Got a letter from American mediation - has anyone ever dealt with this company?

If it has a docket number on it then you should contact your court clerks office to see if it is legit.

Thank you for the reply, I am at my wit's end.......
Is the docket number the same as a Civil Suit No.?

I misread your original post, you need to contact your county clerk to see if the suit is real. I have read some things on this company before. They are not representing CACH, they are offering to represent you outside of court. Thing is I think it may be a scam.

Ask yourself this, why would they approach you unsolicited saying "hey this company is suing you but we'll try to settle it out of court for you" I think they themselves may be a collection agency of sorts where they CA hires them and they in turn "mediate the settlement" and the CA gets paid and so do they.

If the suit doesn't exist then I would suggest filing a complaint against the mediation company with your state attorney general's office.

So do I wait for them to serve me notice? If I am home and open the door, and sign for the papers, what happens then?

once you are served, you will have to file an answer to the summons. We can help you go through that. But first, I would check the court clerks office in the county where you live--to verify that there is even a court case against you there.

If I had to guess, I would say that there really will be a suit against you. But you should check just to make sure. Another thing--if you lived in different counties, or even if you didnt, some CA's will try to sue you in the wrong county. They do this because they know that you wont hear about it, and then when you dont show up they get a default judgment against you. Of course, you can fight that, but many people at that point dont know how to, so they dont. If you find no court case in your county, you should consider looking around in other counties in your state to protect yourself. If you find that they filed suit in a county you dont live in, all you need to do there is sent notification to that court, where they filed it, that you are requesting a dismissal on the grounds of improper venue. Tell them that you dont live in that county and as such it is the wrong jurisdiction.

As for the mediation company you mentioned, I did some searching. I found where someone had contacted them about their letter. They offer to mediate and try to settle the debt on your behalf, but they require that you first place a sum of money with them up front, into an escrow account, as a "show of good faith".

So, the next time that this person knocks on my door I should answer it and sign the papers to get the information to be able to deal with the suit?
If I don't sign the papers, to get the info, then I'm really sunk, huh?

Check with the court before you sign any documents.

Also make sure that you read all of what you are signing. You don't need to be signing anything other than a statement that you received an envelope addressed to you from (name of sender that is on the envelope) and that it contents are unknown to you.

So who is Cach Llc anyway?

here is what Bud Hibbs has to say about them:


????????????
they are known as one of the worst CA's in the business, with a history of violating the FDCPA all over the place.
I got your PM, when you contact the court, you want to find out if there are any cases filed against you. If you dont find any, you should consider checking the neighboring counties. If you do find one, you want to ask where you can get the docket information, so you can see details such as when service supposedly took place, etc etc.
If it isnt in your county, then you need to send the court a letter ASAP telling them that you are not a resident of that county, and requesting that the case be dismissed due to improper venue. Include a clear photocopy of your drivers license with that letter if you have to send it.

Very nice thread. A lot of valuable information was provided. I did want to acknowledge that I actually work for American Mediation. People get letters from us because we are notified whenever a civil suit is filed. We notify whichever office services that area and they send a letter to let you know that a civil suit has been filed. We try (whenever possible) to beat the court summons so you are not taken by surprised when a Sheriff's Deputy or other private server show up at your door. We try to notify the defendants quickly because as mentioned previously in the thread, there is usually a very small window of opportunity to respond to the courts before they issue a default judgment against the defendant. We do get many cases resolved before it ever goes to court usually through a stipulated judgment or voluntary dismissal submitted to the defendant by the plaintiff attorney. We do charge a modest fee for the services we provide and try to be flexible on the payment arrangement. We do ask for a portion upfront as there are costs in labor and the drafting of documents. MANY defendants in the past obtained resolutions by us without ever paying a dime for our services. We keep our overhead down to provide a valuable service at a low cost. We try to be reasonable and fair by splitting up the payments, post dating payments, and even forfeiting any profits in the fee if we are not able to provide an amicable resolution. There are a lot of scams out there, but we try to help people find favorable resolutions so everybody can get on with their lives. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call.
Deleted - ND - We don't sell, but merely explain the process. If we aren't the right fit for you, we will be happy to try to point you in the right direction to find a resolution by your own means.


