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Here I am again with more updates....If you receive(ed) Arbitration Papers in the mail or by Fedex and you are with a settlement company...........PLEASE be very careful....especially if you have Chase Manhattan and the lawyer is Mann Bracken and I'll tell you why. Mann Bracken (from their lips) told me today that the ONLY reason they turned it over to an arbitration board is because I had a settlement company handle this account. When you have a settlement company handle the account, they cannot talk to you the debtor, they talk only to the settlement company if do not call letters were sent on attorney letterheads or cease and desist letters on attorney letterheads....99% of the time if it has reached that stage and your in arbitration, they are going to get the award against you. BE CAREFUL because if your settlement company does not follow through with this for whatever reason OR if Chase does not like the agreement that the settlement company comes up with or you have no real money in your acct to settle it. YOUR SOL! of course when it goes to your courthouse you can try to contest it showing proof that you are in a settlement company but once they get an award it's hardly ever overturned. Going to court, being sued, have judgements against you etc can happen even if you have a settlement company and a creditor does NOT have to accept any terms ......one would think...well, they will get their money every month. well, it doesn't work that way. If anyone wants to discuss this in private you can send me a private respond. please double check with your settlement companies and stay ON them.

Linda · Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 10:14 am Subject:

Thanks for the info. Most settlment companies will do their very best to work out an agreement before it goes to Arbitration. My settlment companany sent a letter to Mann Bracken and they are talking. My settlment company tells me they are nothing more than a collection agency within the law firm. I asked them the worst case scenerio here and she said, "that they would call me and let me know that they can't come to agreement with them and then would discuss wether I wanted to drop the card from the program or file bankruptcy as a last resort.

My settlment company says they work with Mann Bracken all the time and have a good client relationship with them.

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 12:11 pm Subject:

Linda has a point! Sometimes, it depends upon the business relation between the settlement company and the credit company / law firm. If they have already dealt with them in the past, the chances of arbitration become very slim unless the person defaults in making the payments.

Quietsound, did you inquire with your settlement company in the beginning whether they ever dealt with Mann Bracken earlier? I am thinking that they were not able to negotiate with the law firm in a matured way. If all settlement companies fail, this business would have gone insolvent by now and no one would have taken the settlement services.

I agree there is every possibility of lawsuits and judgments because the customer defaulted in the debt accounts with the original companies but given a choice, if you can prove with your payments, these legal actions can be possibly avoided. Just my thoughts!!

Linda · Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 12:34 pm Subject:

Now, with Settlment companies, you don't pay a monthly payment to creditors. You pay the settlement company and let the money accumlate until you have enough money to settle with. SO, my accouts are very much delinquent. However, I have been told that judges will favor and respect me for being in a settlment company wanting to do settle rather than file BK.

Guest · Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 1:08 pm Subject:

yes they knew all along what was going on. it may also depend on what you owe, i don't know, i just know that the lawyer from mann braken SAID, that signing up with a settlement or third party company created this problem. if i was doing this on my own, and not paying, then they would have never ever sent it to arbitration, he told me that he hears this story all the time ...and yes they HAD mann bracken LISTED on the account. he told me that he has this happen every day with people who enlist settlement companies and that a settlement company cannot stop the award from being granted. Like I said, I dealt with the arbitration department over there and this is what he was telling me, it's not like i'm making this up. but in the end, there are no guarantees and just because your with a settlement company does NOT mean they have to play nice and lets all get along now...because the debtor is in a settlement program. and yes I had money in my settlement account, was with them for 8 months. I'm not saying to run and pull out of agreements, i'm telling YOU that if you find out that you are being taken to the arbitration board, do NOT NOT NOT sit on that. you will want to really stay on your account rep who is handling this on a day to day basis. I'm trying to save people horrible things that can happen because it's happening to me right "now"

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 1:39 pm Subject:

I can imagine how you are feeling, quietsound. I seriously feel that your settlement company was not the right selection for you. If mann bracken had no intentions working with your settlement company, they must have told to your company in the beginning. I get this feeling that your settlement company played a hide a seek game with you. And if I remember, you mentioned in a different post that they stated in the contracted that they won't be held responsible if legal actions take place. I would have inquired about everything before working with a settlement company like this and get a picture.

