Business Profile

Debt Relief Services

Timberline Financial

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Timberline Financial's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

Customer Complaints Summary

15 total complaints in the last 3 years.
3 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

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The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

Initial Complaint
Date:04/09/2025
Type:Billing Issues
Status:
UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
********* **** ** ******** made a settlement with Timberline. Timberline told me they paid that. According to my credit report, I still owe over $6000. It appears Timberline only made one payment to them, yet took my payments. They also added fees after the fact for this settlement. I am unable to access my account for more specific details due to them taking my access away soon after I paid them the last payment.
Initial Complaint
Date:02/04/2025
Type:Billing Issues
Status:
UnresolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.

Regards,

******* *****solved..
Please advise.
******* ****** *****
Business Response
Date: 02/19/2025
Client was able to successfully reach out to our service line and requested a callback from a manager. According to our notes, manager attempted to reach out on 7/19/24, 7/30/24 and 8/1/24, each time getting a voicemail and leaving a message. The client seems to have overlooked or may be forgetting the following passages in their contract with Timberline: "Program Length: While we have estimated a program length in months that we believe will be sufficient to fully resolve your Debts, the actual length of your program will depend on your ability to make regular deposits into your dedicated bank account, as described in more detail in Section 3 below, your Creditors' willingness to settle your Debts and the length of any structured settlement of a Debt that we may obtain for you. Program Estimates: Based upon our experience in working with creditors and our evaluation of your personal financial circumstances, we have made a good faith estimate that your program length and your monthly program deposit requirements will be sufficient to enable us to negotiate settlements for each of your Debts; however your actual results may vary. Although we will use reasonable efforts to negotiate a settlement offer from each of your Creditors, we cannot make promises or warranties as to the outcome of our efforts or the time that it may take us to resolve your Debts." Meaning, that the length of the program was an estimate, which varies based on actual settlements we achieve - which are all approved by the client - as well as the successful deposits into the client escrow account (of which several were missed during their program). It is important to note that we do not charge any fees unless we negotiate a successful settlement, get approval, and begin making payments to the creditor. Client decided that they would stop making deposits and hold us accountable to negotiate debts without funding. That will not happen. Our customer management system depends on the ability to continue making drafts into the program until all debts are settled. If the client stops that process, their program is paused until the issue can be resolved - the system reads it as a problem. Our program was never an invitation for us to pay client debts based on whatever amount of money they believed they wanted to contribute. If the client wants to maintain their position that they will not resume drafting, that's fine, we'll continue not settling, and they can figure out what steps they want to take next with their creditors and the balances that continue to be their responsibility. Alternately, I would be happy to have the client connected with one of our friendly customer service agents who can work with them to fix their drafting issue, and we can get about the business of settling as they requested. We currently have enough funds to settle their penultimate debt, and would only be drafting until we had enough funds to settle their final debt.
Initial Complaint
Date:10/07/2024
Type:Billing Issues
Status:
UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
contract date started 12/09/21 and was scheduled to end 12/05/24. I was told when I entered into this contract with Timberline Financial if I made a payment of $553 per month that I would be debt free in 3 years. I called Timberline in September and was told my last payment was still scheduled for December and they would send me a settle statement with the final payment owed. The final payment owed by December totaled over 7,000.00. I was informed that the date I was giving in the beginning of the contract was just an estimate. I then requested to cancel the contract. I was also told I had over 5,000.00 left in my account but they took 1,837.00 for a set up fee. I would like documentation that clearly explains where all my payments went, creditors I still owe money to, exactly how much of my funds went to Timberline Financial. I would also like the BBB to investigate my account and make sure that Timberline Financial did not over charge me for consolidating my debt and why my account had such a high balance at the end of the contract.. As well as, why they took a final payment of $1837,00 after I cancelled my contract.

