NorVergence---Letters to the Editor
“This will be an interesting story from several fronts. One will be the 2A ramifications and how hell-or-high-water the leases really are. Robert Fine made a lot of sales calls to lessors to find funding sources and explained the program. (This isn't a derogatory comment about Fine). He was up-front about the financing and how a lot of things were wrapped in. While I was at *******l we looked at the program during a EAEL-New England networking event -- for maybe 3 minutes. It was pretty clear the box wasn't worth the lease value and services were part of the deal. If the savings didn't appear companies would switch service providers and punt that 'lil black box. If all lessors understood that fact there might be a hole through 2A protection and further, having knowledge of all of that might impact whether the funding sources are really 3rd party bona-fide purchasers for value or whether rights exist as the sources likely understood what the bundles of financed assets were (a mysterious black box with years of tel-com services wrapped in). If a lessee proves this was merely financing to NorVergence with the contracts as collateral...
“I suggested to our attorneys to watch this unfold on Leasing News.”
( name with held )
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“I heard that Wells Fargo Financial Leasing, CIT , US Bancorp, and US
Express Leasing all got burned on the NorVergence scandal. We turned them down, but they presented who they had been using with numbers. They claimed to have over 10,000 customers.”
(Name With Held )
“NorVergence Capital, LLC (NC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of NorVergence, as stated in their marketing material, to finance the NorVergence products. They were private label contracts, that they warehoused and then assigned to a third-party at a later date.
“Qwest, along with two other carriers, were pressing for payments, which they were not receiving as evidenced by the shut-down in June. The actual filing of the three creditors was not only to protect their own interest but to stop Qwest from turning off their services. Qwest is not only owed a lot of money, but they claim they should be participating in the income streams as they are keeping
the service running while the creditors are collecting their lease payments.
“Whether Quest continues the monthly service or does not, it appears the lessees are obligated to make payments per the lease agreements assigned to creditors. The real problem in this house of cards is that NorVergence made most of its revenues not from selling telecom services, but from Bob Fine’s sale of equipment leases to banks, leasing and finance companies, as your readers have been trying to tell you in the complaints your published.”
( Name With Held )
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MicroShop has been a Norvergence customer since 4/29/03. Since then: 1. our cell phones have been disconnected five times by AT&T wireless because Norvergence wasn't paying the bills
2. without warning, Norvergence switched carriers on one of our phones from AT&T wireless to T-Mobile - leaving my employee without a working phone on a trip
3. we have had two collection agencies contact us to try to get bills paid that were the responsibility of Norvergence
4. the leasing company is charging us insurance on the entire $16000
lease - even thought the replacement cost of the "matrix box" (actually a WatchGuard SOHO 6 router) is only $300. Most would consider that to be insurance fraud. Imagine insuring a $20,000 car for $1,000,000.
We have filed a complaint with the BBB, the NJ Board of Public Utilities, and the NJ Attorney Generals Office. We have also contacted CBS News in New York to do a "Shame on You" feature. Anyone in the NY/NJ/CT area that is interested in sharing your experience with Norvergence, please contact me.
These are the facts. You can make your decision accordingly, but I think the more you research the company, the less likely you will be to sign a contract.
Name = MicroShop Systems
Address = 104 Mine Brook Rd
City = Bernardsville
State = NJ
Zipcode = 07924
Phone =
Fax =
Email = dave@mshop.com
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