Partners and clients have been asking for years when MetCredit would be expanding to the United States. Well, the time is now.
Introducing MetCredit USA.
Read the Press Release
After 46 years of leadership as a national collection agency serving telecommunications giants, major banks, manufacturers, service industry leaders and SMBs Canada-wide, MetCredit has acquired a controlling interest in Credit Bureau of Jamestown (CBJ) which it will operate as MetCredit USA and a launchpad into the U.S. market.
MetCredit has partnered with U.S. collection agencies for decades—so our teams are well-versed at U.S. collection regulations.
It’s a move we’ve been carefully planning for a long time. We have been very successful at building the MetCredit brand in Canada into a dominant, highly respected position. We’re trusted by organizations in all provinces and territories to collect debt quickly and ethically, and through recent acquisitions we’ve grown our reach and capacity in Canada.
MetCredit has partnered with U.S.-based collection agencies for decades, recovering debt from businesses and consumers in Canada who owe money to American organizations. As a result, many of our regional team members are well-versed at the FTC’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as well as state debt collection regulations. Building enduring relationships with several American collection agencies has been enjoyable and enlightening.
Credit Bureau of Jamestown is one such business relationship — and a longtime MetCredit collaborator with many shared values.
Founded over 80 years ago by Gerald Shelters, CBJ ranks among America’s longest-operating debt collection agencies. Mr. Shelters sold the business to his son-in-law William Hartweg in 1965, and in 1995, William’s sons Andrew and Matthew took ownership. Andrew and Matthew Hartweg will remain in their respective leadership roles of Executive Vice President and Vice President, and I will carry my President and CEO title to the new MetCredit USA.
The family nature of CBJ is very meaningful to MetCredit. Our company’s founder Frank Reilly brought his son into the business, and Jason Reilly is a MetCredit VP today. If you listen to the team members in our videos, the word ‘family’ comes up repeatedly, because that’s how we strive to treat our colleagues.
It’s invigorating to watch our diverse MetCredit family grow, now crossing international borders.
And it feels right.
CBJ has been a dominant player in U.S. healthcare receivables collections, a landscape that has become increasingly complex in the era of big data and unprecedented privacy concerns. MetCredit’s innovative technology and security protocols will enable the U.S. company to gain a larger piece of the marketplace, while the connections and expertise of CBJ will spearhead MetCredit’s U.S. expansion.
Andrew Hartweg emphasizes that although multiple synergies made for a good fit, it was not the only thing he and Matthew required in making such a major transition for what has been a family-owned business these many years since their grandfather started it.
“Healthcare receivables have been our specialty, serving clients throughout Western New York and Western Pennsylvania,” Andrew says. “We have been successful for three generations by building a respected reputation and quality service based on professional conduct, personal integrity, leading technology and ongoing employee training. We place great value not only on our relationships with our clients, but on the relationships our clients have with their patients. MetCredit’s focus on assistive debt collection, its deep healthcare expertise, and longstanding track record of successful client rehabilitation are all vital elements, but it was the trust we built with Brian Summerfelt that cemented this deal.”
I appreciate that — and it’s very much mutual.
MetCredit USA and its Canadian counterpart MetCredit will operate as separate companies, sharing knowledge and partnering on cross-border engagements.
It’s an exciting step for MetCredit — one of the biggest we’ve ever made. I’m thrilled for our teams on both sides of the 49th parallel.
Welcome, CBJ family, to the MetCredit family!
President and CEO of MetCredit, Canada's top-performing consumer and commercial collection agency
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