Archive for the “Cobra Collection Agency” Category

What started out as a complaint placed on the Internet has now grown to a collection of information and business horror stories over dealings with Janice Ledden and Cobra Collection Agency (aka Cobra Collections Inc.).

I have begun receiving information from many different disgruntled and dissatisfied parties.  It was getting too much to keep posting the new Cobra information on my blog.  I don’t want my blog to become unnecessarily polluted with such entries.

Having said that, the information I have assembled is badly needed and had to be listed somewhere.  And so, in simplistic format and name, I have created “The Cobra Collection Agency Information Page”.  That way, I do not have to spend much time while serving a greater good.  The 24-hour nature of the Internet and the Google search engine will ensure this page ranks high to anyone who searches “Cobra Collections” or “Cobra Collection Agency”.

I hope that some ex-employees will step up and share this story.  Until that happens, we have a bunch of pissed ex-clients standing up to do something about it.

The direct URL to this page is:  http://www.matthewchan.com/cobracollections.htm

I tried so hard to tell Janice Ledden to come clean last year but she wouldn’t.  So now, her ex-clients are coming out more and more to tell their story.  What goes around, comes around.

Update:  For the latest information, visit The Cobra Collections Agency Scam website.

I received an unsolicited email today from Jennifer, an office manager based in Sumner, GA.  Her company is the latest victims of Janice Ledden and Cobra Collection Agency.  It appears she Google searched Cobra and found my blog report.  I spoke to Jennifer earlier today and received permission to share her information.  Jennifer provided me information to follow-up with our local Better Business Bureau (BBB).

As I suspected, my company and I are not the only victims of this crooked collection agency.  I knew victims would eventually want to start looking for ways to take action against Cobra Collection Agency. 

Essentially, all anyone has to do is contact the Better Business Bureau in Columbus, GA to submit a complaint.  If you do a search on “Cobra Collections”, you will find all the contact information made available to the general public.

 It would appears that they confirm the address as:  3500 University Ave, Suite 4, Columbus GA 31907.  I placed a link to the Google map for anyone who wants to visit them personally.

The latest phone and FAX numbers (which were previously unknown to me) are: 706.562.2343 and 706.562.2347 respectively.  It appears I was correct in my last post.  They changed their phone numbers.  I suspect their old phone lines were simply getting “too popular”.  Imagine that.

Because I foresee more updates from various people coming out of the woodwork, I have created a new Category just for Cobra Collections Agency on this blog.  I truly hate dwelling on the negativity of it all.  But I cannot stand idly by and do nothing when it is in my power to help the situation.  By comparison, I have lost relatively little money compared to the reports coming in.

Up to this point, I have kept my personal opinions to a minimum.  But as more information comes in, I will be providing more insights as to what I think is happening.  For now, I will continue collecting and reporting information for my fellow business community members in Columbus, GA and Phenix City, AL.

 Update:  For the latest information, visit The Cobra Collection Agency Scam website.

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 Matt,

    I unfortunately last year had Cobra Collections to work some delinquent accounts of mine.  You can only guess what has happened.  They have collected my monies and I in return have got nothing.  I am now going through my accounts and getting them to get me all the cleared checks so I can pursue a suit against this company.  I did make a call into a Nicole Dickerson at the attorneys number you had listed on your site.  I just wanted to say thank you for listing this info.  I would not have had any other way of knowing who to call.  I have been on the phone with the BBB and they have been very helpful.  I also wanted to give you COBRAS new number.  I have not called them because I didn’t want to scare them into changing there number again until I can get all my info together.  For your info 706-562-2343.  I may not be able to get any of my money out of them but I would like to let them  know they cannot do this to people.

   Again, thank you so much for your blog.

Jennifer xxxxx (Last name & company name deleted intentionally)

The last post on Cobra Collection Agency, I wrote to make clear that I no longer have any association with Cobra Collection Agency through a Cease & Desist Order back in December 2006.  While that has cleared my name, I have since discovered more clients are being taken advantage of.  The few people I know who were clients with Janice Ledden and Cobra Collection Agency are not getting paid, nor are they getting reports.  In fact, Janice Ledden is practically unreachable according to people working with me trying to contact her.  If any collection money is being received by Cobra Collections Agency, those monies don’t seem to be disbursed to any client.  I suspect there are many, many, unhappy clients in Columbus, GA.

