Great source of inside information

[pipeguy]

It has always been my position to try to learn all I can about my opponent (per se) be that a car salesman or a bank or a collection agent. I believe doing your homework helps in any debate and because of that I try to think like the other guy when we go head to head. You hear a lot of information on the net, on any subject really, some of it is accurate most is questionable. I like to think this forum is formed by both those in the know, and those needing to know, with personal experience being the best teacher.

I've found that knowing all I can about the "other side" of our discussions on here, that being the lenders and the collectors, is an advantage. A great source of information can be found by reading long boring SEC documents required to be filed by publicly traded corporations. I could go into all kinds of things I've learned reading these financial reports, such as profit margins, business plans, etc, but that's not really the point of this post (doing it for you).

SEC documents are available online free of charge. 10-Q Quarterly reports - 10-K Annual reports - 8-K Other events and filings

Banks:

Capital One (COF)

JP Morgan Chase (JPM)

CitiBank - Citigroup (C)

Bank of America (BAC)

Credit Card Issuers (Primary)

Visa (V)

MasterCard (MA)

American Express (AXP)

Discover Financial Services Com (DFS)

Credit Reporting

Equifax (EFX)

Fair Isaac (FICO)

Note that Trans Union will be publicly traded in the near future and Experian is traded on the London Exchange.

Debt Collector Companies

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp (AACC)

Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRAA)

Midland Credit Management/Encore Receivables (ECPG)

Asta Funding, Inc. (ASFI)

[cdtotten]

Yes, all public companies must file quaterly and annual reports with the SEC. These documents are always available online (for free) via a searchable database called EDGAR. You can view the EDGAR website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm .

[llecs]

I used SEC filing reports in my repair phase. They provided info like executives' names, alternative addresses, alternative phone and faxes, and other contact information. When looking at CAs, you can also get a feel of how much $$$ they purchase a debt for in relation to the debt value. This is handy if you want to offer a settlement.