Wonderless Journalism's Dark Side
Credit Slab and NuLife CEO Sheldon Wolf releases a personal statement about the attacks on his character and on his company from Toronto Star investigative journalist David Bruser.
- (1888PressRelease) March 12, 2016 - On behalf of the Credit Slab and NuLife programs, I would like to welcome you to our website and programs. In the public interest, I am posting this information so that people can decide for themselves and form their own conclusions regarding the articles published by David Bruser, Kevin Donovan and the Toronto Star. As opposed to solely listening to my words, I am providing links for the purpose of helping you determine your own truth.
The Toronto Star, Kevin Donovan and David Bruser mis-characterized the Credit Slab and NuLife programs this week, focusing on a few dissatisfied customers rather than the many thousands of people and families that we have helped.
The Toronto Star, Kevin Donovan and David Bruser have personally criticized me, Sheldon Wolf, for being a successful businessman, having a nice home, driving nice cars, and taking the occasional holiday.
For an example of a previous case, Grant vs Torstar, the Toronto Star was dragged into the Supreme Court of Canada in a defamation lawsuit.
In another example, an apology issued by the Public Editor in yet another Toronto Star reporting blunder involving Liberal MP Margaret Bess.
Do you believe everything you read? Do you trust everything you see on TV? It is important for all of us to read between the lines, and to think critically for ourselves, as opposed to thinking that: "Everything is true because I read it in the Toronto Star!"
The Toronto Star is a large well known media outlet, but it also has many high profile investigative failures, resulting in apologies, retractions and lawsuits. One example is their inaccurate portrayal of the Gardasil HPV Vaccine, which may have resulted in many children not receiving the vaccine, and perhaps eventually transmitting the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) or getting cervical cancer.
This is an example of the work which David Bruser has brought to the table recently, where he portrays the anecdotal stories of a few people, and shifts much of the focus away from actual medical evidence which is readily available.
In the Toronto Star story "A Wonder Drug's Dark Side", it appears that David Bruser may have less regard for the consequences for young children, as opposed to putting out a catchy but misleading story. I am curious if David Bruser vaccinates his own children.
In the Gardisil HPV Vaccine story he originally published, David Bruser infers a potential risk for using the vaccine. In a similar style of reporting, David Bruser interviews a few of our disgruntled customers and appears to slant the story to suggest that I am placing people into debt and providing no results or value. What David Bruser ignores is the fact that while he may have spoken with four or five disgruntled customers, we have many thousands of customers who have improved their credit and reached their fiscal goals.
In fairness to David Bruser, he did ask me for customer contact information from happy customers, a task which he knows that I cannot undertake. David Bruser was made aware that we must honor customer privacy. In our case, even our happiest of customers do not want anyone to know that they may have encountered credit or debt problems.
Further, David Bruser has posted pictures of my home and states that the Toronto Star has been by my home and viewed my Jaguar. The car has been off the road since mid-November of 2015. The car is covered, secured and only visible if you have unlawfully entered the property, the possibility of which is of great concern to me and my family.
While I do understand that David Bruser is a reporter and should be able to do his job, he clearly pushes his investigative strategy beyond a reasonable point. David Bruser is sending me emails inferring that he "knows where I live and knows what I drive", and leading me to suspect that he may possibly be viewing my children's social media postings and photos. In my view, which is likely shared by many parents, this possibility is alarming and disturbing.
Since I have acquired the websites, I have been bombarded with emails by Kevin Donovan of the Toronto Star with concerns that I may have pictures of David Bruser's home and access to his family's online photos. It appears that the Toronto Star may believe that that harassing and intimidating families is only acceptable if done by them.
The Toronto Star has recently announced layoffs and fourth quarter losses in the hundreds of millions; and one can only assume that each and every reporter is looking to show their worth and value.
With that being said, Credit Slab is still hiring and growing at a healthy rate. We look so forward to continuing with the same level of success as we have in the past. We will also continue to offer many of our pro bono services to the military and veterans. As well, we will also continue to invest in our Credit Slab Cares charitable and volunteer programs.
