Update: Mann Bracken may be out of business.
Mann Bracken has been sued over 100 times in the last five years, giving the lie to partner William Bracken III’s claims that they do not tolerate harassing conduct.
Click the picture above for Atlanta news station WSBTV’s investigative report into Mann Bracken’s collection practices.
Consumers Accuse Law Firm Of Harassment, Abuse | WSBTV (via Five Million Dots)
To find a consumer or bankruptcy lawyer, use the Caveat Emptor Consumer & Bankruptcy Lawyer Directory.
{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
Yay.
It is time for the hammer to come down on Bracken, Dale Burns, Matthew Linkie, Connell Loftus and the rest of them. Great work.
It’s mothers day and Mann Bracken are trying to reach someone with the same last name, but it’s not me! They keep calling but I can’t get in touch with them to tell them to stop! What a pain in the ass!
Mann Bracken has a court hearing next month (june 2009) , i hope the state of Georgia shuts the law firm of mannless bracken down for good!!!!!!!!! The state of Georgia will show that mann brocken, llc is in fact a debt collection law firm….
nvassarx
Mann Bracken has called three times looking for someone other than me. That person has never lived at my address and has never had my phone number. When she was granted a loan, the bank transposed numbers in her social security number. It was now my social security number. This default loan was from 2003. I thought I had this situation taken care of in 2006. These scumbags are buying old, uncollectable debts. When I called and offered to help them locate the person, they were very rude and hung up on me. I hope someone can put them out of business.
For the past six months Mann Bracken has called my home phone at least 2 times a day everyday and they are asking to talk to someone that does not live here. I have told them several times that person does not live her but they still continue to call. I found Mann Brackens website and called the number under contacts and no one answered or when the voice mail system picked up it would not take a message. Is this guy a crook and is this a lawsuit for harrassment?+
i had an unpaid balance with bank of america which was charged off by bof and it was just 600 dollars ten years ago, Mann Bracken some how got judgment against me for 2200 dollars..what should i do i tried to settle it with them and submitted the reply also in court. But they are much smarter then me. Does some debt attorney can help me i am trying to buy a house but cant because of this on my credit report..some body please help me.
andy, please call a consumer rights lawyer in your state.
Hi, I have been paying Mann Bracken $150.00 per month due to a car accident that my husband was in back in 2006. The original creditor was Ford Motor Credit. I missed a couple of payments due to a wage garnishment for my student loan. I have been calling them for months, leaving messages to continue with my payments, but no one has returned my calls. What do you suggest????
Did someone call them scumbags!? That’s much too high on the food chain. They’ve been robo-calling my phone number for months asking for someone who doesn’t live here and never did but happens to have the same last name. When I call the number they leave and explain why I’m calling, they hang-up. They’ve done this every single time.
I’ve gone to their Web site to look for an e-mail address – none is given!! There is a phone number (240-386-3000) which also earns you a hangup from the receptionist when you explain the reason for your call.
I’m listed on the Do Not Call list; I’m assuming as bottom-feeders they don’t have to abide by that. I’ve attempted to block their phone number with the *60 feature, but that doesn’t work either.
So how does one stop this improper, unwanted intrusion and harassment? I’m interested in joining a class action suit against Mann-Bracken. There must be thousands of people who are indiscriminately and recklessly targeted because they have names similar to someone else and are in the same boat as I am. Any attorneys listening?
I hate Mann Braken these dirt bags are self- serving. They never want to settle a debt and they are hard to get ahold of. They have 9% interst collecting on a debt that I have and they never include a monthly balance to let me know how much money I owe. When I tried to offer a settlement they claim they can’t accept less than half.I just wish they would get shut down or go out of business.
wow by reading all these messages its like wow. Mann Bracken is and was still a real place alot and they dont do all what has been told about them. you have a debt just pay it they just doing they job. if you had a boa chase or any credit card and stop paying on it take the heat if they calling your and sueing you. it is america people if you dont pay your debt you will be punish. but just ca them yes you can settle yes ppa are available just quit the bitching. thx
Yes, this is America, but if you don’t pay a debt here, you may not be punished.
Mann Bracken Atlanta Shut down on November 9th.
Hooray Hooray !!!!!
Mann Bracken is gone yes yes yes !!!!!!! LOL LOL
More power to the consumers////// :-D
I requested a letter for prove of payment on an account held with Mann Bracken. I finally received it a couple of weeks ago after a year and a half of requests to find that they had the nerve to add over 600.00 interest since I paid the account out. They are now claiming that I owe them more money. I see that the last post claims they have closed. Does anyone know who can I contact to resolve the debt?
