If you are receiving calls or letters from “Mercantile Adjustment Bureau” – read this first: Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, LLC is out of business. The company, founded in 1934 and based in Williamsville, New York, has closed – confirmed by the Better Business Bureau and reported by the Buffalo News.
Any contact claiming to be from Mercantile Adjustment Bureau should be treated with significant caution and verified before any payment or personal information is shared.
If you have an older debt previously with Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, it may have been transferred to Mercantile Solutions (mercantilesolutions.com), which appears to operate from the same Williamsville, NY address. Call +1-844-638-1122 – The Wood Firm PLLC works on contingency.
Key Takeaways
- Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, LLC is out of business. Any contact claiming to be from this company may be fraudulent
- The possible successor entity is Mercantile Solutions at mercantilesolutions.com, 165 Lawrence Bell Dr, Williamsville, NY
- Nine documented federal lawsuits targeting a consistent pattern: deceptive collection letters that obscure the 30-day dispute window, misidentify creditors, and conceal interest accrual
- Mercantile Adjustment Bureau is not connected to Mercantile Bank – those are separate entities
- The Wood Firm PLLC works on contingency – whether you owe the debt or not, we can help you
Who Is Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, LLC?
Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, LLC (MAB) was a third-party debt collection agency founded in 1934 and headquartered in Williamsville, New York (near Buffalo). For over 80 years, they collected healthcare, financial, and retail debts on behalf of original creditors including credit card companies, medical providers, and student loan servicers. They were not BBB accredited and their BBB file is now marked as out of business.
Phone number and address references to (716) 929-8200 / 716-929-8200 / 7169298200 at 165 Lawrence Bell Dr, Williamsville, NY 14221 now appear associated with Mercantile Solutions at mercantilesolutions.com. Whether that entity is a successor or separate company is worth verifying before engaging.
Is Mercantile Adjustment Bureau a Scam?
The original Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, LLC was a legitimate, decades-old debt collection agency – not historically a scam. However, because the company is now out of business, any contact claiming to be from “Mercantile Adjustment Bureau” raises an immediate red flag. Recent consumer reports have flagged suspicious messages referencing this name – consistent with a known fraud pattern where scammers impersonate closed or defunct collection agencies because consumers cannot easily verify whether the company still exists.
If you receive contact from someone claiming to be Mercantile Adjustment Bureau: do not pay immediately, do not provide personal or banking information, and call back only a number you have independently verified through official sources – not the number that called you. A debt owed to a company that has closed may have been assigned elsewhere, but that assignment should be documentable in writing.
Searching for “Mercantile Bank scam” or “Mercantile Bank phishing”? Mercantile Bank is a separate financial institution with no connection to Mercantile Adjustment Bureau. Contact Mercantile Bank directly through their official website for those issues.
Whether You Owe The Debt Or Not, We Can Help You!
Federal law protects you from abusive debt collection regardless of whether the debt is valid. You may be entitled to:
- Up to $1,000 per FDCPA violation
- Actual damages for emotional distress and financial harm
- Attorney fees paid by the collector if we win
✓ We work on contingency — You pay nothing unless we win
FREE Case Review: +1-844-638-1122
How to Handle Contact from Mercantile Adjustment Bureau or Mercantile Solutions
If you’re receiving calls or letters referencing Mercantile Adjustment Bureau or from (716) 929-8200 / 716-929-8200 / 7169298200, here is what to do given the company’s closed status and documented history of deceptive letter practices:
1. Verify Who Is Actually Contacting You
Because Mercantile Adjustment Bureau is out of business, identify in writing who exactly is contacting you, under what legal authority, and whether they are Mercantile Solutions or a different successor entity. Request their full legal name, address, and licensing information before engaging with any debt discussion. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, any debt collector must identify themselves accurately.
