Harassment
Complaint
Debra M. Persiano
Country: United States
I got a call today at home from a man stating he was a process server for Collin County DA's Office and he is with the Sheriff's office and needed to come serve a warrant on me. I was shocked and asked why? He stated do you live ....are you still at this address are you now at this address and I stated who are you? He again, stated he was from the county going to serve court papers on me today. He gave me a toll free number for what he stated was the county's office which is 1 866.872.6116 gave me a case no. which he called a Cause No. 008307-TX. I called the number was transferred to a Mr. Fisher's office who stated that law suite in the amount of $6,214.24 was filed in Collin Co., Tx and that warrant was out for me. He then after back and forth said let me get more information from my secretary and state this was for an outstanding debt in from Capital One a credit card that I obtained several years back and had disputes over interest charges etc. He stated that if I did not want to go to court or jail that I could pay $1,951.00 in full by end of business today and this matter could be cleared up. I explained that I recently lost my job etc. Anyway, he stated that I needed to call him back by EOB today or they will serve the papers. Ok, so that was a heads up for me. I called the DA's office nothing is filed on me as of today, after searching PMG it is clear that they do not practice best practices for collections and have been in trouble for this before back in 2004. I need someone to give me advise. I want to pay off my debt, I don't want this type of collections to continue this upset me, made my blood pressure raise, this type of collections are not the right thing to do. Had they called and ask to make arrangements or give me an opportunity to clear the matter, rather then threaten me by taken legal action, or harassment stating they are sending a sheriff over today. This is wrong, bad business, and should not continue this company is bad news.
Comments
The state doesn't even require any licensing for them.
The state Attorney General has been virtually absent from dealing with the problem, with FTC being far more active in dealing with this type of fraud.
By comparison, although New York and Florida have also been centers for this type of fraud, their Attorneys General have a consistent history of going after them as well.
You don't file a "warrant" when you sue someone, you serve them with a summons, and you don't go to jail for failing to pay a debt. Debtors prisons went out of style centuries ago, around the time of Dickens.
They are BSing you.
"debt in from Capital One a credit card"
Unpaid debts are a civil matter, not a criminal one. No court is going to send you "to jail". Threatening to do so is a violation of federal law (FDCPA), and also state debt collection law. You can sue THEM.
"$6,214.24 " but they will settle for "$1,951.00 in full by end of business today", yet they have already sued you?
"man stating he was a process server for Collin County DA's Office and he is with the Sheriff's office "
They are also impersonating a law enforcement officer. That IS a criminal act. Contact the Texas Attorney General.
"Anyway, he stated that I needed to call him back by EOB today or they will serve the papers."
If this was a "process server" and they were ready to serve papers, the suit would have already been filed. No "process server", even with the "Sheriff's office", is going to negotiate some civil debt. Any legitimate process server would just hand you the papers an leave, to collect their fee. The reason for using process servers in the first place is that they are supposedly impartial, paid only to deliver and certify they did.
You checked with the DA, and found they were lying. Contact the Texas Attorney General.
"Mr. Fisher's office who stated that law suite in the amount of $6,214.24 was filed in Collin Co., Tx "
Then it better have been filed, or you can sue THEM.
If they are lying this blatantly, and violating any number of state and federal laws, then what else are they lying about? They are sure working hard to panic you into making an immediate payment, without thoroughly checking.
Is the debt even your debt?
Is the debt even valid?
Is the debt past statute of limitations? (If so, another violation, since they could not legally sue, but claimed they did.)
Is the amount correct?
If they sued you an some county where you did not reside or agree to the "contract", that would be another FDCPA violation.
Contact an attorney with experience in consumer debt, FDCPA, and FCRA litigation. FDCPA allows courts to award real and statutory damages, as well as attorney fees, so you may find an attorney to take this on contingency.
You might try www.naca.net
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf
Here is an analysis of the various sections of FDCPA that spell out prohibited debt collection actions.
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/rules/false-misleading-tactics-7.html#5
http://www.houstonconsumerlaw.com/debt_collection/
First complaint is 11-10-09, they start right up with their "legal action" M.O.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-872-5550
866-872-6116
866-872-5550
951-256-3755 ???
