MERLIN NAMED ONE OF TOP 6 SKIPTRACING SOLUTIONS BY COLLECTION ADVISOR

KALISPELL, MT – May 10, 2010 – Merlin Information Services is pleased to announce their recent designation as one of Collection Advisor’s “Top 6 Skiptracing Solutions 2010.” Skiptracing services were reviewed and compared based on a number of characteristics including types of data offered and the features and functionality associated with online and offline services. Reviews also included interviews with customers of each provider. Merlin’s comprehensive suite of collections solutions placed them among the top ranking skiptracing solutions providers.

Merlin’s collections solutions support agencies with skiptracing data, batching solutions, and locate services. Todd Twete, Merlin’s VP of Sales & Marketing, said, “Understanding the dynamic and challenging landscape in the collections industry, Merlin has embarked upon a corporate initiative to offer collection agencies a comprehensive suite of industry leading solutions. We are pleased to have been recognized by Collection Advisor Magazine.”

About Merlin

Merlin Information Services offers data solutions providing information about people, businesses, and assets. A leader in the investigative data industry, Merlin has a reputation for superior customer service, high ethical standards, excellent data, and flexible search and retrieval software.

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MERLIN MITIGATING RISK WITH LITIGANT DATA

KALISPELL, MT – May 4, 2010 – Courtesy of a strategic alliance with Grand Rapids based WebRecon, Merlin Information Services today announced the release of Litigant Alert. This offline batch service is designed to mitigate the risk of consumer rights lawsuits.

The Litigant Alert is powered by a rapidly growing database of FDCPA, FCRA, TCPA, and other consumer lawsuits filed in U.S. District Courts, as well as some state, county, and local courts. The Litigant Alert uses proprietary logic to find relevant matches to debtors by name, geography, and Social Security number.

An emerging trend finds that approximately 30% of debtors that have filed consumer litigation have filed more than one lawsuit. As such, agencies are experiencing rapidly escalating legal costs, many of which result from frivolous lawsuits where the FDCPA has not actually been violated.

“Collection agencies saw a 40% increase in consumer rights lawsuits in 2009,” said Merlin’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Todd Twete. “The Litigant Alert is a tool that will help agencies identify potentially risky debtors in their portfolios. Many of our agency customers understand that identifying these debtors proactively is key to mitigating risk and controlling expenses.”

A secondary result of the alliance is that the litigants will also be identifiable by appended Social Security numbers. WebRecon CEO, Jack Gordon, comments this is crucial to meeting the needs of the collections market. “Matching by Social Security number has been the number one demand of my customer base. We are continually innovating, but I don’t think there is a single more important thing we could have done than bringing SSNs into the mix. Speaking as a former collection agency owner, I could have saved thousands of dollars with an easy tool like this to pre-empt repeat litigants. I wish we had something like this just 2 or 3 years ago – it would have been tremendously helpful. I am very excited to be working with an equally innovative partner in Merlin to make this extraordinary product even better.”

About Merlin

Merlin Information Services provides access to public record and other databases to investigative professionals who locate people, look for assets, run background checks, or perform other investigative work. A leader in the public record industry, Merlin has a reputation for superior customer service, high ethical standards, excellent data, and flexible search and retrieval software.

About WebRecon

Creditors and collection firms use WebRecon’s services to easily segregate predictably litigious consumers from their databases. A significant percentage of consumer litigation is initiated by the same consumers over and over again, and screening them out of the general population can reduce lawsuits by as much as a third.

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MERLIN INFORMATION SERVICES RECEIVES 2009 CONSTANT CONTACT ALL-STAR AWARD
Constant Contact recognizes Merlin Information Services for its commitment
to best practices in email marketing and online surveys

KALISPELL, MT – April 20, 2010 – Merlin Information Services today announced that it has received a 2009 All-Star Award from Constant Contact®, Inc., a leading provider of email marketing, event marketing, and online survey tools for small organizations. Merlin Information Services was selected for meeting Constant Contact’s best-practice standards for the use of Email Marketing and Online Survey throughout 2009.

“Merlin understands that our prospect’s and customer’s time is precious, and we work hard to ensure our emails are both pertinent and informative,” said Katie Fries, Marketing Coordinator. “Our contacts often let us know how much they appreciate hearing from us.”

Merlin Information Services received a 2009 Constant Contact All-Star Award for demonstrating best practices in the effective use of Constant Contact Email Marketing and Online Survey in the following areas:

Email Marketing

• Frequency of campaigns
• Open rates
• Bounce rates
• Click through rates

Online Survey

• Frequency of campaigns
• Completion rate for each survey
• Completion count for each survey

“Our customers work hard to build strong relationships with their customers through email marketing and online survey and some, such as Merlin Information Services, truly excel in this effort,” said Gail Goodman, CEO, Constant Contact. “We created our All-Star Awards to highlight those customers who are passionately committed to following our best practices as they work to improve their customer communications. We’re proud of the role we play in helping Merlin Information Services be successful and we look forward to continuing to assist the company with its marketing efforts.”

 

About Merlin

Merlin Information Services provides access to public record and other databases to investigative professionals who locate people, look for assets, run background checks, or perform other investigative work. A leader in the public record industry, Merlin has a reputation for superior customer service, high ethical standards, excellent data, and flexible search and retrieval software.

Press Release Archives

Date	Article
November 23, 2009	Merlin Offers Experian Credit Header Data
August 5, 2009	Merlin Contributes to NCISS Legislative Fund
July 13, 2009	Merlin Launches Upgraded Website
March 3, 2009	Merlin Receives Better Business Bureau Honor
September 15, 2008	Merlin Wizdom Tutorials
June 16, 2008	New Educational Opportunities
March 13, 2008	Merlin Fosters a Community of Giving
October 2, 2007	Introducing PeopleFinder Unlimited–Unlimited Searching for One Fixed Price
March 21, 2006	Online Skiptracing Seminars