I got this email from my uncle. He’s apparently getting involved with a company called Gulfstream Financial, and the message is setting off my ‘uh-oh’ meter. I can’t imagine why he’s telling all his friends and relations about it, unless they’re offering some kind of discounted rates for referrals.
Are these folks legit, or is my uncle getting scammed? Is anyone familiar with this compay?
Could be spam with your uncle’s email address (ie he had nothing to do with it). Did you confirm with him that he actually sent it?
Good thought. I assumed it was him because it was signed with his real name and email address, written in a style and expressing ideas that are consistent with what I know of him. But I’ve emailed to confirm it.
There are legitimate debt management programs out there. Generally they’re non-profit organizations that work with various creditors in getting payments down to a more manageable level - getting interest rates lowered, finance charges dropped, etc. A person makes a single payment to the program, and the program distributes it to the various creditors.
The ones I’ve seen usually have some sort of criteria - you have to be within certain debt ranges; they don’t work with secured debt like cars, homes, or even secured credit cards. If you fail to continue making your payment, they drop you from the program and you’re back to making all the payments. Some creditors won’t work with them, and will insist you continue making the full payment directly to them, but many of the will because getting less money is better than getting no money at all.
I used GENUS, at a point when I was late on every single one of my credit card bills, and was looking at at least 20 years of making the minimum payment every month, and was struggling even to accomplish that. On the Genus program, my monthly debt was reduced by about 30%, and would be completely paid off within 5 years. It was a good program, for me, but I eventually ended up declaring bankruptcy anyway because of the other debt problems that I couldn’t resolve through the program.
I don’t know anything about Gulfstream Financial and whether or not it’s legitimate, only that a debt-management program isn’t necessarily a scam.
Meant to add that such programs also usually require you to close whatever accounts you put into the program, to prevent running up new debt.
Generally if there’s an email promotion out there and the hyperlink within it doesn’t have a domain which reflects the company it’s purporting to promote I calls it SPAM!
This one violates that rule and you’d never catch me clicking it. If you’re really curious do some dilligent google-fu on the company name and see if you can find any third party discussion of it’s service.
You know, I’m going to hedge a bit on my previous post. My experience was about 6 years ago, which I should have mentioned, and I’ve been doing a little snooping around since posting.
http://www.creditinfocenter.com/debt/DebtConsolCompanies.shtml
There’s an interesting article there that, had I ever read that before my experience, I am quite certain I wouldn’t have signed up for the program. Again, my experience was fine, and I had no problems, but apparently things have changed. Interestingly, there’s a link that says “To see the companies we’ve gotten positive comments about, click here” and they list exactly one company - Ameridebt - which is now bankrupt.
And this is the icing on the cake:
It looks like my previous opinion was indeed quite off-base, and I apologize.
Well, Googling “gulfstream financial” yields a heck of a lot of hits. From a cursory scan of the results, it looks to me like it’s the financial services affiliate of the Gulfstream corporation that builds private jets. I assume that would be like GMAC, which is a GM affiliate but has branched out far beyond auto loans. No clue as to the quality of their services, but the number of offices that showed up makes it look like it’s a large, well-established organization as opposed to some guy sending spam out of his basement. I’d be surprised if their services are any more revolutionary than simple debt consolidation, but that’s purely speculative.
I’ve had a look through the website and am not convinced that’s affiliated with anything. The link in the OP is to a shoddy Flash presentation which gives little detail and shows several stock pictures of sportscars and people holding stacks of cash, whereas other bits of the site feature creepy quotes such as:
Deep in the FAQ is a clue that it’s a debt consolidator which secures its loans against your house (a la the notorious Ocean Finance in the UK).
For what it’s worth, it really is from my uncle- he confirmed it.
I guess it’s his money and his business, and if he wants to sign up with these folks, I should just stay out of it. He’s a grown-up.
But he’s proselytizing about it to the family, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be sticking with my current arrangements.
Obviously you know your uncle, and the best approach to take with him, but I just wanted to suggest possibly passing on some of those links I found. If he decides to ignore the information in them, then that’s obviously his decision, but he might think again if presented with some information against it.
You’re “pretty sure” or “absolutely sure”? I was an acquaintance of a woman here in Cincinnati whose husband was recently released from jail after he got embroiled in a ponzi scheme. A lot of people who you think would know better (e.g. bankers, businessmen, retirees) got caught up in it and some lost their entire savings. Do not be swayed by marketing campaigns that are the financial equivalent of timeshare presentations, which appeal to your emotional side not your rational side.
If your uncle broaches the subject with you again, I’d strongly advise telling him in no uncertain terms that you are not interested! He is being made into a schlep who will enrich some stranger at the hands of his friends and families. It’s the AMWAY equivalent of finance.
“It’s a program for the financially savvy.” No, my friend it’s a program for SUCKERS.
I think a pretty good rule to follow is that anytime someone COMES TO YOU with an offer that it going to help you make money (or get out of debt), it’s crap.
If you need debt consolidation, you go looking for a place that does it.
If you need a new mortgage, go looking for a place that does it.
If you need to make money FAST, go be a hooker.
If you think you can make thousands of dollars working from home, well, you’re just stupid.
It’s beyond my comprehension that people get emailed “deals” and decide “oh, that sounds like a good idea.”
No fear, ‘pretty sure’ is my friendly way of saying, ‘no way in hell, not even if the choice were bankruptcy.’
But I don’t think I’m going to get anywhere trying to persuade him to avoid this company.
If it’s an email and it involves money, my rule of thumb is, it’s a scam. There are exceptions, of course, but that’s always my first guess.
Going only on what’s in the email message, my guess is that this is a pyramid scheme. Your uncle, I’m sure, doesn’t realize it, probably because he’s unfamiliar with how such a scheme works. I hope he doesn’t get soaked for too much money.
I bought a bar of soap from them that had a ten dollar bill in the wrapper!
Wooey! My first cousin told me about them after being referred by the Dalai Lama, and I was skeptical about them at first, but it’s really true. Some of these bars of soap have folding money in the wrapper, and they’re only two dollars each!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I’m talking about those gentlemen operating the mobile store that’s set up on the corner. Right over there. Special promotion. Best two dollars I ever spent!
I think they said they were closing soon, so you’d better hurry.
This part bothers the hell out of me: “Please Forward this to everyone in your address books.”
If this originated with the company, and your uncle chose to include it in his message, it is a scam and your uncle is naive to not recognize it as a sign of a scam.
If it originated with your uncle, he’s naive and an idiot (sorry to call him names, but I don’t see how anyone with half a brain can honestly think it’s a good idea to tell people to do that).
That’s Gulfstream Financial Services, whose website is www.callgulfstream.com. This is Gulfstream Financial Corporation, whose website is www.iono1.com and administrative & technical contacts are at domainsbyproxy.com.
I’d just like to point out that that wasn’t a total non-sequitur. It followed a post by an obvious shill who apparently found their way here through the site’s referrer logs. Never mind.
It bothered me, too. I wondered if they were offering him some kind of deal if he enrolled other people in the plan, which sounds rather pyramid-shaped to me. But he didn’t specifically say anything like that, just me wondering.
Is my uncle an idiot? Not by my family’s standards, but they’re rather sheltered, not highly educated, and fairly gullible. I think he would be scammable.
To be honest, after the uncomfortable argument I got into at Thanksgiving, when I was the lone voice at the table arguing that there were never large groups of Satanic cults committing ritual murders and church-burnings around the country, and still aren’t- I’m reluctant to get myself bloody fighting ignorance around the dinner table.