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Headlines---

 

  Steve Dallas is “Unknown”

   Microfinancial Stock Drops— So Help Me, Joe Bonanno

     ePlus Reports Earnings

       Bank of America to End Auto Leasing

          B of A Press Release exiting its auto leasing

               & subprime real estate lending

             Fitch Rates B of A Stock Tops

                Heller Financial Enters Internet Fray         

 

Special:

         Equipment Leasing Association Presents Sales Tax Conference Testimony

 

 

##denotes press release

____________________________________________________________

Steve Dallas is Unknown

 

  ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----

<sdallas@unitedcapital.com>

 

   ----- Transcript of session follows -----

... while talking to mail.unitedcapital.com.:

>>> RCPT To:<sdallas@unitedcapital.com>

<<< 550 Unable to relay for sdallas@unitedcapital.com

550 <sdallas@unitedcapital.com>... User unknown

 

 ( Mr. Dallas was one of our readers. He is now removed as his

   e-mail keeps coming back. editor )

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing

          But the Truth,So Help Me, Joe Bonanno.

 

Microfinancial..."They have acknowledged they are being invested by the Department of
Justice, primarily for violating the regulations regarding consumer leasing. MicroFinancial contends they are
business leases."

 

 

DID YOU MEAN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IS INVESTIGATING OR INVESTING IN MICROFINANCIAL???

 

1995 RED CORVETTE CONVERTIBLE

Carl Rubin

<crubin@cfl.rr.com>

ComCo Equipment Leasing Group Inc.

407-629-7677

 

  ( Investigating. You were the only one to catch this typo.

   Wow, a 1995 Red Corvette Convertible!!!

    Sounds great.  Our question as to what kind of car

    our leasing readers drive has been very interesting to date.

 

  Seriously, Leasing News has been trying to

   be nice to get a comment from Microfinancial. We should

   know better as Unicapital, Terminal Marketing, United Capital,

   Metrolease, SDI Capital, you name them, never made a comment to us.

   They stoned walled us. When there is “bad news”, no one   wants to talk. 

    You can believe most of these companies eventually make the Leasing

    News List.

 

 We have been trying to get a full story,  all sides, and since readers want to     
know what we have  collected, so far. My suggestion, make sure

you are sitting down with a cup of coffee or tea, and if it is after hours,

 I recommend Scotch on the rocks; here it is. editor )

 

