January 2012

© 2009-2012 American Agencies. All Rights Reserved.® �

VOLUME 6, ISSUE � January 20�2

NEWSLETTERFive Consecutive Years

The Season of Giving: American Agencies (AA) contributes to a number of local charities during the 2011 holiday season.

Every Drop Helps...

American Agencies’ recent blood drive is a success.

On November 8, 2011, 39 individuals registered to donate blood at our Paxton Street office. 21 pints of blood were collected. On November 10, 2011, 15 individuals registered to donate blood at our Crossgate Drive office. 10 pints of blood were collected. Each year, the Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank uses 85,000 pints of blood to support the hospitals of Central Pennsylvania. Every single pint of blood that is collected is a result of volunteer donors. There is simply no way the Blood Bank can provide this lifesaving gift without your support. Thank you to everyone that donated and attempted to donate blood. Hospitals and patients throughout Central Pennsylvania have benefited from your generosity.

The Holiday Wish List For Collectors

Collections & Credit Risk | Friday, December 16, 2011 By David Ingram

In a recent article published by Collections & Credit Risk, we discover what is on the wish list of collectors throughout the nation.

The following five desires are identified as important topics as we move into the upcoming 2012 year.

1. A friend at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB.

2. Ability to communicate with debtors using the technology they prefer.

3. Regulatory reform to curb frivolous lawsuits.

4. Speed up access to credit to worthy applicants.

5. Better solution for obtaining documented proof-of-loan information about debtors.

To obtain a full copy of the article by David Ingram, please visit: http://www.collectionscreditrisk.com/news/the-holiday-wish-list-for-collectors-3008879-1.html

* Thanks to Bill Barnshaw of MRS Associates, Inc.; Steve Kusic of National Recovery Agency; Nick Machol of Machol & Johannes; and Matthew Maloney of First Financial Asset Management for their holiday wish list contributions.

David Ingram is Senior Marketing Director at Experian.

Inside this issue:

Blood Drive P.1The Holiday Wish List P.1For Collectors

Food Bank P.2Annual Toy Drive P.2

AA Christmas Pet Contest P.3

2011 Awards Presentation P.3

Foti Compliance P.3

AA Kicks Off Biggest P.4Loser Contest

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January2012Volume6Issue1

American Agencies News

© 2009-2012 American Agencies. All Rights Reserved.®

NRA Group, LLC d/b/a National Recovery Agency and its subsidiary American Agencies have joined forces to donate a record breaking 1,096 pounds of food to the Central

Pennsylvania Food Bank – the most collected since the organization started the food drive in 2004.

Steven C. Kusic, CEO, states: “I’m proud to lead a team of such giving individuals, and would like to thank them for their continued generosity to the public. It makes me proud that so many people are willing to give in tough times and are willing to put a smile on someone else’s face. You really get a true sense of appreciation.”

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank distributes more than 15 million pounds of food and grocery products every year to more than 500 soup kitchens, shelters, and food pantries in 27 central Pennsylvania counties. These agencies directly feed thousands of hungry families throughout central Pennsylvania.

American Agencies’ Annual Toy Drive Is there anything more wonderful than giving a gift to a child who may not otherwise receive one? American Agencies’ employees were asked to donate new, unwrapped toys in support of this year’s toy drive. The company and its employees so graciously donated the toys needed to fill five chimney boxes full of toys that will be presented to deserving youngsters in Central Pennsylvania who might otherwise not receive a single gift this Christmas.

Thanks to everyone who donated this year!

OUR ADDRESS HAS CHANGED!!!

Effective January 1, 2012, we have a new address.

All processes shall use the following address:

American Agenciesc/o P.O. Box 67015

Harrisburg, PA 17112

February 29th - March 2ndOrlando Florida

AA BIGGEST LOSER January 6, 2012 - May 2012

BLOOD DRIVEJanuary 17, 2012Paxton Street Office

January 26, 2012Crossgate Office

UPCOMING EVENTS

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Compliance Alert

2011 Pet Photo Contest: This year marks the first year for AA’s Christmas pet photo contest. Employees were asked to supply photos of their pets. Employees were then allowed to vote on their favorite entry.

Here are the top three winners of our 2011 Pet Photo Contest. A big thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to the winners!

WINNERRUDOLPH DOG “PEANUT”OWNER: A. CHILLE

1ST RUNNER UPSANTA CAT – “BOWNITA”OWNER: E. GOODYEAR

2ND RUNNER UPCANDY CANE STEALING DOG – “OT”OWNER: T. FEDULLO

Thank you to all who participated!

Christmas petphotocontest

Each year AA recognizes employees who have dedicated and committed themselves in making the organization a success.

The “Star of the Year” award is awarded to the individual who received the most votes by their peers. Employees vote on specific characteristics such as Professionalism, Work Ethics, and Company Loyalty, etc.

This year’s “Star of the Year” awards go to:

Damon Ogden: Paxton Street Office Chris Bowen: Crossgate Office Craig Andrus: American Agencies

Additional awards chosen by management and presented include:

Team Player of the Year 2011: Biancha Tatum, Crossgates Office Andrew Schwalm, Paxton Street Office

Community Caring AwardsTrish Moritz - Toy DriveCharlene Sarver – Blood DriveTasey Leitzell - Food Drive

2011 Awards Presentation

FDCPA Ruling in Favor of Collector Defines One Aspect of “Communication” by Patrick Lunsford – insideARM.com – December 22, 2011

A federal appeals court Wednesday published an opinion in favor of a debt collection agency that not only attempted to define a narrow aspect of a “communication” under the FDCPA, but awarded costs to the ARM defendants. The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling in favor

of the defendants in the case Olivea Marx v. General Revenue Corporation (GRC). In doing so, the court found no violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and awarded costs to GRC in the amount of $4,543. The initial case was filed October 2008 after the plaintiff defaulted on a student loan assigned to GRC. Marx claimed that a fax sent to her workplace for the purpose of employment verification violated the FDCPA’s prohibition on third

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party disclosure. GRC sent the fax in response to her employer’s request for verification in writing. A lower court found that the employment verification did not violate the FDCPA because it did not constitute third party disclosure. In fact, “GRC designed the form precisely to avoid such an implication,” wrote the court. Since under the FDCPA, a “communication” is defined as the “conveying of information regarding a debt directly or indirectly to any person through any medium,” both courts found that the fax did not constitute a “communication.” The ruling could have broad implications for ARM companies. The case defined – or specifically, declined to define – a particular fax as a communication. So there is an opportunity for collection agencies to use the fax as a template. But the case is limited in that a fax was being used here, not a voice message. So the impact as it relates to Foti entanglements is yet to be determined. The case, does however, provide a clear path for winning costs from a plaintiff in a defendant victory. The question before the appellate court was whether a defendant could recover costs should they prevail and there is no finding that the case was brought in bad faith. There was never an allegation that Marx brought the case in bad faith, so GRC would not have been eligible to recover attorney’s fees. But in exploring the FDCPA for costs, both courts determined that the language of the FDCPA does not tie the awarding of attorney’s fees to the awarding of costs. Thus, GRC was awarded $4,543 in costs and that decision was affirmed in Wednesday’s ruling. The full opinion can be read on the court’s website.

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WE’LL KICK IT OFF ON JANUARY 6, 2012

The AA Biggest Loser contest starts January 6, 2012. The contest will run 18 weeks and prizes will be awarded to the individual who loses the highest percentage of body weight!

Who’s it going to be this year?Stay tuned for the results!!

IT’S BACK!!!

AA BIGGEST LOSER CONTEST 2012

January 2012

News & Politics

Transcript of January 2012