2. Scrutinize Any Letter for the Specific Patterns Courts Have Flagged
MAB’s lawsuit history centers on letter-based deceptions. Check any collection letter for: whether the 30-day dispute window start date is clearly identifiable (Bower alleged MAB made this impossible), whether the creditor is correctly identified (Nolet alleged MAB confused Capital One and Kohl’s accounts), and whether the balance discloses whether interest is accruing (Madar and Pinyuk both alleged MAB left this ambiguous). Any of these may be independently actionable under the FDCPA.
3. Request Written Debt Validation
Within 30 days of first contact, send a written validation request via certified mail. Given MAB’s documented history of misidentifying creditors, request the original creditor’s name and account number, the chain of assignment showing how the debt reached the current collector, and an itemized balance breakdown showing whether interest, fees, or collection costs have been added. The Hernandez case specifically challenged undisclosed collection costs added to student loan accounts.
4. Send a Cease-and-Desist if Calls Continue
Send a written cease-and-desist via certified mail. All contact must stop except to confirm cessation or notify you of legal action. Keep your receipt. Given MAB’s documented voicemail violations – leaving messages without identifying themselves as a debt collector – document every voicemail you receive as potential additional evidence.
5. Hire an Attorney
Once the collector knows you have legal representation, contact routes through your attorney. The Wood Firm PLLC works on contingency. Call +1-844-638-1122.
Lawsuits Against Mercantile Adjustment Bureau
MAB’s legal record reveals a consistent pattern: collection letters that obscured what consumers owed, who they owed it to, and when their dispute rights expired.
- Bower v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau (2:16-cv-01441): Class action alleging MAB sent a letter with a “deceptively designed” cut-off date that made it impossible for consumers to determine when their 30-day FDCPA validation window began – effectively denying consumers the ability to exercise their dispute rights.
- Nolet v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau (2:17-cv-01399): Alleged MAB misidentified the “original creditor” versus the “current creditor” in collection notices – specifically concerning Capital One and Kohl’s accounts – leaving consumers unable to verify or dispute the underlying debt accurately.
- Felberbaum v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau (1:16-cv): Class action alleging false, deceptive, and misleading collection practices.
- Goodman v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau (18-cv-04488): Alleged MAB failed to properly inform the plaintiff of her right to dispute the debt, a foundational FDCPA disclosure requirement.
- Hernandez v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau: Alleged MAB added collection costs to student loan debts without proper disclosure.
- Madar v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau: Alleged MAB failed to provide information needed to calculate the true balance of the debt.
- Pinyuk v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau: Alleged MAB did not clearly communicate whether the stated balance was accruing interest – leaving consumers unable to determine what they would actually owe by the time they paid.
- Sterling v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau (11-CV-639, W.D.N.Y.) and Mastalski v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau (1:12-CV-1293, N.D. Ohio): Earlier federal cases from 2011 and 2012 establishing MAB’s long litigation history across multiple districts.
How to Remove Mercantile Adjustment Bureau from Your Credit Report
If Mercantile Adjustment Bureau appears on your credit report, the company’s closed status and documented creditor misidentification history give you specific grounds to challenge the entry.
- Verify the original creditor – given the Nolet case’s Capital One/Kohl’s misidentification allegations, confirm that the creditor named in the entry matches your actual account records
- Check whether the balance is accurate – Madar and Pinyuk established a pattern of ambiguous balance disclosures. If the amount differs from what you recall, dispute the specific discrepancy in writing with all three bureaus
- If the collector is out of business, dispute the entry citing inability to verify with the source. Bureaus must investigate and remove unverifiable entries
- FCRA grounds – inaccurate reporting gives you a separate Fair Credit Reporting Act claim. Review your rights at the FTC’s debt collection rights resource
Why The Wood Firm PLLC Is the Right Call
MAB’s nine federal cases all share the same core: letters and communications built to confuse consumers about their rights and their debts. A cut-off date that hides the dispute window. A creditor name that doesn’t match the account. A balance that grows without disclosure. A voicemail that never identifies the caller as a debt collector. These are documented patterns – not isolated mistakes – and we know exactly how to match what was sent to you against what Bower, Nolet, and Pinyuk established.
