Collection of Non Payment
Complaint
Perez
Country: United States
WE received a call for senior citizen at this residents staing she owes money for a magizine subscription. But she refuzed to talk to me and wanted that subject she call. She wanted a credit card or Bank Car to debit her card, which she does not have. So she told them they only can get Money Orders from here. ( That what she pays for Items ) and they gave her an address P.O. Box 67015, Harrisburg, PA 17106. To send money order to.
Comments
If they are calling you, they should send you a letter notifying you of your dispute rights within 5 days of their first contact. Failure to send that letter is a violation of FDCPA.
Send a dispute letter to NRA, mailed certified, notifying them you dispute the alleged debt and request that they send proof from the original creditor that you owe it. Make sure you send this letter within 30 days of receiving your first letter from NRA, so that you can invoke FDCPA's prohibition against continued collection until they obtain and send proof.
Pull your credit reports, see if they have posted anything, and dispute errors through the credit reporting agencies, in writing, mailed certified.
If NRA "verifies" a reported bogus debt, file complaints with FTC, your state AG, and the PA AG, and find an attorney. Verification by the debt collector of erroneous reported information after you dispute through the credit reporting agency is a requirement for suing the debt collector for their error.
Watch for any notices from other creditors raising your interest rates or cutting your credit limit due to credit report information, as that is evidence of damages caused by NRA's "reporting error".
Who cares about spelling in a post from years ago?
Really?
They may have pulled your credit report, which would have given them access to your DOB, SSN, and past addresses. They could also have gotten some of this information from skip trace databases such as Accurint. They probably also put a negative collection account on your credit reports, for a bogus "debt", that will probably now show "paid collection". Get copies of your 3 reports and look for their inquiry.
If they conned you into paying a debt you did not even owe (fraud), contact FTC, your state Attorney General, and the Attorney General for the state of Pennsylvania. Report that they deceived you, conning you into paying a debt you never owed, using your identification information as "proof".
Disputing through the credit reporting agency is a necessary first step to establish liability by the debt collector, should you have to proceed to a lawsuit.
If this is a bogus debt being reported by NRA or NCS, it is likely that they will "verify" their error, rather than remove it. Both have been collecting on suspect debts originating with BMG or Columbia House, supposedly for old music club "termination fees", but they have engaged in "shotgun" collection tactics, basically mailing dunning letters to any similar name they can find, accompanied by damaging credit.
Be prepared to sue them, as paying even trivial bogus "debts" will still leave you with damaged credit from the paid collection account on your reports. They are basically engaged in deceptive debt collection, including reports of re-aging old accounts to keep them on credit reports.
Be aware that a number of reports indicate they have obtained identity information, including SSN, even where consumers never had accounts, and are using it to con consumers, claiming it is some sort of "proof". It doesn't appear that Columbia House routinely acquired SSN information to open accounts in the first place.
File complaints with FTC, your state Attorney General, and the AG in the state of the debt collector. From other complaints, the PA AG appears to be aware of what NRA is up to, and the Kansas AG appears to be aware of what NCS is up to.
Both FDCPA and FCRA allow courts to award both damages and attorney fees should you prevail, so you may be able to find an attorney with experience in consumer debt litigation who will take such cases on contingency.
Try www.naca.net
Two failed engine repairs only lasted 4 months on the same V6 engine for 2000 by Saturn by Master Tech, Chandler Street, Winder, Georgia.
I live in Ala., and my daughter, who lives in Georgia and Ichose Master Tech because they had done good work on another auto repair. The Saturn had to be solded for salvage. $3800.00 for the engine and maybe $4000.00 for the lost of an auto.
Thank for reading my e-mail
E Anderson
Huntsville, Ala.
This is harrassment. I have leased my car for the past 10 years and the only car registered under my name was purchased from a friend for under 4K for one of my children. I paid cash. It has since been donated to Cars for Kids. And it wasn't the type of car they said I owed on - which I had never heard of. I told them to check with the registry for my name and my now (former) address. They told me the burden of proof was on me and they needed my SS#. This is crazy.
"NRS Inc. tried calling me to recover a car that I don't own."