For several months I too have been getting HARASSED by Mann Bracken at least three to four times a day. For a credit card I never had. im a 39 year old white male and I have never in my 39yrs had a credit card I have saw too many people get crazy with the damn things and lose everything they have worked all their lives for over a simple piece of plastic. It is not worth it. My wife and I got ourselves in debt back when we were in our mid 20′s we bought a new mobile home and the cars and trucks and high dollar electronics even though we were both working we had also started a family which took more money than we thought so we ended up filing for chapter 13 bankruptcy BIGGEST MISTAKE OF OUR LIVES!!! We could have done just as good had we contacted all the creditors and either let the items go back or made some sort of payment plan,But we never ever had credit cards as Mann Bracken said they were trying to stick a $7800.00 credit card bill on me I even contacted a lady there at the firm and made plans to get this taken care of to show it was not mine, but they still kept right on harassing my family with rude debt collectors I even cursed one guy on the phone and he hung up when I gave him as good as he was giving me So I just called right back and some lady put me on hold after I told her I wanted to speak with the smart ass that just called my home and hung up on me.but much to my surprise when he found it was me on the other end of the line he put me through to his voice mail like a little BITCH!! I along with hundreds of thousands of other individuals feel that MANN BRACKEN is no more than a large group of CON MEN AND WOMEN trying to stay rich by stealing from innocent hard working american people like myself. I see that they were SHUT DOWN on NOVEMBER 9, 2009 But they stopped calling my home and started calling my 67yr old father I figure for the same reason the 7800.00 fake credit card debt. my father farmed all his life and never went any further than the 5th grade in school he and my mother both are as far behind in todays ways as the Clampets on the Beverly HIllbillys neither one of them would even know how to use a credit card much less apply for the damn thing my daddy always paid cash for everything he ever bought he had a checking account once but hated having to write checks so he cancelled his account if that gives you any hint of what type of people my parents are.they were great parents just not very up to date as far as technology goes.I think Mann Bracken should be SHUT DOWN everywhere not just the ATLANTA OFFICE im sure they are working from somewhere I guess it is obviouse they are contacting my father so they are working from somewhere trying to steal from old folks like my daddy who has no earthly idea what the hell they want I ONLY HAVE ONE REQUEST MANN BRACKEN..LEAVE ME MY FAMILY AND MY PARENTS THE HELL ALONE!!!! YOU HAVE ABSOLUTLY NO REASON UNDER THE GEORGIA SUN TO BE CONTACTING ANYONE IN THE JOHNSON FAMILY. YOU NO GOOD BUNCH OF SCUM
I have been receiving calls and want to know why because my debts are not out there nor do I have any unpaid debts. I also receive alerts from my credit report site and there have been a HARD INQUIRY requested by Mann Bracken for my credit report. Are they authorized to draw my report without my persmission? This seems a bit unfair and now that it is on my report it affects me. Any suggestions? This was on 20 November 2009.
Al
Mann Bracken has violated at least four of the sec. in the FDCPA code. 804 not wanting to talk to my atty. so they kept calling. 806, harassment, calling and hanging up. 807 false or misleading representation. 808 unfair practices.
does any one know the atty. to threaten with reporting to the bar? The debt settlement co . I am working with is now weakening now that we are down to the last negotiations. there fee is involved.
i am in ca.
I have answered the original summons. ($200.00 to file) and now nothing in regards to the courts. no appearance date or anything. Can they attach anything with no court date? This is what the debt settlement people are telling me. So how big is my hammer and when and how do I use it?
I say it all the time, but here it is again: talk to a consumer rights lawyer in your state.
Sam,
The word is out Mann Bracken is out of business. They have layed off the lawyers and answering phones with contact the creditor. The parent corporation had filed a chapter 11 which has been converted to chapter 7.
All I know is that no attorneys that we deal with regularly have responded to our emails or phone calls
If you call (301) 882-997, one of the most notorious Mann Bracken numbers, a recording says they are closing their offices and you should call American Express directly.
I recently (this month) settled a debt with Mann Bracken for a little more than 70% – a debt I had been paying down for several months prior to that. Yesterday, I received a call from a new debt collector for the remaining balance. What the…..? The new debt collector says that unless I have a letter from Mann Bracken declaring that it was a settlement for the debt and not just a payment that I will be responsible for the balance. I tried a couple of numbers for the Rockville, MD office and they were disconnected. The other number 800-364-9919 has been busy nonstop for some time. I went online to see if I could find another way to contact them and saw the above comments that indicate they have gone out of business. So it seems that I may be screwed.
70% seems pretty high to me. Lately, we have been getting debts settled or eliminated with other debt collection law firms for less than 20% total cost, including attorney fees. (The percentage obviously depends on the amount of the debt, and it also matters who owns the debt.)
