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Tuesday, January 21, 2003:

Have you ever wondered how the folks at Consumer Credit Counseling Service are paid? What sort of success rate do they have for their debt-laden clients? They are without a doubt, the best known non-profit debt counseling service on the planet! And with the economy the way it is, combined with the unbridled greed of the credit card and banking industries, the debt counseling business (overall) is huge...but CCCS is facing some stiff competition...lots of upstart debt counseling companies-non-profit or not-are pressuring the "voluntary" commissions paid to CCCS and others in the business.

CCCS-Los Angeles president Peter Lake tried to answer some tough questions on the air and within a few minutes...figured out that someone (on his CCCS team) dropped the ball and didn't do their homework. If they'd spent 30 seconds on this website and searched for previous Dover-authored articles about CCCS, Mr. Lake would have never come on the show. Here's a little taste of what you missed.....

Why does CCCS pound the fact that they're a non-profit organization? Dover's Reality: Because the vast majority of consumers don't have a clue about what non-profit really means. Bottom line? Non-profits do make money...they just distribute what would normally be returned to shareholders as dividends and pay it out to employees or officers as bonuses. They make money, kids...they're not charities-they're spin-masters that play on your lack of savvy.

How is CCCS paid? If you wanna read their spin and side-stepping explanation, read the answer they've posted on their website here. Dover's Reality? These "voluntary contributions" that CCCS receives are also known as commissions. The fee received by CCCS amounts to a commission for collection services-which in my book makes them a debt collector. Let's see...they're being paid by your creditors to "work out" a repayment plan that's supposedly in your best interest. You believe that? You're a fool if you do! I promise you their loyalties lie with the people paying them...not with the beaten-down-and-buried-in-debt consumer who naively seeks their counsel.

"Our average DMP [Debt Management Plan] can take up to 40 months..." said Mr. Lake. Really? Not according to one DMP I have in my hands. The [former] client of CCCS-Los Angeles is now filing for bankruptcy...something she should have done a year ago, instead of trusting CCCS. Here's the scoop:
- She's a 74 year old senior citizen and owns nothing. She rents an apartment, works part- time to make extra cash to pay bills and takes home a net of $740 a month, plus whatever meager Social Security benefits she's eligible to receive.
- She signed up with CCCS-LA a year ago and has never missed her $229 a month payment; she enlisted their help to repay two credit cards: $2,404 to Capitol One and $6,666 to Providian.
- In one year she has paid $1,008 on the Capitol One credit card...and the original balance has been reduced to $2,057...out of $1,008 in payments the balance has gone down only $347.
- You'll love the wonderful progress they've made on the Providian card: She's made $2,005 worth of payments and her balance has gone UP from its original $6,666 to $6,929! She now owes $263 more than when she signed up with CCCS-Los Angeles!!!

To recap: This woman is 74 years old and at the current amortization rate, she'll be finished paying off these two credit cards when she's the ripe old age of 154 years old. That's right: Instead of the 40 month DMP touted by Peter Lake, this poor woman's current payout plan will take 80 years. She's paying an estimated 53% APR...out of $229 only $9.33 is going to principal and the rest to interest and "fees." Refresh my memory one more time: She signed up with CCCS to pay off her debts and after they did a personal evaluation, this was the best they could come up with?

What ever happened to the CCCS nationwide promise of negotiating with creditors and using the stellar reputation and leverage of CCCS to get creditors to reduce or waive finance charges? You first need to read their spin on this huge part of their sales pitch as posted on their website. [Go read it now!!!] Okay...you tell me: Does it look like CCCS is delivering on their promise in this horrible example I just laid out for you?

Ben's CCCS-Bottom Line: Should you repay your debts? Absolutely...but remember that the bankruptcy laws are there for a reason. I don't care how or why someone's gotten themselves into financial trouble-that's not the issue right now. Getting people on the right track is what's important...if re-negotiated repayment plans are the answer, then do it! But it's becoming increasingly obvious that more consumers should take a serious look at pulling the ripcord by invoking their rights under federal [and state] bankruptcy laws. This woman's example should serve as a confirmation of what I've been preaching: If the creditors won't play ball and renegotiate the repayment schedule, then tough luck. See ya in court.

Don't drill me about encouraging consumers to be irresponsible: It takes two to make a credit transaction; why do these credit card companies continue to extend unsecured credit to consumers that obviously can't handle this type of debt? Greed. Pure and simple. If they don't issue the credit cards, the people can't run 'em up. The "sword of responsibility" cuts both ways, kids.