 

~~~

 

Leasing News has been writing about the practices of several leasing companies,

citing ethics, telling readers the government is going to clamp down on these

practices and professionas better start policing the industry, or the government

 

will.

 

Copy of Class Action Suit filed against Microfinancial/Leasecomm

 

http://www.socialaw.com/superior/994177e.html

 

  ( too large to reproduce, but you may see on line in entirety, and

    it will certainly open your eyes )

 

 

  ( The acknowledge suit, etc. )

 

From “ Leasescamm”  ( their website )

 

 from: http://www.geocities.com/leasescamm/

#1 in Microticket Ripoffs!

Have you been Scammed, Scammed by Leasescamm? Conned, Conned by Leaseconn? You're not alone.

Leasecomm Corporation is a commercial finance lessor in Massachusetts. Thousands of small businesspeople
across the country feel that they have been ripped off. Now finally they're exposing the truth. Join us in our
ongoing discussion. You can post messages on quote.yahoo.com (Yahoo! Finance) discussion of MFI
(Microfinancial Inc.) Microfinancial Inc. is the parent company of Leasecomm. You can join in the
discussion there and tell the stockholders the truth about their investment and talk with other Leasecomm lessees.

http://messages.yahoo.com/?action=q&board=MFI    (plus latest stock report )

one posting:

Looks like the Massachusetts AG served papers on MFI and Leasecomm to investigate their leasing practices.
Any wonder why the stock is dropping? You investors may take a hard look at getting out of this unethical
company before you, too get screwed by LC/MFI. BTW, Florida is already investigating their practices. West
Virginia AG has forced LC to amend their practices. California and Arizona AG have coordinated their efforts to
investigate LC. Who's next? Wisconsin? New York? Texas? Connecticut?

In the business community, there is an unwritten saying that every negative experience someone has
with your company requires at least five positive experiences to overcome. LC has literally thousands
of negatives with no positives except in their shallow PR. This company cannot continue as the focus
of media, public pressure, and the government discloses their unconscionable contracts, their ruthless
practices, and their moral bankruptcy. They'll try to shift the blame to their dealers, but it is LC/MFI
with Bleyleben and company at the helm that cause so much pain for lessees. No other company treats
so many of the people paying the bills (lessees) as shabbily as LC/MFI. To LC, their customer is the
dealer...and dealer fundings are WAY down. This Ponzi scheme looks about to fall.

The main page of Leasescam:

LAWSUITS: Those of you familiar with Leasecomm Corporation probably already know the tremendous number
of lawsuits they file every year to enforce their contracts. Now there are at least two Class Action lawsuits
against the company.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT:

1.      Don't sign the contract unless you know what you're getting yourself into. Many people simply
do not have a choice. If they want the equipment, they have to sign a lease because they do not have the
cash to buy it up front. One reason people give as to why they sign the lease in the first place is that there
are tax benefits. This is simply untrue. The IRS treats finance leases are purchases. You cannot deduct these
payments as expenses. Why is this? Because finance leasing is simply an expensive form of ownership.
By the time you're through paying all that money after say, three to four years, the equipment has little
value anyway. Do you know that a Leasecomm employee told me that she would never sign a Leasecomm
lease? Of course these employees wouldn't tell you this when they're trying to get your business. It's after
that and when they're suing you that they let you in on the truth.

Something else to think about: If you're looking for credit card processing equipment for your brick and
mortar retail store, why not buy it on eBay? Every day people go into business and every day people go
out of business. What happens to used credit card processing terminals? Well if the people leased the
terminals, they have to keep making payments. They can't just send it back to the dealer or lessor. So
they're stuck with useless equipment. Why won't you buy this equipment used for less than 150 dollars
instead of paying over a thousand through finance leasing? If a sales representative from a merchant
processing company tells you that you have to lease the (physical) point of sale equipment, that you
can't buy it, find a different company. Now with special e-commerce processing software you may not
have a choice for buying from a third party.

Finally there is one important point to consider. When you pay for something with a credit card, if you
have been defrauded, you know that you can always take contest the charge. In fact one person
who paid for their home business opportunity with a credit card was able to get out of the deal because
the issuing bank forced a charge back. For the people who bought the same home business opportunity
fraud but leased through Leasecomm, they were not able to get out of the deal. Try sending Leasecomm
a complaint telling them that you've been defrauded. You will not get anywhere. If you signed the