Then it's not likely they will recover it from you. Nor is it likely you can tell them where it is.
Debt collectors are required to comply with federal law (FDCPA) and similar state laws. After their first contact they were required to send you, within 5 days, a letter notifying you of your right to dispute whatever alleged debt they claim you defaulted on, even if they have misidentified you. Doesn't sound like they did that. That was a violation of of FDCPA and similar state laws, and you could sue them.
"They told me the burden of proof was on me and they needed my SS#"
That was a deceptive and false statement (a lie). FDCPA prohibits using deception to collect a debt. That was a violation of FDCPA, and you can sue them for making it.
It is clear you aren't going to get their attention by trying to reason with them. Nor is doing nothing and hoping they give up likely to work. You might find they have trashed your credit ("in error"), and they might even sue you for the balance due on the car, maybe even getting a default judgement by "serving" you at your former address. Better to bring this to a head now, and shove the cost of fixing it back onto them.
Contact your state Attorney General for assistance, as they have already violated federal and state debt collection laws several times. They will probably find a way to straighten out the error in their records if they get an inquiry from your AG.
Otherwise find an attorney with experience in FDCPA and FCRA litigation, and let him do what he knows how to do. Both laws allow courts to award damages and attorney fees if you win, and FDCPA allows up to $1000 in statutory damages on top. The possibility of paying damages AND paying your attorney might be an effective motivator for them to fix their mess.
http://www.dc.bbb.org/complaints/commoncomplaint.html
or file a complaint with the PA attorney general at this website
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/Complaints.aspx
or if you want to try and resolve directly with NRA, here is the contact information for their Compliance Officer and General Counsel.
Danelle O'Connor
Compliance Officer
NRA Group LLC
dba National Recovery Agency
2491 Paxton Street
PO Box 67015
Harrisburg, PA 17106-7015
800-360-9953 x3087
800-360-9954 Fax
doconnor@nationalrecovery.com
I also got the contact information for NRA's General Counsel - Elizabeth Rose
Elizabeth L. Rose, Esq.
Corporate Counsel
NRA Group LLC
d/b/a National Recovery Agency
2491 Paxton Street
PO Box 67015
Harrisburg, PA 17111
800-360-9953 x3024
800-360-9954 Fax
erose@nationalrecovery.com
www.nragroup.com Client Website
www.nationalrecovery.com Consumer Website
In addition, the owners of the company are Steve C. and Jill E. Kusic. I believe their email addresses are skusic@nationalrecovery.com and jkusic@nationalrecovery.com.
Their registered agent is Joseph Giambalvo
Joseph Giambalvo
1012 Drew Street
Clearwater, FL 33755
Apparently the company had revenues of $30 million last year and describe themselves as a "responsible revenue recovery agency". The Kusics play themselves off as a local do-gooder couple and spread some of their $30 million around to local charities - maybe to make themselves feel better for the intentional damage they're causing elselwhere. Good luck and spread the word!!
Since they practically always damage credit on these bogus "debts", promptly dispute the "debt" in writing, certified return receipt requested, to establish continued collection liability under FDCPA.
Then pull your credit reports, dispute their "erroneous" reporting, and when they "verify", hand it off to an attorney, due to violations of FDCPA and FCRA, so they can pay your attorney fees as well.
Their rate of federal lawsuits has been rising over the last year.
What can I do to resolve this or stop this from happening again? I have young children and I do not like the idea of strangers coming to the house and knowing which car is mine etc, and leaving notes. Where the hell do they get their information from?
FCRA only allows reporting of debts on credit reports for 7.5 years from the original date of delinquency. If it went delinquent in 2002, then they illegally "re-aged" it to put it on your credit reports. There are a number of other complaints implying illegal re-aging.
For example, you should be aware of the Florida Attorney General allegations, here:
http://www.myfloridalegal.com/lit_ec.nsf/inve ... 525769C00567B87
"...
Allegation or issue being investigated:
1) Violation of Fair Credit Reporting Act for re-aging debts for purposes of credit reporting by falsely reporting to Experian that the alleged debts are new, when some are so old they can no longer lawfully be reported (NCS); 2) Violation of Fair Credit Reporting Act for reporting amounts in excess of that owed (NCS);
..."
