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Debtor One · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 4:48 pm

Can it be?

Hess Kennedy Victorious over Chase Bank USA

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Hess Kennedy Chartered announces that it was victorious in defending one of its clients, Grace Iorio, in an arbitration filed by Chase Bank USA, NA with regards to credit card debt.

In particular, the arbitration forum decided to deny all claims by Chase Bank and in fact, issued an award in favor of Ms. Iorio for a monetary recovery against Chase. Hess Kennedy is a law firm that focuses its practice on protecting consumers against abusive conduct by credit card companies.

Chase has recently sued Hess Kennedy but it is Hess Kennedy's position that the tactics it utilizes to protect consumers are appropriate and the Iorio victory is an example of what Hess Kennedy believes supports its contention that Chase's suit is without merit.

Anyone interested in receiving a copy of the Iorio ruling should feel free to contact Hess Kennedy or the National Arbitration Forum.

(File Number MX0712002031443).

Tom321 · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 12:28 pm

FAKE STORY

Fake story people. Go read the Florida Attorney General law suit against Hess Kennedy. Laura herself said that they never kept any money in any accounts to pay off depts.

"She conceded some of her client agreements specified funds would be placed in client escrow accounts for subsequent payment to creditors but acknowledged no such funds were maintained. In an earlier response to the Bar last October, she said funds collected were for legal fees and not to pay clients' creditors."

What crap. Hess Kennedy is real deep trouble. And they still keep trying to scam you out of your money.

Grace I · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 6:03 am

Actually, I'm the client who had the arbitration case against Chase and not only did they win and have my over $6,000 debt zeroed out, but they were awarded damages by the NAF. I'd urge you to keep in mind, just because someone's accused of something, does not make them guilty. When will this country learn that its innocent until proven guilty. See the Duke Lacrose case or numerous other examples of people making judgments before all the facts come out.

Grace I · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 6:04 am

In fact Tom321, why don't you stop hiding behind your computer and go contact the NAF using the file number provided in the story and see if its legit, instead of spreading lies.

Tom321 · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 7:05 am

LOL...I'm really laughing right now out loud I can't believe this. You guys are serious. You never stop. Don't you think I did my homework before I posted the remark. NAF own site said they were established around 1986. The BBB said it was established in 1994. LOL. Sounds screwy doesn't it. It is run by Ed Anderson. There goes the name Ed again. LOL. No one is hiding, you are behind phony site names. If you are the person prove it to us. We all await.

Tom321 · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 7:58 am

LOL....too funny. People look up the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) on the net and just read away. It's just another scam. If you don't believe me check it out. Many complaints against them. Also check out what arbitration is. If you do you will better understand. And if you notice, all of Hess Kennedy fake sites are set up with the same design. And the same person seemed to have written the info on all of the sites. They all sound the same when you read them.

Tom321 · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 9:11 am

San Francisco Sues National Arbitration Forum, Collector and Issuer

by Burney Simpson
insideARM
April 8, 2008

The city of San Francisco has sued the National Arbitration Forum, the collection agency Columbia Credit Services Inc. and FIA Card Services claiming unfair and unlawful business practices.

The filing on March 24 by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis J. Herrara charges that the NAF is an “arbitration mill, churning out arbitration awards in favor of debt collectors and against California consumers.”

According to the filing with Superior Court of the State of California, the NAF “bends and breaks its own procedural rules in favor of its debt collector clients.”

The suit claims that the NAF rules in favor of business interests against California consumers “100% of the time … (and) ceases using arbitrators that decide in favor of consumers.”

The law suit found that there were 33,933 consumer arbitration hearings in California involving consumer collections from January 2003 though March 2007. Of these, 18,075 went to a participatory or paper hearing before an arbitrator. Only 30 of these cases resulted in favor of the consumer, according to the suit.

The suit reports that FIA is a national bank based in Wilmington, Del., and successor to MBNA Corp., following its purchase by Band of America. FIA issues cards to California consumers, according to the suit. Columbia Credit is a debt purchaser and collection agency based in Sacramento, Calif., according to the suit.

