Cash4Gold – Beware

We have all seen them – the showy “Cash4Gold” commercials, some of these show people on the street dancing, or at other times, M.C. Hammer alleging that you will get quick cash in exchange for your old, unused jewelry. Although human nature makes us want to unconditionally trust the dancing person or even with his track record, M.C. Hammer, it turns out that Cash4Gold may not in fact be too legit to quit.

Recently Representative Anthony D. Weiner called out Cash4Gold on their bad business practices. Standing in front of legitimate jewelry appraisers, Weiner warned consumers to take their business to a place that they knew was valid as opposed to the shady mail in gold exchange.

Cash4Gold operates by sending out special envelopes to customors in order to mail jewelry and gold to the company’s offices in Florida. According to the commercials, the company will give customers with a quick appraisal of the value of the items they have sent, and then they will mail them a check for that amount.

Apparently customers are given a twelve day period in which they are able to return their check and get the jewelry back. Yet according to research by Rep. Weiner and Consumer Reports, Cash4Gold paid out only 11 to 29 percent of the actual value of valuables sent to them, and they often refused to send jewelry back when it was asked to do so within the 12 day period.

Weiner proposed that the Federal Trade Commission should do some research the whole Cash4Gold problem, adding that he wants to introduce laws that would regulate companies that use mail to exchange cash and jewelry.

This law would impose fines on businesses that melt down gold without the owner’s consent or before a return period has passed. It could make companies allow enough time for consumers to request a refund and ensure that companies actually insure the jewelry they are returning to consumers.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. She also writes stories on business and finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

Debt Collection Scam Artist Cons Buyers Big Time

Recently, a man who ran a debt buying company in Florida was sentenced to six years of federal prison time for the crime of selling debt portfolios that he did not own. Steven Goldberg, of Golberg and Associates in Boca Raton, took the heat from the DistrAuthorities say that Goldberg would give falsified files and fake evidence that he owned the files. As a slap in the face, Goldberg also sent buyers bogus transaction numbers and other fake financial information. All in all, debt buyers were taken for more than $3.3 million. Investigative reports show that many well-respected accounts receivable management companies were swindled.

Parties that were involved included the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Boca Raton Police Department. Federal criminal charges against Goldberg have been satisfied, but there are still numerous civil cases pending against him that he will have to deal with once he gets out.

Micheal J Koopmans is an official from a major collections company. Climbing up the corporate ladder, Koopmans started as a debt collector and now is one of the industry’s leading authorities

“Our industry does not do a really great job of policing itself,” he said. “Debt buying companies should be more vigilant when they screen members for criminal backgrounds. This guy had prior convictions, including felonies.”

The collections industry is able to do many things to protect itself, experts like Micheal J Koopmans believe. Compiling a list of any lawsuits that one member files against another member, or requiring criminal background checks would be useful ideas. Either way, Goldberg has a long vacation in jail scheduled, and when he gets out, you better believe that any money he owes in Civil Court will be aggressively collected.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. She also composes articles on business, finance, the credit industry and collection agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

Your Small Business Is Not Alone In This Economy

You would have to be living in a cave not to be aware that we’re in the worst financial crisis in our lifetimes in the United States. If you find yourself worried about your business and what can happen next, you’re certainly not alone.

As I write this, the next few days bring great uncertainty about what the government is going to do to try and help bail out the failed banking system in the US. While it’s not clear what form the assistance will take, it appears almost certain that the US government will have to do something to fix the mess created in the financial system by rampant greed. What is going to happen? Who knows! What is obvious is that the vast majority of Americans are very unhappy with the situation and quite angry about spending billions of dollars to bail out an industry known for greed.

The fact of the matter is, a bailout is not the end of the troubles for those of us who run small businesses. The United States economy is in deep, deep trouble and this will not be fixed very quickly. All the major news outlets have commentaries about what’s happening and what to expect. It seems the consensus is that it’s unlikely we’re going to experience a level of unemployment seen during the Great Depression. That’s the good news. The bad news is that things are ugly and their likely get much worse before they get better. And if that wasn’t enough, things are probably not to get better in the near future.

Small business owners are highly unlikely to land the line of credit they need in order to expand their business in the near future. So what can you do? No one can tell you what you need to do in your particular business, but I’ve always been a huge supporter of the low-cost direct marketing style in my businesses. I suggest you start rethinking all the many ways you can seek out additional revenue at a minimum cost. This means not only getting new customers at that minimum cost, but just as important, you need to try to sell more services to the customers you already have.

The situation is a lot more complicated than simply not being able to obtain credit, but it is also going to be difficult for many business owners to even make it through the next several years. There has already been a big drop in consumer spending in the US, and getting new customers as well as maintaining the ones you already have is going to get more difficult. That is why this is the time to get yourself back to the basic and most important task which is to get your business well marketed. There is nothing more important for your business in difficult times such as these than your marketing efforts.

Mallory Megan works for a collections agency that works with a debt collection lawyer. She also writes articles on business, finance, the credit industry and collections agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

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