Solicitation is a violation of the TOS - NASCAR_Devil

Damon--


Welcome to our forums. We appreciate your information, however, I must tell you that this kind of solicitation is not allowed per our terms of service. Please feel free to stick around---I am certain that you can provide some valuable insight to those who are in this position, but we dont allow solicitation here like this. Thanks.

Again, Damon, this isnt hard to understand. NO SOLICITATION ALLOWED HERE. It doesnt change anything simply because you took out the contact info. Youre still in here asking for business, and we do not allow that on this forum. Period. you are more than welcome to share experience and singht, but we do NOT allow individuals or companies to come in here and solicit business in this manner.

I apologize for any offense. I was under the impression that the first reply was deleted for "solicitation"... so I removed any contact information so nobody reading this could use our services. That being said, there seemed there was a lot of question regarding why our fee structure was the way it was and insinuating that they believed our business was a scam. I did not realize that trying to provide explanation of policy and procedure was now considered "solicitation"

first, your original post was never deleted, it is still right there where you left it.
Second, your contact information is not the solicitation--you tried to sell your business, ask people to call you with any questions, and then say "if we arent the right fit for you we'll try to point you in the right direction". None of that does anything to explain your fee structure in any way--it's selling, pure and simple. So far, you have yet to actually say anything that explains your fee structure--all you did was try to sell the business as not being a scam and then ask for people to call you. Your contact info isnt the solicitation--its only the means you left for people to act on the solicitation. Do you really think that someone couldnt simply take the name of your company that you posted and search out the number because you didnt include it in your second post?
I dont see anything about "fee structure" or "policy and procedure" there. This is what you posted:
[queto]We do get many cases resolved before it ever goes to court usually through a
stipulated judgment or voluntary dismissal submitted to the defendant by the plaintiff
attorney[/queto].
??
[queto]We keep our overhead down to provide a valuable service at a low cost[/queto].
[queto]here are a lot of scams out there, but we try to help people find favorable
resolutions so everybody can get on with their lives[/queto].
[queto]We don't sell, but merely explain the process. If we aren't the right fit for you, we will
be happy to try to point you in the right direction to find a resolution by your own
means.[/queto]
If youre not making sure that the plaintiff validates the debt before youre charging your client money to mediate the issue, then something is wrong. You negotiate lower settlements with creditors--and then charge the consumer so that they have to pay both you and the debt collector. But what if the debt collector doesnt have anything to prove that they even have the right to collect the debt? Then your "valued customer" is now out the money they paid you, PLUS the money they paid on this unvalidated debt! And, to make matters worse, youre on here, in a forum where we encourage everyone to get validation FIRST before paying, trying to skip over that part in order to get paid. Come to think of it, why would a legitimate debt collector with a legitimately-owed and properly documented debt even agree to your terms? They have all the aces in their hand at that point. A legitimate debt collector would be able to prove the debt, prove the amount owed, prove who owes it, and they would have already done their homework before filing a lawsuit so that they would know if the defendant is capable of paying or not! WHY would they agree to LESS money if they know they have it in the bag for MORE money legitimately? The debt collection business is all about profit--why would they minimize their profit when at that point collection of a judgment is a non-issue, what with bank levies and wage garnishments available to them?
Like I said, youre most welcome to share your experience with us, but lets not try to get smartass here about how "I didnt know explaining policy was solicitation". You know what you posted, let's be honest already.

edited by FYI - I don't have a tag to slip into this one but I am pretty sure that post would be considered a solicitation

it doesnt even matter if the debt is legitimate--validation should be requested ALL THE TIME. How in the world do you know when XYZ collection agency sues someone if they even hold legal right to collect on the debt? What if the debt is legit, but the debt collectors illegally inflated the balance? This shows that you really do not understand the business of debt collection, or the issues that consumers must face!

Let's say that I owed Cap One a credit card debt. A collection agency drops in claiming that they represent cap one. They demand money. They in turn file a lawsuit for an inflated balance, with illegal fees tacked on and more interest than the law allows. I could tell you all day long, "yes, I had that credit card, its my debt", but PAYING this collection agency means NOTHING except for wasted cash if they dont actually hold proper assignment to the debt!