Account information
******* ***** ***** ***** **** ** ************* ** ************ ********************** Debt Settlement Provider Timberline Financial
Global Acc #****************
Contract date Dec, 2021
Initial Complaint
Date:03/07/2024
Type:Billing Issues
Status:
UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
In 2021 I entered the program. May of 2022 vesara sent the funds to timberline to pay off my 2 debtors. 1 debtor did not get paid after the agreement to pay 100 dollars a mont until the debt agreement was paid 32 payments In all in I paid off the agreed money in December 2022. October 2023 I was sued by the debtor for non payment from June 2022, 5 months of calling and I am not any further that when I started . This company is horrible. I get the run around every time I call. I will probably have to repay the original debtor since they will not resolve this!!
Initial Complaint
Date:02/25/2024
Type:Service or Repair Issues
Status:
UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I have constantly called and experienced extreme wait times to speak with a representative. I have requested a payoff amount for my account and inquired about where all of my payments are being applied. I was told almost two weeks ago that the extra money was being "banked" or held for me. I asked the representative to apply any held money to my remaining balance to satisfy the amount owed. I was told nearly two weeks ago that I would receive a refund for any money owed to me within 3 business days. I did not receive a refund and my account was debited for a payment on February 21, 2024. I have not seen any updates to my online account. I also emailed Timberline (***** **** ******) and have not gotten a response. I want any extra funding applied to my balance owed and a refund of any money owed to me. Ultimately, I want this account closed.
Initial Complaint
Date:01/04/2024
Type:Billing Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
A company under the guise of saving money from debt resolution, but charged more than the debt i had. When i realized they were getting rich off of me they were reluctant to cancel the debt and give me the almost $3000 of mine they are holding stating that i may be sued. Which i will probably come out cheaper than giving them almost $30,000.
* ******
Business Response
Date: 01/10/2024
We acknowledge the client's consumers and appreciate the opportunity given to respond. Our service team has connected with the client but were unable to adequately verify their file based on the information that the client provided. Our service team will be reaching out to the client again to verify their file and proceed with a client authorization to release funds.
Initial Complaint
Date:12/21/2023
Type:Billing Issues
Status:
UnresolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because: The business claims to be "aggressively" working to settle my claim, but our last conversation revealed that they have not even been in contact with the creditor. This directly contradicts my status on their website which says there is an offer under review as shown in the screenshot above. My status has shown and offer under review since September, yet they claim to not be able to locate the e creditor. Furthermore, every time I talk to a representative they promise to call me back, but none of the five different people I have spoken to since August have ever called me back. The last person I spoke to, named *****, told me that there is more than double the amount of money in my account needed to settle my debt and that she didn't know why it hasn't been settled yet.

In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely, *********** ***** e me the information that I have requested. No one every reaches out to me, not even the so called "debt negotiators" that they have stated are from a third party.
Business Response
Date: 11/17/2023
We acknowledge the customer's complaint and the appreciate the opportunity given to review and address their concerns. As of November 14th, the customer has been in communication with the customer service team regarding their program and remaining debts enrolled. There is a settlement offer that the customer is currently working through and one remaining debt that our team is aggressively pursuing to negotiate. We believe the customer's concerns have been addressed adequately at this time.
Customer Answer
Date: 12/22/2023
I am still awaiting a resolution to this complaint. No one at the Timberline office will return my calls after I speak to representative. The last conversation I had with a rep, I was informed that they couldn't find my last creditor. I located the creditor in 20 minutes of searching. This company is intentionally stalling to settle my last debt so that they can continue to take more money from me.
Business Response
Date: 12/26/2023
We appreciate the follow up concerns from the consumer. To date, they have been instructed to contact their representative at the ******** ********** *** ***** to finalize their debt settlement arrangement.
Customer Answer
Date: 12/28/2023
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.The company's latest statement is false. I have received no updates to my program on the website. Furthermore, I have received no correspondence from the company via phone,email, or mail at the time of writing this message. The company has maintained all along that they cannot find the holder of the debt and that they have been looking for a couple months. However, I needed only 20 minutes of research to locate the holder of my debt. When I reached out to the holder of my debt, the claimed to have not heard from the company at all regarding settling my debt. It is clear that the company is stalling so that they can continue to take money from me even though they have more than enough for a settlement.

Regards,

*********** *****
Business Response
Date: 01/08/2024
We acknowledge the consumer's additional concerns. We have made numerous attempts to contact the consumer to determine how we can best resolve their complaint but have received no response. Our servicing team has made an added outreach attempt today with no answer from the consumer. We encourage the consumer to contact us directly so that we can address this issue.
Customer Answer
Date: 01/15/2024
The businesses' claim that they have not heard from me is false. We have been in discussions as recently as last week. I have also spoken to ******** ********** *** ****. I gave the company information where they could find my last debt in the program. The name of the debt has been changed again by the company. I will not consider my complaint to be resolved until they finish the job that I have been paying them 650$ a month since 2021 to finish.

