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
In addition, forward your information to the FTC.
http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=Pristine+Financial+Group
Michael Howse v. Pristine Financial Group
Filed: August 22, 2011 as 2:2011cv06909
Sexton v. Pristine Financial Group
Filed: June 2, 2011 as 3:2011cv01127 Updated: August 25, 2011 22:32:08
Gerard v. Capital Management Services LP et al
Filed: August 31, 2010 as 2:2010cv00744 Updated: September 7, 2010 03:14:45
Plaintiff: Jodie M Gerard Defendants: Capital Management Services LP and Pristine Financial Group
http://www.davidmercer.info/reap-the-benefits ... filing-services
http://www.alltimefinance.com/settle-your-fin ... -services/9289/
http://www.feedblast.net/2011/08/18/settle-yo ... iling-services/
Search on "Universal Filing Services scam", and you get a different picture.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-320-6375
http://friendfeed.com/getoutofdebtguy/2c64031 ... vices-8211-scam
Looks like they are trying to push up their Google ranking, ahead of the complaint threads, using drivel blogs with links. This may be why the new crop of aliases all come complete with two websites. More effort is being put into their web footprint to try to counter the complaints.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-883-9029
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8888839029
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-492-3728
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-708-7701/2
Ultimately, it's the industry's own credibility that is damaged by criminal "debt collection" activity.
http://www.acainternational.org/attorneys-bai ... -llc-19117.aspx
"...
Baie v. Prime W. Mgmt. Recovery, LLC
MAPbulletin - June 2011
Actual damages for emotional distress were awarded for a violation of the FDCPA.
..."
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/rincon-management/rincon-management-rincon-filin-79c73.htm
"...
Reported By: EJ — San Bernardino California United States of America
Submitted: Sunday, April 10, 2011
Last Posting: Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Rincon Management Rincon Filing , Union Management, Union filing Violations FDCPA, Labor Law violations, Tax evasion, Fraud Corona , California
...
I applied for a job at Rincon Filing Services aka Rincon Management. The ad in Craigslist said they have 7 offices with 20 more pending. There were in fact several offices in the building, all with different names. They usually had some sort of filing serice in the name to make people believe they could file lawsuits. I met with John Cook who offered me a job immediately. He said it was commission only employment. Although I knew that the job did not meet the conditions for an independent contractor status, with the amount of commissions that he was offering, and that people stated they were earning, I decided it was worth it.
I went to work the next day. and sat with someone to train. She stated that the first person we were to call was the debtors employer and then call the relatives next. She called the employer and asked to speak to the immediate supervisor of the debtor. She informed the debtors boss that a process server was coming to the place of employment to serve a summons on the debtor because legal action was being taken. If the manager asked what it was about, she said she did not know if it was civil or criminal. She was just the process server. In order to divert the summons from the place of work the manager was to give the debtor the phone number to the legal office and the case number. The employer always gave it to the debtor.
If the company did not want to cooperate, then they were to say that it was illegal for them to interfere with a process server and they could be liable for a criminal offense. When the debtor called the "legal office", the phones were in the same room, just a different group of people. Those people threatened the debtor with a lawsuit, threatened to garnish their wages, take their house and car if they did not pay up. They added on collection fees and fake court fees that tripled or quadrupled the amount if they went to court and offered to settle for a lot less, but only if they settled that day. A lot of people fell for it. I heard some people telling debtors that they were the sheriffs department, that a "uniformed officer" would be out to serve them, and they curse them and called them names. Everything about their practices was in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
This was the sleeziest crew I had ever seen. About half of them had multiple facial piercings. Some of the women wore booty shorts and had their boobs hanging out. The rest were just people who had fallen on hard times and would take any job. I don't think anyone realized that what they were doing was illegal. Since it was commission only, a lot of them were making little to nothing. The guy sitting next to me had worked the first month and got nothing. The people who were making all of the money were John Cook's family and buddies.
