The collection agency of Pressler & Pressler has a track record of wrongfully identifying consumers and strings of violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In a recent case, Mr. Mark Hoyte was wrongfully identified by Pressler & Pressler as a debtor who owed $919 on a Sears-Citi credit card.
Pressler & Pressler hired a law firm specializing in debt collection to contact Mr. Hoyte about collecting on the debt. When Mr. Hoyte explained to them that he had never owned a Sears-Citi card, the law firm asked for personal information to verify the debt was not his. They asked him about the last 2 digits of his Social Security Number and his Date of Birth for verification. They didn’t match.
Despite this, Pressler & Pressler continued onward and the law firm prepared a lawsuit against Mr. Hoyte, who received a summons to appear in court to defend himself.
Third party debt collectors break the law by violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FDCPA is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to direct and monitor debt collection practices by third party collectors.
The FDCPA has laid down the guidelines for fair collection practices in order to protect consumers from being harassed by mean debt collectors. A creditor has a right to collect payment from you. But, debt collectors by no means are creditors; they are third party collectors and should not be allowed to browbeat you into believing their superiority.
In reality debt collectors are employed for a meager salary by debt collection agencies and are paid based on their collection abilities. Some debt collection agencies buy debts from original creditors for a discounted amount of the original debt. If a debt collector is actually successful in collecting money from you, the collectors take the major share of the money and give the creditors a share of the collection. Some creditors wash their hands off the debt by completely selling the debt. To collect payment on such debts, and to make the most of the debt, collectors resort to unethical means.
Some large financial institutions have large receivable departments like mortgage, home loan and health care companies. These companies employ ‘in house’ collectors to collect their debts. These collectors are not considered as ‘debt collectors’ by the FDCPA and therefore do not have to follow many rules under the FDCPA.
In a recent debt collection case, a consumer from Richmond, Virginia, was harassed by NCO Financial Systems for a zombie debt to such an extent that she ended up seeing a psychiatrist for depression. An NCO Financial Systems agent called her many times during the day and even night. He left messages on the voice mail box if his calls were not attended to. He called neighbors and disclosed details about her debt. He threatened to sue her, seize her vehicle and have her arrested.
NCO Financial Systems agent is a third party collector and not an ‘in house’ collector. NCO Financial Systems violated the FDCPA and can be sued by the consumer in the above case. NCO Financial Systems has countless rip off reports against it. It is considered to be the worst debt collection agency which creates zombie debts.
The FTC watches over the collection industry with eagle eyes but with so many collection agencies mushrooming in the market, the FTC acts if there are a substantial number of complaints about a particular agency.
In 2004, the FTC penalized NCO with 1.5 million dollars fine for reporting inaccurate information to the credit bureaus. Reporting wrong information to the credit bureaus is one of the violations of the FDCPA. Despite a regular array of complaints about it, NCO Financial Systems continues to violate the FDCPA.
Debt Collection Attorney Craig Kimmel is featured in this story from the Concord Monitor detailing the aggressive tactics that debt collectors employ to collect on debts they purchase for pennies on the dollar. Consumers reported being harassed and threatened. They said collection agents failed to investigate disputed debts and disclosed alleged debt to relatives and employers.
Third-party debt collectors generated 78,000 complaints to the Federal Trade Commission in 2008, twice the number received in 2003, according to the agency’s most recent report. That same year, the agency won more than $1 million in civil damages against collection agencies.
It happened years ago…so far ago that you erased it out of your mind. Your wallet was taken off the movie counter when you were buying popcorn, your number was lifted off of a gas station receipt, or your credit card was taken out of your purse when it was hanging over your chair at the local diner. You didn’t know the credit card was gone immediately; it wasn’t until you saw that $1500 credit card bill for clothing you didn’t purchase that you realized you were robbed.
At that point, you immediately contact the credit card company to report the card stolen. They understand and tell you that you will not be responsible for the charges. Thank goodness, you say with a sigh of relief. Life goes on.
Then, one day out of the blue, you get a call from a collection agency that claims that you not only still owe the original $1500, but also owe thousands of dollars in interest. According to the collection agency, there is no record of the theft and they warn you that if you do not pay back the debt ASAP, your credit will be permanently ruined, and even worse, they will look into legal action to recover the monies. How can this be? What is going on?
The debt lives and even though the company did write it off, a collection agency purchased it and is trying to wring the money out of you with the threat of knocking down the credit rating you have worked so hard to build and achieve. These debts, and all the personal information that accompany the debts, are purchased for anywhere from a fraction of a penny to twelve cents on the dollar. The collection agencies will then do anything they can to get as much of this money, including making empty threats and at times harassing consumers into paying just to be left alone.
So what do you do?
Keep records–if you are the victim of identity or credit card theft and you find that there are charges attributed to your name, you need to keep track of the crime. Police reports, written letters to the credit card company with a certified receipt attached, phone logs of credit card employees…all of these items could be very helpful.
See if you can get a written letter from the creditor releasing you from your debt.
Lastly, keep these records in your file cabinet in case the debt ever comes back to haunt you.
If you find yourself in this type of situation, and you are receiving countless calls from collectors trying to make you pay this debt, fight for your rights and call 1-800 NOT FAIR or drop us a line. We would be glad to discuss the situation with you to see how we can help. Our service is 100% cost-free.
Just the title of today’s blog entry seems a bit unfeasible. How can you deal with a debt collector, especially if they are threatening you, and/or using obscene language? Here are three primary rules of thumb you should take into account if you are being continuously called by a collector.
First, figure out why you are being called. Chances are someone is calling to collect on a debt and they have not received payment for several months. Or it could be an older debt that was sold to a third-party debt collector and they are trying to get as much money from you as possible. You need to make sure you understand the specifics of the debt. How much are they trying to collect? What for? How old is the debt? Do you remember the debt?
Get as much info as possible the name of the collector calling, the name of the collection agency, the creditor, the address and fax number for sending correspondence
Also, make sure that if you have never received written correspondence pertaining to the debt that you tell the collector you expect to receive a written follow-up following this call.
Unfortunately, identity theft is still running rampant so you may be getting calls after an impostor used your identity to seek credit. You would not be responsible for this debt, but you may experience a tremendous amount of resistance convincing the collector that you were a victim.
Second, do not disregard or ignore the calls. This debt may create a negative effect on your credit report so you want to research the matter and write everything down for your file.
Third, fight for your right to privacy. If you are first hearing of this debt through a collection call, tell the collector that from this point forward, you want all further correspondence in writing. You can also tell a collector that you do not want them calling you at work. From the moment you start speaking to a collector, you want to make notes of each and every conversation for your file. It is also important that you send written requests as well to follow up on what’s discussed on the phone. Send any correspondence, including disputes to both the collection agency and creditor, via certified mail, return receipt requested.
Also, make sure the collector knows that you are the only person who should be contacted regarding the debt. If this is not your debt, and it is an employer’s, friend’s or relative’s, you can write to the collection agency and request that they cease communication immediately.
More tips to come… keep your head up and if the calls are not ceasing, please contact us for further advice and assistance.
Debt collection agencies often employ harassing tactics that take advantage of consumer’s ignorance of the laws that are in place through the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. In Pennsylvania, there is help for seniors who are being harassed by debt collectors through the Widener University Law School’s Civil Clinic. You can read more about it here: Program helps seniors dogged by debt collectors.
