RAM Financial Services based in Phoenix, AZ is a relatively new company that provides various resources for your financial needs. Their goal is to provide a one-stop resource for all financial needs from debt help, credit solutions, job placement, auto financing and more. If you have a financial need that RAM does not provide solutions for, they offer a Partner Provider Network to help you get in contact with handpicked participants that will find the solution you seek.
Here are some quick facts about RAM Financial Service (RFS):
Company Founded:- 7/22/2008
Years In Business:- Less than one year
Number of Employees:- Unknown
BBB Rating:- B-
BBB Complaints:- 0 complaints
About the Company:
The Better Business Bureau describes the type of business as “debt settlement, credit-debt consolidation services, financial services” and currently gives RFS a B- rating. The BBB tracks complaints in a three year period and presently has 0 complaints reported against this company. RFS is a member of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce as well as the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators.
The Program:
Where most companies within the debt relief industry generally pick one area of “expertise” to focus on, RFS recognizes that each person has a unique situation which requires unique solutions.
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Responsible Solutions- This program is designed with the needs of the client in mind. RFS states they have the unique ability to blend programs to meet the needs of individual clients.
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D2P Empowerment Plan- Designed to solve your current debt problem and empower clients how to solve and avoid financial problems in the future. The D2P plan provides ongoing education and support to provide clients with the tools to live a lifetime of financial stability.
This company does provide debt settlement services in addition to the other programs listed. They do not have a hard and fast rule for minimum debt requirements however they use $10,000 of unsecured debt as a guideline. Unlike most debt settlement companies RAM Financial Services implements a credit repair program in tandem with debt settlement services to help consumers offset the negative results negotiating debt can have on your credit history. They offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee (see terms and conditions).
Website Experience:
RAM Financial Services has a website that is modern and visually appealing. Beyond company information the website includes a free 12.5 Steps To Get Out of Debt ebook and offers visitors the opportunity to ask questions and engage in live online chat with a representative. The home page has sections offering information on loan modification, news and media as well as tools and resources.
Overall, the website itself provides a lot of information, however the type of information provided leaves me with more questions than answers. Besides standard debt settlement services what does this company really do for its clients and more importantly (we are dealing with people with financial problems) how much do any or all of these services cost? Fortunately for individuals who have questions the website provides numerous ways to contact the company for more information. In addition to chatting live, you can call, email directly or use a standard email form to submit questions.
I have been unable to find other references online that could be used to form an opinion of this company, most likely due to the fact that RFS has yet to reach the one year anniversary of their original start date. Anyone who has done business with RAM Financial Services is encouraged to leave a comment sharing their experience.
Our goal is to help consumers get their financial lives in order. No matter what the circumstances you find yourself in, there are simple things you can do TODAY to help you Erase Debt, Spend Less, and Earn More 
I’m actually using them right now and so far so good. The D2P empowerment plan has been extremelly helpful as well. Thus far I’ve recommended my brother and sister-in-law to the program and it’s working great for them as well.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Michael. Good to know they are actually helping people. Keep us posted.
We are signed up with them right now. I am impressed! They are helpful, down to earth sounding and keep in touch with me. Each time I’ve called, they have patiently listened and answered. They respond to email quickly. Each time I call I get our assigned “negotiator” or one of her team. If the team does not know the answer they get her on the phone for me. She has several years experience in debt collection. I am very adamant about communication!
I have a good “gut” feel about them. My instinct, past experiences, common sense etc. says this one is good.(I am 56 and have been around the block a few times, so to speak. even one bankruptcy. I want to avoid that this time.) I don’t feel pressured or like I am talking to a shady salesperson. I like that we are still in control. We can stop anytime. We are in control of the money being set aside for settlement with creditors. All we send them is their fee. I accumulate money each month in an account and let them know when I have enough for settlement. I am the one who sends the money to the creditor, that way I know it went where it is supposed to go!
They’ve even had to delay a couple of fees because of my financial hardship which they did without complaint or question. They’re very accomodating. If I get stressed about all the phone calls I’m getting I can call and talk to them.
