Best Places to get your pub, club and grub on!

Beer Magnet has listings by zip code. Where do you get your beer?

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Credit Solutions (CSA) Under Fire for Bad Practices.

The Debt Settlement industry has been under scrutiny recently because of the inability of some companies to complete the task they promise and for their fee structuring. Suit has been filed against Credit Solutions (CSA) a large Debt Settlement company out of Texas. In fact, they're right down the road. It's unfortunate that the true reason for debt settlement, and the customer service aspect have been overlooked for a price.

While CSA may not be a shining example, there are good debt settlement companies out there dedicated to helping consumers get out of debt. It is always best that you do your homework on a company prior to making a decision. Debt Settlement is not right for everyone and should be approached as a way to resolve your debt without filing bankruptcy, not a solution just to get away with paying less than you owe.

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Credit Solutions of America (CSA) claiming the company is violating federal prohibitions on predatory behavior against individuals in significant debt. CSA offers itself to consumers as an intermediary between consumers and their debtors generally claiming the company can help people shrink their debt by 60 percent.

Before beginning work with any customer CSA requires that 15 percent of a customer’s total debt be paid to CSA through monthly payments with three large installments in the first three months. In addition CSA instructs customers to stop paying their creditors so negotiations can begin. This leads to a range of lawsuits, attorneys’ fees and litigation costs for unpaid debts and leaves customers far worse off then when they came to CSA.

If you are working with CSA, have signed a contract and made at least one monthly payment you may be eligible to join this class. You can contact HBSS at info@hbsslaw.com , click here to join this case, or call 206-623-7292.

Inside info about Better Business Bureau Members.

As consumers we are always pushed to know who we're dealing with when looking for a service to be provided. We ask friends for referrals, look around for consumer reports, and have been taught to look to the Better Business Bureau for answers, but there is something about the BBB that member companies don't want you to know.

The BBB is a paid membership organization, but you don't have to pay to get listed, just to cover your tracks. If a consumer files a complaint against your business with the BBB it is opened for investigation. The company then has an opportunity to work through the BBB to resolve the issue. All complaints and resolutions are listed with the BBB. It's like a little investigation.

This is great right? Someone looking out for the consumer to make sure they get the service they deserve for their hard earned dollars. I have noticed in browsing through some companies that I know do business poorly, and there is not a single complaint. Does this mean I'm wrong and they are on the up and up? Have they mended their poor business practices and been on the straight and narrow? What about other companies that have complaints and resolutions, are they sub par in their practices?

I dug around to try and find the answers, and it may or may not come as a surprise, money talks when it comes to complaints. Non-paying companies complaints and resolutions get listed for the public to see. They are tied to the company name and show both the err of the company and the steps they took to make it right by the consumer, but paid members have no complaints right?

Wrong! As a paid member of the BBB a company will go through the same steps to resolve an issue, but once it is resolved the complaint and resolution just disappear. I found that a little disturbing. If someone were to research a company, they would look spotless because they paid dues, but a company that knows they may have made a mistake, took the steps to resolve it, and did not pay to have it go away looks less appealing to the public eye.

Maybe we should all write to the BBB to not have any deletions. Just because a company pays dues does not mean their 10 complaints a week should be hidden.

How Dirty are Collection Attorneys?

I found some marketing information from a debt collection attorney that could shed some light on all of this. Here are a few snippets.

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David Says : Is Debt Settlement Like Bankruptcy?

Is debt settlement like bankruptcy? How do they compare? What are the drawbacks?

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Dead People and Credit Cards

Found here:(Original Post)

Received this as a forward. I don't know how far this is true… but it sure was fun reading!

Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die. This is so priceless, and so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today.
A lady died this past January, and The Bank billed her for February March for their annual service charges on her credit card, added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance of $0, is now somewhere around $60. A Family Member placed a call to The Bank.

Here is the exchange:

Family Member: "I am calling to tell you she died in January."
The Bank: "The account was never closed, and the late fees charges still apply."
Family Member: "Maybe you should turn it over to collections."
The Bank: "Since it is 2 months past due, it already has been."
Family Member: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?"
The Bank: "Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau. Maybe both !"
Family Member: "Do you think God will be mad at her?" (I really liked this part !!!!)
The Bank: "Excuse me?"
Family Member: "Did you just get what I was telling you? The part about her being dead?"
The Bank: "Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor." !

(Supervisor gets on the phone)

Family Member: "I'm calling to tell you she died in January."
The Bank: "The account was never closed, so the late fees and charges still apply." (This must be a phrase taught by The Bank!)
Family Member: "Do you mean you want to collect from her estate?"
The Bank: (stammering) "Are you her lawyer?"
Family Member: "No, I'm her great-nephew."
The Bank: "Could you fax us a certificate of death?"
Family Member: "Sure." (fax number is given)

After they get the fax:
The Bank: "Our system just isn't set up for death. I don't know what more I can do to help."
Family Member: "Well, if you figure it out, great ! If not, you could just keep billing her. I really don't think she will care."
The Bank: "Well, the late fees charges do still apply."
(What is wrong with these people??!!)
Family Member: "Would you like her new billing address?"
The Bank: "Yes, that will help."
Family Member: " Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69."
The Bank: "Sir, that is a cemetery!"
Family Member: "What do you do with dead people on YOUR planet?!!

DA Says Collection Scam Netted Two New Yorkers $1.6 Million

Prosecutors in Manhattan have charged two men with defrauding clients of over $1.6 million in a series of debt collection scams spanning six years.

by Patrick Lunsford
insideARM
March 31, 2008

The Manhattan District Attorney charged two New York City men with collecting more than $1.6 million on behalf of clients but failing to remit any of the money collected over the course of six years.

In a press release issued Friday, Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau said that 73 year-old Lionel Fuhrman and 43 year-old Steven King used more than a half-dozen different aliases and company names to target local businesses for collection contracts. After the businesses turned over their debtor records, they typically never heard from the defendants again, according to Morgenthau.

The DA’s office charged the two men with conspiracy to defraud, grand larceny and possession of stolen property. Both pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in New York Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Morgenthau said that Fuhrman and King used the business name Levy Fitzgerald & Associates or Levy Fitzgerald Inc. from 2001 to 2004 and ripped off more than 100 clients. During that time, the DA’s office said the pair pocketed nearly $1.2 million in collections without ever paying their clients.

The pair allegedly operated from small offices in Manhattan using telephone and fax solicitations to drum up business. When clients began to ask about the status of the debts, the two disconnected their phone lines and started over in a new location.

Fuhrman is alleged to have also operated on his own from 2005 to July 2007, soliciting business under the names Harris & Klein, Solomon & Bailey Inc., Ross, Hollander & Associates, Inc., Michael Roberts & Associates and Collection Solutions. Morgenthau said that Fuhrman racked up an additional $400,000 in fraudulent collections in that time.

The DA’s Special Prosecutions Bureau began investigating the pair after receiving complaints from local businesses.