Nielsen Company M. Leonard and Associate Unfair and Bad Business Practices Van Nuys, California

Nielsen company,    (The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Magazine)


I am writing to let everyone know how a company like Nielsen employes 3rd party shady companies to
distance itself from the shady/borderline legal action of these companies.

For example Nielsen uses a collection agency M. Leonard and Associates to do collections.

This agency lies, misrepresent facts and makes promises it never intends to keep in order to coerce you
to pay a past due bill.

Granted the bill was past due, and as life and the economy has presented difficulties for all of us. You
have to choose between two bills, keep your house or not pay a few smaller bills, like a magazine payment.

But once you are able to make payment I would expect honesty to be treated fairly.

When I was able to start paying off some of my past due bill, I contacted M. Leonard and Associates and I asked that I could make payments. I told I could not and had to make the past due payment in full immediately or they would sue me for 4 times the original bill not including court cost and attorney fees.

I tried to discuss this with them explaining my situation, by they refused any payment agreement,
finally after several phone call and several hours they said they would remove the delinquency from my credit report if I did paid the full balance NOW!, but this is a onetime deal.

Feeling as though, I really had no choice; as getting sued for 4 times the original bill not including
court cost and attorney fees as the M. Leonard and Associates agent explained to me would happen, was just more than I could pay. I was/am just getting back on my feet, and it was not like I was going
to win if it went to court.

I went ahead and payed the bill (Even though it caused me hardship in doing so) in full and in good faith waited to for the credit report to be updated. When I paid the bill,I asked how long would it take for my credit report to updated this past due bill removed (I ASKED!) they said a few weeks.

5 weeks went by, I called and inquired about the update. I was put on hold several time and after a 30 plus min wait I was told they made the request to the reporting agency and it my take a couple months to update. I explained that I was told a few weeks, they told me I was misinformed and that it may take a couple of months.

It has now been 5 month and my credit report still showing it being there.

When I call M. Leonard and Associates and after I inform them who I am, I get transferred or put on hold for hours and then eventually I get hung up on.

I found out that M. Leonard and Associates could not sue for 4 times the amount due but only the
amount due, late fees and interest.

I called the credit reporting agency and I wall told that M. Leonard and Associates did not have the authority to remove the item from my credit report but only show that it was paid.

I was also told by the credit reporting agency that a reported paid item will post within a few weeks.
It took 4 months and several calls (MANY HOURS) to M. Leonard and Associates just to get it to show as
paid.


Doing further research I found out that this is not the first time this has happened and the Better Business Bureau has many complaints about the same things.

M. Leonard and Associates has a F according to the Better Business Bureau.

Here is the link:

http://www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/M-Leonard-and-Associates-54735


Is this the kind of business that the Nielsen company and it child companies really want to use to
represent them?

Nielsen company also owns The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Magazine and probably many other companies.

I can only hope that others will see my post and also post there negative experience with M. Leonard and Associates.

And that these negative posts will cause the Nielsen company to rethink who it does business with.


Thank You.