Regards,

*********** *****
Initial Complaint
Date:12/21/2023
Type:Service or Repair Issues
Status:
UnresolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I have been told since August that I could be shown completed from the program and make the payments on my own since they wanted over $1500 for me to pay $3200. I have made the recordings they required four times with their reps to close the program and they still take money out of my account and the recordings mysteriously disappear. They have a "savings" account of my money that has been paid in to go to creditors that they continue to take money out of for "fees". So none of that goes towards my balance it only benefits them. In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

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

Business Response
Date: 11/06/2023
We acknowledge the consumer's complaint and concerns for this particular matter. The customer authorized for a program extension to provide her the opportunity of securing a possible settlement with her last creditor. The customer is currently contributing to her program, on an active payment plan, with no issues. If the customer decides that there are other needs she wishes to have met, we encourage her to reach out to the Client Support Service Team. We so appreciate the opportunity she has afforded us to review and respond to her concerns.
Business Response
Date: 12/14/2023
We acknowledge that the consumer has had a less than satisfactory experience and we have escalated this matter for further training and education.
Customer Answer
Date: 12/14/2023
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
I have done the recording two more times to close the account as their reps again recommended and they still have not closed the account and given me the creditor info. They're steadily trying to debit my account when they were to show me completed in August. Any type of escalation is news to me that I haven't heard before. I still haven't received the refund yet that I have been asking for for months. In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

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

Business Response
Date: 12/27/2023
We acknowledge and appreciate the consumer's additional concerns and feedback. We will be in touch with the consumer, immediately, to address their concerns and find a remedy for this matter.
Customer Answer
Date: 12/28/2023
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Timberline has not contacted me and continues to try to debit my account. The payments should have ended in September.

Regards,

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

Business Response
Date: 01/08/2024
We acknowledge the consumer's concerns and appreciate the opportunity provided to respond. The consumer's program was voluntarily extended, with the consumer's consent, to resolve the last debt in her program. Unfortunately, the consumer stopped payment on her account in October which has hindered our ability to settle her last debt. If she chooses to re-engage with the program, we encourage her to reach out our service to customize a resolution for her.
Customer Answer
Date: 01/09/2024
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. In August Timberline agreed to me paying the creditor directly instead of paying Timberline another $2000 to make the payment thru them. They went thru the motions on the phone of doing recordings to complete the account and were supposed to send me the information to make the payment. They never sent the creditor payment info and refused to show me completing their program. I did the recordings several times but they could never find it when I called back. Timberline didn't do anything that was promised.
Regards,
****** *********
Initial Complaint
Date:12/21/2023
Type:Service or Repair Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
  The business continues to take no responsibility for the inadequate legal representation, their utter inability to negotiate a meaningful reduction in debt for 5 of the 6 enrolled accounts, their failure to communicate, and the fraudulent manner by which they paid themselves for the botched handling of a legal case that has effectively frozen my capability to conduct any financial transactions for 4 years! This pattern is clear in their response which continues to avoid responsibility, acknowledge mishandling of the case, and ultimately continue to blame the client for their own incapability to deliver the services they claim to deliver. After FOUR YEARS, it is entirely reasonable for a client to cancel a service that has only caused damage. The business's response does not offer a satisfactory solution for the damage they caused and the thousands of dollars they charged me for getting me sued and getting my assets frozen. Anything short of a full or significant refund of the f ees associated with the ******** ******* ****** ***** settlement is unacceptable.

In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

*** ********** senting MY interests and their actions accounted to "inadequate representation". I only found out months later when I received a letter from the government. My repeated attempts to speak to anyone at Timberline to remedy this issue remained ignored as I got passed from one person to the next and promised that this will be handled which never did. Laster Timberline debited my account for $5000 without my consent or knowledge to pay themselves for the disastrous job they did!!

2) Of the 6 accounts signed up with them for 4 years, they resolved only 2 accounts to my satisfaction with one of them having under $500 balance so really only ONE account. This is after they represent themselves as capable of resolving all 6 within 3 years.