And for the genius above that thinks I dont know what I am talking about, why dont you spend a little time cruising around this forum? The scenario I just laid out happens EVERY DAY in here and the real world. Why do you people think so many debt collectors file lawsuits without proper service, or in the wrong venue, so they can hurry up and get the default judgment? BECAUSE THEY CANNOT PROVE THEIR CLAIMS WITH DOCUMENTATION.

If you really were such a professional in this business, I have no doubt whatsoever that you would have known these things already. This is debt collection 101 here folks--debt collectors dont have a bad reputation by accident!

I know someone who paid $300 to Amer. Mediation for their so-called "help" and got nothing. AM did not even contact the attorney suing her at any time to work out a deal. She paid AM plus got sued anyway. Another person I know also got a letter from AM over a $300. small claims suit. They wanted her to pay them $300. to settle - tell me this isn't a scam!!!! The attorney on that suit happens to be a friend and neighbor and she told me this company is bad news.

Always wonder why people who work for big legit companies have hotmail, msn, AOL e-mail accounts and not company accounts. Makes me question the honesty of the company.

??
that's rather funny there, "lindzay"....your hit-and-run tactic of proclaiming me clueless is just a little too see-through. Are we supposed to believe that it's just a coincidence that you just so happen to show up here, out of all the places on the internet, at the exact same time as "Damon Meade" and that you are the one and only person to side with "him"? yeah....I was born in the morning, but it wasnt this morning....nice try, "Damon".
So, why the hit-and-run? If I really didnt know what I was talking about, why cant you provide details? Just a "you dont have a clue" and thats it? alright....run with that. Good luck--be sure to let us know how far it takes you.
Oh, one more thing. next time, dont hide behind a guest post. The only reason my post showed up as a guest is because this system logs us off after a bit of time all by itself. If you really had anything legit to say you wouldnt feel the need to hide and pretend to be two different people in the process of doing it.

It sounds to me like a company trying to prey upon people who are literally backed into a corner and in panic mode..which is what 99.9% of the general public would be at that point they got that letter.

Honestly, what can this company doe that the consumer could not do themselves? If they knew it was a legitimate debt and they wanted to settle, all they would have to do is contact the lawyer and start negotiating...this company does not have a magic wand to zap a better settlement then what the consumer could do for themselves.

Well, I'll do you all one better.
This is information from the company's own website--here is the address that is connected to the phone number that "Damon Meade" posted earlier, asking us to call him....
??
Yes, folks--thats right. According to their website, this company has been in business since 1993, and this is their national headquarters. Scroll back to the first page of this thread and you will notice that this is the same as the phone number "Damon" listed as where we can reach him. More on that phone number in a minute. Something just seemed off to me, so I did a little checking....that address is a UPS STORE LOCATION. So, this means that this professional company, having been in business for 16 years now, keeps it's entire national headquarters in a POST OFFICE BOX.
In the entire corporations database for Florida, there is only one listing for a business with this name, and it is for the office in central Florida, not this one. Mind you now, they list four offices in Florida, yet only one is operating legally in that state...and that one only became registered in March 2008. Incidentally, the one listed is in a town called Apopka, which is somewhere in the Orlando area I believe.
What's worse, this place is a flat-out fraud on their website. Everyone go to this link:
americanmediation.us/staugustine.html
--and look at the bottom, where they put a picture of this huge glass executive-looking HQ building.....but as I already have shown, this is an operation with a POST OFFICE BOX ADDRESS. If they REALLY had a building like that as their HQ, wouldnt it have its own address? A quick look on Google Earth street level shows no building looking anything remotely like that glass office they showed. It does, however, show the mini-mall where the UPS store is located...
OK, now back to that phone number. Remember, the executive director of this company is listed, as on their own website, as Patrick Kienel. An Intellius check on the phone number "Damon" gave us before shows it NOT as a business number, but as a residential one. It comes back to an Aim Kienel, at a different street address. This is a professional, legitimate company, in business with this great glass-walled executive headquarters building, been in business for going on two decades.....and yet they have a residential phone number, and operate out of a UPS store post office box....and arent even registered to operate in Florida!
WOW, arent you guys glad that I "dont know at all what I am talking about"????

