Just like banks, collection agencies and the law firms they hire to sue consumers are going through a period of consolidation. Just announced is the law firm of Wolfproff and Abramson’s merger with another collection agency and gun for hire, Mann-Bracken. Neither of these two companies have a savory reputation in the eyes of many.

So who are these guys and why should we care? First up is Mann-Bracken. From Mann-Bracken’s website:

An effective use of required demand letters, telephone collections strategies, and, when appropriate or by direction, filing a law suit has marked our success. In 2001, we pioneered the use of arbitration in collection matters and have shown clients a principled and efficient means of negotiating with delinquent customers. Protecting our clients’ rights as creditors is central to all our activities.

Mann Bracken employs both predictive and manual dialing campaigns and has state-of-the-art call monitoring and account auditing. MB is licensed to collect in all fifty states and employs a full time compliance team and full time trainer.

So basically, if you’ve gotten the automated collections call, it’s probably from Mann-Bracken. In addition, they “pioneered” the use of arbitration, an unsavory practice in which consumers prevail just .2% of the time. The Better Businsess Bureau reports that Mann-Bracken has an unsatisfactory rating due to “numerous unresolved complaints and failure to respond to inquiries”.

Wolproff and Abramson has an equally unsatisfactory rating with the BBB. W & A just sold a large portfolio of debt to another collections baddie, Palisades Collection. W & A also are no stranger to arbitration and have profited mightily by taking clients through the National Arbitration Forum.

To add insult to injury, Mann-Bracken just completed a merger with GA and Eskanos and Adler Concord, CA. So now we have Wolproff and Abramson, Mann-Bracken, GA and Eskanos and Adler .

An unholy trinity for certain…

Source: http://www.budhibbs.com/

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