http://www.kessels.com/Hobby/midi/mission.html

Telecom Agent Association Position

by Christopher Menkin

Reportedly NorVergence main source of funding came from leasing companies who paid it more than $200 million up front for the right to collect customers' lease payments.

Based on discussions with several state deputy attorney generals, Leasing News believes they are just starting to learn about equipment leasing, and they do believe there was criminal deception by the principals of NorVergence corporation, along with several leasing entities. They are investing time and money to go all the way. Pennsylvania was the first to go after the principals of the company.

One of the interesting items is they keep referring to “lessees” as “consumers.” ( I should comment, that the people who contact leasing news regarding a Bulletin Board Complaint and a leasing company on other matters, refer to themselves as “consumers.”

I don't really understand as they are commercial transactions, in fact, there is very little equipment leasing to consumers in the United States ( perhaps rental yards for machinery are an exception, but I think the majority of readers will agree with the statement these telephone leases are commercial transactions to businesses ( not individuals, although they may guarantee the transaction with a personal guarantee as a principal of the business.)

In addition to speaking with law enforcement agencies, we also speak with the many, many attorneys across the United States, who are suspicious of our motivations, but our goal is to be helpful, meaning directing them to:
http://www.chooseleasing.org/
http://www.leasefoundation.org/

In addition, explaining about:
http://www.clpfoundation.org/

Directing them to books to read:
http://two.leasingnews.org/Books.htm

I also recommend to them the tome “Equipment Leasing,” edited by the late Jeffrey Wong, Esq. ( up-dated annually )

The fact is there are many leasing companies that cannot afford to take a “hit” that may be minor to GE Capital. As a matter of fact, the Wall Street Journal in yesterday's edition gives GE Capital the recognition for holding the airline business together with their financial support.

One of the things Leasing News is discussing with its Advisory Board
(they do not review individual stories, but they are consulted whether we are going to make a stand, an editorial, on the NorVergence situation,) is our position of leadership on this situation that may change the equipment leasing industry as we know it today.

It is easy to say that each leasing company should make its own decision. Many may have a good case; others appear that there are several improprieties and “due process” not practiced. The “private label” program is highly vulnerable, in my personal opinion. Even the Equipment Leasing Association sent a contingent to the New York Attorney General's office regarding “contract law” and stated they have never seen such a situation in twenty-five years.

In addition, I have been told the courts in the City of New York have the strongest “hell and high water” contracts in the business. Yet GE made a settlement, deciding to take their losses before it got worse. Being right or wrong was overcome with making a better business decision.

The question is how does Leasing News support the best interest of essentially the entire industry as well as the business public. After all, they are the leasing customer, and the first word out is “ customer service.” Do we sue them and call this “customer service,” meaning taking care of our customer by taking care of our self first. GE Capital evidently didn't think that way.

NorVergence was forced into bankruptcy by two leasing entities who had become “wise” to what was actually going on. They were bundling the leases, selling them off in portfolio's, and learning about the problems from lessees, and NorVergence evidently not living up to its “representations and warranties.”

In the major of the incidences, leases were not put together by salesmen or brokers, but allegedly marketed by Robert J. Fine to banks and other financial institutions, under the alleged direct supervision of Alex Wolf, director of operations for NorVergence.

This leases were marketed directly and perhaps brokers being involved, or direct salesmen, may have seen through the deception.

It appears more and more a very smart business decision by GE Capital to make a settlement in the State of New York to resolve the controversy with their lessees. I don't mean to be redundant about this, but what should Leasing News position be on this. If we are to live up to our “mission,” we need to make a stand.

Many of the NorVergence lessees want more than the lease payments removed, but also remuneration, and as important, retribution. The Florida attorney general is suing the leasing companies in his state, while other

state deputy attorney generals are learning how “equipment leasing” works. I can tell you it has been a “foreign” world to them.

There reaction is the lack of regulation.

Here is a copy of the Telecom Agent Association legal filing on the matter:

http://leasingnews.org/PDF/complaint2.pdf

 

The Leasing News mission is printed here:

http://www.leasingnews.org/Mission_Statement.htm

and the essense is:

The Mission of “The World” newspaper

“An institution which should always fight for progress and reform; never tolerate injustice or corruption; always fight demagogues of all parties; never belong to any party; always oppose privileged classes and public plunder; never lack sympathy with the poor; always remain devoted to the public welfare; never be satisfied with merely printing the news; always be drastically independent; never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty.”

October 30,1911 Frank J. Cobb, editor, “The World”  His statement is a quote from the publisher Joseph Pulitzer's retirement speech on April 10,1907.