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Review 5/10/2010
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I have mixed feelings about what this company accomplishes. They helped me to stop getting hounded and harassed by payday debt lenders (PDLs) and to start making reasonable payments. That alone was probably worth it -- I was in a state of panic receiving calls and threats from PDLs on a daily basis and they at least were able to stop that process and help me get my mental house back in order.
Mostly. Here's the problem: some lenders just don't work with these people. At all. Progressive warned me up front that the lenders would say as much, just as a scare tactic, but it wasn't a scare tactic: they plain don't work with Progressive. It got to the point where the lenders were calling my friends and family to track me down. Once I spoke to them directly, they were willing to resolve the account without any fuss or additional fees. We set up monthly payments and that was that. I'm now starting to realize that if I had just manned up (pardon the expression) and dealt with the situation head-on, I would have saved myself a lot of money and some embarrassment as well.
Progressive is also, I am convinced, seriously overpriced. The upside of this, however, is that you're able to pay back the firms with smaller monthly payments. Instead of your payments going solely towards interest, however, they now go substantially towards the fees that Progressive charges. Less than PDL interest, but still exorbitant.
Don't get me wrong: payday lenders, and the jackasses like myself who fall for them, are a pox on our economy. They try--and usually succeed--to get people to make rash emotional decisions with their money rather than sound and reasoned ones. They also prey on the most vulnerable populations of our society. I have no desire to defend them. Overall, Progressive has done a fair job of helping me deal with them calmly and negotiating on my behalf. Their customer service is excellent in that they are able and willing to talk with you about any time. But they are way overpriced, and in many cases I probably could and should have handled the matter myself by just calling the loan companies myself.
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