1099-C form
Complaint
Cassie
Country: United States
I got a call from NRA and he stated it was a collection call and stated a 1099 is going to be submitted. He was so dang rude and short talking over anything I said, I hung up on him. He called again, so I blocked his number. The number was 910-816-6804 from North Carolina. If he would have given me a moment to speak it may have been different. Horrible tactics that I don't and won't listen to!
Comments
His call was deliberately deceptive, intended to intimidate while evading their legal requirement to accept disputes and validation requests. There is no reason for a debt collector to tell you they are sending a 1099C other than an attempt to intimidate you. They can either file one or not, without calling you, assuming the alleged debt is even real.
NRA Group has a long history of consumer complaints of deceptive collection, much of it for old, often out of statute, even fraudulent, "music club accounts", like old Columbia House/BMG accounts. Those accounts were often openned by young adults, even minors, with no credit or id check, and the "music clubs" often crammed orders for shipments under "negative option" terms. You can also find consumer reports of crammed unordered and unauthorized shipments, even "accounts" opened with shipments to people who never even joined. There appears to be a steady trade in old "music club" accounts inflated with "termination fees", and several collection agencies specializing in this mixture of predatory, deceptive, and fraudulent "accounts". NRA Group is one of them.
Complaints against NRA Group include reports of attempting to collect unowed "debt" including deliberate credit damage, where the calling consumer is met with some "customer service" person who clearly knows it's a scam, basically holding their good credit hostage over a fake or "misidentified" account for an amount in the $30 to $150 range.
Sounds like they haven't even contacted you before, certainly not sent you any FDCPA "g" letter, or you would know they are in PA, and not NC. They are required to send you a "g" letter within 5 days of first contact, notifying you of the alleged debt, and of your right to dispute and request proof. Failure to send you that letter is a violation of FDCPA, for which you can sue them. Their "1099" gambit is an attempt to coerce payment before they are required to notify you of your dispute rights, which says it's likely they expect you to want to dispute and not pay the crap "account".
If you do actually receive a 1099 for "cancellation of debt", that does not mean it's your account, or that you actually owe it. There is a procedure for disputing erroneous 1099's with the IRS, which sends it back to the reporting company to correct.
You might also want to sue them. They are already heading down the deceptive collection path. You can find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net
It's all about control.
You are the sucker he's looking for.
And that's why abusive collection is fraud.
Steven C. Kusic, Chief Executive Officer
- or -
Ashley A. Chille, Esq., Ethics Contact
NRA Group, LLC
2491 Paxton St
Harrisburg, PA 17111-1036
Phone: (717) 540-7636
File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
Jumping to the 1099 C like this skips a lot of steps, steps that provide you with the opportunity to challenge the debt - NRA is rushing the gate to avoid having to prove anything and that sounds fishy to me.
A competent lawyer will be able to mediate any issues that might arise with the IRS and will be in a position to initiate fines against NRA for abusing the 1099 C instrument.
Wants you to say, "Please, oh please, don't report me to the IRS, for this debt you haven't even proven I owe. Here, just take my money. How much do you want?" They really expect to be conning suckers, since that's what most of their business consists of.
They mostly go after teens through 20 somethings for old "music club" "termination fees", which also have a high level of fraud connected to the scammy "negative option" marketing of the sleazy "music club" companies. There's a reason these scam companies have gotten left in the dust by the likes of Amazon and Apple (iTunes).
If they fail to send a 1099C, it's deceptive collection.
If it's deceptive collection, then they better send a "g" letter, or that too is a violation.
If they send a false 1099C, there is an IRS procedure to dispute it.
If they get a lot of disputes, maybe IRS will start looking into why.
(Probably not, unless enough people complain to their Representatives.
IRS doesn't really have a lot of cachet lately.)
More likely, they will try to BS you, harassing you with calls, maybe sending a deliberately vague "collection letter" with next to no information on this "account". The "1099" gambit is just another variety of their usual tactics.
You can find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net
And there's the distressing possibility of SOL. Does a 1099 restart the clock? Only a REAL competent lawyer can help you here.
But, you have to talk to a lawyer. Really.
The $600 limit is the amount in the IRS regs above which companies are required to file 1099s.
It's been that way for a long time, still is. What's changed is what that $600 is worth, due to inflation.
Your SOL issue is unrelated to whether any 1099 has been issued, short of being conned into paying on the alleged debt under a threat of a 1099. Why would actions by any party other than the alleged debtor, supposedly required by federal tax law, restart the clock for suing under state law? It's not an acknowlegement of the debt by the alleged debtor.
Can't see why you would even see this as an issue, or why you would then propose that only a "REAL competent lawyer" could get the consumer out of this trumped up debacle. Why would you take that position?
SOL becomes an issue if the person who has the 1099 passed by them doesn't know that it's there. Having a document show up at the IRS declaring that 'money was received' is a BIG, FAT, RED FLAG.
We all know that, whether you care to give us that credit or not.
I mean, law schools are putting these people out at a rate of, oh, several thousands per year. What is it that you can't find a recent grad with hundreds of thousands of student loan debt to shill for you?
Just askin'...really///;-)
Red flag to who? To a consumer without delinquent debt ANY illegitimate debt claim, in any form, is a red flag for either id theft/fraud, or a scamming debt collector. Deception in any form is a red flag for more deception.
IRS receiving 1099C doesn't reset SOL.
Paying IRS taxes on forgiven debt wouldn't reset SOL.
Paying alleged debt to alleged debt owner might reset SOL, but even that may vary by state.
The nature of the call still suggests an attempt to use the "1099" bit as a deceptive talk-off, to coerce some impulsive payment or "settlement agreement" on the debt to avoid this alleged "1099 being submitted to IRS". That suggests the deceiver has motive, that there is something illegitimate, suspect, or uncollectable about this "debt" through legal means.
Actions reveal motive, while deceptive talk-offs or illegal threats reveal propensity to lie and deceive in the service of motive.
Long story short, I am now being sued by American Express for the debt. The debt was nearly 15 years old but American Express is claiming that the statute of limitations is reset because I 'paid' tax on the income.
I have finally retained a lawyer - something that I should've done right from the start and we are working on trying to resolve this.
I can't stress enough how important it is to PAY ATTENTION. And, plz, people, talk to a lawyer. I contacted the ncpaa and have representation FREE. I don't pay a cent and, the way things are going, we might get a hefty settlement out of these folks without even going to court. But, this would've never happened without my getting a lawyer.