleans. She said there are many people in this area who are experiencing financial hardship, and her main purpose is to help such individuals.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure this won’t happen again,” she said. “I will take a personal interest in each and every client and I will not have anyone overseeing the operation of the office except myself.”
The agency has about 30 clients, according to Jackson.