lease and you received the equipment in the mail, they will hold you to the contract. You might think
that paying with a credit card is expensive. However, if you do a real analysis of the rate of return
or interest rate that Leasecomm earns on its leases, you would be astonished. We're talking about
interest rates in the 30s%. Part of that is due to the fact that they discount the purchase price from
the dealer. You are rated as a potential lessee according to your credit breath and depth. The riskier
you are the more they discount the purchase price and higher interest rate they earn. Unfortunately
these higher interest rates would not normally fall under the category of usury (legal name for loan sharking)
because usury refers to loans to consumers and these are leases to businesses. Consumer protections put in
place by law are not present because of the classification of these transactions. In other words you as the
lessee have chosen a form of financing which does not offer certain protections and is really more expensive.

2.      Complain to the Attorney General's Office. Dozens of complaints have been sent to the
Attorney General's office. Unfortunately this represents only a small fraction of the number of people involved.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Office of the Attorney General
200 Portland St., Boston, MA 02114
(617) 727-2200.

You can also obtain copies of complaints against Leasecomm. This is public information. Call or
write the same address to receive that information. Sample complaint

3.      Complain to the Federal Trade Commission. You can send your complaint to:

Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
Washington, D.C. 20580

Or call 1-877-FTC-HELP or complain online at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm.

4.      Complain to the Better Business Bureau. Many people have complained to the BBB.
Leasecomm does respond to every complaint and so maintains a satisfactory status with the BBB.
It is important to realize that the BBB has no enforcement power. People could send ten thousand
complaints over there and they would not be able to force Leasecomm to stop its practices.
Therefore it is much more important that you complain to the FTC and to the Massachusets
State Attorney General's Office as they have the power to sue for unfair trade practices.
Both the FTC and the State Attorney General's Office DO NOT act on behalf of individuals.
You cannot expect them to be your lawyer. However, with enough complaints, they may decide
to act against the company.

Go here to view the BBB's reliability report on Leasecomm.

Also, you can Complain Online.

5.      If you had a bad experience, tell people about it. Get involved. Post to the
message boards and post to the newsgroups. Don't let these people get away with it.
(For the Message Board Go to ) To reach a broader audience, post to the Usenet.
There is also a site specifically for complaints. Visit
http://www.thecomplaintstation.com/l/leasecomm_toc.htm and
http://www.papersourceonline.com/discus/messages/1649/3159.html to view complaints about
Leasecomm.

If you were defrauded by the vendor of your equipment, make sure that you follow
the above steps to report them to the authorities. You may have recourse
against the vendor, if they have not already gone out of business, as many of
these fraudulent companies do.

MY ADVICE: To everyone who has signed the lease: Despite the similarities with most of the people
signing the leases, each case is different, so it's a good idea to speak to an attorney for legal advice.
Call your state Bar association to get a referral. Based on my own personal experience and the many many
people I have spoken to, here is my "common sense" advice. In no way should this be construed to be
legal advice. I suggest that you pay off the lease. If you do not, they will sue you, and if after obtaining
a judgement against you, you still do not pay, they will enforce their judgment in your state, garnish your
bank accounts/wages, and go after your real assets. All the while interest and attorney fees are being
added and your credit history tarnished. Either way they will squeeze the money out of you. Try to
negotiate a settlement. Get them to drop all of the interest charges and fees if you pay off the lease in full.

 

 

  from “Fight Back” with David Horowitz on the Web

http://www.fightback.com/CFfightback/bbs/Thread.cfm?Thread_ID=77&mc=33

 

 

Author: bjherkimer (bjherkimer@yahoo.com)
Subject: WARNING: LeaseComm and MFI
City: Irvine
State: California

Leasecomm Corporation is a commercial finance lessor in Massachusetts. Thousands of small
businesspeople across the country feel that they have been ripped off. Now finally they're
exposing the truth. Join us in our ongoing discussion. You can post messages on quote.yahoo.com
(Yahoo! Finance) discussion of MFI (Microfinancial Inc.) Microfinancial Inc. is the parent company
of Leasecomm. You can join in the discussion there and tell the stockholders the truth about
their investment and talk with other Leasecomm lessees.

Yahoo! Finance MFI- Microfinancial Inc. (LEASECOMM) Message Board
http://messages.yahoo.com/?action=q&board=MFI

"The underlying product is not relevant... Collecting the receivable is what is relevant.
