ComplaintsforGRT Financial

• Initial Complaint

  02/21/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed a contract with this company is august of last year, They have attempted to pay off one debt ONE, they told me I would be given a loan to pay off my debts and I would make payments. This hasn't happened and Im not 150 days behind, my credit is c*** and I'm screwed. They told me that they no longer offered loans as of december but I was never told. So now Im being threatened to be sent to lawyers! This needs fixed I was lied to and told this, was going to be over in a few months, Im contacting a attorney

  

  Business response

  02/27/2024

  GRT Financial has reviewed the content of this complaint, and on three occasions attempted to discuss this matter in detail with the claimant, who refused the assistance of our team members. We completely understand their frustration and GRT Financial has been more than willing to offer continued resolution of their remaining outstanding debts.
  
  Upon the claimants enrollment in the GRT Financial debt resolution program, they were entered into a 48-month plan to save funds in anticipation of negotiated settlements with their enrolled creditors. GRT Financial is not a lender, is unable to guarantee or issue a debt consolidation loan, and performed only the duties defined within the client enrollment agreement.

  The cancellation of the claimants file is in process, and a refund of the balance of their dedicated savings account will be issued within 7 to 10 business days. Despite their decision to terminate our services, we wish them the very best in their journey to financial freedom.

• Initial Complaint

  02/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I enrolled in the program in 9/2023 but after one month after watching my credit score drop drastically I called the company and expressed my wish to cancel. The person on the other line talked me out of cancelling the plan. after another payment was drafted out of my account and with my credit score continued to drop and I started receiving calls and texts from my creditors I again called to cancel the program. The caller, ******, tried to talk me out of it again but I insisted this time so he finally agreed to cancel he couldn't give me a timeframe as to how long it would take. I waited several weeks and called back again and talked to someone else who told me my program had not been cancelled and was unsure why. I had also emailed a cancellation letter to the company during this time and followed up several times and each time I never received a response back. I paid in a total of $687.38 for two months and was finally refunded $141.58 I feel like the company tries to talk you out of cancelling because with each payment they get, they evidently intend on keeping 90% of it. They did not do anything for me to justify keeping $454.20 of my payments. I would like a total refund of these charges if possible as I signed up for the program thinking it would help me.

  

  Business response

  02/27/2024

  GRT Financial appreciates the opportunity to research the details of this complaint, and have internally taken steps to remedy this matter as requested by the claimant. The fees paid were for an ancillary product which was offered and accepted by the claimant at the time of enrollment, and we have made the request for these fees to be refunded as requested. GRT Financial did not collect any earned performance fees as no settlements were initiated on behalf of the client. 

  We wish the claimant the very best as they seek a method of debt resolution which fits their needs to reach financial independence.

• Initial Complaint

  02/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been paying 279 dollars every month and this company they promised to help me with my debt. It has almost been a year and they still haven't done anything they promised. Now I have been summoned to go to court by one of the creditors and when I asked to get my money back from them they said there might not be any money left. There should be money left since they have not settled any of my debt.

  

  Business response

  02/09/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to escalate your concerns, we regret any frustration you have experienced as a result of your debt resolution program. GRT Financial appreciates the opportunity to research this matter and respond. After review, a full refund of the balance of your third-party dedicated savings account was initiated by GRT Financial following your cancellation on 2/6/2024. No earned performance fees were deducted by GRT and this refund has been initiated; as communicated by our ****** Services team, this refund should be received within 7 to 10 business days. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was in the debt management program for approximately 18 months and was told if cancelled the program that any money left in my escrow account would be refunded I had ****** in my account and instead of refund just so happened that was the exact amount of fees they said I owed after taking their monthly. This all happened between 1/10/24 and 1/18/24 this business is a scam and I would like the money they owe me they should prey on individuals that are trying to work out debt

  

  Business response

  02/09/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to escalate your concerns, we regret any frustration you have experienced as a result of your debt resolution program.
  At the time of this cancellation, outstanding earned performance fees which resulted from the successful negotiation of two separate settlements remained due to GRT Financial, Inc., and were collected in accordance with the signed ****** Enrollment Agreement. Earned performance fees are deemed 'earned' following the negotiation and payment toward an approved settlement agreement in accordance with the Telemarketing Sales Rule governed by the Federal Trade Commission.

  While $848.40 remains unpaid in earned performance fees, GRT Financial has made the decision to not pursue collection efforts on this outstanding balance. 
  In closing, we highly recommend that the claimant contact both ************ and Credit Control to make arrangements to ensure the settlements remain in place to experience the full savings of the offers obtained on your behalf. The ****** Services Team at GRT Financial are more than happy to provide the necessary information needed to the claimant if requested. 

  We wish you the very best as you continue to work toward financial independence.  

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  1-2-2024 in the amount of ****** I was told on **** would be my last payment. I even called and verified it on **** that it was 451.71.However, I was paying my first of the month bills and they had drafted again on January 2 an even higher amount of ******. I did not do a stop payment on the account last month or tell the bank they were not authorized because I was stupid and believed them.

  

  Business response

  01/23/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to research your account, and for sharing your experience. A full refund of the January deposit and all remaining dedicated account funds was processed, and we apologize for any miscommunication in December related to the final deposit of your program.

  Congratulations on the successful graduation of the program and reaching your debt free goals! 