The Wood Firm PLLC has handled FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA cases exclusively since 2010. Whether you owe the debt or not, we can help you. Contact stops within 48 hours of legal notice. You pay nothing unless we win.
Call +1-844-638-1122 and let’s see what they’ve actually sent you.
About Attorney Jeff Wood
Jeff Wood founded The Wood Firm PLLC exclusively for consumer protection – FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA cases. With over 15 years of experience and Of Counsel relationships in Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia, he has never represented a creditor or collection agency.
We Have Helped People Like You
“MAB sent me a letter about a Kohl’s account but kept referencing Capital One as the creditor. Nothing matched my records. The Wood Firm PLLC identified the creditor misidentification as matching the Nolet case pattern, challenged the collection, and it was dropped entirely. The credit entry was removed.”
— Client, New York
“I received a letter from MAB that had a date printed on it but no clear explanation of when my 30-day dispute window started or ended. By the time I figured it out, I thought the window had passed. The Wood Firm PLLC told me that kind of ambiguity was exactly what the Bower case was about. They pursued the FDCPA claim and I received compensation.”
— Client, Ohio
“MAB left voicemails that never said they were a debt collector – just a phone number to call back. I didn’t know who was calling until I did my own research. The Wood Firm PLLC explained that failing to identify as a debt collector in messages is an FDCPA violation. The claim was filed and the harassment stopped.”
— Client, Buffalo, NY
Whether You Owe The Debt Or Not, We Can Help You!
Free Consultation • No Upfront Costs • We Work on Contingency
Common Questions About Mercantile Adjustment Bureau
Is Mercantile Adjustment Bureau still in business?
No. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, LLC is out of business, confirmed by the Better Business Bureau and reported by the Buffalo News. If you receive contact from someone claiming to be Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, verify the contact carefully before paying or sharing any information – this pattern has been flagged in recent consumer fraud reports. A possible successor entity, Mercantile Solutions, operates at mercantilesolutions.com from the same Williamsville, NY address.
Is Mercantile Adjustment Bureau connected to Mercantile Bank?
No. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau was a debt collection agency. Mercantile Bank is a separate financial institution. They share a word in their name and nothing else. If you are searching about a Mercantile Bank data breach, phishing message, or fraud – that is a completely different situation requiring contact with Mercantile Bank directly.
Their letter has a date on it but I can’t tell when my 30-day dispute window started – is that normal?
No – and it may be intentional. The Bower class action specifically alleged MAB designed letters with cut-off dates that made it impossible for consumers to determine when the 30-day FDCPA validation window began. If your letter’s timing is ambiguous, document it carefully and call +1-844-638-1122 before assuming the window has passed.
Their letter names a creditor I don’t recognize – should I pay?
Not without verifying. The Nolet case alleged MAB misidentified original creditors versus current owners – specifically confusing Capital One and Kohl’s accounts. If the creditor named in the letter doesn’t match your account records, that discrepancy is a basis for a written dispute and a potential FDCPA violation. Request full validation including the chain of assignment before engaging.
Their letter doesn’t say whether my balance is growing – is that a problem?
Potentially. Both Madar and Pinyuk alleged MAB failed to disclose whether stated balances were accruing interest – leaving consumers unable to calculate what they’d actually owe by payment time. If your letter shows a balance without disclosing interest accrual status, that omission may match the documented violation pattern.
Should I pay before speaking to an attorney?
No – especially given that the original company is out of business and any contact carries fraud risk given the company is closed. Whether you owe the debt or not, a free call to The Wood Firm PLLC costs you nothing and could reveal the contact is fraudulent, the debt is invalid, or that letter violations have already occurred. Call +1-844-638-1122 before paying anything.
