CFS II enters lease at CityPlex Towers

[Nick Danger]

From the digital edition of the Tulsa Business Journal. Deja vu??

Tulsa Business Staff
11/23/2010

CFS II, a new Tulsa-based debt collection firm, yesterday announced it has entered into a 10-year lease on two floors of the CityPlex Towers, the same office complex where Bill Bartmann grew Commercial Financial Services into a 3,900-employee company and became one of the richest people in the U.S. during the 1990s.

In 1998, tragedy struck when Bartmann's former business partner committed fraud and sent CFS into bankruptcy. Today, the successor company, CFS II, is positioned for rapid growth with 77 current employees and plans to hire aggressively in the coming months. CFS II is on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies for 2010.

"This is a true phoenix rising story that we've been fairly quiet about until today," said Bartmann, president and CEO of CFS II. "But it's true — we're back. I'm extremely optimistic about the growth prospects and the jobs we'll create in the process. Already, we're seeing about a hundred resumes a week."

On July 1, Bartmann launched CFS II, hired eight former CFS employees and started talks with hedge funds on raising $400 million to build the debt portfolio for CFS II. The new company is in the same debt resolution business as its predecessor, which Bartmann founded in 1986.

CFS II employees are currently using office space at 8315 E. 111th St. The company plans to move into its new location at CityPlex Towers in early December. It was attracted to the facility because it has the ability to expand there. CFS II is leasing the fifth and sixth floors in the 20-story tower. The total space CFS II is leasing is 35,000 SF.

"I see a great future coming out of this bad economy," Bartmann said. "I really feel sorry for all the people on the wrong side of the coin because I've been there. But if we help those people repay what they owe and create thousands of jobs in the process, it's a great thing."

[heironymouspasparagus]

This is what Fallin and company talk about when they say "jobs"??
I guess I thought they meant something more tangible, like say - something manufacturing type.

Granted, it is a job that has to be done.  Too bad our "economic development" is based on the economic collapse of others (debt resolution).  Just seems like there is something mildly parasitic there - not quite sure what - just isn't a really positive economic activity.

[Conan71]

I can't believe anyone affiliated with a hedge fund would be willing to talk to Bartmann.

[Gaspar]

This is what Fallin and company talk about when they say "jobs"??
I guess I thought they meant something more tangible, like say - something manufacturing type.

Granted, it is a job that has to be done.  Too bad our "economic development" is based on the economic collapse of others (debt resolution).  Just seems like there is something mildly parasitic there - not quite sure what - just isn't a really positive economic activity.

Why?  They call on the millions of Americans struggling to manage impossible debt load, reconcile their outstanding balances with their creditors, and provide an avenue for recovery.  Rather than a family losing everything, and a bank holding the debt, the family gets a reasonable payment system and the bank recovers a part of its liability.  I'd say that's positive?

[swake]

Why?  They call on the millions of Americans struggling to manage impossible debt load, reconcile their outstanding balances with their creditors, and provide an avenue for recovery.  Rather than a family losing everything, and a bank holding the debt, the family gets a reasonable payment system and the bank recovers a part of its liability.  I'd say that's positive?

Gasp buddy, sometimes it's like you aren't even living on the same planet as the rest of us. CFS a positive to the people they collected from? Good God, that's just plain nutty. That is a gross misrepresentation of this kind of collections. I knew a number of people that worked there, and that's not what CFS did at all. I don't think any collection agency acts that way at all, why would they?

CFS bought/buys bad debt from banks and others for pennies on the dollar and then proceeds to hound people mercilessly until they get some kind of payment, as much as possible in order to make margins above the pennies they paid for the debt. CFS was very hard on it's workers and they were even worse on the people that owed debt. The stress that Bartman placed on the people that collected there were under was incredible. I would at times be forwarded some of the threatening e-mails he would send out to employees and they were legendarily scary and hilarious at the same time. Probably only hilarious to me because I didn't work there. The whole place was a shark's nest and the people that CFS owned debt from were treated as less than dirt.

[heironymouspasparagus]

That's the official Murdoch style description of CFS.  Reality is they are (were) a dunning collection agency.

[DolfanBob]

+ 1 swake.
A buddy of mine worked there. He was all kinds of praise about the place when they all went to Padre Island and Las Vegas on CFS dime. But he also endured some terrible practices like having his chair taken away for a Month after not meeting his quota.
I'm sure somewhere in Bartmann's office will be the well placed picture of Bernie Madoff.

[we vs us]

But he also endured some terrible practices like having his chair taken away for a Month after not meeting his quota.

Oh wow.  Really? 

I'd be out of there like a shot if there was anything even remotely good paying out there.  Life is too short.

[guido911]

Gasp buddy, sometimes it's like you aren't even living on the same planet as the rest of us. CFS a positive to the people they collected from? Good God, that's just plain nutty. That is a gross misrepresentation of this kind of collections. I knew a number of people that worked there, and that's not what CFS did at all. I don't think any collection agency acts that way at all, why would they?

