Harrassing phone calls
Complaint
John Pansini
Country: United States
These people have been calling me for months, but never asking for me by name. Their message always begins: "Portfolio Recovery Associates... Please return this call at 1-800-860-0644..." They go on to say, "This communication will be with a debt collector and is an attempt to collect a debt." Then they give their corporate address -- nothing else.
I searched them online and found that there are many complaints against this company. They buy old debts for next to nothing, and then try to intimidate people into paying. They must be stopped.
I would like to join a class action against them. Please advise.
Thank you,
John Pansini
I searched them online and found that there are many complaints against this company. They buy old debts for next to nothing, and then try to intimidate people into paying. They must be stopped.
I would like to join a class action against them. Please advise.
Thank you,
John Pansini
Comments
They are required to identify their company.
They are required to state that they are a debt collector, and that they are attempting to collect a debt.
They are also required to NOT disclose anything on the debt they are collecting to anyone other than the debtor, possibly including other people who might hear the same recorded message.
On top of those conflicting requirements, there was a recent court decision that they can't violate one of those rules just to comply with another.
Too bad, but all those restrictions were the result of abusive actions taken by past debt collctors.
Their solution in this case appears to be to leave out the identity of who they are trying to reach.
They are either trying to reach someone connected with your phone number, or possibly calling in error.
They could mail a letter, but a lot of debt collectors prefer to have a chance to intimidate people on the phone before they send the disclosure letter required by FDCPA, that notifies people that they can dispute debts and request proof. This is particularly the case with old debts of questionable validity, or where they employ cheap "skip-tracing", maybe just calling any name they can find in the white pages that is similar.
They might still put negative information on the credit report of whoever they claim owes the debt.
Regardless, it is more effective to resolve debt issues by letter, rather than expect a phone call to accomplish anything.
Do you have any bad debts that might have been sent to a collection agency?
Is there any negative debt information posted on your credit reports?
If so, dispute with the credit reporting agency using your credit report information.
If not, then your goal should be to drive them toward ceasing their harassment of you. Send them a letter indicating that they have been repeatedly calling you (give your number), that it is inconvenient for you to receive phone calls at any time, and that they must restrict their communications to U.S. Mail, ceasing all further calls.
They can look your number up if they want to send you a letter.
If they keep calling you, you can file complaints with your state Attorney General, and sue them.
March 31, 2008
Your Name
123 Your Street Address
Your City, ST 01234
ABC Collections
123 NotOnYourLife Ave
Chicago, IL
Date
Re: Acct # XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on August 28, 2009. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.
This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.
Please provide me with the following:
What the money you say I owe is for;
Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
Identify the original creditor;
Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent
At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:
Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.
Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.
If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.
I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment, unless you are informing me you consider this matter settled or you are removing this account from my credit report.
If your offices attempt telephone communication with me other than the two circumstances above, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.
It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.
Best Regards,
Your Signature
Your Name
FCRA limits how long they can report on your credit reports, and allows you todispute what they report.
You can sue for violations of either, in your local state or federal court, and both allow courts to award damages and attorney fees, so you can find attorneys who take these cases on contingency.
Dispute the alleged debt in writing, mailed certified so you have proof, and if you dispute within 30 days of their first letter, they must cease collection until they obtain proof from the original creditor and send it.
State SOL may apply. After a number of years has passed since the last payment, the debt becomes "out of statute" (OOS), and they can no longer sue to collect, or if they do, you can raise SOL as an affirmative defense and the court can toss the case out. In 2 states, they have a "statute of repose" after which not only can they not sue, but the "debt" is no longer legally owed.
FCRA limits credit reporting of negative information to at most 7.5 years from the original date of delinquency. They report after that, you dispute with the CRA, and they either remove it, or you can sue them.
If it's OOS, and they can't report it (FCRA), then all they can do is contact you and ask nicely. You can send them notice to cease communications, and that leaves them no choice but to send you one notice about what they will do. At that point all they can do is go away.
So first question: what type of alleged debt is this, and what is your state's SOL for that type of debt?
BTW: I have no outstanding debts and my credit score is excellent.