AND, let's go one step FURTHER...
This is the phone number "Damon" gave us before:
(904) 471-0400
The intellius search came up with this address:
Aim Kienel
1258 Makarios Dr
Saint Augustine, FL 32080
(904) 471-0400
Would you like to see what that address is?? Here you go--
jacksonville.condo.com/Condo-For-Sale_Saint-Augustine_32080_3-Bedroom_2-Bathroom_4170749-TrackFrom=MapSearch
It's a CONDO, folks...and it's currently FOR SALE. This company has a phone number tied to a CONDO. And not just any condo--
??????
So, let me get this straight.....
This is where the executive director lives, er, used to live. The guy can afford a $315,000 condo. His company has been in business since 1993, and I "just dont know at all what I am talking about" when I question things....but they need a post office box and a residential phone and they arent even registered with the state??
BUSTED, folks...Dont send these flakes a penny of your money.

It is this kind of thing that really gets my knickers in a twist. In this computer day and age I can understand and fully accept a company or person who works from home, uses a PO box and such, but to be UNTRUTHFUL about it IMO is just plain wrong...it is misrepresentation and makes you wonder at their integrity.

Thanks SKY for busting this fraudster!

Not to mention the Hotmail e-mail address he left. That's funny....ambulance chasers...walks like a duck talks like a duck....smell like a$$

Recently, I got a few letters about a week before my summons. Infact, I called the clerk's office and sheriff's offices (where I live) the very day I got the letters and was told nothing was in their system of such a case. I called again a few days later, still nothing in system. Then, a few days later...I got a court summons. My question is....if the courts haven't released this information and made it available to the defendant, let alone the whole public,.....how do these "mediators" seem to know well beforehand about these civil cases?? Hummmm...could it be they are in co-hoots with the collection agencies and are really illegally trying to harass, scare, intimidate, and collect from an alleged debtor after a lawsuit has been filed, before a debt has be validated?? It appears this is a sneaky way for collection agencies to break the Fair Debt Collection Practices by using "another company" to try to get money after a lawsuit has been filed. If I don't give the collection agencies permission to give these mediators my personal information and they give it anyway.....that is breaking the law!! I hope the powers-that-be get wise to this and slam some of these sleezeballs with hefty fines or jail time. I wouldn't suggest anyone fall for this.

I got a letter from your company that i was going to get a summoms. Well I got one and I am to call the constable back. This is about a dedt. from captial one. My name is Donna S and my address is Deleted for your protection - ND. My phone number is Here is my email addressIs there any way you can help me at this time. Becouse I am to go to the hosptial next week .


Thank you
Donna Schlegel
hope to here from you[color=Red][/color]phone#and email deleted...paulmergel[color=Red][/color]

we are not american mediation(thank god)you will have to contact them yourself.also do not post personal info on a public forum.

I work for an elder services organization and a client of mine also received a letter from American Mediation regarding a civil suit involving a creditor. After checking with the local district court, the case number is valid and correct. My client has not been served and it turns out the address used by the plaintiff is an old address she hasn't been at in over a year. Had she not received this letter from American Mediation, she would be unaware of this suit. It is interesting that American Mediation sent their letter to her current address even though the plaintiff is using her old one. The court clerk warned me that creditors will do this in the hopes that the debtor will never be properly served and the creditor will obtain a default against the debtor. Although my client will depend on the resources we have
in-house to deal with this matter, I must thank American Mediation for tipping us off.

If you read Damon Meade's post carefully, you'll see he is NOT soliciting. He's merely explaining the process.

calling people clueless while having a hotmail address linked to this is NOT explaining the process.thanks for stopping by though.

Its funny how many different perspectives there are on this company. I only looked them up after using their services to see what others said and I was kind of surprised because my experience was a good one, the amount they were able to reduce my debt by was far more than they charged. I don't really see whats wrong with that

as for the condo remark, I remember the person I spoke to mentioning it was a home office...

Where was Damon calling people "clueless?"

I recently received a similar letter from American Mediation in Northhampton, MA stating that I will soon be served with a "court summons". This reaks of scam scam scam. I am not anxiously awaiting the actual "summons." Uuggh...scammers should be shot.
-E.

