PHONE CALLS - CONSTANTLY WRONG NUMBER
Complaint
Lisa Flynn
Country: United States
Company calls and calls - -it is for a business debt -- I live in my home and have -0- debt..... over 50 calls -- comuter generated -- asked to stop multiple times -- called the company -- threatened me and told me I have a problem.... this should be illiegal!!!!! do not call lists and FINES for harrassing the wrong people.
Comments
Specifically, it is a violation of TCPA, and as a result you can sue them for $500 per call, or $1500 per call for willful violations.
See, for example, Watson v. NCO:
http://www.dltlaw.com/CM/Alerts/Prerecorded-Mechanical.asp
You did not give your consent to their autodialed calls, and since you are not the debtor, they have no existing business relationship with you as authorization for repeated calling with an autodialer.
Start logging and documenting the dates and times of the calls.
Send them notice, certified so you have proof of their receipt, that they are repeatedly calling your number (xxx-xxx-xxxx) in error, that you have repeatedly told them to cease calling it, and that they have continued to call despite your demands that they cease.
If they fail to cease calling after receipt of your letter, file a complaint with your state Attorney General, and start looking for an attorney willing to take the case on contingency.
Meta-tracking:
http://www.mycallbot.com/numbers/7163810332
Buffalo NY area code.
http://phones.whitepages.com/716-381
Buffalo NY is home to many debt collectors with compliance problems.
Note that the charges are consistent with many consumer complaints on this and other sites.
It appears they got caught in numerous violations of FDCPA, including harassing and abusive calling of both consumers and third parties, disclosure to third parties, deception and threats to take actions they had no intention of taking, and generally stonewalling and ignoring consumer disputes while continuing to collect on unowed debts.
Also note the terms of the settlement.
Allied has agreed that when the consumer disputes a debt, or "a reasonable person would consider the information on which Allied is relying to collect the debt to be implausible, facially unreliable, or missing essential information", they must cease collection until they have obtained verification from the original creditor.
In addition, if they fail to substantiate the alleged debt, they can only return it to the client that assigned it to them, and if they bought it they cannot resell it. Note that this applies without regard to whether the alleged debt is disputed within 30 days.
Now they get to comply with an appropriately tightened version of FDCPA.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/10/alliedinterstate.shtm
"For Release: 10/21/2010
Debt Collector Will Pay $1.75 Million to Settle FTC Charges
Ignored Consumers’ Disputes Without Checking Its Information for Accuracy
To resolve Federal Trade Commission charges, one of the nation’s largest debt collectors will pay $1.75 million for allegedly making repeated telephone calls to collect from the wrong person, to collect the wrong amount, or both. The settlement is the second largest civil penalty obtained by the FTC in a debt collection case.
“Debt collectors had better make sure their information is accurate, or they could end up paying a big penalty,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “There is no excuse for trying to collect debt from someone if you can’t confirm that they actually owe it.”
According to the FTC’s complaint, between 2006 and at least 2008, Allied Interstate, Inc. continued collection efforts even after consumers told the company they did not owe the debt, without verifying the accuracy of the disputed information. Allied is a Minnesota corporation that works out of offices in the United States, Canada, India, and the Philippines. The company also allegedly made improper harassing phone calls to consumers, using abusive language or calling many times a day for weeks or months, sometimes hanging up when the calls were answered. In addition, the complaint charges that Allied made repeat calls to third parties seeking to locate a consumer, revealed alleged debts to third parties without the consumers’ consent or court permission, and threatened legal action against consumers it did not intend to take. The complaint alleges that these practices violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
In addition to the monetary penalty, the proposed consent decree requires Allied to take specific steps whenever (1) a consumer disputes that he or she owes the debt or the amount of the debt, or (2) a reasonable person would consider the information on which Allied is relying to collect the debt to be implausible, facially unreliable, or missing essential information. In either circumstance, Allied must either close the account and end collection efforts or suspend collection until it has conducted a reasonable investigation and verified that its information about the debt is accurate and complete. If Allied cannot substantiate that the consumer owes the debt, the company cannot sell the debt or provide it to any business other than the client from which it obtained the debt.
The consent decree also bars Allied from:
Making false statements to collect a debt or obtain information about a consumer;
Making claims that a debt is owed or about the amount without a reasonable basis;
Asking a third party for a consumer’s location information more than once without that third party’s consent or a reasonable belief that the person’s earlier response was wrong or incomplete and that the person now has correct location information;
Communicating with third parties about a consumer’s debt without the consumer’s consent or court permission;
Using obscene or profane language or harassing consumers with repeated phone calls;
Making any other false or misleading statement in collecting a debt, including threatening action it does not intend to take; and
Violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
..."
If they threatened or deceived you into paying an unowed debt, you should also contact FTC.
http://debtcollectionagencysoftware.com/news/ ... r-1-75-million/
"...
But Allied noted that the FTC’s investigation focused on activity between 2006 and 2008 and that “while the FTC investigated many areas of activity, the consent decree focuses primarily on one problem — namely, repeat phone calls to wrong numbers.”
..."
Not likely that is what cost them $1.75 Million, "the second-largest civil penalty obtained by the government agency in a debt collection case".
More likely this is what drew the high penalty:
"...
“Debt collectors had better make sure their information is accurate, or they could end up paying a big penalty,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “There is no excuse for trying to collect debt from someone if you can’t confirm that they actually owe it.”
As a part of the consent decree with the FTC, Allied will be required to take specific steps when a consumer disputes the debt or when “a reasonable person would consider the information on which Allied is relying to collect the debt to be implausible, facially unreliable, or missing essential information.”
..."
It has become a common scam to fraudulently demand payment for fake "debt".
Best advice, either stop answering calls from that number to cut them off, or get your number changed.
Awaiting for your response.Thanking you.
952-679-3152
800-403-7807
952-679-3152
970-797-3142
317-888-8203
800-403-7807
800-873-4871
866-491-4289
410-343-5026
202-367-4536
917-398-9727
I am sick and tired of this crap!! I am on a DO NOT CALL REGISTRY!!
I kindly request u to take imediate action on this.
plzz sir help me dis my family numb plzzz