I make my money by collecting." Peter von Bleyleben, president and CEO of Microfinancial Inc. (Leasecomm)

There is also a site specifically for complaints. Visit http://www.thecomplaintstation.com/l/leasecomm_toc.htm
and http://www.papersourceonline.com/discus/messages/1649/3159.html to view complaints about Leasecomm.

__________________________________________________________________

 

### ################### ###################### ##############

 

 

ePlus Reports Better Than Expected First Quarter Earnings Per Share of $0.21; Focus On Earnings,
Cash Flow, and e-Commerce Strategy Continues   

                                                                                                             

HERNDON, Va--ePlus inc. (Nasdaq NM:PLUS - news), a leading provider of outsourced e-Business
solutions and services, announced financial results for its first quarter ending June 30, 2001.

 

    Fully diluted earnings per share for the quarter was $0.21, which is $0.03 or 17% better
than analyst's estimates of $0.18 per share.

 

    Phillip G. Norton, chairman, president and CEO stated "ePlus has increased profitability
ahead of expectations during an economic downturn. The total procurement volume of the
company increased 26% to $86.3 million, as compared to the March quarter, and lease
origination volume increased 58%. We generated $10.1 million in positive cash flow during
the quarter and are in a very strong financial position with $34 million in cash and no
borrowings under our line of credit."

 

    "Our e-commerce business has been significantly enhanced by our ProcureNet asset
acquisition, and we are already winning new customers based on the technology" concluded Mr. Norton.

 

    Highlights

 

--      ePlus completed the purchase of certain commercial software assets and customers from
ProcureNet, Inc., which considerably improved its software and content services offerings,
customer support, and application development capabilities.

 

--      Released Procure+6.5, an upgraded version of Procure+ based on the technology
assets purchased from ProcureNet. It incorporates ePlus' branded look and feel, enhanced
functionality, and was delivered ahead of plan.

 

--      Introduced Business Process Outsourcing Services (BPO), including outsourced
accounts payable processing and electronic invoicing, as a component of ePlusSuite.

 

--      Announced an agreement with Deltek Systems to private label Procure+. The
integration has been completed and Deltek is marketing the product to its 7,500 customers.

 

--      ePlus announced its first Deltek customer, Michael Baker Corporation, a leading
engineering, management and operations services provider to the construction industry.

 

--      ePlus implemented its first operating marketplace based on MarketBuilder
(software assets purchased from ProcureNet) for Reynolds and Reynolds, the leading
applications provider for automotive retailers.

 

--      Contracted with a Fortune 100 company to provide an automated business
process for the procurement and financing of up to $100MM of assets over 3 years,
including automated order entry, on-line asset management and reporting, and electronic invoicing.

 

--      Increased the number of hosted ePlusSuite customers to 180.

--      Was awarded a state government contract for financing and asset
management for up to $15 million per year for three years including web-based
asset management.

 

--      Entered into subscription agreements for ePlusSuite having a total annualized
base run rate of approximately $800,000.

 

    E-commerce Business Unit

 

    The e-commerce business now includes all revenues and costs attributable to
ePlus Systems, Inc. and ePlus Content Services, inc. plus ePlusSuite revenues and
associated expenses as in prior quarters.

 

    In the company's e-commerce segment, e-commerce revenues increased 8% to
$1.2 million for the quarter as compared to $1.1 million for the June 30th quarter
in the prior fiscal year. Net e-commerce revenues in the e-commerce segment
increased 5% from $2.4 million to $2.5 million, reflecting a decrease in sales of
technology equipment in the segment. The company had 180 remotely hosted
e-commerce customers on June 30, 2001.

 

    "As we continue to convert our customer base from a transaction fee revenue
model to monthly subscriptions, we anticipate that upfront revenue generation
will be reduced in favor of a recurring and predictable revenue stream" stated Mr.
Norton. "Our e-commerce segment is making progress on many fronts, including
winning new customers in a very competitive environment. Our solution is compelling
forcustomers who want to reduce costs, optimize supplier relationships, automate
processes, and become more efficient. As compared to many of our competitors,
we are able to invest and improve our e-commerce solutions, enabling us to win
customers, gain market share, and position ePlus to capture growth when the economy turns."

 

    Financing Business Unit

 

    In the financing business unit, the Company continued to de-emphasize sales of
leased equipment revenues in favor of retaining leases on its balance sheet and
outsourcing the financial risk of each transaction with non-recourse debt. By doing so,
upfront revenues are reduced and converted into long-term, recurring, and predictable
lease revenues.