866-872-6117
"
laurajo - 10 Nov 2009
Called from someone's 'legal department' and said that they were going to serve me some papers at work. The guy left a name of Eric Kennedy and said I may want to reroute this to my home so they dont have to go to my workplace. Did not say the name of a company or who wanted to serve me papers???
Caller ID: Private Caller
...
Michelle - 12 Jan 2010
Got a call from a woman that said I was being sumnoned to court. That I was being sued. Said she could not tell me from who. Gave me this number. I called it right away. He said that I was being sued for $3768.50 on Capital One Master Card. I have never owned one! I told him I did not and he got hateful. Started yelling and told me I needed to pay. I told him I had not heard anything about this til now. He called me a witch and I hung up on him. I sat there for a minute and called the number back to see if I could talk to someone else . I gave them my case number and got the same guy. He told me that he had been lied to by better people than me. And to go away. Then hung up. I was shocked. I am not a liar and just wanted to know what this was about. I took this to my lawyer right away and he called the same number with the case number and the guy refused to get on the phone with him and my lawyer told the guy that answers the phone off! Told him we would sue if he ever called me back and the guy answering the phone hung up on him. Huge scam. We need to stop these guys. He had my SS# and everything. If I hear from them again it will be on!! My lawyer is already sending the attorney general of Oklahoma a letter!!
Caller: PMG
"
This may be them, in CA. City business license data, reported in one of the consumer complaints.
Phone number matches to "866-872-5550"
Note license date of 11-1-09.
Consumer complaints start showing up days later.
Their business license clearly shows them as a debt collector.
http://www.ci.corona.ca.us/index.cfm?section= ... d=579&id=643543
"Portfolio MG LLC License No: 643543
Issue Date: 11/01/2009 Expire Date: 10/31/2010
Business Address: 140 N Maple 107
Corona, CA 92880 Start Date: 11/01/2009
Mailing Address: 220 Newport Cntr Dr 11 211
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: (866)872-5550
Owner: Portfolio MG LLC Owner Type: Ltd Liability Co
Description: Debt Collecitons
SIC: 7322001 (ADJUSTMENT AND COLLECTION SERVICES)
NAIC 56144 (Collection Agencies)
"
Here is their BBB report.
Phone number matches "866-872-5550".
Only 1 complaint shown so far.
Might be worth a call to BBB to see if they have others in the pipeline, since the consumer complaints indicate systematic violations of federal and state laws, and total failure in compliance.
BBB has them as a "loan company".
Consumer complaints and business license clearly identify them as a debt collector.
http://www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/PMG-100090372
"PMG
Address: 140 North Maple Street Suite 107
Corona, CA 92880
Tel: (866) 872-5550
...
Business Start Date: N/A
Company ID: 100090372
Nature of Business:
This company's business is Loan Companies
..."
Category: Nonclassifiable Establishments
Filings: Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) (TX - Active)
Principal Mediation Group, LLC
P.O. Box 470570 | Tulsa, OK 74147 | Tel: 918.948.7883
© 2011 Principal Mediation Group, LLC
1-800-764-8133
Anything with "Mediation" in it raises suspicions of a possible attempt by a debt collector to pretend to be a "law firm" to the least sophisticated consumer.
Yours appears to be a different entity. They claim to be a "debt management and purchasing company", yet "help consumers build a budget and financial plan". That could be either a "debt collector" or a "debt negotiation/consolidation" company.
Call reports here claim they are a debt collector.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-298-5385
BBB report, rated "A-":
Reported to be a debt collector with 12 employees, 2 complaints resolved.
http://www.bbb.org/tulsa/business-reviews/col ... lsa-ok-38024663
What was the nature of your contact with them?
Contact the Texas Attorney General.
See if this company is bonded.
Collection agency in FL, rated "F".
http://www.seflorida.bbb.org/businessreport.aspx?companyid=92017489
"Portfolio Management Group
Address: PO Box 268371
Weston, FL 33326-8371
Tel: (954) 384-5115
..."
