Especially, if you live in Maryland and have to deal with Wolpoff & Abramson, call naca.net. It seems that W & A sits on the Montgomery County, MD and Maryland State Bar board for ethics complaints. W & A is not a law firm but they have many attorneys at their “bidding”.

Here are some debt collectors that Wolpoff & Abramson uses consistently. We are familiar with some more than others. Wolpoff & Abramson is a collection debt empire. They are ruthless.

Alegis Group

Sherman Acquisitions

Arrow Financial Services

LVNV Funding, LLC

Asta Funding

Colonial Credit Corporation

Great Seneca Financial

Palisades Collections

Centurion Capital

Sage Financial

Monarch Financial

Hawker Financial

Preferred Platinum Plan aka The Porn Collectors

The auto dialers are non stop with up to 20 calls per day to the same consumer. They file hundreds of court cases (judgments) a day. We have been able to validate debts but this is rare. If you are taken to court this would be in your favor for them not to be able to validate a debt. They file (fake) illegal affidavits and other documents.

The good news is judges are getting smarter when it comes to debt collection cases in court. Keep contacting Congress, Senate and Judges with your complaints.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!

What are the top three resolutions that most people make for a new year?

#1. get more money (out of debt)

#2. be more healthy

#3. have more time to enjoy life

What are the top three GOALS that most people make (for a new year)?

SAME AS ABOVE!!!

What is the difference between RESOLUTIONS and GOALS ???

webster definition of resolute: firmly determined in purpose

webster definition of goal: aim, purpose

There is not much of a difference, however, resolutions may be set temporarily while goals are set until achieved. Are you making resolutions OR goals in 2009?

This year we have some amazing goals for Next Level Unlimited. It starts with Next Level Credit. We will be reaching out to online and offline consumers to assist them in their dire financial straits. By conducting free seminars, we will travel locally and cross country giving consumers imperative information to help them change their mindset and their financial mission in life. The seminars will also be recorded (possibly live) on this website too to help you as much as possible.

To all the consumers who do not know what to do about unemployment and current (and future collection) debt, let us give you direction. Been there, done that! How determined are YOU this year - this new year - 2009 ? Who are you going to depend on for money? Take hold of the “reins” of where you CAN go!

What are your goals for 2009 or for the next 3, 5, 10 years ?

Let’s work on all THREE GOALS !!! 

Together.

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The report was about credit cards and how they are changing their interest rates without cause. In other words, when a consumer is late or over the limit, the creditor CAN change the interest rates. It is on the contract in the teeny tiny itty bitty print.

NOW it seems the creditor is changing the rates and not to be stopped WITHOUT CAUSE. We are still looking into the facts of this report, however, we wanted to write this article to give a heads up about the possibility of being factual. Call your creditor about rate changes.

Also there is new legislation to stop this but it is going into effect late 2009.

If a consumer is not able to pay the new payment with the increasing interest rates…what happens? The account goes delinquent. In 6 months, the account will be sold to a debt collector.

One of our clients has multiple business failures due to the stop short of the economy. They had to start living on credit cards to survive. Now the payments are too high and the interest is outrageous. Their business were flourishing. Now their credit cards are maxed out, unable to pay and the collection letters are arriving in their mail.

This is not an isolated situation. This is happening all over the country with employees also.

The good news is that we have the answers for you.

Educate yourself and empower yourself here.

If you have questions, feel free to call and ask. If you want us to do the letter writing for you, we can and we will.

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Collect America is a huge JDB with many franchisee’s across the country. They have alleged lawyers in these offices. CACV stands for Collect America Collection Vehicle and CACH purchase junk debt for Collect America. Collect America was sold by Scott Lowery in 2005 for $350 million! Even though he sold the company to First Analysis Private Equity Fund IV, he reportedly is still involved in operations through his brother.

This debt collection agency is typical with their tactics. Letters, phone calls and threats to the consumer.