I have dealt with American Mediation. I have referred my friends to the company. They are not a scam. They do what they say very clearly. We have had no issues on what kind of service they provide. None of my friends have gotten a letter without something being filed in the courts. The law firms have been very difficult to deal with. I can only imagine how much work this company is putting into this. I tried doing it myself and got nowhere.

If you have not recieved a summons that does not constitute as a scam. The process server may not have gotten to your door because of your schedule. The letter never states that you have to call them. You don't even have to sign on until they thoroughly explain everything to you. Even after they explained everything they left it up to me and answered all my question. I noticed that their is a debt relief ad on this page. This could easly be one of their competitors. These guys have been around since 1993 so I don't understan why you are trying to take this option away from the public on hearsay.

I don't understand why my threads are being deleted. I have hired American Mediaiton and they did there job. I had a hard time talking to the collectors. It seems like they have the expertese in dealing with collectors. I will recomend my friends and family to them.

I am not a blogger. I read comments of others, sometimes entertained, sometimes shocked but usually helpful. So I am hoping my first attempt at this helps too.

To say I???ve been burned is an understatement. However, I have. I have tons of debt based on the word of an ex business partner who decided to exert his position and leave with all the financial benefit of years of hard work. Unfortunately, I also lost years of my life. Okay, lesson learned the hard way.

Fast forward to today. I am in debt. I lost my home. And now, I am dealing with the collection agencies and finally a civil suit. So I get this letter from the American Mediation.us, which sounded quite helpful. A representative by the name of Alex Dukhovny offered to help settle my debt by negotiating with EMCC (I have no idea who EMCC is, except a collection agency). I thought to myself, great, I???ve been sticking my head in the sand long enough, now it???s time to muster the strength to help myself. I decided to call this company and ask for help, and hope that it can.

My first impression of Alex, he sounded young. I???m 47 so I thought, oh God, this is a call center operation. He talked over me, so it was obvious he talks to a lot of people. Therefore, I just listened. This is what I heard, in a matter of 10 days and $495.00 later he could settle my debt, (he did not have an estimated number of what that was), in which the company EMCC would drop the civil case and I would be done. When I said, ???You have to give me more than that,??? he immediately got defensive. He responded, ???I don???t have to give you anything.??? So, I explained (all the while he is still talking) I have dealt with an unscrupulous attorney who I paid over $10,000 for a civil suit, and it was a waste of time and money. Therefore, I mean to say, how much experience have you had settling cases with Curtis Barnes and EMCC? Did they settle for 50% or more? Do I have to show up in court? Etcetera. He explained curtly he was not going to give me proprietary information on how they do it, just that they can. So I was curious, because their letterhead looks so court approved official it begs the question, ???Are you a for profit operation???? He responded, ???Of course.??? At this point I had heard enough. I thanked him for the information, and told him I would have to think about it. Then he delivered the final blow. ???Don???t wait too long???, he said warning, ???time is of the essence, you don???t want to show up in court and lose.??? Oh Jesus. What a piece of work. Then, he asked me to call him back and let him know as soon as possible. Right. Call him back. Sure.

Just to wrap it up, I have an attorney, who practices law, who is going to help me now with all my debt. An honest man, who charges an extremely fair price, who is mature, wise and compassionate. I guess along with the bad sometimes comes the good. Thank God.

To date, I decided not to return the call. Ever.

Sorry about the dupe. I said I was new to this.

They know you're being sued BEFORE you get served because in most states the fact that a lawsuit has been filed is PUBLIC RECORD......it's just that they saw via public record that a suit was filed before you got served.

I think some people need to totally investigate things before they start calling people/companies scams....and NO I do not work for American Mediation nor do I have any affilitation with them.

But I will add that I do know the owner of American Mediation and he is TOTALLY on the up and up.....so you people that like to dis someone BEFORE you know all the facts should be ashamed !

they did not do a things....they very scam...no help at all...they just collect money from people that do not known about them...they are not a lawyer at all...here are the number...
630 678 1242
and...this number 630 532 3845
they not even the atorney....they just like the agentcy collect debt..that all.... do not believe in american mediation....just go to court that all... they just want you all to pay the debt and pay them 300 or 400 for the case...do not give them any money...they no good...