I keep a “call log” and send in once a week so they know who is calling and to see if any laws are being broken. Plus we signed a LIMITED power of attorney with them. It is essentially a cease and disist order to the collectors. But we have to go through about a 2 month period of calls until the original debtors send the debt to collections. The original debtor can keep calling. We use our caller ID and just don’t answer. Upfront they let me know that the first 2-3 months would be rough and they would be there to help us through it. We got ourselves into this mess and now it won’t be easy getting out, I know that. But instead of taking 5 plus years to pay off the creditors, we can do it within about 18 months – give or take. It really depends on us and how dedicated we are and how fast we accumulate funds for payment.
Yes, they do handle debt below $10,000; I asked a team member.
They want their clients to feel like they are family. They have family oriented get togethers within the team every month.
Some of the team have also had the same problems we are all facing.
They also refered us to someone who can help us with concerns on our mortgages.
I used RAM financial to help me with over $12,000 of debt. I was so unhappy about the outcome! After paying them a percentage to deal with the creditors I am still receiving calls and letters from the companies that RAM supposedly settled with. Many of them claim that there was no contact with RAM and that leaves me wondering where did all that money go? They were extremely unprofessional and I had to call them to find out where we were on the progress. I received a nasty cursing phone call from the owner Travis Collins after a message I left about the associate who was handling my account. I stated to Travis that I was tired of paying money and never getting follow up phone calls, updates, and most importantly RESULTS! I would never recommend RAM financial to anyone. Not only did they steal my money but they also falsified a success story on their website that was supposedly written by me. I would love to see proof that I wrote anything like that, why would I? Please stay clear of this company, they are nothing but a scam. You are better off saving yourself the percentage they charge and contact and settle with the creditors yourself. With the money they stole from me I could have gotten a lot further in my effort to repair my credit.
Thanks for the story, Ryan. Serves as a reminder to do your research before handing anyone money.
After reading the comment below from RAM, I wonder if you would address their reply? Are you friends with the owner who fell out with him? Did they handle your case well?
Hello Trisha,
I appreciate you linking to my blog article on Ram Financial Services. I also did a quick write up on Credit Solutions last week. They are being sued by the AG in Florida as well as the AG in New York and 2 other states for deceptive and misleading practices as well as charging fees and then not following through with services. These suites stem from a large volume of consumer complaints received into the Attorney Generals offices.
Unfortunately most of these companies take advantage of people when they are desperate, charge huge fees up front, and often fail to bring the client fully through the program to a successful outcome.
I will be sharing further reviews of companies I find in the news on my website. There are currently over 2,000 operating in the United States, however most of them are just marketing firms and don’t actually do Debt Settlement Themselves.
I agree Damon, I advise visitors to look for companies that a performance- based, where you only pay a fee when a debt is settled. The next best thing is to find companies that may charge a small retainer fee, and then put your monthly payment in a 3rd party account.
I’ll be sure to keep checking your site out for more info!
We thank all our clients who have visited LeaveDebtBehind.com and left good remarks. We are a company of complete full disclosure and pleased to say that we have had only one complaint which has been resolved through the Better Business Bureau.
Accusations and slanderous remarks we take very seriously, especially when it involves wrong doing on our part. With regards to the ‘Ryan’ who posted his comment on November 3, 2009, his comments are malicous and simply to tarnish our good name.
‘Ryan’ enrolled into our program with only $9567.55 and we discounted our rate by almost 50% because he was a personal friend of the Managing Partner. Within 5 months RAM Financial was able to complete his program and wipe out his debt. For some reason or another there was a falling out with the friendship between the Managing Partner and ‘Ryan’ and since then our company has been blatantly attacked by this individual on several online sites and forums.
We have many satisfied clients with RAM Financial and we invite anyone to call us directly at 1.866.726.2122 if you have any questions whatsoever.
