phone calls
Complaint
Thomas Blixa
Country: United States
This company calls me several times a day each time from a different number saying their trying to collect a debt for Capitol One. I have told them several times that if I had the money I would pay it. They simply refuse to listen! I have blocked every number that they have called from .........up to this date and will continue to do so.
Comments
You can find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net
You sue a few, and there are companies that sell lists of litigious consumers to the collection industry so they can reduce their exposure to risk. It might reduce your problem.
You might want to talk to a consumer attorney. You can find one in your state through www.naca.net
These guys set up a "production line" to harass and deceive, all fueled by the money they collect, but dependant on the tolerance of the rest of us for their antics. It works for them, because their violations cost them nothing, and result in higher profits.
To shift the equation, you must do so in a cost effective manner, just like they decided to operate illegally by assessing the costs and risks, and concluding that abuse, harassment, and deception pays, even if it is illegal.
Shift that equation, and they have incentive to change, at least with respect to how they affect you.
I'm an elderly retiree, and dealing with debt collectors has become my hobby. It keeps my brain active and also keeps me from getting bored.
Not to mention the fact that it definitely makes life a lot more interesting.
Thanks for your advice. I do enjoy reading your posts.
People who lie and cheat have created the game called "catch them at it".
tj, BTW, Portfolio Recovery Associates hasn't called me in over a year. They wouldn't dare!
You should meet Diana Mey.
http://www.dianamey.com/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/va-woman-fights-coll ... ref=abc-fb-recs
PRA would be wise not to mess with either of you, but should their judgement slip, get an attorney. It's what they understand best.
As the defaulted accounts from the last recession start working their way down to the pennies-on-the-dollar fly-by-nites, we can expect the 90% of U.S. consumers who actually pay their bills to be increasingly harassed by these liars and cheats, since they don't really care who they extort, only that they have some excuse when they are caught. The "accidental" erroneous collection is what is keeping their doors open, and depends on the rest of us tolerating their abusive antics.
These collection agencies don't perform some "important economic function" like they claim, since debt portfolios sold for pennies on the dollar will never bail out a foolish bank. They just feed on the perverse economics of worthless "assets" whose only real value is as props in phone extortion cons. In the absence of tolerance for lies and deception, if they paid for their many violations, this "debt" would have a negative value even if given away.
Based on patterns of complaints, as well as some court filings by legal aid attorneys, it appears they are attempting use a strategy of gaming the legal system to tag anyone they can with really old and often erroneous "debt", up to and including suing on out of statute "debt".
Part of their strategy appears to be continuous phone harassment, in an attempt to get some small token payment they can claim reset SOL, after which they sue. Many consumers report never receiving any required FDCPA "g" letter, suggesting they are deliberately avoiding notifying consumers of their right to dispute and request validation, or maybe just sending letters to old addresses, using as cover, the pretense that they don't "know" if the calls reached the alleged "debtor" unless and until the consumer provides identification. That would be consistent with the above harassment and SOL reset legal strategy.
Their very apparent "incompetence" shows indicators of design and planning.
You may not recall having a Capital One card, because you never had a Capital One card.
Want to find out safely what's going on? Call Capital One's fraud department, and ask them directly if any accounts show up under your name and SSN. Even if they sold it off, they will still have information in their records.
If something shows up, under your name and SSN, but at some address you never lived at, then you have "id theft".
If nothing shows up, you know PRA is playing "tag".
You seem very knowledgeable on this JDB. I too am receiving countless calls from them AFTER sending a cease & desist letter CMRRR last year. I made the mistake of answering one of the calls and told them that I have a signed receipt from them and they just royally screwed up by continuiously calling and if there was 1 more call I would seek legal action. My question to you is, do you know of an attorney via NACA that stands out above any others? There are so many listed. Do I need to find someone close to home or just someone in my state? Thanks in advance.
As general background, FDCPA allows you to sue in "any appropriate United States district court without regard to the amount in controversy, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction", which would generally include any state or federal court in whose jurisdiction you live, since the "damage" in violation of FDCPA is done where YOU live. Because of that wording in FDCPA, that court has jurisdiction to make a decision binding on the debt collector, even though they are in another state.
For example:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.shtm
"...
(d) An action to enforce any liability created by this title may be brought in any appropriate United States district court without regard to the amount in controversy, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, within one year from the date on which the violation occurs.
..."
As there is no requirement that you sue in your adversary's state, you might, therefore choose, for your own convenience, a competent attorney or law firm who appears to practice this type of law, perhaps in a reasonably close metropolitan area.
Since FDCPA and FCRA allow courts to award attorney fees if you win, attorneys who practice in this area of consumer law often take cases on contingency, and often advertize that on their websites. Being represented by an attorney already experienced in this area of law may both increase the likelihood of recovering damages under both state and federal law, but may increase the incentive for defendant to settle quickly. There are a number of attorneys who have built practices on FDCPA and FCRA cases, sometimes as an adjunct to consumer protection, consumer debt settlement, and personal bankruptcy practices.
One law firm, Barry and Slade, runs a periodic "FDCPA bootcamp" to train other attorneys practicing in this area, and a number of their "graduates" show up in connection with some notable FDCPA cases. Pete Barry might be able to put you in touch with attorneys who have been through his training course. There is also a company selling lists of "litigious" consumers who sue debt collectors, and tracking attorneys who specialize in FDCPA cases, so that debt collectors reduce their risk.
You might also look for an attorney who has already sued them. Although you could find this through a Pacer account, you can also search on justia.com, find other FDCPA or FCRA cases against them, then for those cases in your state, dig down to find the attorney representing the plaintiff. If this is a search of federal cases, then you will find attorneys qualified to represent plaintiffs before federal district courts. you can check out attorneys through their state bar websites, and find out how long they have been licensed to practice law, what school they went to, and whether there have been any state bar actions against them.
For example, recently they appear to be running about 2 new federal FDCPA cases per day, which is quite high for even a large debt collector.
http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=Portfolio+Recovery+Associates
Also be aware that there may be TCPA class action cases against debt collectors who use robodialers and continue calling "erroneously". If I remember correctly, Mathews Law Group, in California, filed a number of class action TCPA cases against several debt collectors with many complaints of robocaller harassment. Several other law firms have filed similar lawsuits based on TCPA violations for calls to cell phones.
These are tactics designed to evade disputes and validation requests, to solve the problem of collecting on really old debt for which documentation may be unobtainable or for which they don't want to pay. It appears that ignoring requests to cease calling may be part of this strategy, and that the same response spills over into how they handle "erroneous" calls to the wrong people.
You sent a cease communications letter, CRRR, notifying them to stop calling your phone number.
You have proof they received it.
Log all their calls, and when you answer tell them you notified them to cease calling, logging that you told them so.
You've played by the book, and it's clear they expect you to continue to do nothing, just like most consumers they harass.
Go find an attorney.