We were contacted by Scott Law with Commercial Investigations in early August asking if they could try to collect on one of our outstanding debt to 'prove their worth' and 'earn our business'. I foolishly turned over a small debt to them (~$700), with the understanding that if there were not results in 60 days, we could cancel the contract at no cost. I wish I had checked usacomplaints.com first - there was a report from June!
I called once to check on the progress, and I was turned over to Edward Sharp. He told me they were actively and agressively pursuing the debt on my behalf. I asked Edward Sharp to call us once a week to keep us in the loop so I would know it was ACTUALLY being pursued. I never heard back from Commercial Investigations regarding progress reports and updates.
Given that I never heard back, I assumed I had been fleeced and marked my calendar for 60 days. I faxed and emailed notice of cancellation under the terms of the contract and got an immediate response.
Edward Sharp said they had been actively sending letters and calling the debtor the whole time, so there had not been 60 days of inactivity on the account to allow a cancellation without a 10% fee (~$70). I said that was fine, but I needed to be provided with phone logs detailing who was spoken to and when, phone bills supporting the phone log, and copies of letters sent. Mr. Sharp told me he wasn't my secretary, and I would get to see the evidence in front of the judge.
He then told me he would cancel the contract for $25. I repeated that I wanted to see evidence they actually pursued the debt. He then said he would sue us and put a bad mark on our credit report; he then hung up.
Again, I wish I had checked here or even just 'googled' the company before I gave them the account.
I've discussed my debt collection options after the fact with other business owners, and usually just setting up a payment plan yourself with the debtor or (if you are a service business) setting up a 'mechanic's lein' against the equipment worked on. With the 'mechanic's lein', the debtor cannot sell the equipment you've worked on until the lein is resolved.
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