What is the National Arbitration Forum?

     Consumers are being scammed by arbitration in unprecedented numbers by bottom feeder debt buyers.   Most are from the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), out of Minneapolis, MN.

     You can view their site at: www.arb-forum.com This is not a non profit or government site, it is FOR profit operated by some very rich individuals who are being paid by those who seek arbitration claims. Some of the biggest names who use and profit by the NAF include:

WOLPOFF & ABRAMSON, Baltimore, MD (largest profiteer of claims)

ESKANOS & ADLER , Concord, CA

MANN BRACKEN, Atlanta, GA  together now known as Mann Bracken

COLLECT AMERICA (CACH & CACV), Denver, CO (2nd largest)

BRONSON & MIGLIACCIO, Buffalo, NY & Elmwood Park, NJ

NCO FINANCIAL, Baltimore, MD

MOORE, GERALD & ASSOC., Atlanta, GA

MIDLAND CREDIT MANAGEMENT, Midland Funding,

MRC Receivables, ENCORE Capital Group, San Diego, CA

 using American Arbitration Association

MRS ASSOCIATES, Cherry Hill, NJ plus many more.

     Research by consumer attorneys reveals claims submitted to arbitration are found to be against the consumer over 90 percent of the time. 

     How is this possible?

     The vast majority of arbitration claims are filed by debt buyers who do not have even the requisite documentation called for in the NAF Code of Procedure.

     Organizations such as Wolpoff, Credigy, Gerald E. Moore and CACH usually get the arbitration claim ruled in their favor by supplying ’some’ documents and of course, paying the required fee.  

     Those who play the part of an arbitrator, usually attorneys, or retired judges, some looking for extra cash, are reportedly paid a $250/hourly rate to handle up six claims per hour.   When the party paying the fee wins almost every time, it's easy to understand the high 90% loss rate for consumers.

     The Rule of Law.

     But let's not lose sight of what's going on here.  This is not just the 95 out of one hundred consumers who lost whining.  It's about the rule of law.  According to the rules of arbitration, a debt buyer who invokes the NAF must provide certain documents.  Original documents that are, in most cases, unavailable to them.  Since that is impossible, every arbitration ruling against a consumer amounts to little more than rubber-stamping, and, if we can be so bold, whoring, on the part of the arbitration judge.

     Whoring.  What else can it be called?  The arbitrator has put the lure of easy money - $250 an hour - above the rule of law.  He's gotten into the same bed as the debt buyer.

     An honest arbitrator.  As short-lived as a teenager's promise not to speed.

     We know of one Houston attorney who followed the rules, and kicked out claims when debt collectors could not prove up the debts. It was as though he was saying to the NAF, I don't really want your money.  We'll miss him.

     Most other so-called judges pay little attention to the details of the claims, ignore the NAF rules and gloss over the manufactured documents in favor of a quick check.

     One California arbitrator, Robert H. McMillan awarded Wolpoff & Abramson more than $330,000 on 22 claims in just one day making a fine payday for both W&A and McMillan.  Never mind that twenty two consumers are now subject to judgments and lost their day in court.

      Attorneys handling arbitration claims for the National Arbitration Forum, (NAF) Minneapolis, MN may find the fee being paid is not worth the potential negative publicity that could follow.  Because "Binding Mandatory Arbitration" is becoming the rule, rather than the exception, we have set up this site to educate and inform consumers.

     But moreover, we will use this arena to expose those who do not follow the rule of law.

      Justice should not be one-sided. Heads I win... 

     If you toss a coin 100 times in a row, you would expect that an honest flipping would result in a Tails coming up at least 15 or 20 times. No such luck in arbitration.   The toss is fixed.  NAF Contract employees who decide arbitration claims are paid an average fee of $250/hour with the understanding they handle six claims per hour.

     The forum’s largest customer base is comprised of debt  collection agencies and law firms who purchase defaulted consumer debts for pennies on the dollar, then pay a fee of $250/per account for an arbitration hearing that the debtor never gets to participate in.  The main problem raised by consumer advocates is that the forum is unfair in its policies, consumers have no say in the outcome and that the attorneys and judges handling arbitration claims have found a lucrative income stream that allows them to handle as many claims as they desire in the comfort of heir homes or offices. Until now, they have been able to stay mostly under the radar of detection because their work went (for the most part) unnoticed and their identities and backgrounds were mostly shielded from those they ruled against. 

     Spotlight on Arbitrators.