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[yankeefan]

z-   good catch.  Thanks.

[Nontyper]

Im in, they charge more 2% more, but if they collect more, it will be more than worth it. 

I also noticed there is no 5% charge to bring the account current so maybe they will be better at not holding payments until completely current.  << I heard this happed with Penncro??

[traveler505]

AmSher looks like it could be a good fit for Prosper -- a small agency with relatively few clients:

From a 2006 CreditLife article:

AmSher serves 100 clients, primarily in the medical, banking, retail and cellular phone industries. Roughly 20 clients account for 90 percent of agency revenue. The company's Web site includes testimonials from such clients as Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Unishippers, Memorial Health University Physicians and American Family Care.

Judging from a quick sampling of CreditBoards posts, AmSher's number one client is T-Mobile, which would typically be referring debts in the under $1000 range, similar to Prosper.  (Remember, Prosper only refers the delinquent portion of the loan, so the CAs are collecting only a few monthly payments, not the full loan amount.)

Not a bad choice, at least at first glance.

[Cheerful_Lender]

We could all bid on a few select loans we know will never pay back, that would get us some Amshare data more quickly

[HollowOak]

We could all bid on a few select loans we know will never pay back, that would get us some Amshare data more quickly

If we *know* they won't pay back, there might not be anything for Amshare to collect. Better that they get ordinary run-of-the-mill defaults.

Prosper should do something (like send an email to lenders similar to this notice from Fred93) telling them that there is a new kid on the block and that it can only be tested if it actually does get loans.

It would also be nice if we could see what proportion of lenders support each agency.

It would also be nice if I could have a slice of chocolate cake. That's not going to happen either.

[idf]

Where do you change this setting?  I cant find it....

[idf]

Where do you change this setting?  I cant find it....

Found it... Your account > lending tab > bottom right

[epetroel]

Switched mine too

[HollowOak]

I haven't switched. I have no intention to resume lending. If things change at PMI and I change my mind, I'll change my collection agency. Right now it's just a waste of time and clicks to make the change.

That 5.1% Zopa CD is looking increasingly good...

[big-al]

We could all bid on a few select loans we know will never pay back, that would get us some Amshare data more quickly

If we *know* they won't pay back, there might not be anything for Amshare to collect. Better that they get ordinary run-of-the-mill defaults.

Prosper should do something (like send an email to lenders similar to this notice from Fred93) telling them that there is a new kid on the block and that it can only be tested if it actually does get loans.

It would also be nice if we could see what proportion of lenders support each agency.

It would also be nice if I could have a slice of chocolate cake. That's not going to happen either.

Seems somebody from Prosper must have read this thread.  I just received an email about the new collection agency.

[xraider]

LOL.  You'd think Prosper would have learned to send notices....

Another collection agency I would call if I was still lending.   

[idf]

Seems somebody from Prosper must have read this thread.  I just received an email about the new collection agency.

I got the mail also.  Appears they may be trying to nudge the other collection agencies as well as indicate to lenders they want more done about collections.

[traveler505]

Tonight's email:

Prosper recently added AmSher as a new collection agency to the Prosper Marketplace.  We chose AmSher after an extensive review of several collection agencies. Our selection process included reference calls with other consumer lenders as well as on-site visits and systems reviews.  AmSher came highly recommended and the recommendation was confirmed in the course of our due diligence.  In addition to the strong recommendation, an excellent track record, we were also impressed with the strength of their systems environment.   

AmSher is a family owned business founded in 1939, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.  Martin Sher (Co-CEO) serves on the Board of Directors of the ACA (America Collectors Association) and Melanie Sher (President) is Past President of the Alabama Collectors Association.   

We have received a number of complaints about the effectiveness of PennCro as a collection agency for Prosper loans. Over the past few months we have worked intensively with PennCro to improve their collections, however, the results were not to our expectations, and more importantly, to the expectations of Prosper lenders.

One common way to improve collections is to do “champion/challenger” testing, where some accounts are sent to one collection agency (the “champion”) and a similar number and quality of accounts are sent to another agency (the “challenger”). To date, Prosper does not have a large enough pool of delinquent accounts to conduct traditional champion/challenger testing on a side-by-side basis.  However, a key aspect of champion/challenger is that the agency losing the challenge is penalized by accounts being removed from them.   

In this instance, PennCro has not achieved our monthly production targets, and we are therefore recommending that accounts currently designated for PennCro be re-designated to AmSher. The compensation percentage paid to AmSher on these existing accounts will be the same as the percentage paid to PennCro. You may, however, elect to keep your delinquent accounts with PennCro. 

If you wish your existing Notes to remain at PennCro, please send an email to collectionstesting@prosper.com with subject of “Retain PennCro” by Monday, February 4, 2008, otherwise all your existing Notes designated for service by PennCro will be automatically transferred to AmSher and no further action is required.   As usual, if there are multiple Lenders on a loan to a borrower, Prosper will use the selected collection agency common to the Lender or Lenders who have the greatest ownership interest in the loan. In the event of a tie among the Lenders as to their choice of a collection agency, the account will be re-designated to AmSher.

Thank you for your immediate attention in the matter.

Sincerely,
Prosper

[Tokyo Joe]

Heh, heh... That's pretty funny how they diss Penncro in their email...  I like the "more importantly, to the expectations of Prosper lenders".  Those would be the same lenders who complained about Penncro for the better part of the year until they started calling Penncro themselves to get answers.  You know the ones I mean.  The lenders who were ignobly kicked to the curb (i.e. us)  Glad they really do care about us deep down in their hearts.

Looks like they'll change the CA anyway, even if we don't bother changing.  Well, cool.  That means, i don't have to bother logging in.  I wonder how many "retain Penncro" emails they get...

[xraider]

ROFL. Complaints about Penncro's effectiveness?  No way.