If you did settle the debt, you will need some proof of the agreement to settle together with your performance of your obligations under the agreement. Written proof is best, followed by a recording (this is why I advise people to record calls with debt collectors, when permitted).
This blog helped me immensely and I would like to pay it forward. I called American Express and the new company that assumed all of Mann Brackens cases and files is a company called ‘ARSI’ and their number is 888.395.2774, I spoke with a very pleasant man named Jules and he helped me finish off the final two payments to settle my debt. At any rate give them a call as they are handling all of the transferring accounts. I was panicking a bit– but soon everything worked out and now can move on. Good luck everyone.
I filed for bankruptcy on November 2, 2009. My 341 meeting was on December 16, 2009 when I was completely discharged of my debts. Mann Bracken contacted the court for a Writ of Garnishment of my pay. I received this letter on December 16, 2009. As of today, 522 dollars was taken from my pay although I filed for bankruptcy and have been discharged of my debts.
They are very sneaky and dirty! They knew they were not supposed to try to collect a debt AFTER my filing for bankruptcy but they did it anyways. They made sure they completed their request to the court before the court was updated with my bankruptcy. Now, I have to try to get my money back. I have an attorney so I am working with her as of now. I won’t know anything until Monday when I speak with her. However, I will be calling this American Express number to get my money back because they unlawful collected a debt from me that was discharged!!!
Mann Bracken is kaput! Hip Hip Hooray!!!
I called today to talk to a guy I had spoke with to resolve my debt through my marriage, that number had been disconnected. So I tried an alternate number which was actually for Targets and they told me that Mann Bracken had closed their doors ! I was floored and upset, so all th money I had paid in to pay off my debt is what at the full amount again and I will end up paying the double the amount to the next collection agency? Well I spoke with my boss and he refered me to CCC ( Concumer Credit Counselors) and he said they will step in and take care of this matter for me and I have no intention in paying another penny unless it’s to CCC and they will make sure my debt is cleared, I suggest that everyone else does the same, or does as Sam has stated – get a lawyer atleast then you will have documentation that your debt is clear !!!
Beware the credit counselors! While I am not familiar with CCC, credit counselors cannot do anything except what you can do yourself. They do not have any magic words or connections. Their fees are usually way out of proportion to what they do for you. Please read the FTC’s credit repair information before hiring anyone.
If you made payments towards your account, the creditor (Target, in your case) must give you credit for those payments. If you reached a settlement, the creditor must honor it.
Sam,
Perhaps I should go see my lawyer’s firm and resolve this matter – atleast I know that I can trust them!
Are payments still being accepted on the Mann-Bracken online Payment Center?
I highly recommend Consumer Credit Counselors (CCC) to anyone in debt. I started with them last year and they’ve helped me immensely. Mann Bracken took me into court over a Sears debt, even after I signed up with CCC. I had to take off a day of work and go up to the courthouse because of them. When I showed their representative that I was with CCC, they dropped the case and told me to continue paying CCC. CCC called me this week to tell me Mann Bracken was bought out and no longer available. I saw on this blog a number to call for their accounts. I’m hoping that I won’t have to repay what I’ve already paid to another company but CCC said they will work with the people who have my account to help me. They’ve been wonderful in helping me get all my credit card interest rates way down. I’d recommend them to anyone.
P.S. Mann Bracken didn’t even send me a letter notifying me that they were closed down which I thought was their responsiblity by law! I still have not received anything from them. Mann Bracken would not give CCC any information where my account was sold to. I’m so glad they were shut down, it’s one small victory for consumers!!
i’ve been paying mann bracken for 1-1/2 yrs and now some other ca has called and said this account has been given to them ….they didnt even know anything about mann bracken…they have me owing more than whenn mann brackenstarted my payment plan…i’m lost on what to do
i am lost also i just recieved my payment back in the mail from mann bracken saying the sender is not available. So i have called every numbr possible that i have for them and all disconnected.. i do not want to be late for the payment cause they said they would come after me for the full amount.. this is not my fault if i cannot get my payment ot hem cause i cannot locate them…right? any help?
I also received my payment back saying the address was no good. I have 2 payments left on a 2 year run! It really pisses me off. I don’t know what to do! I reported them to BBB. I guess I’ll just wait to see if I get notice from another company. I have tried to contact every phone number I can find. No answer! What will a consumer lawyer do?
I called the ARSI and asked if they took over for Mann Bracken and like Nancy, I only have 4 payments left on 3.5 years debit! I also want to make sure they remove the delinquency off the account, which was agreed upon, since my credit has been affected by this for so long! I called their numbers and they are ‘temporarily’ disconnected. I just want these people out of my life. They stopped taking payments prior to May 2009 and tried to make it sound like it was my fault, yet they had my account information, so they could easily have generated the checks. Now the last payment was 11/23/2009. What is a consumer to do? I know Sam says contact an attorney. I’m considering it, their website is up though that takes payments, so what’s going on? And their email to the helpdesk is working, so what’s going on?