Guest · Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 1:46 pm Subject:

i think they all basically say they can't be held accountable if your sued though. so you don't hold them responsible. who is your settlement company

Guest · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:23 am Subject:

what settlement companies do you use???

Linda · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:35 am Subject:

Quietsound,

WHAT exactly are you going through during your arbitration ordeal? All I have read is that your GOING THROUGH IT NOW. What exactly is taking place? Have you went to court? Have they garnished your check? What??? I am not sure I understand what exactly your going through with Mann Bracken.

I still think it is all a scare tactic. These people get PAID big bucks to scare the sh!t out of ya and force people into paying what they want. I received letters from Mann Bracken and I have not contacted them once. See, if you contact them you get this cat and mouse game started and I just chose not to go to that game. Instead, my settlement company is working with them and are on good terms at this point.

Linda · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:00 am Subject:

Just got off phone with my settlement company and checked status of case. THEY told me, We talked with Mann Bracken last week on you account and their offers of settlment were still to high, we will talk to them again in 30 days.

I again asked how often they deal with Mann Bracken and they said on a daily basis and they settle with them all the time. If they settle at 40% of 5600.00 then I will have enough to settle in 3 more months. Right now they wanting like 60% settlement.

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:32 am Subject:

In the case of a settlement or a debt consolidation company, you can still be sued or sent to arbitration. It does not protect you from these types of actions by collectors. However it does show in your favor in court that you are making attempts to pay off the debts. A lot of it will depend on the judge and exactly what's going on.

Guest · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:00 am Subject:

they WON the arbitration award and are proceeding to send that arbitration award to the courthouse which will be converted into a judgement meaning they can garnish wages, lien the house, etc. it's not a SCARE tactic! i have seen a lawyer, it's the real deal....and NO NO NO they do NOT have to accept a deal from any settlement company! who IS your settlement company

Linda · Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:35 am Subject:

Ok, once they WIN an arbitration award and proceed to
your courthouse for judgement, you have the opportunity to go there and prove your TRYING to do something about your situation and it will be left to the JUDGE to determine to grant the judgement OR NOT. I have been told by lawyers that the JUDGE will RESPECT you for what you are doing and not grant the judgement. It depends all on upon the Judge. If the Judge does not grant the Judgement, the award means nothing at all, other than the fact you OWE them money.

Good luck and keep us updated.

Guest · Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:07 am Subject:

i was told that it's very hard to overturn an award by an arbitration forum, that the award turned into a judgement is basically a summary judgement and i won't be asked my side of things. i had that chance with arbitration. I do plan on filing a complaint with it though when I get the lawsuit in the mail. But i was told it's very hard to get it overturned.

What settlement company do you use?

Linda · Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 12:11 pm Subject:

See, I have found 50 different stories on here about this crap...I guess I won't ever know until it happens or I complete program one. I don't think I am allowed to come on here and give out my settlement company name because I am not with debt consolidation care and this is "their" forum. I don't want to advertise another company if you know what I mean. I actually was enrolled in my company several months before finding this forum to talk with others in my situation and it has been some what of comfort relief....until your post came along. (Just kidding ya).

I have heard arbitration really means nothing, it is just something set in stone to proceed to next legal action. I have been told that NO judgement can just be placed upon you and that you have to be notified of the court date and appear. NOW, how easy or hard it is to keep a judgement from occuring is nothing I can answer.

However I can give you advise, not from legal aspect. You said you filed or will file a complaint--great, the ball is rolling. When you go to court, take all your verification with you and show the Judge your faithful intent to pay off your debts with this settlement company your are enrolled in. It can't make things any worse than they are now.

Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 3:22 pm Subject:

Linda, you are right. Your best decision for a company will be when you have finally seen the positive results from them. No matter, how the feedbacks about this program are. Be pro-active and keep in touch with your settlement company about your situation. And, keep us posted.

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