Here is a list of possible franchisees (from Bud Hibbs site):

Law Office of Sam W. Streeter, Houston, TX

Richard G. & Catherine A. Neuheisel Law Firm, Tempe, AZ

Neuheisel Law Firm, Deborah Sue Harvego, Sacramento, CA

Law Office of Thomas K. Bamford, Dallas, TX

Harold E. Scherr, Attorney at Law, Longwood, FL

Bronson and Migliaccio Attorneys, Williamsville, NY

Bronson and Migliaccio Attorneys, Elmwood Park, NJ

Phillips and Cohen and Associates, Westampton, NJ

Law Office of Larry Roach, Copley Twp, OH

Phillip Scott Lowery P.C., Denver, CO

Law Office of Joe Pezzuto, Phoenix, AZ

Law Office of J. Anthony Cambece, Boston, MA

Workman Law Office, P.A., Jacksonville, FL

Collect America, LTD, Denver, CO

Gamache and Myers, St Louis, MO

P. Scott Lowery, P.C., Tulsa, OK

Law Office of Wilfred E. Briesemeister, Montclair, CA

Harrison Ross Byck, Morrisville, PA

Daniels & Norelli, P.C., Westbury, NY

Davis Law Office, Russell A. Davis, Solana Beach, CA

Richard DeJana & Associates, Kalispell, MT

Dennis Michael Dendy Law Office, Gretna, LA (Houston TX)

Daniel N. Gordon, P.C., Eugene, OR

Mims, Jerry M., Attorney, Islip Terrace, NY

Pentagroup Financial, LLC, James J. Thorpe, Attorney, Houston, TX (represents CACV & CACH)

Take heed if you are served a summons at your residence from this company. They are infamous for lawsuits and arbitration with NAF. National Arbitration Forum. Do not ignore.

Read below of a consumer who learned quickly how to fight back and WON !

August 2008: UPDATE: “The july 9th court date never came as CACH LLC’s new attorneys called me about a week before trial to settle. At first, they “offered” me for ME to pay them $3,000, which they argued was far less than over $17,000! I told them in no uncertain terms, NO. As I had filed a counterclaim against CACH, LLC and Daniel N Gordon for $150,000, they wanted this to end. They asked me what I would take to settle. As I’m a person of integrity and not into it for the money, I told them they’ll receive no money from me, everyone pays their own court and attorney costs (I had none except the court filing fee), and the cases get dismissed WITH PREJUDICE. That means this case can NEVER be put back into the court system again for any reason.

As part of the settlement, which has no wording in it saying that I can’t talk about it, CACH, LLC has agreed to drop the matter AND to report to the credit bureaus that they are removing this entry in my files. See, you CAN win against these people…just work hard at it and you will. If more and more of us can get to the point where we’re all standing up against these scoundrels, they’ll depart with their tails between their legs. Oh, and don’t be afraid of “big name” or big sounding “attorney” firms. “

This is why we are passionate about consumer awareness with collection debt. Consumers can educate and empower themselves.

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They could well be the largest debt collection agency in the US. This collection agency will sue the consumer and will show up in court. Beware of any letters and respond quickly. Mann Bracken has a reputation of using arbitration to intimidate the consumer. There is not alot to say about this debt collector and their tactics.

THEY SUE.

Their usual behavior is to use phone calls and letters to the consumer. Even if the alleged debt is very old, do not ignore and respond in writing about the statute of limitations.

If you are served with a summons, the consumer can be sued on an old debt if you do not respond quickly. Arbitration is not something you want to have to fight the debt collector on but it can be done and you can win. Do not be intimidated. Contact a consumer attorney.

Since we are located in Georgia, we hear about Mann Bracken often. However, they are in multiple states and growing.