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Missing Your Weekly Dose of Dover? Here's why...along with a solution: Anytime you fail to receive your weekly Dose of Dover e-mail (you should always have it no later than 12 noon ET on Tuesdays) there could be three reasons for this:

1. Anti-spam measures: Many Internet Service Providers (also known as ISPs)--especially AOL--in their quest to defeat the onslaught of spam, may accidentally intercept [and delete] our Dose of Dover e-mails because they misinterpret them as spam. We are always making adjustments to stay off their blacklists, but sometimes cyber-stuff happens, we end up getting deleted and you lose. Or.....

2. Do you open attachments? Does your e-mail server allow them? The "e-mail rules" might present another challenge: Okay...so I tend to lecture incessantly about "never opening attachments, even if you know who they're from." The exception, of course, is unless the e-mail's from me! Many company e-mail servers will automatically screen out any e-mails with attachments, too. Or...the final reason you may not be receiving your weekly Dose of Dover?

3. Some of the content in the actual Dose of Dover newsletter may contain certain "key word triggers" that may cause it to be automatically deleted before it ever and never reach your e-mail box: In fact, some of the "key" words that can trigger auto-deletion/suppression border on the ridiculous...and since I'm never gonna sugar-coat my content to get through anybody's screens, you need to know that there are alternatives to a rapidly-expanding form of censorship now employed by many ISPs and companies around the world.

If you ever miss receiving your weekly newsletter...you can always access the current Dose of Dover edition, posted in the archive section of the website. All past Dose of Dover issues are posted there for your convenience and future reference.

Pete Townshend's gotta valuable lesson for you if you'll recognize it: Sure, there are some real sickos out there, but the biggest threat in your life is quietly lying in wait somewhere around your house right now! In case you missed it: A week ago I told you the story about a guy in Florida that got popped for possessing some images that are not only disturbing-but illegal-on diskettes he thought he'd erased and then threw away. Within 24 hours of that story, The Who's Pete Townshend gets arrested for "doing research" on the Internet...and a few days later comes the story of two guys from MIT that have put a spotlight on the dangers that could unravel your life. Read their story here.....

Don't think for one second that this story went unnoticed by the bad guys-those low-lifes intent on stealing your private information and your identity! Ben's Cyber-Bottom Line?
Trust nobody with your computer! If you take your computer in to be serviced or upgraded, you'd better password protect your data files...or lay them off onto a diskette/burn a CD and then...
The only sure way to erase a hard drive is to ``squeeze'' it: writing over the old information with new data - all zeros, for instance - at least once and (preferably) several times. A one-line command will do that for Unix users, and for others, inexpensive software from companies such as AccessData works well.
Few people go to the trouble necessary when "junking" an older computer/hard drive: Many ordinary computer users toss their old drives into the closet, or take a sledgehammer to it. Or do what I do, and spend a few bucks with your local, Mom & Pop-type computer store...and get them to completely zap your data...reformat the hard drive at least twice and use the aforementioned squeeze method to fill the blank spots with zeroes and then erase/reformat it all over again...or you could not only be embarrassed, but very sorry.

Ben's Health Insurance Bottom Line: Many health insurance companies would rather dope up your kids; it's a quick fix that they can put a semi-quantifiable price tag on, rather than spend the dough to fix 'em for the long haul. But if you or your kids need counseling-or any other type of therapy-then that's what you need to make happen!
If your insurance company won't cover certain types of therapies, don't give up! Check out a terrific book written by a person who's made a career out of holding the health insurance company's collective feet to the fire: Washington DC attorney Rhonda Orin's book: "Making Them Pay" is available from Amazon and the usual national bookstore outlets...here's some highlights worth noting:
A key point made in "Making Them Pay" is the realization that the most effective tool insurance companies use in their search for profitability is to deny your claims! But the good news for consumers? Challenge them-put up a fight-because the odds are heavily in your favor that you'll win.
One of my familiar and oft-repeated rules echoed in Rhonda's book? "Always paper your trail." The difference between winning and losing in the "claim game" boils down to documentation, period.
Every state has mandatory benefits laws: It doesn't matter what a policy says isn't covered. If your state has mandatory benefits requirements, these supercede whatever the insurance company is trying to shove down your throat. Check with your state's department of insurance to see what is (or isn't) covered.

Remember: If you challenge your insurance company, you'll get positive results [win!] in the vast majority of cases!

