As always, we appreciate the comments of the concerned public. Apparently something has occurred to upset you, and I fail to see how this has anything to do with our nonprofit organization. Still, I wanted to keep your comments available for public viewing and wanted to take a moment to respond since some of your points were incorrect.

For the record, Vision Credit Education, Inc. is a nonprofit charity that was granted tax exempt status under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code (verify at IRS.gov). Your comment about tax exempt status is incorrect.

Additionally, our accreditation is under ISO 9001:2008. This is not the same accreditation that was held by Ameridebt. Furthermore, Ameridebt was a substantial commercial enterprise that did near zero education for public benefit. While Ameridebt was being stripped of its nonprofit status, Vision Credit Education was granted charity status under newer, more rigid evaluation guidelines that saw nearly every other credit counseling organization’s request for nonprofit status declined.

Vision Credit Education is first and foremost an educational organization. We hold on average 20-25 separate educational workshops every year. In 2011 alone, our volunteers have completed over 240 income tax returns at no charge under the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

Finally, your comments about the New York State Banking Department are irrelevant. Vision Credit Education is not licensed by the New York State Banking Department, nor do we claim to be. The state of New York requires a minimum $250,000 bond in order to receive licensing to provide credit counseling to New York residents. As an actual nonprofit charity, we do not have the resources to sink into a bond of that amount. Only a handful of large agencies have that amount of discretionary reserves. If you are a New York resident, then you will need to work with one of the agencies that is licensed in New York.

Jim, your emails to our organization have not been censored, nor do I see where they have ended up in any SPAM folder. I am not sure what you are trying to communicate, but welcome the opportunity to speak with you further. I encourage you to contact me directly so that I may better understand your ideas.

Sincerely,
Ken

It is the same with all the credit card companies, not just Chase. But in my case Chase is the one who started the problem. When they raised my payment to 5% the amount was more than my monthly income. They have now turned me over to collections and collections continues to demand that same 5% payment and nothing less. My lifetime of excellent credit has been completely destroyed and because of my physical condition right now I can’t do anything about it. If there is any risk to them that you might not be able to pay, they won’t put you on their hardship program. Remember that you weren’t in a hardship until they raised the payment so they know you can afford to make the payments you had before they raised it. This to me does not qualify as a “hardship” program. They aren’t trying to help anyone. It is just a new loan that you are applying for because the government tells them they have to offer a 5 year payment plan if people have trouble making the minimum payment. However, you can’t be in a “real” hardship. You have to be able to afford the payments and pose no risk to them.