Collection agency in MN, rated "F".
http://www.bbb.org/minnesota/business-reviews ... rie-mn-96114015
"Portfolio Management Group
Phone: (952) 913-8718
Address: 16526 W 78th St # 109
Eden Prairie, MN 55346-4302
Principal: Owner / Manager
Customer Contact: Owner / Manager - (952) 913-8718
File Open Date: January 2009
Type of Business: Collection Agencies
..."
Portfolio Management Group, Columbus OH.
Appear to be involved in purchasing and selling debt, not collection.
http://www.pmg-solution.com/
This appears to be a "debt collection" con game/extortion racket, that has just started up, but immediately shows up using illegal abusive and threatening tactics. These people knew what they were going to do before they opened their doors.
Report to law enforcement.
If they are pretending to be Sheriff employees, even in other states like Texas, as part of an extortion racket, you may want to talk to the Riverside County District Attorney, or the California Attorney General's office.
The man claimed his name to be John Mason. Mr. Mason said I owed a debt of $4701.88 for a Capital One credit card and if I can come up with $3601.00 then we can settle out of court. He gave me a case number and even the last four digits of my old Capital One credit card. He was even telling me about other credit cards I had back in 1996 that I no longer have.
Mr. Mason called from (866) 872-6116... possibly California.
Well needless to say I freaked out cause I havent owed on a credit card in almost 3 years. My Husband quickly done some research and found this site with other info from other people with their stories matching mines. The number was also the same as some of these other people that were complaining about harassments from PMG.
Monday I am calling the BBB and reporting PMG. This is just aweful that we innocent people have to be scammed by these criminals!!
https://complaintwire.org/complaint/gJoBAAAAAAA/pmg
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-872-5550
As indicated in several consumer complaints, this company already appeared to be playing spoofing games, from their first appearance. Additional deception should be expected.
Based on the nature of posted consumer complaints, they probably also have a string of BBB complaints, but it takes several months for BBB to give them time to respond before complaints show up in BBB statistics.
Similar attempts to skew complaint forum appearance have occurred with several other debt collectors engaged in illegal collection tactics. They tend to be rather transparent, and usually the efforts of a small number or probable employees, since even when "names" differ, the voice and grammer idiosyncracies often match.
This one may be a fabricated posting, intended to scare consumers.
Indicators:
1) It is too idealized, and the details too complete.
2) It emphasizes "humiliation", which is the apparent goal of PMG's calls.
3) It appears too close to the first complaint against PMG for a lawsuit to have proceeded to a decision and garnishment.
4) It presents a muddied picture of the poster. Is it a business owner, or an employee? He talks like it's his business, yet they garnish his wages. Throw in having to move back with his parrents, and a poke at Obama.
"ted - 27 Nov 2009
i recieved a letter at home telling me i had 30 days to respond to these a**holes and right now im barely making ends meet,well about a month and a half later processor shows up at my place of bussiness and humilates me and served me in front of customers!! is this legal?? now they have started to attach my wages to recover money for judgement and now am forced to move out of my apartment with my parents!! i thought obama helped with this s**t?????
Caller ID: 8668725550"
Questionable for similar reasons. Similar muddied picture: Are they "looking at liending" [sic], or is the lien on their house already? Similar time-frame, may indicate same poster. "Consumer" just accepts that they can do whatever is claimed, whereas most real consumer complaints are incredulous at their first call.
"stacey - 9 Dec 2009
im really upset and can someone help me,these guys filed a law suit against me and my x husband which im no longer with over a credit card and hes the one that used the card and he put my name on it at the time we were married and i didnt use the card once now they are looking at liening my property here in california with my new husband to recover the moneys owed that has nothing to do with him but they said that since i was on account and the property is in my name too that they can do this.now i have a $13,000 lien on my house and my xhusband wont help me pay this and it was in the divorce agreement.PLEASEEEEE HELP"
--------------------------------
The rest appear real, as the descriptions matches other reports of their M.O. and patterns of deception.
Threat that consumer would go to jail, that they coul make it a "felony". FDCPA violation for threatening an action they cannot take, and abusive collection.
Deception: "said banks no longer have to take you to court they can just bring charges".
Yeah, and I suppose banks now run their own prison system, maybe using all those houses they got in foreclosure, hiring their old fired "loan officers" as guards?
