AADR - American Association for Debt Resolution

As we enter the season of giving — one in which millions of Americans will go into debt in order to celebrate — it is important to remind ourselves why debt resolution is so important. First, let’s consider the volume of debt most debt resolution clients have. We have found that the people and families who typically finds themselves in need of the services AADR members provide, owe on average, about $30,000 spread across seven or more different creditors. Without help, that enormous sum would take years to pay off. Many families would never be able to do it. Second, let’s remember that these troubles did not develop overnight. Most often, they are the result of a lost job, an illness, or the need to take time off to care for a family member. These consumers have been robbing Peter to pay Paul for months or even years – paying late or becoming delinquent on some debts to keep on top of others, charging medical debt on credit cards to put an end to aggressive collections efforts – and have reached a point at which they are no longer able to continue juggling their high-interest, unsecured debt burdens. AADR independent studies have found debt resolution, on average, saves consumers between 30 and 35 percent of their total enrolled debt levels – including fees. And, importantly, under the Federal Trade Commission rules, debt resolution customers have the right to reject any proposed settlement at any time, for any reason. Need help? Learn more and find a providers on our site:?https://aa4dr.org #debtresolution #debtrelief #unsecureddebt #financialfreedom

AADR MEMBERS: Please join our team for a 2024 Wrap-Up and 2025 Planning Compliance Webinar on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at 2:00 PM ET. If your company is an AADR member, you should have received an invite by email. Check your inboxes since registration is required for this event. ? Stacey Silva, AADR’s Head of Compliance, will moderate. Robby Birnbaum will offer a “Top 10 Compliance Tips List” and go over new California registration requirements. Birnbaum will provide important criteria and trends to help you build and live a compliance culture will be forefront. The coming year is expected to be a year of evolution in the regulatory environment, this information will help ensure you are ready. Don’t miss out on this important information! Use the link in the email you received to register NOW! Missed the email or didn’t get it? Contact Karin Stragand ([email protected]) to make sure you and your company are on distribution lists. #debtresolution #compliance #consumerprotection #debtrelief

Our community is growing! Four new member companies recently joined AADR. Join us in welcoming: - Corporate member?Credit Vision, LLC?has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, and its leadership team understands consumer credit. The firm’s experts help consumers and small businesses match with the right financial products and services to achieve their personal financial goals. - Corporate member?First Choice Debt Relief?has been in the debt resolution business since 2008 and prides itself on having built a team of compassionate, highly informed, and seasoned debt specialists. Based in Irvine, Calif., the company understands the challenges that come with overwhelming credit card debt. - Affiliate member?Balboa Digital?provides custom contact center services for clients. It manages inbound and outbound programs with scripting, integration, and processes. A flexible staffing approach means clients only pay for what they use while providing faster response times to customer inquiries. - Affiliate member?SuperMoney?helps inform consumers who looking for financial services and products, offering data-driven summaries of financial products and services, alongside recommendations and reviews from community members. Supermoney also operates a loan offer engine and a no-fee financing platform. Interested in joining our community of companies that fights to give Americans better access to the tools that will help them regain financial freedom. Learn more about how to join:?https://lnkd.in/ev3r4Geg #debtresolution #debtrelief #financialfreedom #debt #unsecureddebt #creditcarddebt #medicaldebt

On October 22, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final regulation that will make it easier for debt resolution companies and other financial services and financial technology providers to gather data from clients and their banks. The so-called open banking rule stems from authority given to the CFPB under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Over the 14 years since Dodd-Frank was enacted, both Republican and Democratic administrations have worked to advance the regulation. The rule also enjoys widespread bipartisan support on Capitol Hill — in fact, it is one of the few CFPB regulations that does. What would the CFPB’s open banking rule do, and how would it make financial freedom easier to achieve? Read our latest blog post to find out:?https://lnkd.in/eEkyEDNu #openbanking #openfinance #debt #debtrelief #debtresolution

As part of the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL), the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has issued its final regulatory registration requirement for debt resolution service providers operating in the state that will go into effect on February 15, 2025. AADR member companies operating in California will be expected to comply with the new requirements, including filing Form MU1 through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry (NMLS) in accordance with this subchapter for transmission to the Commissioner as part of the initial application process. In connection with registration, the DFPI is requiring an annual report be filed by March 15th of each year. Moreover, it is incumbent on debt resolution service providers to keep the information filed up to date in accordance with the § 1034 of the new regulations. The registration and reporting requirements will be part of the AADR accreditation audit beginning on February 15, 2025, as they will be a California regulatory requirement. Member companies will be expected to attest that they are registered and have provided the required annual report and be able to provide evidence when asked. For any questions related to California’s forthcoming registration requirement or AADR’s compliance standards, please contact?[email protected]. Learn more here:?https://lnkd.in/eneGRCPq

October is National Economics Education Month (NEEM) in the United States. According to the Council for Economic Education’s (CEE) 2024 Survey of the States, more Americans have access to financial literacy and economics education than ever before. More than half of U.S. states, 28, require students to take a course in economics to graduate. Thirty-five states require students to take a course in personal finance to get their diploma. As Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Senior Fellow Annamaria Lusardi, a speaker at AADR’s 2024 Annual Conference, explained in a paper released last year, the financial knowledge that comes through these courses is an important component of addressing wealth inequality. Financially literate individuals make investment decisions and better allocate financial resources. Correspondingly, people who lack financial literacy are more likely to engage in high-cost borrowing and to have inadequate financial planning over both the short- and the long-term. While younger, less-educated individuals are more likely to struggle with financial literacy, one-third of Americans with a master’s degree lack a basic understanding of how inflation worked. Forty percent do not understand risk diversification. How can you advance financial literacy and economic education in the United States? We have some ideas in our latest blog post:?https://lnkd.in/gmtpfsfa #financialliteracy #finlit #financialeducation #economicseducation #economics #NationalEconomicsEducationMonth #debtresolution #debtrelief

