Badbizfinder on the Attack

Written by Zeds Head

Wednesday, 08 July 2009 15:18

erin_-_Copy A little while ago we got a comment from another blog. A small blog of little importance, but still a comment. A comment by badbizfinder accusing the writer of an article on this site of plagiarism. The article, written by Zeds Head, was about a loan modification company he and his wife were scammed by. Not only was the article written from personal experience and research, but as a result the Huffington Post also wrote about it. In fact the woman who worked at 2nd Chance and later assisted in getting the company shut down, provided us and the Huffington Post with much of the information covered.

The organization responsible for closing down 2nd Chance was not the FTC as Erin Baldwin, aka Badbizfinder, claims in her frantic comment (shown below), but the California DOC (Department of Corporations).

You say: "Badbizfinder has some stuff about the company, but they have proved unreliable in returning e-mails or responding to any request for help."

Interesting. Many of the facts you cite in this article are derived from our research. We have almost 100,000 hits in the last 6 months and have saved almost 7,000 consumers from loan modification scams. If we didn't respond timely to requests we wouldn't have as many loyal readers.

We were reporting about Chris Mesunas and 2nd Chance in February and uncovered the the facts used by the FTC to shut it down and broke the story about Michael Kessler and Superior Properties taking over.

We just don't brag because it's not about us - it's about the consumer. We collectively believe that the name of this blog alone is so offensive that this is the first time we've ever been on it. Your reporting is the epitome of plagiarism and we wouldn't expect anything more as the authors are void of a professional education and have no class.

You can see the entire plagerized article here Superior Scum Bags. There are similarities. Like the use of words like "the" and "it."

The Huff Post also ran an article about 2nd Chance in April in which Zed and his wife were featured. A ballsy move to come forward in a national newspaper. More ballsy than a bullshit confidentiality excuse Baldwin gave the reporter, Matthew Palevsky, of the Huffington Post when he asked for information to include in his article.

Most people with a cause and little blog would jump at the chance for any mention in the media.

Once the article was written and published without information from Badbizfinder, she showed up on the site frantically accusing Palevsky of inaccuracies and of stealing her precious information.

She left several comments.

Please revise this article to tell the whole truth to warn consumers about false "law firms" and bogus "attorneys." If not, it will only serve to perpetuate the fraud you pretend to expose.

In another comment, much like the one here, she accuses Palevsky of using her research:

On April 6 Palevsky requested data from us for this article and we couldn't help due to confidentiality. But that didn't stop him from using our blog research without citing us as a reference.

Research that is freely available on other sites and blogs and that she copied into hers. Spelling mistakes and all.

There are two things that stand out as ass chapping in the comment she left here.

First, she came here and acted in a way that exemplifies the very subject we discuss and point out. This is shitheadery at its finest. Accusing someone of being uneducated is usually indicative that you yourself lack education.

Baldwin claims to have attended Harvard, but Harvard has no record of her. That she doesn't like the site name is unfortunate, yet understandable.

Secondly, she claims to be an advocate for justice and wanting to fight these scams, yet rather a than join forces and share information with people trying to accomplish the same thing, she prefers to attack, alienate, and insult the very people she claims to help.

In an April 28 article Zed writes

They claimed to be involved in exposing 2nd Chance Negotiations and organizing against them. We sent half a dozen e-mails trying to get information and assistance from this person and received one e-mail asking for financial records. That we should send those records to an anonymous e-mail for them to review. Riiiiiiiight. Where can I send it? Let me get right on that. I haven't been scammed enough.

When Zed e-mailed her about her comment on his article, saying

You don't think we've been through enough without you now threatening and harassing us?

Referring to he and his wife having been scammed and fighting to get their money back for six months. With no help from her.

He received these responses via e-mail from her:

We are not referring to anyone but you. You are the one to whom we are directing our comments. "Us" doesn't factor into anything that you have done acting alone...

Yep, narcism at it's finest. It's always about her. Then there was this:

you're not only uneducated - you're naiive (sic) - that's a dangerous combination. You don't think we know exactly who you are and what you've done and to whom? You're very lucky so far and we think your luck just ran out.

Who writes like that? It sounds like a bad detective novel.

Check this one out:

Curious why you took down your post if you haven't done anything wrong? That speaks volumes. We already have a screenshot of it. So, wait, watch and listen. Your turn is coming. This is the last communication WE will have with you. You can email us all you want - as your email correspondence is excellent corroborating evidence of our charges against you - however, we will not respond from this moment forward.

More importantly, why is she attacking and threatening someone who was the victim of the very scumbags she claims so vehemently to oppose? A victim who contacted and worked with the authorities and the media, publicly took a stand, and got their money back after six months of unrelenting effort.

How many refunds has Badbizfinder gotten for people?

We tried to ask her, but she moderates comments on her blog and doesn't post anything that questions her integrity, professionalism, or success. All of which are apparently a clear departure from reality. I guess when you're afraid of being proved wrong and have things to hide censorship is the route to take.

We've listed a few sites that discuss badbizfinder in Clusterzine.

At first we speculated that these sites were created out of retribution for the “drive by attacks” Baldwin is known for. We initially gave her the benefit of the doubt. After her visit here however and the e-mails she sent to Zed, we're not so sure.

The opinions expressed by the writer are the opinions of the writer and their interpretation of shitheadery.

If you have an opinion about their opinion, leave a comment or submit an article.