One more point which the public would most likely not know is that David Bruser has strategically edited the phone calls that he made to my office and sculpted them to suit his needs as he scrunches his face with dramatic concern while he makes unannounced calls, pretending to be a fake customer. In many case, ethical investigative reporters announce that they are doing an investigation and require specific information; and, furthermore, they contact the designated corporate media contact or legal department. David Bruser's phone calls are edited and spliced together to create an illusion of improper service from our staff. In one call, he aggressively agitates one of my customer service representatives and refuses to answer the questions we addressed to him, so that could serve him as if he was a real customer.
The fact is that a customer cannot order our products without going through our transparent process. As almost all business is referred to us, the customer is assigned a credit specialist whom can determine what the customer's credit issues are, and if we can help meet their needs. In every case, we require income confirmation so that we know that our customer can afford the products and services which we offer. If you browse our websites, you will also note that each and every page contains the annual percentage rate and other information relevant to our programs. You will also see that while you are completing your order, each and every page clearly and prominently displays the reoccurring payments, as well as the set up fee. In fact, we rely on the customer selecting the programs, payments and frequencies that suit them best. Additionally, copies of our agreements are available inclusive of the financial disclosures at any point prior to and after signing up. It is virtually impossible to go through our approval process without knowing virtually everything one needed prior to joining.
What is also not mentioned in the Toronto Star articles is that David Bruser spent a great deal of time with me on the phone, and that I specifically walked him through the process of signing up with us. We reviewed our education center that we call Credit 101, which helps us determine if we would be a good fit for our customer's situation. It appears that David Bruser in his news story has omitted almost everything that we discussed for the signup process. David Bruser also seems to think that all of our customers are in debt and destitute, when that is simply not the case. Our customers are people just like anyone else; however they may may have suffered financial hardship, and are looking for a second chance to get back on their feet in a responsible manner. We help those that are in need, and who are prepared demonstrate commitment to improvement of their credit.
Here is whom we help the best and most. Many of our customers have encountered financial hardship as a result of events outside of their own control. Often we assist consumers post-bankruptcy, or where they are victims of accidents, injuries, serious health emergencies and many other unforeseen circumstances. Our typical customer often can not even get credit, and so have very little debt, if any. While it might be the view of David Bruser that people are "out of luck" if they have poor credit; it is our view that, in almost all circumstances, people should have the right to prove themselves and the opportunity to rebuild their credit responsibly.
Most importantly, almost anyone knows how credit rebuilding works. If you obtain credit and take care of it over a period of time, your credit should improve. This is precisely the method that we use to help our customers become viable consumers once again.
We hope that you can see past the Toronto Star and David Bruser's apparent need to sensationalize a not very interesting story by portraying myself as a so-called "Loan Wolf". Those that know me well, and even not so well, know that 90% of my day is spent giving and sharing. Those that know me well also know that I dedicate countless hours to needs and causes that support the community at large.
On behalf of the Credit Slab and NuLife programs, I want to let you know how touched I have been this past week by your positive and supportive emails and phone calls, particularly from satisfied customers that have been helped by the Credit Slab and NuLife programs. Customers and the public have provided testimonials and comments including:
"Well I am a very happy customer but in any case I am more than willing to give you a glowing endorsement cause your staff really helped me a lot in a) understanding how credit bureaus work and b) worked tirelessly to raise my score from about 450 to about 750!!!. " - Blaise T
"It certainly seemed like slander to me. That's why I wanted to make sure you had seen it. Made it sound like you were living high off people who couldn't even afford food. I'm sure you'd be very upset. His facts were wrong - he obviously didn't check anything. What's up with him using your Facebook posts? Anyway...there's my rant. Hope it all works out for you Sheldon." - Donna G
"Good for you for fighting back" - Jose R
David Bruser also seems to think that all of our customers are in debt and cash strapped, when that is simply not the fact. Our customers are people just like anyone else; however, they typically have suffered a financial set back. Our customers are people looking for a second chance to get back on their feet in a responsible manner. We help those that are in need and are prepared to demonstrate commitment to improvement of their credit.
We are very thankful for those customers whom have come forward to extend their appreciation and support since the Toronto Star released their over sensationalized story.
Please call us anytime as we would love to discuss our programs with you and help you and your family.
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