I called this company seeking for help. I am not convince they are legit. this person tried so hard to convince me they will settle the case out of court. but the way he cleverly explain it , it sounded a scam. in the mids of our conversation i asked him two questions, he did not want to answer them. He said that i was looking for free advice and use it myself with the company i owed and then not pay him. I told him the fee that he is aking is low which is very good, however, i just don't feel comfortable when paying in advance before any services is rendered. I did not like his voice and tone, how should i say it " "conning or dishonest " . He tried to disregard whatever i say. To me that's a no no !!!. I checked the internet and i have not seen good result regarding this company. i firmly believe that if someone is asking money in advance before they offer their service, i think this can be a scam. in todys time who can afford to loose a few dollars. I hope i am wrong about them but be extra carefull.

:confused:I recive a ltr from american mediation & alternative resolutions 01/11/2011. Its a good thing i read everyone comments and reply. If u recieve a ltr from them please call your county clerk and provide all information. Once i did that they was unable to locate me in there data. They want some money and than u still owe the actual company so please dont fall for them and dont sign anything unless u talk to your county clerk.

I'm sitting here with a letter in my hand that contains a $500 check to American Mediation to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy for me. After reading every letter in here, I STILL don't know whether or not to go to the post office and mail this money.

Just as another earlier poster in this thread, I received a letter from someone named Alex Duchovany today. This is in California. Naturally, in seeing a letter about getting sued, I freaked out. I owe money to Citibank, so the chances of me being in trouble with them is very possible. However, I had never heard of American Mediation, so I decided to google them. That's how I found this thread. Thank God I did. I know now to just ignore these people. However, I am kind of in the dark about what to do next. I see a lot of people noted the importance of checking with the county courts of where you live...and possibly further out. However, let's say I do find that there is a file for me, what do I do next? Do I get a lawyer? I was already planning for filing for bankruptcy in two months. With this going on, I don't know what to do now. Not to mention, I just had a miscarriage...TODAY. PLEASE HELP.

weird, i posted something in here just yesterday, but it's not in here anymore. anyways, thank you for everyone who's been posting in here about american mediation. yesterday, i received a letter from them...specifically alan dechovany (similar to 'trouble in the suburbs'). this letter indicated that i was being sued, so naturally I got scared because i really do owe money to citibank to whom they have indicated as the party pursuing legal action. this is the first time anything like this has happened to me...and i'm just in a financial rut right now, so it's not like i don't want to pay them back. i just can't. moreover, what do i do if i find that my county clerk does have a file with my name on it? if i really am being sued, i want to make things as right as i possibly can...and within my ableness. i was actually going to file for bankruptcy in about two months. however, with being sued, i probably won't be able to file this, huh? PLEASE HELP. THANK YOU.

i realize these posts are old, but your posts are not accurate about american mediation; i used to run an office & invested with the company; we are no longer in business, but it was not the fault of pat kienel; it was a legitimate business that did serve the public & saved individuals alot of time & money. i love to read posts from idiots that don't know their ass from their elbow. stop fishing & do the research....if you want more info contact me @sgreen206@gmail.com

This is all very funny. I just got a letter from them too. They are out of Northampton, MA. When I google the phone number on the letter, it comes up as the "Big Water Fish Company".

Big Water Fish Company, 23 Oneil St, Easthampton, MA. Tel: 413-527-1588

When I do a reverse phone number search on whitepages.com, it returns information that it is a landline in Northampton, ma but I have to pay 4.95 to see who it belongs to.

I wouldn't do ANY business with these people.

PLEASE everyone, contact a bankruptcy lawyer or filet yourself. Even though you are panicking about your debt, please do your research and don't put your money in the hands of anyone who seems the slightest bit "fishy".

And since anyone can post on this forum under any name, please know that Mr. Kwiecinski probably wrote all the positive posts.

But here is his home phone and address if you want to call him there or send him back your letter.

Stanley J Kwiecinski
(413) 527-6847
23 Lawler Dr
Easthampton, MA 01027-9731

I find it interesting I can easily search for that! Maybe this is just some name they picked out of the phone book.