From Bud Hibbs:We were told at the beginning of the month that Wolpoff & Abramson, Eskanos & Adler, and Mann Bracken were each bought out by Axiant. Each of the law firms will continue appear in court under their firm names, and all of the attorneys will still be employees of the firms, but all of their collections accounts are now merged. All non-legal personnel (everyone except attorneys) now work for Axiant. I do not know what states Wolpoff and Eskanos have actual attorneys in, but Mann Bracken is set up in Georgia, Tennessee, North & South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and Texas. The Mann Bracken attorneys will take Wolpoff and Eskanos accounts in those states and sue. The same goes for the other entities - they’ll take Mann Bracken accounts in their “live” states and sue.Information we have received suggests that Mann Bracken’s collection accounts are down, way down. The industry as a whole is reporting a massive 10% drop in receipts for November 2008. Almost every day we receive notice of another agency closing or filing for bankruptcy. Consumers are holding on to their money like never before, especially from the likes of Mann Bracken who are finding more consumer lawyers showing up in courts to have their bogus claims challenged and defeated. You and everyone else dealing with Mann Bracken are encouraged to fight them tooth and nail, force them to validate, tie up their collectors with calls an letters, hire a consumer lawyer on all cases including arbitration claims. The more expensive you make it for them by invoking the laws that protect consumers, the better. William Christopher Bracken, III, one of the head debt collectors uses the blood money they collect to keep up appearances from his $1 million dollar home in the Highgrove Sub Division of Atlanta. His goons lie, threaten and file these bogus claims so he and his family can live off money that they may not legally be entitled to. The American consumer holds the key to allowing these parasites the right to collect, I say make them pay the price of proving it and suffer the consequences when they can’t. Mann Bracken is no different than the scammers on Wall Street who took our money, we should all hold them accountable for their actions.

Here is a great testimony of a victory for this consumer.

October 2008: “Mann Bracken placed a restraint on my checking account, causing checks to bounce and legal fee’s to grow each month. They got a bogus judgment stating that I was served to appear in court. They claimed to have left the summons with a relative of mine, however that relative doesn’t even exist, and the house they supposedly served was boarded up and abandoned. Also, the money they were trying to collect was from a default credit card, which was proven to be fraudulent and so I am not responsible for that debt. I have paper proof from all three credit agencies to back that up also.

I reported Mann Bracken to the BBB, giving the BBB all of my evidence that Mann Bracken is totally full of crap, and now Mann Bracken has released my checking account, has agreed to pay all of the fines and damages they caused, and they are having the court order vacated.

So I would just get all of your evidence together and call them out on their bull sh-t. It worked for me. They were talking all big and bad, giving me attitude and threatening me, but as soon as I turned it all around on them, they have been very cooperative.

However, I strongly suggest keeping on top of everything they are supposed to be taking care of. They are sneaky bastards that like to lie and cut corners. So if you are lucky enough to have beaten them, make sure you hold them to their word and keep checking up on their progress, and when they don’t do what they say, keep reporting them, it always gets the ball rolling again.”

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This JDB is the trickiest scam debt collector. Asset Acceptance is very well known on most consumer forums about collection debt. They are NOTORIUS for buying very old portfolios of consumer debt. They raise the alleged balances due and send out dunning notices consistently. It is a fear factor with this junk debt collector.

A standard procedure for this collection agency is changing the date of last activity on your credit report. Also, they claim to have received a payment from you which you never sent to them. They swear up and down and drive you crazy when in actuality you NEVER sent any money. One of many other tactics is that Asset Acceptance creates and files phony documents. Beware of any mail you receive from collection agencies especially this debt collector. All JDB collection agencies are a scam!

Below is a great report of how a consumer fought back and WON!

August 2008 I have had the experience to deal with this company twice. I have beaten this company twice. Both times they contacted me, I challenged them. I told them I want proof that I owed them anything.

Each time Asset denied any wrong doing, even though I had them on many many many violations of state and federal laws, but each time, they deleted their poison from my reports. They will lie and break the law, but if you stand your ground, they can be made to leave your life. 

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As of late, they are getting cozy with Citibank and buying VERY old charged off debt. If the consumer has a letter and/or phone call from MCM, CHECK THOSE DATES on the alleged debt. Then check your state codes for the statute of limitations. This is for you - THE CONSUMER - to take advantage of see if the date to collect has expired. If is has expired then you need to write an SOL letter and send CM/RR to document the mailing. If the date to collect has not expired, write your VOD letter immediately.

Midland Credit Management is using an arbitration company to take the consumer to court. Arbitration is messy and ugly. This website has yet to write about arbitration and judgments in more detail. We have dealt with both scenarios and it is not pleasant. The only reason the collection debt would reach that stage is because you ignored the debt collector letters AND you did not learn your rights on how to fight it. If you have received an arbitration claim from Midland Credit Management, contact us and we can ONLY advise you over the phone (inotherwords, we do not offer a service to assist you with this critical collection stage) and to seek legal counsel. There is a right way to do that and a wrong way to do that.