New Jersey lawmakers may soon consider legislation related to debt resolution. Here are just a few reasons why they should support it. Holiday driving season is approaching and, with that, car repairs. These days, a broken fuel pump can run more than a grand, and replacing an engine? That is about $10,000. If celebrating quietly at home is sounding good, you may be one of the tens of millions of Americans who do not have enough savings to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. For these families, when adversity strikes, credit cards often are the only way to make ends meet, and balances can sometimes spiral, but there is help, and hope. When unsecured debt gets out of control, debt resolution providers could help struggling New Jerseyans to reduce their debt — if the state did not statutorily prohibit this service. All New Jersey’s neighbors, and most other U.S. states, permit debt resolution providers to operate, but the Garden State has not updated its law since the 1970s. Senate Bill 1310, which the state Senate could soon vote on, would give residents the same rights as neighbors in Philadelphia or New York. Read our CEO Denise Dunkel Morse’s op-ed in NJBIZ that explains why this piece of legislation is so crucial:?https://lnkd.in/eGV8RNU7 #debtresolution #debtrelief #NJSenate #unsecureddebt

October is Economic Education Month and AADR is pleased to continue to support the Council for Economic Education, or CEE. A national nonprofit, CEE’s mission is to equip K-12 students and their parents or guardians with the knowledge and tools to make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. AADR members have contributed $16,000 for CEE this year, and AADR has pledged an additional $25,000. Additionally, 60 people joined the Bourbon Tasting Fundraiser at our 2024 Annual Conference. This event raised an additional $6,750 for CEE.? Fifteen conference attendees also volunteered at the CEE Family Financial Fun Night at John Park Elementary School during our conference. These volunteers shared their financial literacy knowledge with more than 70 participants, which included students and their families. The event was a huge success and CEE has received a lot of positive feedback about our volunteers. Thank you! Please join our efforts by contributing at the link below. Our partnership will support: Year-round professional development opportunities, including training for teachers new to the subjects of financial literacy and economics; CEE’s annual educator conference, which reaches approximately 500 participants each year and provides teachers with tools and lessons they can bring back to their classrooms; CEE’s National Personal Finance Challenge, a nationwide competition that offers high school students an exciting way to build and demonstrate their own financial literacy skills, and Other advocacy efforts and events like the FinEd50 coalition, which works to enact personal finance graduation requirements in all states. Like AADR, CEE hopes for bright financial futures for today’s young people, where they can?confidently navigate the financial tools and resources available to them. Thank you to these companies who have already stepped up: Beyond Finance, DMB Financial, Forth, Inc., Global Holdings, Greenwise Financial, and JG Wentworth. Give now:?https://lnkd.in/eB3jxPMD #EconomicEducationMonth #economiceducation #financialliteracy #finlit #debtrelief #debtresolution

Hispanic Americans play an increasingly vital role in the U.S. economy. While Latinos make up about 20% of the overall population, they represent 25% of all new small business owners. According to Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School, Latinos are the fastest-growing contributors to the U.S. economy, are quick to join the labor market, and are responsible for $3.2 trillion of the nation’s gross domestic product. While Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportune time to celebrate these achievements, it is also important to remember that, as a whole, Latinos are not as well off as other groups. According to the Federal Reserve’s latest report on the economic well-being of U.S. households, for example, more than one-quarter of Hispanic adults, 27%, could not pay all their monthly bills. That figure compared to 11% of White adults. Hispanic adults also were more than twice as likely than Asian adults to carry a balance on their credit card. Juan Carlos Guilbe, financial advisor and certified debt specialist, acquired Debt Freedom USA in 2018 and with these challenges in mind, he transformed the firm into one that exclusively serves his fellow Hispanic Americans. “I wanted to assist my community,” he said. “But I didn’t want to just provide debt relief solutions. I also wanted to help educate people about personal finance and how to stay out of debt.” Today, anyone in need of financial advice can call Debt Freedom USA and find an expert willing to help. Guilbe and his team also have found other creative ways to provide financial healing in the Hispanic community.? Learn more in our latest blog post:?https://lnkd.in/g2kv55BR #HispanicHeritageMonth #debtresolution #debtrelief #financialservices?

That’s (almost) a wrap! Our 2024 Conference ends today and it has been a huge success. Thank you to everyone who attended and an especially HEARTY THANK YOU to our generous sponsors!? Please join the team at AADR in giving a shout out to: Diamond Sponsor:?Global Holdings Platinum Sponsors: -?CFTPay Powered by Priority -?Greenspoon Marder LLP -?National Debt Relief, LLC Gold Sponsor:?Achieve Silver Sponsors: - Bulldog360 - Full Circle Financial Services - Loop Marketers -?MaxDecisions -?Rescue One Financial -?Spinwheel Bronze Sponsors: - Complete Legal Plan - Corporate Advisory Solutions, LLC - Fortress Legal Plan - Greenwise Financial Solutions -?Kredit? - LendingUSA - National Data Systems - Reliant - Tax Pro Resolvers By providing resources for this conference, and at a time when American families need it more than ever, these companies are championing debt solutions for a better tomorrow. Learn more about our whole community here:?https://lnkd.in/eXYA_g4d? #debtresolution #debtrelief #eventsponsorships?