The CEO of a Tulsa-based company that buys consumer debts launches a free consumer debt negotiation service.
Bill Bartmann said his Financial Samaritan venture will help boost people’s credit scores. Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett took the unusual step of stating his support during a news conference for the company, saying often people seeking financial help get caught in government bureaucracy.
"But in this case, the private sector has the solution," Bartlett said. "And, in my view, this is a good solution because it not only provides something for free — literally at no charge to the consumer, the person that needs it — but it also provides alternatives and provides help."
Financial Samaritan is housed in south Tulsa’s CityPlex Towers with Bartmann’s collection company, CFS2. It will also offer the same additional services, such as directing people to government benefits.
While there’s no charge for Financial Samaritan’s help, it has to earn money somehow. Bartmann said the company has agreements with several lenders.
"So if we can introduce one of our users, customers, who can then get access to a low-cost prouct, we would earn a commission," Bartmann said.
Bartmann’s first debt collection company, CFS, went bankrupt in the 1990s and its cofounder went to prison for conspiracy. Bartmann said neither Financial Samaritan nor CFS2 should be marred by that.
"To put it as bluntly and as crisply as I can, for your benefit and anybody else who still belabors under mistaken information, I was unjustly and wrongly accused of an incident that the government later apologized to me for, so I don't think there's any further conversation on the topic," Bartmann said.
Bartmann said his goal is to help people improve their credit scores so they can turn to traditional lenders and avoid high interest rates.