At Next Level Credit, we stick to the basics of giving important information so that you can take action. We want you to be aware of the arbitration and judgments (more than basic) that MCM are using to collect and that this could happen to you. We strongly encourage you to seek legal counsel for the “more than basic” fight.

Also, MCM is hiring overseas in India to collect debt from Americans! Desperate perhaps?

Consumer (September 2008): “How desperate are the fools at MCM? Started receiving calls from India, collector spoke as though he was sucking marbles. Trying to collect on a debt more than ten years old. Went on about how he was “Certified by MCM” on the FDCPA. Almost impossible to understand. Why do junk debt collectors like MCM collect on such old debts and why go to India?”

Reply from Bud Hibbs:

Wall Street appears to be dissatisfied with many bottom feeders and they are feeling that impact. MCM thinks it has the right to place anything it chooses on a consumer credit report and never respond to validation requests. Consumers are warned that it is illegal for them to report accounts that cannot be validated and they still have the ability to payoff on FCRA lawsuits. I urge anyone being scammed by MCM to contact the consumer law professionals at www.myfaircredit.com. The law allows that you and your attorney may be paid for their greed, stupidity and attempts at extorting monies they are not entitled to. MCM cares only about making money at the expense of the American consumer, they are a disgusting, slimy organization that lies, cheats and puts us at high risk in a foreign country.”

Let us know if you have dealt with Midland Credit Management good and bad. Let us hear from you and leave a comment below!

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There are over 6500 collection agencies listed in the USA. We will continue to write about junk debt buyers and their reputation to give you the power.

Receiving a letter from NCO Financial Systems always makes us grimace. This company is one of the worst debt collection agencies in the US and they are unpredictable. They aspire to be the largest company in the debt collection industry.

They either aggressively attempt to collect from the military (consumer) one day, or act like a long lost family member another day, or on another day attempt to take you to court for a default judgment. Unpredictable.

We know one thing that is certain and that is consumers are getting smarter when it comes to NCO Financial Systems. Consumers are learning their rights and taking action against NCO.

Apparently, NCO is laying off collectors. Ain’t that a shame? That is a dream come true for consumers about this reputable debt collector. It could be a rumour. Time will tell.

They use robotic dialers and here is an explanation of how it operates:

They call, but when I pick up the phone, no one is there, or I hear nothing…what gives? It’s the luck of the draw with auto dialers or robots. They dial six to eight numbers at once, and when a human voice is heard, they are immediately directed to a collector. Since the collector that plugged in the numbers can only speak to one consumer at a time, the first real voice loses and everyone else gets dead silence. The computer will note there was a connection made and push that number up in the cycle, so when the collector finishes his tirade with one, he dials the group again - and by now, you’re angry and frustrated and running to the phone, only to be beat by that little old lady in Nebraska who was hunched over the receiver daring it to ring again. She loses, you get more silence and finally get on the internet to find out what that “nothing” call is all about.

Check your credit report and you may find multiple listings from NCO because they purchase junk debt from many creditors. If you have been contacted from NCO Financial Systems, write your VOD letter and send certified mail return receipt. Don’t be fearful of this company. They have been known to be very harsh over the phone which is why we only correspond through the mail to them.

Here is a successful testimony from a consumer:

“NCO folded like a cheap lawn chair after sending them a nice debt validation letter. Deleted from all 3 reports within 48 hours of receiving the letter. Always send certified mail with return receipt requested.”

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Most consumers who have major collection debt have heard of the (junk debt buyer) Sherman Acquisitions family. They either have heard of them from reading about their reputation or they have dealt with them in a debt collection personally. We like to refer to Sherman Acquisitions as one big crooked family because of all the different names of business that are related.

Sherman Acquisitions is related to cousin LVNV Funding LLC. Here is a list of the family tree: Resurgent Capital Services, LP, Alegis Group, LLC, Sherman Financial Group, LLC, Pinnacle Financial Group, FNBM, LLC, Ascent Card Services, Ventus Capital Services, Performance Recovery Group and Receivables Management Solutions. The most popular are LVNV and Resurgent.