3) when I attempted to close this account, they refused to send me a cancellation letter after THREE separate requests. They also provided false and incomplete info about how I can access MY FUNDS they are currently holding.
They lie, they cheat, they steal.
Business Response
Date: 10/30/2023
We acknowledge the customer's concerns and made
several attempts to aid the customer in achieving their desired goals. Unfortunately, the customer chose to cancel out of the program prior to the last debt being settled on their behalf. We always aim for customers to achieve the highest benefit of the program and experience 100% satisfaction. We note that while that was not the customer's experience in this instance, this feedback will continue help our business learn how to better serve and support future consumers.
Business Response
Date: 12/04/2023
We appreciate the
customer's additional concerns on the matter. The customer's account was given
a secondary review and we are aware of the credit union debt with a law firm
and a partial settlement was made. The customer has since cancelled the program and
we are no longer able to determine if the remaining debt was satisfied by the
customer directly. We also recognize that the customer's experience did not meet
their level of expectation and that feedback is noted and will be addressed accordingly.
Customer Answer
Date: 12/06/2023
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because: The status of the debt and payments with the credit union are irrelevant to the core of the complaint and the absolute failure of the company to inform the creditor of their representation of my account, failure to respond to correspondences from the creditor for over a year resulting in a lawsuit, and inadequate legal representation and failure to effectively communicate the settlement clause that resulted in a freeze of my financial assets. Furthermore, as already stated, the company not only refused to acknowledge and remedy their service failures, but debited my account for thousands of dollars to pay themselves for this monumental disaster under the name of "debt negotiations" for which they did not negotiate AT ANY CAPACITY.  Short of returning the fees they charged me for mishandling this case, no other resolution will be considered satisfactory.

Sincerely,

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

Business Response
Date: 12/14/2023
As indicated previously, we are dishearten to hear that the consumer's experience did not meet their expectation. We have taken their feedback and escalated this as a matter of training and education to the team.
Customer Answer
Date: 12/14/2023
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
It is clear that the business does not care to resolve this matter in any tangible way or take any concrete steps to satify this complaint. No one should do business with an unethical company like this. Their boiler plate responses to this entire complaint demonstrate that they have no intention or interest to modify their extractive and borderline illegal activities. Once again, no response short of fee reimbursement for the ******** case will suffice.

Sincerely,

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

Business Response
Date: 01/08/2024
We acknowledge the consumer's complaint and appreciate the opportunity provide to respond. The consumer's concerns regarding their debt was addressed, negotiated and settled per the consumer authorization and consent. Any fees collected were assessed and collected per the agreement and authorization that the consumer signed and consented to. As of October 2023, the consumer has canceled the program and the appropriate refund applied on 10/26/2023. If there are further concerns, we encourage the consumer to reach out to us directly for further action.
Customer Answer
Date: 01/09/2024
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.

The business has consistently refused to take responsibility for their failure to communicate with the creditor at any capacity FOR A WHOLE YEAR without my knowledge of consent which resulted in me getting sued. Furthermore, the business has failed to acknowledge and take responsibility for the inadequate legal representation they offered and their failure to disclose that my assets were being frozen as a part of the lawsuit settlement. The business effectively did NO DEBT NEGOTIATIONS, managed to get me sued, failed to fulfill their duty of negotiating anything, and managed to land me in legal hot water and later debited my account without my knowledge to pay. themselves THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS for their failed and nonexistent "settlement." Short of a complete defund of their fees for the ******** case, no other response will be deemed adequate.  Please review responses submitted to the previous BBB office as this issue has been discussed and the business's unwillingness to accept responsibility and refusal to take any step towards correcting their fraudulent charges has been established. Please do not contact me about this matter again as you can refer to the history of this case. Timberline is a predatory and unethical business with borderline illegal practices taking advantage of people in medical debt without lifting a finger to do the job they are hired for. They claim to be "negotiating" but take NO ACTION until the client is sued and then pay themselves for getting the client sued and negotiating deals for the client to pay what they owed all along. This has to be illegal if it is not already.  I attempted to have my case heard by this company for THREE YEARS and NOT ONCE did they actually return my calls.They have no intention of resolving this matter and I have no intention of accepting their lies as sufficient. They should have a "F" rating from BBB.

Regards,

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

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Timberline Financial is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.