It appears that Mann Bracken’s national Website has shutdown.
I hired an atty (10/2008) and have a written settlement agreement with Mann Bracken for a Chase acct. I have been paying for over a year. Last two checks have not cleared my bank. My attorney wrote certified letters to all contact addresses I had for Mann Bracken and advised that I will not be making anymore payments until I am notified in writing where to do so. Do not send $$ to “nowhere”. Letters are a CYA type thing that I have tried in good faith to make my payments in the event Chase or another collection agency attempts to place a judgment. To date, I have not been contacted by Chase or any other collection agency.
All – Please note that Mann Bracken no longer exists. Their servicing company (Axiant) has filed chapter 7 and Mann Bracken was forced to close it’s doors. If you have any pending settlements, payments, etc., please contact your original creditor if a new firm has not contacted you.
Hi,
I’ve been payments on an old “Rooms to Go” account since approx 2002/2003. The settlement was $50/month and I have proof of payment for all of them. MB accepted the December payment but Jan/Feb are still outstanding. I had been sending the payments to the NC office for the last 12 months. Now what? I doubt Rooms to Go will have the original settlement on file… I don’t have available funds to hire an attorney. I’ve worked really hard these last few years to correct my credit, I really don’t want to have delinquent payments showing on this account after being so dilligent. Again, what do I do? THANKS for this blog!
I owed a credit card account that MB got. I got disabled to work in 2006. I called the credit card company and told them that I am disabled to work now and that I need to close my acount. The man said that I can’t close it until it’s paid in full. I said I’m disabled, I don’t have any money. I sent 3 payments of $5.00 in, hey, that’s better than nothing! I had so many bills, I couldn’t deal with it any longer. I had a nervous break down. My husband and I hired Freedom Debt Management . I faxed all of my paper work of people I owed. My husband was making payments on time because it was taken out of his checking account monthly. We had 2 more payments to make, Dec.2009 & Jan.2010. I found out by internet in Dec.2009 that MB was closed. I contact Freedom Debt and told them. I even printed the paper work from the internet to have proof. I faxed it to them. Dec.2009 payment was already taken out of the checking account. I finally received a notice from Finkelstein,Kern,Steinberg & Cunningham in Jan.2010. I faxed that paper to Freedom Debt but it was in time to stop payment in Jan. 2010. My total bill is $180.57. I called FKSC spoke to (Kim) and told her what happened. Freedom Debt contact her informing her that I was not lying. FD has been trying to track the check to see if MB cashed the check. No response yet. FD told me that if I pay any money on the FKSC account and that if MB cashed the check that MB will have to pay me back. HUH! YEAH! RIGHT! THEY ARE CLOSED! I WILL NOT GET MY MONEY BACK! I have not made any new payments to FKSC $180.57. They are threating to take judgement on me. I don’t know what to do. Can anyone help me or give me some advice? FD is trying to help me but not fast enough.
Freedom Debt Management told me March 19, 2010 that the check to Mann Bracken for Nov.2009 was cashed, Dec.2009 & Jan.2010 was not cashed. I called the new company FKSC, left a message for (KIM) to call me. FDM wants to know if FKSC wants to be paid by check or debit. Debit can be paid over the phone if there is no additional charges. If there is a charge to pay by debit I will have to pay the charges. I don’t care to pay a charge, I just want this behind me. I needed to make just 2 more payments and I would have been done with everyone. It sounds from reading the blog that I got lucky. I hired FDM in 2007 and they helped me resolve this matter. FDM was already paid, they didn’t have to help me but they did. Thank You FDM! FKSC needs to call me now so they can get paid and then I can get proof of payment in full letter. Good luck everybody. I paid a lot of money by hiring FDM and now I’m glad I did, it was worth it. MB was rude and calling all of time. I had a nervous breakdown, I couldn’t talk to them. Good Luck again everyone!
Sam,
I sent Mann-Bracken $1500 in three payments since January 2010. I did not realize that they were out of business since last year. Have they cashed those money orders, do you think?
Tom
I’ve paid Mann Bracken $1,200 complete. I’ve made payments for 200 dollars a month since September through Febuary. I did not know about them going out of business until some other credit collector called me. Where is the money that I paid to resolved my debt.
I was not aware that MB had closed at all, my payment in Jan 2010 was never processed through my bank. Have attempted to call all numbers that I have over the last 5 months, all disconnected. I still have not been contacted by mail at all. Have watched all the junk mail to see if another collection agency had taken over the acct or if orig creditor was sending anything via mail, still no contact. What is a consumer to do?