HARRASSMENT AND FRAUD SCAM
Complaint
Ward Thomas Starrak
Country: United States
This company tried to withdraw money from my checking account unauthorized.
I placed a stop payment...My bank sent them a letter stating it was fraud.
TRS Services calls day and night stating we owe them money for a returned
check fee...No I don't owe them money...What a SCAM...why cannot someone
of our government agencies in the state of Texas do something about this
company?
I placed a stop payment...My bank sent them a letter stating it was fraud.
TRS Services calls day and night stating we owe them money for a returned
check fee...No I don't owe them money...What a SCAM...why cannot someone
of our government agencies in the state of Texas do something about this
company?
Comments
If a check bounced, they may be able to collect a fee, depending on state law, but this usually requires that the merchant post those terms at the checkout counter.
If you did bounce a check, they may have run it through again as an ACH charge, and they may be entitled to a check fee under the above circumstances.
If you did NOT bounce a check, then either they have misidentified you as connected to some bounced check, or someone may have passed a forged check with your account number on it.
It is not clear from your description, but if some company tried to run through an unauthorized charge, such as by ACH or phone check, and you blocked it, they might have passed off the "check" to TRS. TRS is no more authorized to charge your account than the original merchant.
Since TRS is a debt collector, they were required to send you written notice of the debt, and that you could dispute it, within 5 days of their first contact. Since they have phoned you, they have contacted you. Have they sent you the above letter required by FDCPA?
Texas has more specific requirements for debt collectors to respond to consumer disputes than most states.
http://consumerist.com/2010/08/crook-crack-check-image-sites.html
http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/07/28/1606320/ ... goes-viral.html
"Wednesday, Jul. 28, 2010
Savvy fake check scam goes viral
Internet crooks hack into check imaging sites
By Jordan Robertson - The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- Think of it as one more reason not to write checks.
Hackers believed to be operating out of Russia have figured out a high-tech way to carry out the decidedly low-tech crime of check fraud, a computer security company says - writing at least $9 million in fakes against more than 1,200 legitimate accounts
But these hackers got the account information in an unusual way: They broke into three websites that specialize in a little-known type of business - archiving check images online.
Check counterfeiting is a crime that savvy Internet criminals usually pass up. After all, it's far easier for them to make money by stealing credit cards and online banking passwords.
The scam was discovered by SecureWorks Inc., an Atlanta computer security company with operations in Myrtle Beach. The organization says it is working with the FBI and says the hackers have not been caught.
Retailers and other businesses use the sites to store records of all the checks they write. Check-cashing operations use them to sock away images of checks they receive. And some banks pay them to store images of customers' checks, so the customers can see them when they log in to their online banking accounts.
The criminals downloaded all the images they could find, grabbing bank routing numbers, names and addresses and even signatures of legitimate account holders. They used the information to create their own checks using easy-to-acquire software and printers.
Because all the account information is real and the victims don't know their accounts have been compromised, the odds of the checks going through are high.
SecureWorks notified the three sites and said they have closed their security holes, but warned that the scam is ongoing and targeting other, similar sites.
..."
Making others pay you for what they never agreed to is actually easier than running a competitive business that delivers a real product. You don't have to hire competent employees, nor do you have the expense of actual products. Your profit margin approaches 100%, as you only pay for minimum wage phone calls.
You just have to keep a low profile, look over your shoulder, keep changing your names, and be prepared to skip town. Pay off a few local charities, so you are "well respected", like the drug lords do.
Just scam for money, and create enough confusion so you don't get caught.
Debt collectors are required to comply with federal and state debt collection and credit reporting laws, in particular FDCPA and FCRA.
They cannot "put a lien on your bank account", without first suing you, winning, and getting a court to authorize it. They might try to run through an ACH charge against your account if they had your account number, and they will probably report the alleged returned checks to their sister company, Telecheck, which can block your ability to use checks at many merchants, and may block your ability to open checking accounts at many banks.
They were required to send you the letter notifying you of the debt, and it was also required to notify you that if you didn't dispute it within 30 days, or request validation, or the name of the creditor, then they would assume it was valid. (Under FDCPA that does NOT make it owed, only allows them to assume it is and try to collect it, but many debt collectors fraudulently claim otherwise.)
Send them a written dispute, mailed certified, return receipt requested, disputing the alleged debts, indicating that you do not owe this alleged debt, and that you are requesting that they obtain and send proof from the original creditor. If you send that letter withing 30 days of receipt of their first letter, they are required to obtain that proof and send it to you, and prohibited from any collection activity until they obtain and send it.
Although this might be someone forging checks with your name or account number on it, it might also be a transcription error by some clerk in writing down a driver's license number, and might have no connection to a check or account of yours. It might also be a check by someone with a similar name. They have been known to make these mistakes before, insisting whoever had the erroneous DL number was the person who wrote the alleged bad check, even when the names didn't match.
They have a record of screw-ups, attempting to collect from the wrong person, or continuing to call people even when notified of their error.
To teach an arrogant donkey, you must first get its attention.
Presumably, production of a copy of the alleged bad check should resolve the problem, but if they fail to prove the non-existent debt and continue collection and harassment, file a complaint against them with FTC, and contact your state Attorney General for assistance. (FTC recently settled with another debt collector, Allied Interstate, for $1.75 million, for engaging in abusive, harassing, and deceptive collection, including collection of unowed debts.)
You might also contact a consumer attorney. Both FDCPA and FCRA allow courts to award damages and attorney fees, so you should be able to find one to take such cases on contingency.
The possiblity of paying damages and attorney fees may be an additional incentive to clean up their mess quickly, where if you just try to get them to fix it yourself, you basically tell them they can ignore you, and might even be paid for doing so.
You might try www.naca.net
If you wrote a check, that was returned by your bank for NSF, and the merchant where you passed it notified you of the charge, then you probably owe it.
If the merchant screwed up, and your check was, say, negligently "lost" or "mangled", but they are falsely claiming it was returned by your bank when it was never sent to your bank, then IMO, no, although you would still owe the merchant for the payment.
If it wasn't your check in the first place, NO.
If it was a forged or altered check, that you disputed due to forgery, then NO. (See Reg. CC)
Dont use checks at retail merchants.
Use credit cards, let them pay the banks their merchant fees, and pocket the cash back from your bank. They really prefer this, and every one is happy, except TRS, who gets less business.
If the merchant did not deliver what you ordered, dispute it on that basis. You may have to sue them both. Or if this is a local merchant, contact your local District Attorney's consumer fraud unit.
In the future, don't use checks. Use only credit cards for retail purchases.