A few days ago, I was informed by 2 people that Cobra Collection Agency (Janice Ledden, Owner) has moved.  Apparently, Janice/Cobra wrote a few bad checks to their previous landlord of their office suites and got 3 months behind.  The ex-landlord is obviously not happy.  Being stiffed is bad enough but to deal with bad checks is even worse.  It is actually prosecutable and a felony if the amount is over $500.00.  I was informed that the landlord spent a ton of money to remodel the suites.  Many months ago, Janice led me to believe that she made all the modifcations.  Of course, I read into that.  It turns out that she managed to convince the landlord to do it for them.  Amazing.

Cobra Collection Agency has moved to:  3500 University Ave #9, Columbus, GA

The previous address had been:  3228 University Ave, Suite 109, Columbus, GA 

This office is only a block or so away.  No telling how long they will be there.  A friend had stopped by their office and told me what he saw.  Their old phone number (706-568-8800) and fax number has been disconnected with no forwarding number.  They are 3 reasons I can think of for this.

• Cobra voluntarily disconnected the phone and chose not to leave a forwarding number.
• The phone company disconnected them for non-payment.
• They are in transition.  However, I have moved 3 times in Columbus and have managed to keep the same number and no drop in service.

 I am using Meacham, Earley, & Fowler (the law firm we use for business-related services) as my exclusive collection firm now.  They do an excellent job and have been following the Cobra case closely.  Any client who has been stiffed by Cobra Collection Agency and Janice Ledden should contact the Law Offices of Meacham, Earley, & Fowler!  They are getting to know this account very well.  In addition to a full-time collections clerk, they have a full-time Collections Attorney.  Apparently, word is getting out that they do a good job on following up and collecting debt, they had to expand.

I dislike using my blog to disseminate such information.  However, I have no other means of contacting any Cobra Collection Agency clients except through the web.

 Update:  For the latest information, visit The Cobra Collections Agency Scam website.

Typically, I would not make a post of this kind here.  But seeing as I have found some information on Google which negatively associates me with Cobra Collection Agency of Columbus, GA, I must post a response that will also be Google-able (is that a word?) to offset that negative association.

I won’t get into lots of details here but I will reveal some undeniable and absolutely verifiable information.  But there are some things I want to make absolutely clear here. 

As of December 2006, I (as president of my corporation) issued a written Cease and Desist Order to Cobra Collection Agency that we did not want to utilize their collection services any longer (verifiable through a letter I wrote). 

After months of asking for reports and payments (absolutely verifiable through a series of emails and letters), it became too problematic to work with the owner, Janice Ledden, her staff, and firm any longer.  A bad working relationship had to end.

We finally did get a report and a check.  But then that check bounces (absolutely verifiable through a copy of the NSF check).  I have charged my law firm to collect from them.  Can you imagine that?  Collecting from a collections agency?  How ironic is that?  Time will tell if I will get any money from Cobra Collection Agency at all.  If not, I will consider it a valuable lesson learned indeed.

There was a time I was friendly with Cobra Collection Agency and I volunteered to register and set up a website called cobraagency.com.  I have no ownership or management interest in the company.  The only relationship I have with them is simply as an ex-client.  I have relinquished the domain cobraagency.com back to the public.  I want nothing to do with it and regret registering it as it has been misinterpreted by others that I may have had an ownership or management interest in Cobra Collection Agency.  It is simply not true and not the case.

I have my suspicions and opinions of what is going on but I cannot publicly say it.  Nor is it really that important.  What is important to the public at large is that I issued a Cease and Desist Order in December 2006 and wished I had done it sooner.  Getting a NSF check from them only reinforced my thought that I did the right thing.

Update:  For the latest information, visit The Cobra Collections Agency Scam website.