CFS bought/buys bad debt from banks and others for pennies on the dollar and then proceeds to hound people mercilessly until they get some kind of payment, as much as possible in order to make margins above the pennies they paid for the debt. CFS was very hard on it's workers and they were even worse on the people that owed debt. The stress that Bartman placed on the people that collected there were under was incredible. I would at times be forwarded some of the threatening e-mails he would send out to employees and they were legendarily scary and hilarious at the same time. Probably only hilarious to me because I didn't work there. The whole place was a shark's nest and the people that CFS owned debt from were treated as less than dirt.

Don't sugar coat it Swake. Tell us how you really feel about CFS.

[Conan71]

Gasp buddy, sometimes it's like you aren't even living on the same planet as the rest of us. CFS a positive to the people they collected from? Good God, that's just plain nutty. That is a gross misrepresentation of this kind of collections. I knew a number of people that worked there, and that's not what CFS did at all. I don't think any collection agency acts that way at all, why would they?

CFS bought/buys bad debt from banks and others for pennies on the dollar and then proceeds to hound people mercilessly until they get some kind of payment, as much as possible in order to make margins above the pennies they paid for the debt. CFS was very hard on it's workers and they were even worse on the people that owed debt. The stress that Bartman placed on the people that collected there were under was incredible. I would at times be forwarded some of the threatening e-mails he would send out to employees and they were legendarily scary and hilarious at the same time. Probably only hilarious to me because I didn't work there. The whole place was a shark's nest and the people that CFS owned debt from were treated as less than dirt.

Bartmann claimed they treated the debtor with dignity and the promise they would help them re-establish their credit if they would start re-paying.  I know at one point, they were trying to get a CFS credit card line started for their "customers" they had put back on the straight and narrow.

Somehow I always found it hard to believe that a person who thought they'd heard the last from MBNA three years ago then suddenly had someone wanting to collect on that debt would be very cheery about paying it back.

I hung out with Bartmann some after CFS folded up.  He had a lot of time on his hands and we would go ride Harleys if I was in town and had an open afternoon.  It was a little creepy though to see how jumpy he was.  At that time there were still plenty of people who would have loved to kick his donkey.  As a person, I found him pretty likeable.  As a business person, I trust him as far as I could throw him, he's the consumate televangelist.  In fact, I'm really surprised he didn't simply start a church, it would be far less stress and he could live a pretty opulent lifestyle.  He'd still be picking the pockets of the unfortunate, but in a much easier fashion. 

JMO, CFS was basically a big ponzi scheme and Jones was chosen to fall on the sword.

[sgrizzle]

There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.

[nathanm]

Why?  They call on the millions of Americans struggling to manage impossible debt load, reconcile their outstanding balances with their creditors, and provide an avenue for recovery.  Rather than a family losing everything, and a bank holding the debt, the family gets a reasonable payment system and the bank recovers a part of its liability.  I'd say that's positive?

I take it you've never had the pleasure of dealing with junk debt buyers or helping people who are dealing with them?

They're almost universally fracking scum. I could enumerate the ways, but this isn't really the forum for doing it. Suffice it to say, they in no way help debtors. Great for companies with bad debt who can get more than nothing on it, and really great for the debt collectors who buy it for a few pennies on the dollar and collect two bucks for every dollar owed, but not great for anybody else.

Well, that's not true. They're great for making the knowledgeable debtor a lot of money in statutory damages for FDCPA violations. Very, very few operate within the law. Still no help for the average joe, though.

[sgrizzle]

Why?  They call on the millions of Americans struggling to manage impossible debt load, reconcile their outstanding balances with their creditors, and provide an avenue for recovery.  Rather than a family losing everything, and a bank holding the debt, the family gets a reasonable payment system and the bank recovers a part of its liability.  I'd say that's positive?

CFS was just collecting on written-off debts which settled nothing and the creditors got jack squat. They weren't helping people lower their payment son their home depot cards, they were harassing people for the outstanding balance on their motorcycle that got repossessed 7 years ago.

[Nick Danger]

The comments in the TW article are very interesting. Several ex-employees with insight into the previous CFS --
http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=51&articleid=20101123_51_A1_ULNSbB40599

[nathanm]

they were harassing people for the outstanding balance on their motorcycle that got repossessed 7 years ago.

If they were trying to collect on 6 year old debts, it's no wonder they weren't haraunging anybody for their home depot card. The statute of limitations is only 3 or 4 years here. Of course, if you can get a promise to pay, that makes it enforceable again...

Conan, debt collectors don't do anything to help a person re-establish their credit. Other than people writing mortgages, nobody cares a whit if you've skipped out on debt to others before if your score is good now, and if your score is bad, nothing's going to change that until the lates fall off and your utilization doesn't suck. Even if the debtor pays a debt collector, the likes of Amex and Bank of America would sooner see you die than extend you credit again. You're better off paying the original creditor (they'll usually buy back the debt if you write them with an offer to pay the full amount owed, and most of them will even remove the old account from your report in exchange)

If CFS was trying to launch a credit card, it's because there's a lot of money to be made in 36% APR $240 a year annual fee (paid monthly) $500 limit subprime credit cards. Especially if you already have a team of people to harass folks who pay late.

This all makes me wonder if CFS was the sort of scum that re-aged debt to keep it on your report long after it should have expired off. It's a common tactic, despite being an FDCPA violation.