by wildcherry on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 | Business, News

The Attorney General of Illinois has sued Cambridge Credit Counseling. It seems the most significant impetus for the lawsuit is Cambridge’s relationship with for-profits Brighton Credit and Brighton Debt. Cambridge paid the for-profits to service the debt, rather than being paid by the for-profits to direct business their way.

Also at issue is the fee structure; Cambridge was charging a one-time startup fee that equaled the client’s regular monthly payment, similar to Ameridebt. Illinois law limits startup fees to $50.
This may turn out to be big news; Cambridge is the heavy hitter in the industry; I’m guessing they have 50 to 100 thousand active clients (they claim 160,000). If other states pile on and start suing them, who knows what could happen.

About Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp:

Cambridge Credit Counseling will help you learn to manage your financial situation and get out of debt quickly. Cambridge Credit Counseling’s nationally certified counselors are dedicated to helping you reach financial freedom, and they have the experience to help you create a personalized budget and course of action that will satisfy your short and long term goals. Don’t let your current debt burden overwhelm you. The steps that you take with us today can help ensure a brighter financial future for you and your family.

Here’s the excerpt of Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp Accredation from their site:

Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. has gone to great lengths to ensure that everyone who contacts us receives superior service for all of their debt counseling needs, as well as the education necessary to help them reach their financial goals. In 2001, Cambridge completed a year-long process to officially become an ISO 9001 registered organization. Unlike other accreditation services that are recognized only in the United States and Canada, ISO 9000 is recognized and accepted worldwide.

The International Organization for Standardization is an organization made up of members from nearly every country in the world. One of the accreditations that this company offers is “ISO 9001:2008.” The various standards that exist within ISO 9001:2008 were developed so that organizations in all industries, product or service related, could benefit from the implementation of a Quality Management System (QMS).

Registration to the ISO 9000 family of standards is not a simple undertaking. Not only did Cambridge undergo a rigorous registration audit of our entire QMS (by an accredited, independent, third-party auditing agency), we will continue to be audited annually by the same accredited auditing agency. This begins the registration process anew, thereby necessitating the continuous auditing of our QMS.

Our registration to the ISO 9000 quality standard signifies that we have implemented and effectively maintain a Quality Management System focused on customer satisfaction and the continuous improvement of our service.

Our Management’s Commitment

The commitment of Cambridge’s senior management team is crucial to the success of ISO 9000. An agency cannot operate effectively if the decision makers are not involved in quality management. ISO requires that senior managers are involved in all decisions that affect the Quality Management System. To ensure that this is the case, all elements of the QMS are discussed in Management Review meetings. The following are topics typically discussed during such meetings.

• Follow-up actions from previous meetings
• Results of Internal Audits
• Status of Corrective & Preventative Actions
• Project Status
• Process Performance
• Customer Feedback & Customer Satisfaction
• Continuous Improvement
The theory behind the importance of management’s involvement is that if a decision must be made to enhance the quality of our service, or if a Project Plan for improvement is to be reviewed, the people in the position to approve the process should already be involved. This results in timely action.

All of these aspects allow us to ensure that our Quality Policy is maintained.
Our Quality Policy is as follows:

Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. is an ISO 9000 registered credit counseling agency, dedicated to educating the public on the importance of sound financial management and to providing financially distressed individuals and families with the appropriate education, financial management tools and budgeting skills necessary for them to become more financially responsible.

Code of Practice
In 2005, Cambridge became accredited to the Code of Practice, which consists of rules that strictly govern the actions of debt counseling agencies. Among other rules, the Code of Practice requires that:

• The agency’s counselors are certified by a qualified, independent authority
• Counselors fully evaluate an individual’s situation before recommending a course of action.
• The agency maintains a diverse Board of Directors that reflects the interests of its constituents
• The agency provide education to the community
• The agency maintains a system of fiscal integrity that is audited annually by an independent certified public accountant.
During a surveillence ISO audit, the third-party auditor will verify whether Cambridge is meeting all of the standards of the Code. They will conduct in-depth interviews with counselors and other representatives to make sure they are assisting individuals according to the Code’s standards. They will review Cambridge’s documentation to ensure that our performance claims are legitimate and verifiable.

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