The suit charges FIA and Columbia with participating in NAF’s “sham by forcing consumers into the NAF forum which they know to be biased in their favor.” The suit also charges Columbia with seeking attorney fees from consumers that lose an NAF arbitrated suit, “an unlawful business practice” that abets NAF’s activities.

The NAF released a statement that said it did not comment on active litigation but that it is preparing its defense in the case. The Forum said its “independent case administration and neutral decision makers constitute a system that satisfies or exceeds objective standards of fairness. Our arbitration program has been supported in numerous courts in which it has been reviewed, and has frequently been praised by noted members of the nation’s judiciary, including the United States Supreme Court.”

The NAF also contended that studies have shown that “arbitration outcomes are the same or better than court, where similar subject matter is at issue. Arbitration provides all parties with the same substantive outcomes as court, and does so more efficiently and less expensively.”

In addition, the NAF said its arbitrators “are former judges or seasoned attorneys,” who have “a sincere interest in helping parties resolve disputes fairly and efficiently.”

The filing follows a study released last year by consumer advocacy group Public Citizen that found that NAF arbitrators ruled against California consumers in 95 percent of cases filed (“Activists: Mandatory Arbitration Stacks Deck Against Cardholders,” Sept. 28, 2007.)

Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 10:07 am

I'm interested in hearing more about the Arbitration Forum", since it appears I will be dealing with this.

Tom321 · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 10:38 am

Shazzers how are you dealing with this?

Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 10:55 am

I received an arbitration letter, Federal Express, yesterday. Confused

Mann Bracken

Tom321 · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 11:30 am

Mann Bracken is another scam operation. If you read about it on the net all these companies, lawyers and judges are banding together with bottom feeder credit collectors to get your money. Now the crazy thing about this is that alot times it is legal to do it. If you don't have the knowledge to beat them they will win. Most people do not have the knowledge. How can someone go into court and say you owe them money when they don't even have the contract that you signed saying you owe money to anyone? All they have is your name, SS# and maybe an account #. And the judges rule in their favor and never ask for proof from the company if you ignore it. If you did that as an individual, the courts will throw you out for wasting their time and not having evidence. In this day and age with credit being so important, a new industry is forming to find loop holes in laws to swindle you out of money.

The odds are against you that you will win the case. I've learned alot from dealing with Hess Kennedy. HK states they protect you from these practices but they don't. Thousands of people, me and four states can't be wrong about them.

Good luck. Let us know what happens.

Tom321 · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 11:53 am

Wall Street Journal Reports on Allegations of NAF Bias

An April 21, 2008 article in the Wall Street Journal delved deeper into the allegations of bias on the part of NAF. More than other arbitration providers, NAF works with “a few large companies, such as credit-card issuers, who potentially have disputes with many consumers,” said Jean Sternlight, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas who specializes in arbitration. Says Sternlight: An NAF arbitrator “can expect to see many many disputes involving the same company, there may be a heightened pressure on the arbitrator to rule in favor of the company or else risk losing future arbitration work.” The Journal notes that one California appellate court ruled that an employee whose employer required all employee disputes to go before NAF did not have to arbitrate his discrimination claim. The court said the employer enjoyed a possible “repeat player” advantage, including “knowledge of the arbitrators’ temperaments, procedural preferences, styles and the like, and the arbitrators’ cultivation of further business.”

Something else:

Companies do not choose arbitrators who do not rule in their favor. One former National Arbitration Forum arbitrator, a Harvard law professor named Elizabeth Bartholet, was blackballed after she awarded $48,000 to a consumer in a case brought by a credit card company. After the same company had her removed from other pending cases, she resigned, citing the National Arbitration Forum’s "apparent systematic bias in favor of the financial services industry."

This explains how arbitration works. The little guy has no chance.

Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 11:55 am

I sent them a DV letter two months ago, I have a signed receipt.

Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 11:57 am

How can this be called a "scam", if it's perfectly legal?

Debtor Almost Free · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 12:03 pm

Hey Tom, are you a former Hess Kennedy Client? Or are you a debt collector who is feeling his pockets getting light?

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