• Initial Complaint

  12/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed up for this program to hopefully help have payments in one place and because the person who signed me up made me feel like they really wanted to help me. He told me that my credit score would go down probably ***** points but that in a couple months would go back up. My score went down over 200 points. I paid in over ****. I called to cancel because it just didn't seem right to me. The lady I talked to was very nice. She told me that the man that signed me up was her least favorite, and she said I wouldn't get any fees back, but I would get back the ********************* the "escrow". A couple days later, I checked and they took that money too and labeled it as a "fee". Do not sign up with this company!!!!

  

  Business response

  01/02/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to escalate your concerns, we regret any frustration you have experienced as a result of your debt resolution program.

  At the time of this cancellation, outstanding earned performance fees which resulted from the successful negotiation of the Discover account remained due to GRT Financial, Inc., and were collected in accordance with the signed Client Enrollment Agreement. While $937.98 remains unpaid in earned performance fees, GRT Financial has made the decision to not pursue collection efforts on this outstanding balance. 

  In closing, we highly recommend that you contact Discover to keep the existing settlement in place to ensure the settlement remains in place to ensure you are able to experience the full savings of the offer obtained on your behalf. We wish you the very best as you continue to work toward financial indepenence in the new year!

• Initial Complaint

  11/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Originally signed up to an account. Realized this was not right for me. Since then, I have made multiple attempts requesting formal acknowledgement that the account is cancelled and no payment will be taken. I have not received any acknowledgement. If they take a payment, they will charge a fee I cannot claim back.

  

  Business response

  11/07/2023

  Upon receiving the consumer complaint, we reviewed the file.  The client's status in our system was switched to "Pending Cancellation" on October 31 and then fully cancelled on November 7.  The delay was due to the fact that the client had a pending draft transaction scheduled that our team wanted to be sure was voided and that the client was not drafted.  Had he been drafted, the team wanted to be able to reverse those funds, so he was left in a "Pending Cancellation" status for about a week.  After confirming the draft was voided, the client service team fully cancelled the client.

  At this time, the client is fully cancelled and no drafts or fees of any kind were taken from his account.

  Sincerely,

  GRT Financial, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  11/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired GRT initially as debt consolidation in so I was led to believe. Instead it was debt settlement after they could not approve me a loan. This company convinced me to stop paying my creditors and to escrow $347.00 monthly while forcing my creditors to close the accounts so less interest and settle. Meanwhile I would be saving for this. What I didnt know is that I was enrolled into a 3rd party ********** for which was taking $53.00 monthly and an additional $12.50 monthly to escrow my savings. It was led to me that I would not pay anything until settlement occurs. Furthermore I didnt use the legal service. See below. Meanwhile, Discover Credit Card has sued me in a state I do not live in any longer furthermore my step son, a minor was served this paperwork for which GRT received. I was told because I could not pay an additional $175.00 monthly to get Doscover to settle on approximately 85% of this card balance I would have to attend court with no representation. Mind you, I do not live in AL for which is where this case was filed and would have to travel back to attend due to GRTs neglect in advising what Im now supposed to do. More so, my credit is at an all time low and I struggled to get a place to live. They made me homeless for 6 months because nobody would rent to me due to not paying my bills. Their solution 10.3.23 is to cancel the service going forward, however this leaves me in a bad way. How can they get away with doing this to people? Because I cannot pay more than what I was paying to all 5 creditors, they cannot help me? They refuse to represent me in my court case because I cannot pay more for this one settlement? Their services are & charges are misleading, They have refused refund and representation in litigation. Whats the ********** then? I have cancelled today. I request funds back, I request representation for my cases now and future, and for this company to pay for credit repair due to misleading statements and false promises

  

  Business response

  11/06/2023

  We investigated the matter and reached out to the client.  It appears we had the wrong address for the client, which was corrected.  We were able to obtain a refund of all third party legal club fees, which the client agreed resolved her issue.

  Sincerely,

  GRT Financial, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  10/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid this company $520 on 10/11/2023. I called back to cancel in a week before any negotiations were done with my creditors. I was only given a $72.22 refund. I was told but ******** that they kept money for lawyers fees. They did not do anything . Not even a call out to my creditors. I want my full refund.

  

  Business response

  10/27/2023

  We have made multiple attempts to reach out to the client to resolve the issue, but have been unable to reach her.  Although GRT did not charge the client, she was charged third party fees.  We have reached out on her behalf and will be  receiving a refund of those fees.

  Sincerely,

  GRT Financial, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  08/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I enrolled in GRT program to resolve the debt with Reach Financial. I was paying $450 a month. I called to cancel and asked what money I would get back. I put in a total of $2605.12 anf they told me I was only going to get back $1949.32. I thought that if they did not start negotionating with the debtor and I cancelled I would get all the money I out into it. I would like to get my full refund.

  

  Business response

  08/24/2023

  GRT did not charge any fees to the consumer because we do not charge fees prior to settling any debt.  However, the client enrolled in a third party legal club and also had third party banking fees that were charged.  We have reached out to the legal club and they have agreed to provide a full refund since their services were not used.  The only fees we are unable to return are banking fees in the amount of $85.80. We are attempting to reach out to the client to confirm this resolution.

  Sincerely,

  GRT Financial, Inc.

  Customer response

  08/24/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

  Regards,

  ***************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