Too many collection agencies
Complaint
Scott E Amundsen
Country: United States
I currently have three accounts in collections: two credit cards with whom I am fighting over usurious finance charges and what I consider to be illegal practices, and some medical bills that I am currently dealing with Medicaid about; I say they should have covered them and they seem to think otherwise.
The total amount of this debt is pretty small, as debts go: maybe 1,500 dollars, if that. But in the last six months I have received collection notices from no fewer than SEVEN different companies. Most of them seem to represent one of the credit cards, but the other two accounts appear to have been shuffled around as well.
Is this legal?
The total amount of this debt is pretty small, as debts go: maybe 1,500 dollars, if that. But in the last six months I have received collection notices from no fewer than SEVEN different companies. Most of them seem to represent one of the credit cards, but the other two accounts appear to have been shuffled around as well.
Is this legal?
Comments
This creates several problems for consumers.
Who do you pay? Is the amount correct, and if you pay it, will it be correctly credited against the debt owed?
To check on the validity of any alleged debt claim from a debt collector, send a letter, certified, requesting that they obtain validation (proof) of the debt from the original creditor, and send it to you. It is best to send this within 30 days of receiving your first letteer from any debt collector, since that activates the FDCPA prohibition against continued collection until they obtain and send validation.
You are generally better off paying the original creditor, if you can. This is particularly the case with medical debt, where you want to make sure that the billing is correct, and that all insurance (or Medicare or Medicaid) claims have been submitted correctly, since when those claims have been messed up, consumers often find themselves charges higher rates on medical debts they may not be contractually obligated to pay due to insurance-medical provider contract terms. The debt collector often has every incentive to gloss over and ignore this problem since they only get paid if you pay THEM, but the result is in effect that they assist the medical provider in defrauding you through unowed charges contrary to contracts.
See if you can get assistance, either from your county welfare agency, or even the hospital, to make sure the billing is correct.
Make sure you send validation letters, certified, to each debt collector, and insist that they send the full ITEMIZED medical bills, not dumbed down simplified summaries.
Medical billing is already complicated, and a substantial number of such bills have errors or erroneous charges, due to patient mix-ups, billing coding errors, charges for seervices never performed, etc.
Based on the law, they cannot contact you at your place of business. They are only legally able to contact you at your home; you can also send a stop and desist letter via certified mail.
Record their conversation, when you speak to them if you do, many of them have no clue of the law and make drastic mistake threatening people. They can't make any statements in which they can destroy your credit, call your family, call your work and or tell everybody that you have debts and you do not pay, this is protected by the law. IN this case now you have the upper hand, as now they open the door for a lawsuit, almost any attorney will take this type of cases on contingency. Is an infringement of your rights and punish by law. This people use scare tactics to scare people and even collect many times the same debts that have been paid previously.
The reality nothing that they can do, if you do not or can't pay, they must take you to court and get a judgment against you, then they need to be able to collect.
You want to get even, call then day in and day out, to their numbers use redial, and have anybody that you know do the same, do it day in and day out, that will shut down their PBX system, if they do it to you do it to them.
Yes annoying, but effective if hundreds of people do the same and saturate their phone lines.
Remember their 800 are free to you, they pay for it, call put them on hold and have your friend do the same, do this every day as much as you can. IF they have the right to harass you, you have the right to do the same to them. They called you first!
Here are some of the biggest scan bags in the industry, and believe me they are all scan bags at the end. They count on you to be afraid of them.
RGS Financial
http://www.rgsfinancial.com/
P.O. Box 852039
Richardson, TX 75085-2039
RGS Financial, Inc.
1700 Jay-Ell Drive
Suite 200
Richardson, TX 75081
Call their 800 numbers is free to you but not to them.
They use many spoof numbers if any, as many times they use no caller ID on purpose but they leave you a number to call. Always keep the recording particularly if they are menacing and report does to your police local department as now you have a legal record.
Spoof Number used: 1310-953-3485
Viking Collection Service, Inc.
Minnesota
7500 Office Ridge Circle, Suite 100
Eden Prairie, MN 55344Arizona
2075 West Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite 110
Phoenix, Arizona 85027 Spoof number use caller id Block. One of their numbers is 1800-287-5802
Primary Financial Services also uses Collection agency services to mask there illegal practices (http://www.collectionagencyservices.net/)
http://www.primaryfinancial.com/ (Their web site is been down for long time to be able to cover their illegal practices)
3115 N 3rd Ave Ste 112
Phoenix, AZ 85013
(602) 279-1000
1800-661-0086
If you want to negotiate a settlement call your original lender directly, do not with this scan bags, they are in commissions or percentages based. Many banks and lender will negotiate up to 80 % of the debts, make sure they do not report it to the IRS if not they can make you pay the taxes on the remaining amount, and make sure they clean your credit, get it in writing first.
Don't get mad get even.
People which do block the caller ID and or use Spoof numbers always have something to hide, that is the only reason they will use a Spoof number (Fake number / Voip Number / Or PBX number whit no actual connection only rings and then dies) Report them to the Authorities, this business practices are illegal and punish by law: if they use spoof numbers, Obscene and rude language, threats, harassment, all this are felonies and punish by law. Report them to your Local Telecom provider, your local District attorney, the local police department, your local senator, record the conversation and keep any and all voice mail left, don't be afraid, they can do absolutely nothing to you till they take you to court if you owe them any money, is futile to argue with ignorant people.