"lynnette - 22 Dec 2009
called me and said I was being sued and needed to come up with 1400 right now!!!Or I would go to jail.I dont even live in that state any more havent for a year never been served said they could make it a fellonie???????They said banks no longer have to take you to court they can just bring charges up on me?
Caller ID: 8668725550"
Have access to skip tracing service. Threw out 3 SSNs? Sounds like phishing. They are trying to zero in on which person they have actually reached, to focus their threats. Using skip tracing info for intimidation.
"Edward - 1 Jan 2010
I received a call from a person stating that I would be served papers tomorrow between 9-4. They do have my address on record. Knew the name Julie my mother, and one of the Socials was mine they read off. They were EXTREMELY RUDE!
I called the number and the they threw 3 social security numbers out one was one mine.... stating that I owe 5000 dollars... I believe this is related to that case we got that letter from a while ago. About non-payment on that MasterCard I never had! From 2002. One name they said I used was Daniel McCormick, I wouldn't have called but they called and I answered. The guy was a complete a**hole. PMG - Who are these fu**ers?
Caller ID: 1-866-872-5550
Caller: PMG
Caller Type: Collection Agency"
Repeat of the phony "officer calling from the county" deception, again tied to their main phone number.
Their "after hours" message says "someone will call me back with all my court information". How does a voicemail greeting know why any caller called? Their complete M.O. is "we are suing", with no differences based on any "case". That implies they are using their intimidation tactic in a blanket fashion. Everything supports the spoof.
"annoyed - 5 Jan 2010
My son keeps taking messages, saying they're calling from my county and I need to call to schedule a time for an officer to serve me a summons. I called after hours and the message says to leave a message with details and someone will call me back with all my court information. After reading all these comments, I don't think I'll be calling again. I have no idea what they could be calling about. I have an issue with my mortgage company, but these calls began prior to that.
Caller ID: 866-872-5550
Caller: PMG"
Denial and deception: witholding account number to prevent consumer from disproving. Abusive collection, attempt to panic into immediate payment.
Consistent claims to be suing do imply they are implying they are a "law firm".
If not, FDCPA violations.
If so, attorney ethics violations for the abusive actions. Caller id may be literally "PMG Law Firm", which would be consistent with their after hours message.
"Rating: 0 momnpops - 7 Jan 2010
These people called my ex-daughter in law looking for me & I called them when she called me about it. They said i owed over $2k but it had accrued to over $5k & they were going to serve me papers or just take this to court without my presence. I have no recollection of the card they were trying to collect on & they would not give me specific #'s or information & then the "Anthony" I spoke to became loud, screaming & obnoxious asking why I was acting like a victim & that I was irresponsible. I hung up on him. I can't believe anyone could be that unprofessional & seriously think this has to be a phishing scam.
Caller: PMG Law Firm
Caller Type: Collection Agency"
Another "Capital One" "account". Consumer never had such an account.
Notice how the amounts are always in the several thousand and up range.
Real "debt" would vary over a range, and include amounts too small to realistically sue over.
When they fabricate, con artists choose the amount to be scammed, based on what "return" they want for their efforts. These amounts are in the "advance fee loan scam" range, similarly targetted at what can be conned out of unsophisticated people. Basically, "monthly expense and rent money" range, starting at an inflated level so they can drop it to "settle".
"Michelle - 12 Jan 2010
Got a call from a woman that said I was being sumnoned to court. That I was being sued. Said she could not tell me from who. Gave me this number. I called it right away. He said that I was being sued for $3768.50 on Capital One Master Card. I have never owned one! I told him I did not and he got hateful. Started yelling and told me I needed to pay. I told him I had not heard anything about this til now. He called me a witch and I hung up on him. I sat there for a minute and called the number back to see if I could talk to someone else . I gave them my case number and got the same guy. He told me that he had been lied to by better people than me. And to go away. Then hung up. I was shocked. I am not a liar and just wanted to know what this was about. I took this to my lawyer right away and he called the same number with the case number and the guy refused to get on the phone with him and my lawyer told the guy that answers the phone off! Told him we would sue if he ever called me back and the guy answering the phone hung up on him. Huge scam. We need to stop these guys. He had my SS# and everything. If I hear from them again it will be on!! My lawyer is already sending the attorney general of Oklahoma a letter!!