He gave the new work to them and gave everyone else old files and dribbled a little new work to them. If they quit before a month was over, then he got everything they collected and they got paid nothing. He was essentially getting his old files worked for nothing. Most people quit within a few days to a few weeks. The turnover was unreal. This guy is being investigated by the Corona police who are sending files to the FBI. If he offers you a job, stay away. You could be caught up in legal problems. I quit really fast.
..."
Note consistency of consumer complaints with above ex-employee report.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/national-filing-serv/national-filing-service-pacifi-68887.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/legal-process-servers/global-filing-servic/global-filing-services-proces-b7e95.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/national-filing-serv/national-filing-services-pacif-9c987.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/attorneys-general/capital-filing-servi/capital-filing-services-uneth-e5c5b.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/credit-card-fraud/global-filing-servic/global-filing-services-called-6235f.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/dead-beat-customers/national-filing-serv/national-filing-services-a-wom-97ff9.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/capital-filing-servi/capital-filing-services-just-afae9.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/county-filing-servic/county-filing-services-n-a-rec-93fae.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/employees/rincon-management-se/rincon-management-services-in-cccd5.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/rincon-filling/rincon-filling-rincon-manageme-865be.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/legal-process-servers/rincon-management-se/rincon-management-services-rin-d3f3a.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/credit-debt-services/rincon-management-se/rincon-management-services-lar-98d9c.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/rincon-management-se/rincon-management-services-tr-82dde.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/rincon-management-se/rincon-management-services-tr-c23ca.htm
"...
same exact things happened to me but the rude man gave me 3 different names and told me he knows I am on Disability and that he would have it stopped immediately if I did not pay a certain amount by today.
...
He also threatened me saying that he was going to call the D A's office if I did not respond, and since I am a research buff, I wrote everything down , requested an email of all information and checked my credit report and found 2 discrepancies both with the exact same dates of credit cards I have never opened, he also said that he sent someone to a place of residence that I have not lived in for 4 yrs saying he sent them to get the money.
..."
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-401-6202/4
"THE TRUE PHYSICAL ADDRESS FOR THESE SCAMMERS IS: 495 E RINCON ST SUITE 201, CORONA CA 92878."
"Most of the offices for these scam companies are at 495 E Rincon St. Corona CA."
-
It's all fun and games until they target the wrong person and find themselves without an identity and victims of fraud themselves! *wink wink*
"Direct Resources Capital"
"Process Server Division"
"Orange County Clerks office"
"litigation department" aka "answering service for about 30 companies"
Another number under that name
Note shill post by "NY Law Dog", typical of this type of scam.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-901-3089
"Direct legal services"
"Direct Resource Capital"
"DRCC"
"Pacific Holding"
"2530 Vista Way #F-212, Oceanside , CA.
Contact FTC to report another fraudulent "debt collector" alias.
You were probably called as a result of their "skip-trace" of relatives of the intended target.
As reported in MANY complaints, rather than directly calling the intended victim, they first call employers or relatives, as part of setting the scene for closing the con when the victim calls back.
It adds a layer of "plausible deniability" that they can hide behind, since although the victim is illegally threatened through messages left with relatives, the victim doesn't get that threatening call directly, and they claim it was by some "process server" that they have no control or responsibility for. That leaves them free to make whatever illegal threats they want, with a barrier of deniability in the way of legal action.
It's all a carefully scripted act.
Rincon Management Services
495 E Rincon St. Suite 201
Corona, California, 92879
John M. Cook, Jr
Sydney Diamante-Cook
LBT Capital, Inc
1191 Magnolia Ave Ste D-381
Corona California 92879
(UPS Drop Box)
http://www.corporationwiki.com/California/Orange/lbt-capital-inc-4676246.aspx
LBT Capital
Sidney D Cook
Edward Cook
http://keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?Id=119734
By Angela Kennecke
Published: August 18, 2011, 9:50 PM
SIOUX FALLS, SD - Scare tactics and a telephone is all some unscrupulous debt collectors need to intimidate consumers.
One KELOLAND man discovered right away that something wasn't right when he got a call threatening legal action against him.