Junk debt buyers and collection agencies are normally not structured and interwined as Sherman. This debt collector tree is one of the most notorius junk debt buyers in the country. They are known for their less than honest tactics. We have received collection letters from 4 of these debt collectors on the same consumer account at one time. Bought and sold. Bought and sold. No documentation. Sherman Acquisitions and LVNV Funding have purchased Sears portfolios all over the country. Look on your credit report and see Sears as an original creditor. LVNV Funding has portfolios from Washington Mutual/Providian as well.

An excerpt from budhibbs.com regarding Sherman…

“You are further urged to go after these bottom-feeders for the lies they place on your credit reports. Under provisions of the federal law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) any item placed upon your credit bureau reports MUST be ‘accurate.’ In my experience, I doubt anything placed by a bottom-feeder could ever meet the legitimacy of that test. Consumers are urged to dispute any LVNV, Sherman, Alegis, Resurgent, Ventus account with the credit bureaus and make demand upon the organizations and their owners to abide by the law. They receive a fat check to lie about things that cause you misery, higher interest rates, credit denials and in most cases, don’t have the required documentation that would meet the definition of ‘accurate.’ All of these owners, board members, attorneys and employees can and should be held strictly responsible when that information does NOT meet the legal definition, as stated by law.”

A testimony from an average consumer who learned their rights…

“I want to first of all thank you for educating me on the deceptive practices of these “buy it in bulk for pennies and sue them” debt collectors and how consumers can fight back these tactics that are being used through Small Claims Courts nationwide. Today I had my pre-trial conference. I was surprised to see that one attorney alone came in with suit for about 40 people who all had an appointment for the same time! Most of them did not even show up. During the time we had to try to work things out with the defendant’s attorney, the attorney took each person in an assembly line format, calling them out one at a time. I saw people so intimidated and scared that they would do anything that the attorney demanded of them just to get them off their backs — even if the debt was not even theirs! From what I saw in NONE of the cases did the attorney even attempt to provide any form of validation whatsoever to the defendant. The files the attorney had were so thin they could not possibly have any information other than a data sheet and maybe the court papers. Yet the attorney was making all kinds of demands from each of these defendants and was getting people to either pay in full whatever he demanded or by getting them into payment so high that most of them could not possibly pay this on a monthly basis without defaulting (which would automatically give the attorney the opportunity to file a judgment against the person and garnish their wages, take their property, etc.). With such a bad economy I could foresee some of these people losing their houses and going through a great deal of hardship and trauma. While I have a high respect for small claims court and the judge that attended me and I think that this court is a huge benefit to the community because it helps people resolve their matters quickly and inexpensively, I believe these debt collectors are using our tax dollars to run a “legal” racketeering business and are getting away with it mostly because people do not know their rights as consumers. You were right about what you said about these debt collectors. They use the courtroom to intimidate people into paying them big bucks. What they are doing is so wrong and needs to be exposed!”

Our thoughts exactly!

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We never would believe it if we did not see it with our own eyes!

It does not take much money to set up a collection agency. It is a legal business in the legal sense of the word. However, the tactics used to collect on debt that is junk is not legal. Back in the day, there were mom & pop collection companies who made a percentage of collecting for some of the larger companies in town. Legitimate. Junk debt buying is totally different. Where do you think the term “junk debt” was established?

Buy a portfolio of debt, get a phone, fax, paper, stationery, a software database (optional), and a few computers - you are in business. It is a business but what goes on behind closed doors is not. See this website for example: MBS Financial. If you look closely on the right side under “WE BUY DEBT” you will find a survey. In the very beginning of this survey, it seems legit but keep reading until you get to the middle of the second page. There is the real “deal” of buying junk debt. These are questions asked to buy junk debt. Collection agencies need junk debt.

Keep reading our site and bookmark it because now it is time we are going to get into the names of who is who in the JDB world. We will be posting articles here of infamous JDBs and their reputation (possibly some testimonials.) The list of JDBs is long!

We want to hear about your victory with your personal experience of any JDB you have come against. Also, we can answer questions if you are in a situation and have to fight a JDB now. Stay tuned for some eye opening info…

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