Dateline NBC Calls Out Two Local Collection Agencies

Buffalo is home to dozens of collection agencies. Most are reputable companies who follow the rules and laws while trying to collect old debt, but there are some pretty sketchy companies doing business in WNY.

Chris Hansen of Dateline NBC did a 6 part series on “the Debt Trap” and included two local debt collection companies who were caught on hidden cameras engaging in some not so tasteful tactics.

The first 3 parts don’t really get to the good stuff. The first company is  LHR who amongst other things, were accused harassing a military family:

But seven years later, Charles, an Iraq war vet, got a surprise call from someone claiming to be an “investigator.” The caller told him they still owed the full $11,000 for the car. The case, he said, was now a military matter.

Then comes Final Claims Asset Locators, who had their staff impersonating Maryland Police Officers in order to intimidate debtors.  They actually scared a family right out of their home.

Meet “lawyer” Adam Brzyski:

And they were given an address for this attorney, which led us here, to Depew, N.Y., just outside of Buffalo, which happens to be a national mecca for debt-collection companies. Could this be the law office of attorney Andrew Brzyski? Well, records show — there is an Andrew Brzyski and the house is actually owned by his parents. But we couldn’t find any record that Andrew Brzyski is licensed to practice law in New York — or anywhere else. So he may not have a law license, but he apparently has a driver’s license, and this car, which we tracked, here to an office building in Buffalo. Could this be “attorney” Andrew Brzyski? And is this where those threatening phone calls are coming from?

The last part is gold, well, actually “bags of money“:

Could this be money wired from people who were tricked into thinking they were about to be arrested? People like the Texas couple who fled their home in fear… Or Vicki Herrington, who got those threatening calls in the wake of her son’s cancer treatment? We watch the cash come in. So we decide to follow the money and find out who’s behind the company that calls itself Final Claims Asset Locators.

The videos segments are kind of long. If you want to read instead, you can go to the transcipt of the story