Mark Odor of Rock Rapids got a call earlier this month telling him he was about to be served legal papers for an old debt. He immediately checked Iowa's Court System online and nothing showed up.
“In Iowa you can look up online, any sort of court record going back to the 70s or 80s. Traffic Tickets, lawsuits; anything shows up there,” Odor said.
Odor called the debt collector back with our camera rolling.
Odor says he does have an old debt for about $1,000 but this debt collector told him he'll pay more than $6,000.
"You guys are full of crap, you haven't filed anything," Odor said.
"We're going to go ahead and release the documents," the debt collector said.
"That's what you said last week," Odor said.
"They're going to render a 10 year judgment in the state of Iowa. They're going to garnish your wages 25 percent. They're going to get a property or vehicle lien as a bank lien. You owe $3,757 plus $2,500, so I wish you good luck," the debt collector said.
I called the company who's threatening to serve papers on Odor. I identified myself as a reporter in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and I asked if I could have the company name and where they are located. They refused to tell me anything and in fact, hung up on me.
The only name Odor was able to get from the company was West Coast Filing Services. We found a website for that company that was linked to 11 different names with identical websites and the same P.O. Box.
"I think they're a shell firm that operates multiple companies under different names in an attempt to deceive consumers on who they actually are," Odor said.
A legitimate collector has five days to provide you with the documentation to show you actually owe the bill. Odor says he's received nothing but threats over the phone.
..."
Usual Corona Scam MO.
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8667317040
10 Million Dollar Judgment Against Debt Collector Global AG LLC Spoofing Caller ID
Allen Harkleroad
According to the West Virginia newspaper Wheeling News-Intelligencer, a women received several threatening calls with a caller ID showing as being the West Virginia Ohio county Sherriff’s office. Luckily for her she recorded the conversations and hired an attorney. The Ohio county Sherriff’s office explained to her that the calls were spoofed. She and her attorney filed suit and after an initial appearance by the attorneys for Global AG LLC (doing business as RFA of Santa Ana California) no one appeared at the court hearing besides the plaintiff and her attorney. Ohio circuit court judge Martin Gaughan awarded the plaintiff 10 million dollars, including punitive and compensatory damages.
Unfortunately, unless the plaintiff secures a domestic judgment in California and seizes the company’s assets to pay the judgment she will not likely receive any monetary award. However, this precedent should put bad debt collectors on notice that consumers will file suit for harassment and hit them where it hurts, in the wallet.
It’s about time judges see that debt collectors in most cases use unfair and predatory practices to collect debts, many times of which they cannot prove. Consumers should always be wary of anyone calling about a debt and making threats or using coercion to collect money.
Source: West Virginia News-Intelligencer
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-764-9779
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8667649779
Addresses reported:
17602 17th St. Suite 102-10
Tustin, CA 92780
Address is just a mail drop, as expected.
http://orangecounty.citysearch.com/profile/ma ... stal_annex.html
Postal Annex.
(714) 838-9566
17602 17th St Ste 102
Tustin, CA 92780
Another address:
501 N. Golden Circle Dr S
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Appears to be this commercial property:
http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/15943285/501-N-Golden-Circle-Dr-Santa-Ana-CA/
Another number, more complaints:
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-697-3175
"Legal Claims Services"
Nice people:
"They threatened me Screamed at Me & I am 65 years old this scarred me to death !! Please stop them from Harrasing people"
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-302-4224
"Asset Capital / ACM"
Here is a report of their various aliases. Note that the MO matches.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agencies/asset-capital-manage/asset-capital-management-gro-bwb2c.htm
Another:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/asset-capital-manage/asset-capital-management-group-b3ddd.htm
Same MO, but it is not clear whether it links to the same Corona operation. There have been a number of similar scams run out of southern California for years, and the Corona Scam may be a spin-off of one.
For example, here are 3, located in Minnesota, Florida, and Ohio, that appear to be unrelated to this Corona Scam "Portfoio MG".
