I feel like starting this entry off like a Tale From Gilligans Island. Although its a story of which came first the chicken or the egg.
There's a company out in Hyperspace called Commonwealth Financial Systems. It has a division called the Northeast Credit and Collections agency. It was originally purchased by John Kotula in 2001 as part of Commonwealth Financial Systems, also founded in 2001.
According to its website "NCC is the area’s premier collection agency having served clients in Northeastern Pennsylvania for over 25 years. NCC services a diversified account base consisting of Debt Purchasers, Financial, Retail, Commercial, Government and Medical Clients."
Peter KanjorskI lists himself as Portfolio Acquisition Manager. Accordng to this article that appeared in the Northeast Business Journal June 1, 2005 "The big growth area for companies like NCC is debt buying, as opposed to merely acting as a third-party collection agency paid on a contingency basis. Debt buying allows companies to purchase debt - sometimes for pennies on the dollar. Any money recouped, therefore, belongs to the collector."
Basically this organization makes big money off people who run into financial trouble by buying their debt from credit card companies, banks, etc. for pennies on the dollar then chase you down to pay it back and keep it.
According to City Data principals from Commonwealth Financial Systems have themsleves listed as donors to the ACPAC, a political action committee.
Mr. Edwin Abrahamsen (Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc.), (Zip code: 18504) $1000 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 06/11/07
Patricia Cobb (Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc.), (Zip code: 18504) $500 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 06/11/07
Richard P Conaboy, Jr. (Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc.), (Zip code: 18504) $500 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 06/11/07
William Conaboy (Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc.), (Zip code: 18504) $500 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 06/11/07
Mr. Dennis Corvo (Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc.), (Zip code: 18504) $500 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 06/11/07
Lawerence Moran (Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc.), (Zip code: 18504) $500 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 06/11/07
Joseph Nasser (Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc.), (Zip code: 18504) $500 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 06/11/07
Vincent Scarpetta, Jr. (Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc.), (Zip code: 18504) $500 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 06/11/07
Richard P Conaboy, (Zip code: 18504) $500 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 07/31/07
John Kotula (Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc.), (Zip code: 18504) $2500 to ACPAC ACA INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 08/01/07
According to ACPAC filings they contributed $2,500.00 to Paul Kanjorski on 2/29/2008. An article in Collector of March 2007 lists these words from ACPAC-ACA "ACPAC provides the support needed to carry out a successful government affairs strategy." "ACPAC is nonpartisan and supports federal candidates and officials with varying backgrounds and beliefs. However, each candidate must show a commitment to ACAs legislative agenda through a voting record on relevant legislation or prior related experience." I guess these statements mean "as long as you scratch my back I will scratch yours."
In that same Northeast Business Journal article execs from NCC are quoted as saying the Fair Debt Collection Protections Act(FDCPA) changed the way they performed their collections. According to bankruptcylawnetwork.com "Debt collection complaints to the Federal Trade Commission have increased six-fold over the past eight years, from about 15,000 in 1999 to about 90,000 in 2006."
The folks at Metroplex Credit Solutions in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX on Oct 19, 2007 posted this assessment of the FDCPA. "Destructive high cost credit products that would have been criminal in 1977 are now legal and even widespread. Deceptive and abusive practices by creditors are often designed deliberately to lead consumers into default." It goes on to state "In a dramatic example, the FTC”…charged that as much as 80 percent of the money that a company called CAMCO collects comes from consumers who never owed the original debt in the first place.”
I bring this problem up due to this post. An even more damning indictment of Commonwealth Financial Systems can be found at LawCash.com where it states Commonwealth Financial has a class action suit against it for violations of the FDCPA- .Consumer Sues Commonwealth Financial for Violations of FDCPA. More cases can be found here and here. The Complaints Board makes this assertion- NCC,A Division Of Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc. suspected of fraudulent practices.
Paul Kanjorski has a clever way of supporting laws that hurt the consumer but leads his constituents to believe his actions are pro consumer. Look at this assessment of the Ney-Kanjorski bill from the Center For Responsible Lending as proof. The title of the article says it all "Letting Predatory Lending Back Out of Its Cage: Officials Warn About Federal Bill- Officials Caution That Ney-Kanjorski Bill Would Roll Back State Protections."
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