The AmericanConsumer Council, a consumer group affiliated with over 40credit unions, has awarded a debt collection for its consumeroriented service.

The council awarded the firm, CSF2, recognized it with itsFriend of the Consumer Award for 2013.

“The American Consumer Council is pleased to recognize CSF2 withits 2013 Friend of the Consumer Award for its commitment to helpinga large segment of consumers get back on their feet throughemployment assistance and debt negotiation services. As a financialrecovery company, CSF2 is offering valued services that millions ofconsumers desperately need as we emerge from one of the longestrecessions in our nation's history.”

The American Consumer Council is a Tulsa, Okla.-basedorganization with over 118,000 paid members. It is affiliated withover 40 credit unions. Affiliation with the credit unionsallows members of the council to join the credit union and bringsthe council income from the credit unions. The organization alsohas a corporate sponsorship program.

“For too long collection agencies have gotten away withunethical practices for how they treat consumers and collect debt.This has caused a great deal of negative publicity for the majorbanks who sell their charged-off credit cards to collection agencydebt buyers, and they are beginning to feel the consequences of thepolitical, legal and economic risk when they sell their delinquentloans to a company that abuses consumers, “said Bill Bartmann, CEOof CFS2, when explaining the debit collection niche his firmfills.

“We take a lot of flak from the collection industry because weare starting to make their life difficult. Regulators andlegislators are looking at what we are doing and asking why therest of the industry is not like CFS2. As you might guess, I am notvery popular at industry conventions and you don't need to look farto find our critics,” said Bartmann. “We'll see who gets the lastword. You can't go wrong by doing things right.”

The American Consumer Council is a nonprofit membershiporganization, founded in 1986, that is dedicated to consumereducation, advocacy and financial literacy. Each year, ACC grantsFriend of the Consumer Awards to deserving companies that have“demonstrated a commitment to American consumers by providing aservice that fosters consumer confidence and marketacceptance.”

CFS2 maintains that, unlike traditional debt agencies, CFS2provides a wide range of services to help consumers regain controlof their lives. Using a patented process, CFS2 offers free of costa full line of beneficial services for consumers, ranging frommedical discounts and job-hunting assistance to legal aid. Thecompany claims to have helped thousands of American consumersminimize their current debt by directly communicating with itsconsumers' other creditors, helping them find employment andassisting enrollment in government benefits.