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/QrqUYTUISgCLBgjMeJtSCQ
I have no idea whether the companies in those 3 states are legitimate or legally compliant.
However, if your negative credit entry is from this "Portfolio MG" in Corona CA, then it is HIGHLY likely that their entry is for a fabricated "debt" that they have no legal right to collect. Numerous complaints are indicating that they are running a fake "debt" extortion racket, pulling consumer credit reports and attempting to con people into paying "debts" that sound like some old account found there.
Although numerous consumer complaints have reported inquiries by various Corona Scam front companies (there are upwards of 50 names so far, with more showing up every month or so), there have as yet been no reports of actually posting collection account tradelines. If they have now started to do so, then they have pushed their scam one step further.
You should be able to determine how to contact any data furnisher posting a tradeline by contacting the credit reporting agency. They should be able to provide an address for any of their clients, and probably a phone number as well. That should be sufficient to determine whether you are dealing with the Corona Scam, or with one of the other similarly named companies in another state.
Normally, any tradeline on a credit report would provide additional information on the alleged debt. A collection account should identify both the collection agency posting it, AND the original creditor, along with the "status date" on which the entry was last updated.
Data furnishers are also required to provide the original date of delinquency that the credit reporting agencies use to measure the 7.5 year FCRA reporting limit. Often this isn't included in credit reports, or it may just say something like "scheduled to drop off on 7-2014" or something similar. Call the credit reporting agency and ask them what the delinquency date is.
If this is posted by the Corona Scam, you may expect to be called by some fake "process server" in the next few days. Most likely they will first call your employer, or maybe a relative in another state, as they pretend to be trying to locate and "serve" you a "summons". Their goal is to embarass and panic you into calling right back and "settling" this "debt" you don't owe, with no proof of any kind.
Paying a "debt" you don't owe just makes you poorer. Paying one you do owe, but to a scammer who has no right to collect on it, makes you poorer and leaves you still owing the owner of the debt. It might also open you up to further attempts at extortion, as these predators generally look for vulnerable suckers. If you pay a scammer, it is unlikely you will ever get your money back, as in planning their scheme they will make sure the money is long gone. Some reports indicate that in this case it has been going into high living and up people's noses.
You are advised to check with the credit reporting agency to identify the collection agency, and then file a written dispute with them against the entry. Mail your dispute certified, return receipt requested, as you may with to engage in legal action against the CRA and/or the "debt collector".
The CRA sends your dispute to the "debt collector", who has 30 days to respond, either correcting or removing the entry, or verifying that it is accurate. If they erroneously "verify" that it is accurate, then they can become liable for the damages caused by their negligent actions. That is necessary should you need to sue them for violating FCRA. If they fail to respond in 30 days, the CRA must remove the entry.
Identify the collection agency, dispute the debt, and separately try to determine whether it is legitimate. For example, a legitimate debt collector would send you a letter notifying you of an alleged debt, and you could then promptly dispute and request validation, which they would have to provide from the original creditor before continuing any further collection attempts.
If this sounds like some old account, maybe one you didn't think had any balance, you might directly contact the original creditor to check, as that is exactly what this fraudulent collection racket would look like. You might find that the "collection account" has information similar to an old, but unowed account, in which case you have caught them in their fraud.
You may also wish to contact FTC, which is apparently investigating this rash of complaints pointing to Corona, as well as your state Attorney General. They have a record of illegal collection in states requiring licensing and bonding. Allegedly, the Texas AG has issued a cease and desist order against one of their aliases.
You should also consider hiring a good consumer attorney. Not only is it likely that you could obtain a judgement against this scam, but the CRA might also be liable for negligently allowing access to your credit report by a criminal scam. You might try www.naca.net to find an attorney in your state.
Is it showing an address in southern California, perhaps Corona, Lake Elsinore, etc?
Does the account information match any old account?
What type of account was it?
Do you believe there is any amount due on that old account?
When was this entry added to your credit report?
What credit report?
Have you, or your extended family, or your employer or coworkers, received any threatening calls demanding that you call back?
What number was provided to call back?