Apr
30

Abusive Practices by Mann Bracken Exposed on Local News Broadcast

By Stephen Otto, Pennsylvania Consumer Attorney

WSBTV of Atlanta, Georgia recently ran a segment documenting the abusive collection practices of Mann Bracken.  WSBTV reports that the Georgia Attorney General is currently suing Mann Bracken over alleged abusive practices.

The segment airs images of Mann Bracken’s infamous 14th floor, described as a “boiler room” which houses Mann Bracken’s abusive collection unit.  The segment details the following abusive collection acts by the firm:

  • A recording of a call in which a Mann Bracken collector chides a debtor for not affording the debt the same priority as a utility payment;
  • Mann Braken’s refusal to heed a consumer’s protest against their collection attempts on the basis that the debt was not owed by her and where the original creditor admitted in writing that the debt was the product of fraud and was not owed by the consumer;
  • Attempts to collect debts by placing harrassing telephone calls to elderly relatives;
  • Threats to take the consumer’s home;
  • Lawsuits against debtors on debts that are clearly time-barred.

Steve Koval, a consumer attorney, comments that Mann Bracken knowingly pursues abusive debt collection tactics because such tactics are profitable, even after accounting for the inevitable FDCPA based lawsuits filed against them.

The segment closes with a very interesting encounter with William Christopher Bracken, III, a co-founder of the firm.

The video can be viewed by clicking here.

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  • This has to be the most harrassing agency I've ever dealt with in my life .. They have contact with me, act shocked I can't pay right now, threaten to put me in litigation when I told her just do what you need to do and they still proceed to call me the same or very next day .. I'm a former debt collector and I know myself once I made contact with the debtor, you status that account for seven days and don't call it again .. They even called me back when they had contact with me when I hung up on them which is another no-no .. A couple of collectors got a law suit against them and the debtors won .. I have no such problem reporting Mann Brackmen for violating FDCPA .. These attorneys work with FDCPA and should train their employees on a daily basis the do's and don'ts of the collection business and especially putting the number on the dialer which I have recorded on Vonage how many times a day they call .. This needs to stop!!!
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