My comments were left for no other reason than to help people from following in my footsteps and making a huge mistake. The success story was removed from their website after I spoke to Nicoli stating that I had proof from Travis Collins that they were going to fabricate a story about me and use it on their website, I never agreed to this and the success story is now gone. I will attach the email correspondence between Nicoli and myself if you would like. Hmmm seems a little fishy doesn’t it. I contacted RAM financial yesterday 2-4-10 because I have received letters from debt collectors saying that the debt was never settled. At first they were unable to locate my account and then I was told that the girl who had access to my info was out of town. Let me state that the gentleman I was speaking to on the phone identified himself as the manager. Wouldn’t the manager have access to my account? Seems odd again. The only site that I have been on is this one and News Channel 3′s 3 on your side forum where RAM financial was under investigation for some other matter. I was friends at one point with the partner but believe me that has no bearing on my feelings about this company. I received another phone call this morning from the girl that had handled my account and she claimed that they now need to send out release of liability letters to clear up any problems, shouldn’t this have been done upon completion of the program. A year later and my credit is just as bad as before. Upon finishing the program I was enrolled in their affiliate program to clean up my credit. After paying a substantial sum of money the only thing that happened was I started receiving letters from the credit bureaus stating that I was committing fraud and would be investigated. Please remember that these two companies were acting on my behalf as I had signed a power of attorney. What could they possibly been doing to throw up such a red flag? When RAM originally figured out the percentage to charge me they went through my credit report line by line and added up all my debt. I still have debt from 2002 on my credit yet I paid to have that settled in the original agreement. All I can say is do your research prior to working not just with RAM but any similar program as they do not have very good results. I have been informed by my personal attorney that most of the time these companies are a scam and take advantage of people who feel helpless.
Since RAM guarantees their clients happiness with the program I would like to know when I can be expecting my refund. I have letters from creditors, letters from credit bureaus, and most of all the loss of my time dealing with the creditors which is what I paid RAM to handle for me.
I believe you are on the wrong topic, this is a discussion regarding RAM financial.
I have now contacted RAM financial numerous times and found no resolution to my problems. Each time I call they can not find my file, the person handling my account is out of town, the person is no longer with the company, etc… I have now contacted the BBB of Arizona and found that this company currently holds a D- rating. They have left me no choice and as of today I have filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Arizona, the BBB, and have interest from New Channel 3′s 3 on your side. Hopefully this will get resolved and light will be shed on RAM.
Sorry if this got posted twice. Ryan is correct in that we do have a D- Rating at RAM Financial; and we only have 1 complaint that was resolved! The BBB is in limbo with our industry because it is not regulated and there are no governement oversight agencies; TASC and USOBA are simply lobby groups held by owners of various debt settlement companies to lobby their interests rather than that of the consumer. All California companies has been issued an automatic F Rating as well as all Texas companies. Arizona is following suite as well as many other states.
Channel 3 has cleared us after they discovered the following day that they received numerous calls from various companies upon recognizing the woman in their newscast – she had attempted to extort from their company as well.
Forums and sites such as leaveyourdebtbehind, damonday, debtconsolidationcare, credit.com, and more are excellent sources for information; as a consumer I use it myself. I know that rantings and ravings whether positive or negative is not to be taken at face value and I know the public is smart enough to figure this out.
I am open to anyone who has questions about RAM Financial, the debt settlement industry, or simply their own situation. My email is nicoli@calltheram.com and phone number is 1.866.726.2122 ext. 226. We are located at 11024 N. 28th Drive Ste. 185 Phoenix, AZ 85029 and invite anyone who wishes to visit us.
2 months ago after about 15 calls to RAM asking them why my creditors were sending me letters stating that my debt was never paid I was told that they needed to send release of liability letters to the creditors. After a follow up call on Friday I received a packet of letters from RAM in the mail. Are they expecting me to send these out now? Isn’t that what I paid for? I have had a good amount of media interest in my story and plan on following up and aharing my experience with all. The girl I spoke with at RAM was extremely unprofessional and downright rude and this is the person in charge of their consumer affairs department. I have now spoken to the assistant for Terry Goddard and they have offered me much advice as to what to do being that RAM has not once followed through with their original agreement. This is my personal opinion on the company and is only for that purpose. I reccomend RAM stick to what they promise or else others will be saying the same things. I have offered RAM opportunities to refund my money according to their guarantee but they apparently do no do as they state. Debter beware!
I think you will find that RAM Financial has disappeared – no website, nothing left. And, you may find that any settlements you thought were made were never paid.
Unfortunately this is going to be happening with more and more frequency now that tougher laws are in place to help protect consumers. I have been warning consumers for a long time to never enroll in a debt settlement program that front loaded their fees. The reality is that one day soon they will likely just pack up and leave. If any consumer is currently enrolled in a program that is taking most of your payments as fees, you need to seriously re evaluate whether or not it makes sense to continue. Most “debt settlement companies” will be out of business within the next 12 months. The rule is that if they collect their fees before they are doing the work, there is at least a 85 to 90 percent chance that it is not going to end well for the consumer.
Confirmed – Ram Financial is out of business.