IFIP News

In an attempt to regulate consumer debt management services and credit counseling services the houses of the Tennessee legislature have passed bills to regulate these businesses. The bill is called the Uniform Debt Management Services Act, which requires these companies to carry insurance and a surety bond, along with other regulations. One of these regulations is companies that are located outside of the state must register as doing business within the state of Tennessee. This is due to many of the businesses being located outside of the state and doing advertising on billboards and other means.
Senator Doug Overbey a republican from Maryville sponsored the Senate bill and believes it is a way to protect consumers in Tennessee. The act was drafted using the Uniform Law Commission, which is a 117 year old state organization, which is focused on protecting consumers. It should be noted that there are numerous non profit credit counseling services available and some of them are even free.
This commission stated that many consumers with credit card debt can do what these companies do themselves. The commission went on to say that these companies usually charge a large upfront fee. The advice they give for clearing up credit card debt is to stop paying the company, and to save a significant amount of money, which they will use to negotiate a settlement.