Caller: PMG"
Caller id, "PMG FILING AGENTS" implies they are attorneys, but with "deniability". They are attempting by design to deceive the unsophisticated. Again, threat of immediate lawsuit, implied criminal prosecution: "facing charges", use of credit report and skip trace info to intimidate. Addresses back to 13, probably Accurint or similar. On their first contact, they are using intimidation to evade validation on a probable bogus "account". In effect, they are overshadowing the FDPCA notice before it is even sent.
"Ash - 21 Jan 2010
Yesterday My grandfather called me at work to ask what was going on and if i was any trouble that a man named eric had called and left a message with a 1866-872-6116 with a case number that i was being sued and in trouble and facing charges, so i called the number the first person that answered simply said "hello" i told them why i was calling gave them the case number and they transfered me to a man named ROY FISHER after a heated conversation with this man because he was not giving me any info so that i could verify that this was not fraud he started to read my credit report and asking me questions about where i currently lived and reading off all my past addresses from when i was 13!!! this man is insane and they were out to get me!!! as i have worked in profesional settings my hole life i could tell just by the telephone presentation that some thing was not right this ROY FISHER tried then telling me that he was a attorney i asked for his licensing info and Bar Info he told me that was beside the point and hung up on me!
After all of this was said and done i called my grandfater back to ask what number came up on his caller ID when they called he told me that it was a diffrent number 1951-256-3755 i called the number and told them i had a missed call from that number they told me it was a home number and if i knew any who lived there! this is fraud!!!!!! my wallet was stolen out of my car two weeks ago and i belive that this is linked to that!!!
Caller ID: 1951-256-3755
Caller: PMG FILING AGENTS
Caller Type: Collection Agency"
"Personal vendetta against low life scum"? On first call, which with collection accounts, are often to the wrong person? Abusive collection.
Refused to disclose address or even state. Evasion of validation.
Additional number: 866-872-6117
"Rating: 0 txmarine76 - 26 Jan 2010
Received a call about some kind of legal trouble, after returning the call we got the biggest surprise ever instead of a professional and courteous conversation it was instantly a war of words and insults on their part. They even went as far as saying "we have a personal vendetta against low life scum that doesn't pay their debts". We realized immediately that this was some sort of scam or fraud. But just to be safe we started asking questions like "what is your company's address, there reply was that that info was irrelevant then we asked what state they were from again they refused to answer the question and hung up on us. The stories above are almost exact reflections of our calls from them. This is fraud and they can not do anything they say. best thing to do is contact your attorney if you have one. also contact authorities if the phone calls persist. Certain states have different laws and you need to know the laws of your state before you listen to anything they tell you cause in our case in the state of Texas they can not garnish wages or take your property from you. Hope this helps!!!
Caller ID: 866-872-6117
Caller: Pmg"
Signed on 1/12/2010 by "Aaron Honda Authorized Agent/Managing Member"
Names:
HGG
Portfolio MG LLC
Address:
140 N. Maple Suite 107 Corona CA 92880
http://sbsun.kaango.com/feViewAd/16194863
"FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT THE FOLLOWING PERSON IS DOING BUSINESS AS: HGG located at: 140 N. Maple Suite 107 Corona CA 92880 Riverside County Portfolio MG LLC 140 N. Maple Suite 107 Corona CA 92880 Ca This business is conducted by: Limited Liability Company The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: 1/12/2010 I declare that all the information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) /s/Aaron Honda Authorized Agent/Managing Member This statement was filed with LARRY W. WARD Riverside County Clerk by B. Harris Deputy on Jan. 13 2010 This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal State or Common Law (see Section 14411 et seq. Business and Professions Code). File No. R-2010-00462 PUB: 2/11 2/18 2/25 3/04/2010
..."
140 N Maple is "Maple Centre Industrial Park, with various suite numbers.
http://www.ci.corona.ca.us/index.cfm?section= ... d=579&id=613689
If they ARE bonded, and you reside in Texas, you could sue them in Texas, and if you win, you could collect from the bonding company even though the debt collector is in another state. That might make it easier to find an attorney to take such an FDCPA violation case on contingency.