"She said they sent a letter to an address and didn't receive a response so they put it on my credit. "
Probably a false statement intended to convince you that their damage of your credit, even if they "misidentified" you, is "your fault". They are commonly reported to trash credit files before contacting consumers, and numerous complaints indicate that consumers first became aware of the alleged "debt" from finding it on their credit reports.
Crafted deceptive statements, constructed to channel or guide you toward their intended goal, are indicators of fraudulent intent.
"Then my son who has the same name gets a letter from NRS for the same thing. "
That is an indicator that they are blindly computer matching alleged account information against databases such as Accurint, without any checking. In effect, they are using old, questionable music club termination fee "debts" as an excuse to bill and trash the credit of anyone with some loosely related name.
That is consistent with complaints on other sites, such as here:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/entertainment/bmg.htm
They failed to remove their "error" in response to your CRA dispute. That is the key step under FCRA to establish their liability for their "error".
Get an attorney before your creditors start trashing your credit lines.
You might try www.naca.net
http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=NRA+Group
http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=NRA+Group
"...
Estep v. NRA Group, LLC
Filed: November 17, 2010 as 3:2010cv03302 Updated: November 17, 2010 22:16:13
Plaintiff: Larry Estep
Defendant: NRA Group, LLC
Presiding Judge: Michael M. Mihm
Referring Judge: Byron G. Cudmore
Cause Of Action: Fair Debt Collection Act
Court: Seventh Circuit > Illinois > Central District Court
..."
Note plaintiff's attorney:
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/illinois/ilcdce/3:2010cv03302/50770/
"Plaintiff: Larry Estep
Represented By: Daniel A Edelman
..."
Edelman, Combs, Latturner & Goodwin is known for consumer protection class action lawsuits.
http://www.edcombs.com/
http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/11d0132p.pdf
The notice wording at issue:
"...
Among the required disclosures in the validation notice is
“a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector.”4
The validation notice that Harlan received departed from that statutory language by stating:
“Unless you dispute this debt or any part thereof within 30 days after receiving this notice, the debt will be presumed to be valid.”5
..."
"b. Use of “Presumed” & Omission of “by the Debt Collector”
The Court has little difficulty in finding that Defendants’ use of “presumed,” together with their omission of “by the debt collector” and language with similar meaning, violated the Act.
...
Even non-legal dictionaries define “presumed” as “to suppose to be true without proof, [as in] presumed innocent until proved guilty.”30 And a presumption—the thing presumed—is a “legal inference” that “shifts the burden of production or persuasion to the opposing party.”31 The party enjoying the benefit of the presumption, of course, prevails in legal proceedings if the opposing party does nothing to rebut it (in the case of rebuttable presumption).
...
At a minimum, this language creates significant uncertainty about what rights the debtor has if she fails to dispute the debt within 30 days.
...
Moreover, Defendants’ omission of language indicating that it is the debt collector that will assume the validity of the debt only fuels the confusion. Though Defendants need not use the verbiage “by the debt collector,” courts have held that they must include some language that
makes clear it is only the debt collector that may assume validity and only for collection purposes; otherwise the debtor is left uncertain about what entity will make the assumption and for what purpose.33 This is particularly so here, where Defendants informed Harlan that the debt
would be “presumed” valid without specifying by which entity. Given the legal connotations of that word, the least sophisticated debtor could reasonably believe that failure to dispute the debt would create an evidentiary presumption of validity by a court or other entity of authority in a subsequent collection proceeding.
And, of course, that interpretation is inaccurate. The statutorily required validation notice is intended to convey to the consumer that failure to dispute the debt permits the debt collector to proceed for collection purposes on the “temporary fiction” that the debt is valid.34 Failure to dispute a debt has no legal effect on a debtor’s rights, and a court may not construe such failure as an admission of liability.35 In any subsequent collection action, the burden would remain on the debt collector-plaintiff to prove the validity of the debt.
..."
Today, I was told writing another letter denying I owe this bill would not stop them from harassing me. What a shame.