The Benjamin Dover Show goes national...(for a couple of weeks, anyway): Gotta question and haven't been able to get through to Ben's show on KFI-Los Angeles? Well you've hit the talk radio advice lotto, Big Shot! Call Ben when he guests host the second of two shows on the Premiere Radio Network show "The Weekend" this Saturday, January 25, 2003 from 12n-3p ET...11a-2p CT...10a-1p MT...9a-12n PT...7a-10a HT. It's a toll-free call, so no whinin'...(800) 501-7080.

Alotta experts thought the fall-out from September 11th would cause some people to "re-commit" and try to work out through their marital difficulties-and it did-briefly: Divorce is making quite the comeback...but before you start cleaning out your closets, don't give up what could be your sole leverage point!

Do not sign off on your divorce papers unless and until you are successfully released from all joint debts! I don't care what the divorce decree states; here's one of the most familiar refrains from burnt "formerly married" types: "The court order states that he gets the car and she gets the house and he pays off the MasterCard and she pays off the other car and the Visa card and..." blah-blah-blah-blah...

It doesn't matter what the divorce decree says kids: If you signed/co-signed the line for debts during your marriage, you're on the hook for those debts until you secure a release from the obligation. Car loans or leases, credit cards, mortgages-either pay 'em off or get a release from the lender (or note holder) or you'll be on the hook for years into the future...especially if your ex gets into financial doo-doo and inadvertently drags you down with them! Check out Ben's divorcing do's and don'ts checklist.....

Here's one more way obesity could kill you...and it's not what you think! Put that donut down, take two aspirin and read the story here.....

A guy called in to one of the radio shows last weekend to ask if I knew where he could go to compare credit card offers on-line: Piece of cake...the best reference site to hit the Internet since Al Gore invented it? Bookmark and browse it for yourself: www.cardtrak.com

The IRS is giving some of you until April 15th to give yourself up...or else you could end up doing almost 20 years in prison if you get caught! You'd better review this story-or you might end up wearing one of those stylish orange jump suits for awhile...

Speaking of IRS problems...they're not jacking around anymore! If you have some issues, you'd better not put them off any longer: Why? Because now they're swooping in, lavying on bank accounts, filing liens or garnishing paychecks first...then they negotiate. If you get a letter from them, there's a good chance that by the time you finally open it/read it, the real damage has already been done. Want some help? Learn more about Enrolled Agents by clicking here!

Going to Mexico anytime soon? It just got a little cheaper...read all about it.
Do you love to pile up frequent flier miles when you rent a car? They are the "trading stamps" of our generation. Many of you fly specific airlines, use certain phone companies, stay at particular hotels or motels, finance your homes through specific mortgage companies, or rent cars from a short list of rental car companies in your quest for the almighty frequent flier mile. You need to know that the rules of the rental car and frequent flier miles game are about to change!

A guy called to ask if I knew where he could go to compare credit card offers on-line: Piece of cake...the best reference site to hit the Internet since Al Gore invented it? Bookmark and browse it for yourself: www.cardtrak.com

Time to get moving if you want to plan something special for the long Valentine's Day weekend coming up: Okay, so let's skip the big VD event [Valentine's Day-get your mind outta the gutter!] and look ahead to Spring Break, since that's not very far off, either. Air travel's still pretty cheap, why not stretch your vacation dollars without sacrificing quality? Don't be dumb enough to pay full price for hotel rooms or condos all over the world...www.hotels.com on-line, or give 'em a call: (800) 2-HOTELS

Avoid spending big bucks this Valentine's Day!!! You'll get ripped off on roses...so why not send some flowers that are not only unique, but they'll last three times as long and cost 1/3 of what you'd normally get hosed on for roses. Ben's no-brainer choice? TropicalColors.com! Order on-line or call 'em toll-free: (800) 965-9732.

Valentine's Day gifts, Part III: Okay, so there's no trips and no flowers in your future...why not get that special someone a gift that you can use, too? Fat really is better...at least when it comes to one of the coolest gifts around: Fattowels.com

Want FIVE WAYS you can immediately lower your automobile insurance costs? Then you'd better not miss this week's show...five more reasons why you'd better be sure to listen and learn: The Benjamin Dover Show (don't forget the new start time): 5-7am (Hawaiian Time) 7-9 am (Pacific Time) 8-10 am (Mountain) 9-11 am (Central) 10 am-12 noon (Eastern) 3-5 pm (GMT) 8-10 pm (Baghdad [Iraq, for now anyway] time) on KFI-AM/640, Los Angeles!