A fellow who publishes a blog known as Value Investor Today has been kind enough to give me some free publicity this weekend. All I can say is thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I am pasting in below what has been written about StoptheCallsFast.Com and me personally.
I recently ran across a sub-par intellect who runs a blog in which he sells snake oil medicine to individuals who try to scam the system. Even though his article was in reference to a company I invest in (ASFI), I found some useful information even from a proponent for not paying your bills.
The blog I’m referencing can be found at:
http://www.stopthecallsfast.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-palisades-acquisitions-palisades-collectiions-asta-funding-and-zoe/
Even in spite of the feeble attempt of distorting a company’s facts in order to sell his $79.99 snake oil medicine for the person that wants to avoid paying off debts they’ve racked up, if we take the Philip Fisher Scuttlebutt approach to his article, we may find value in some of it.
In his article, he quoted the following:
“As of today(09/08/09) Asta Funding(Palisades Acquisitions) was
plaintiff of record in 4960 civil actions just in the New York State
Court System data base. Guess how many actions they were listed as
defendant for? 6!!!”
As well as:
“What does that tell you. It tells me that they play their game well and
that those who they sue end up with lots of default judgments. This is
easy money for the Stern family which runs Asta.”
A great deal of information can be ascertained through this statement he makes:
“I have screamed and yelled for a while that these vultures operate with
temerity and arrogance because the penalties for violations of the
FDCPA and the FRCRA are a joke. I don’t see any politicians screaming
and yelling about all these consumer abuses with regard to debts which
are beyond statutes of limitation. I would like to see Chris Dodd,
Charles Schumer, Joe Lieberman, Nancy Pelosi, and others step up to the
plate. I suppose if one has never experienced the threats or harassment
from debt collectors acting illegally or been sued by them it is just a
distant or someone else’s problem.”
In closing, what he’s attempted to do in his article is perpetuate his ideology that people should not pay their debts, regardless if it contributes to the entire mess we’ve seen in the recession that was a direct result of people not paying their obligations. But, in the midst of his babbling, we’ve found that his underlying view of Asta Funding is that of a solid company that benefits from a high rate of success, that never loses its cases in a court of law, rarely gets sued, & the government’s only interest is to let them conduct their business just as they have been doing.
This is proof that even in the worst cases of delusional snake oil sales tactics, scuttlebutt is ascertainable.
Wishing all a fantastic weekend.
I will address each one of his points.Being labeled as someone with inferior intelligence is insulting to say the least but consider the source.. In fact that is a first for me. This person then proceeds who label me as a "snake oil salesman" who sells "snake oil medicine". Really? I was written up in E-Commerce.com last year. You can read the article by clicking on the "News" tab at the top of this page. For someone who has never read any of my letters or examined how my system came to be I find the assertions and accusations he has made to be regrettable.
I have never advocated that those who owe money should not pay their bills. Quite to the contrary. If this person would have read my users manual he would have come to a different conclusion. It is not my problem that he invests in ASFI; it is his problem. This company is notorious for operating on the fringes of what is ethical and legal. One need only read the cases brought against them in various Federal District Courts to see what lengths they go to rape consumers who do not legally owe the subject debts.
My point about the number of lawsuits filed by ASTA/Palisades was in no way meant to impress you with the skills of their legal representatives. My astute friend at Value Investing I am sure has never read any one of these cases. If he did he would quickly learn that the suits are filed with little if any supportive documentation on debts which have not been validated under FDCPA. The resulting default judgments happen because the defendants are either too frightened to ignorant to be able to defend themselves. But I guess it's all okay as long as those who are owners of the common shares of ASTA Funding make a profit, right?
The writer of the blog at Value Investing claims I am perpetuating the ideology that people should not pay their debts. This is ridiculous. If I was a jurist you would label me a strict constructionist not a liberal interpreter of the law. My issue simply put that buyers of old out of statute debt which is purchased for $.04 to $.06, who manufacture false affidavits regarding these debts all the while knowing that that debts are well beyond the statutes of limitation in most if not all states, proceed to threaten, intimidate and sue consumers who are like deer in headlights should not be viewed as ethical and honest business people.
Any reader of this blog article is also invited to read the Boston Globe expose of just how horrid and reprehensible some of the practices employed by slim bucket companies such as ASTA Funding, Palisades Aquisitions, LVNV, Alegis, Collect America, etc. are.
One need only read what Bud Hibbs has written about Asta Funding and Palisades Acquisitions. The next thing I'll read is that the author of Value Investing will be writing to me and telling me that Budd Hibbs does not know what he is talking about. Maybe he'll be accused of hawking snake oil too.
I refer my eminent adversary at Value Investing to the following court cases: Palisades Collection, LLC v Haque,2006 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4036;235 N.Y.L.J. 71 (Civ. Ct. Queens Co., April13, 2006). (pp.21-23)
Palisades Collection, LLC a/p/o AT&T Wireless v. Gonzalez 10 Misc. 3d 1058A;809 N.Y.S. 2d 482 (N.Y.County Civ. CT. 2005)(Ellen Gesmer J.) p.24
Maybe my friend at Value Investing should have a conversation with Joann Bergmann who has indentified herself as a Vice President in ASTA's Legal Department. She claimed to have knowledge of many of the accounts which were the subject of this litigation but was never able to produce them. She, further was unable to produce copies of the alleged assignments of account in these cases.
Other cases which point out the insufficiency of Plaintiff claims regarding the efficacy of the their claims of "knowing the facts of the accounts" would be:
Unifund CCR Partners v. Harrell, 2005. Super. LEXIS 2037 (August 3,2005) Re failure to produce legitimate affidavits with supporting documentation. It should be noted here that ASTA Funding and Unifund do a lot of business with each other. The Sterns, both father and son know the Zises brothers of Unifund rather well.
So again I wish to thank Value Investing for the comments even though I find them to be insulting. But any publicity is good publicity as far as I am concerned. You are the reader, you be the judge.
Coming next: "Typical Violations In Connection With Debt Collector Litigation"
