Flag Raised On Defunct Credit Firm

TAMPA - The Florida Office of Financial Regulation says it is studying a complaint about a Pasco County telemarketing company that shut its doors Aug. 30, surprising employees and customers who had paid for help with their credit.

The company, Net Trust Financial LLC in New Port Richey, persuaded hundreds of people across the country to allow withdrawals from their bank accounts in exchange for a promised credit card, vouchers and other services, according to former employees.

But the company closed unexpectedly without fulfilling the promises to customers or making payroll, five former employees and two customers said.

'Something needs to be done about this,' said Margaret Loewen of Salem, Ore., a highway worker who responded to Net Trust's cold-callers in mid-July, hoping to clear her credit record.

The company's owner, Bruce Gattis, and his attorney told The Tampa Tribune in early September that all customers and employees would be paid in full. However, two former employees said Wednesday that they have received none of the money they're owed.

The Office of Financial Regulation, which regulates banks, lenders and similar companies, will try to determine whether Net Trust Financial falls under its jurisdiction, said spokeswoman Holly Hinson. If not, it will forward the complaint to the appropriate agency, she said.

The company's Web site - nettrustfinancial.com - had remained online through at least Friday advertising a $2,500 unsecured line of credit with the statement: 'No credit? Bad credit? Bankruptcy? No problem.'

The site changed during the weekend. Nettrustfinancial .com on Monday was headlined by an entity called US GoldLineFinancial.com, which advertises men's and women's clothing but had no products for sale. It was unclear Monday if USGoldLineFinancial.com has any affiliation with net trustfinancial.com. A toll-free number listed at nettrust financial.com was not functioning Monday afternoon and there was no response to an e-mail sent by the Tribune. Clicking on USGoldLine Financial.com brought up a site that offered general searches and links on a variety of topics and appeared to be a generic page that linked to GoDaddy .com, a company that registers domain names for a fee.

Net Trust Only Open A Few Weeks

Net Trust service, according to former employees and customers, was marketed on the Internet and through cold-calls as a way for debtors to restore their credit rating. The company, which operated for only a few weeks, initially left a phone message saying that the interruption in business was only temporary.

It said its bank, RBC Centura, had frozen the company's account and added, 'Once they unfreeze our bank account we will be able to pay customer refunds and employee paychecks.' A spokesman for RBC Centura, based in Charlotte, N.C., said he could not discuss the bank's clients.

State officials said they don't identify the complainants in such cases, but Melissa Smith, former customer service desk manager for the company, says she filed it. She provided a copy of the complaint and cold-call scripts to a reporter.

It was her job to handle the complaints from those who had signed up for the credit repair, she said.

'Not a single customer received anything they were promised,' Smith said in her statement.

The complaint manager for second shift, Linda Daniels, gave a similar account.

'They never sent customers a thing,' Daniels said.

Loewen said she received a call in mid-July from Net Trust offering to send her a type of credit card that would allow her to buy up to $2,500 worth of products through the Net Trust Financial Web site, at zero percent interest. If she paid her monthly bill on time, she said Net Trust told her, it would notify a major credit-rating agency that would restore her to good graces.

To get this deal, Loewen said she had to agree to let the company take $200 from her checking account with a bank draft. The company said it would repay the money with $200 in vouchers to apply toward her credit-card bill.

Net Trust took the $200 from her account in August, Loewen said, but she has received nothing. To make matters worse, she said, the company took the money before the date she specified, when there wasn't enough money in the account to cover it. Now she's also out $63 in overdraft fees, she said.

Anthony Distefano of Deer Park, N.Y., a disabled veteran and single parent with a 2-year-old daughter, says he was given the same offer, plus vouchers for free gasoline. Net Trust took his $197 in July, he said, and he still has nothing.

'I haven't heard hide nor hair from them,' he said.

Five former employees told the Tribune that the company owes them for back pay.

For Daniels, it was only about $300, but that made the difference in coming up with the rent, she said. Smith said the company owes her and her fiance, David Lobel, about $2,000.

'Butt Out,' Company's Owner Says

Former employees say Bruce Gattis left his brother Todd in charge of the office most of the time. Todd Gattis did not return phone messages.

Bruce Gattis said in a brief telephone interview that his accusers are in the wrong. Customers will be repaid as soon as the accounts are unfrozen, he said, and suggested that the media should 'butt out.'

'You're trying to make something out of nothing,' Gattis said. 'If you print anything, I'll do anything I can to put you in jail.'

Gattis then referred the matter to his attorney, Adam Solomon of The Lustigman Firm in New York. Solomon said he had little information about Net Trust Financial, but that his client had assured him most employees have been paid in full. Solomon said those who are owed money should call the company's customer-service line. The line is no longer in service.

Smith's complaint shows how difficult it can be for workers to report a company they think is harming consumers. Several former employees called the New Port Richey police, but were told to try the Department of Labor. That agency said it couldn't help and sent them to the Federal Trade Commission, which has jurisdiction in businesses that engage in interstate communications.

At the state level, it was difficult for the employees to figure out which agency to call. They tried several, but none called the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which by law runs 1-800-435-7352, a toll-free line that is supposed to make sure complaints get to the proper agency.