Harassment by PMG West Mgt. Company
Complaint
Debra M. Persiano
Country: United States
Again, the same company called with Harassing me on a collection account this time they actually left the message stating the same story that a uniformed officer would be at my door in 3 hours if I did not respond to the call at #866/990-2990 with a Cause no. 10280538 which they stated a "Law suit has been filed against me" This time I am directly going to hang them ..I am not stopping I need full support to legal go after these guys and stop this ...I am not going to clear my answering machine this time, I have clear proof the whole entire message with the threat and the information to call them in 3 hours is recorded. I know they continue to do this bad practice but what makes this worst is that I don't owe anything. The debt was cleared up before I got my home and paid in full I am not sure what they are collecting other the giving out BS information and threatening me for what? Does anyone have a clue if anyone has won a case on them I am so sick and tired of this type of bad collection practices.
Comments
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/8K8ICcKeigDrqAjM7ZFIxw
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/QrqUYTUISgCLBgjMeJtSCQ
Complaints allege threats of an immediate lawsuit, threats to "serve papers", claiming to be "attorneys", claiming to be "with the DA", or "with the Sherriff", playing up embarassment at work, calls and threats to relatives, etc.
On top of threats, complaints indicate no FDCPA letter is ever sent, no proof of the debt has been provided, and they refuse to provide any proof. Calls always pressure to pay immediately "by close of business", or "within 24 hours".
Other than what appear to be shill spoofed postings on several phone complaint sites, no reports they actually sued, actually served papers, and numerous reports the "debts" are bogus.
Your number appears to be a new one for them. The numbers under which complaints appear against them have changed several times since they started business Nov. 2009. Complaints against this number start July 9.
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8669902990
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-990-2990
There are also recent complaints against these numbers.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-546-0642
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8668728399
Their address appears to be available through the City of Corona CA, due to their business license. Their license information claims they are an LLC, so their registered agent should be available from the California Secretary of State.
"The debt was cleared up before I got my home and paid in full I am not sure what they are collecting other the giving out BS information and threatening me for what?"
There are a number of reports that they have accessed credit reports, yet they are always reported to refuse to provide any proof of the debt, using threats of immediate lawsuits and even impersonations to try to panic people into paying without question. The apparent shill postings try to drive consumers looking them up in that same direction. If they could prove they could legitimately collect on some debt, why would they consistently choose to make illegal threats instead?
They may be just pulling credit reports and trying to fake collection on some old account they find there, trumping up the amount of a paid old account and falsely claiming it is still owed. The amount always seems to be around $4k to $5k, which they are using threats of an immediate lawsuit to settle for around $2k, playing up the cost of hring an attorney vs. just paying them at a "discount". The shill "complaints" paint the same picture, across several different phone numbers and sites.
Then there is the issue of at least 4 different "debt collectors", all located in Corona CA, and all apparently running this same scam, including the threats and shill posts.
This picture would be consistent with your case, where you know you have already paid some alleged debt, and where that payment was even verified by others, but the old account information would be still visible on your credit report.
Their extreme threats and refusal to provide any proof imply a "naked bluff". That implies they are vulnerable to any legal action that might allow discovery.
You might show they are faking a debt using information they got from your credit report by obtaining your own credit reports and finding their inquiry, and confirming the alleged debt was paid with the original creditor or their legitimate collection agency and had not been sold.
This implies using your credit information for purposes of attempted fraud, possible prosecution for aggrevated id theft and fraud under either federal or CA state law, possible FCRA statutory civil penalties, and the possibility of added punitive damages due to willful violation.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces the laws associated with unfair business practices. When your rights under any of the several consumer credit acts have been violated, you should report the violation to the FTC. There are several ways to report violations.
To complain about a business
e.g. collection agency, credit bureau
By Web: Report a Business
By Phone: 1-877-FTC-HELP, 1-877-382-4357
By Mail: Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
Note that Texas is rather unique in that their state debt collection statutes require specific timely responses if you dispute a debt, even with an out of state debt collector. (With most states, they can just ignore your dispute as long as they don't continue to collect.) In addition, Texas requires that even out of state debt collectors be bonded to collect in Texas, and "collection" includes just calling Texas residents demanding payment. You could get them in a heap of trouble through the Texas Attorney General, on top of any private action you might take.
This extreme behavior is relatively rare, except for some criminal "debt collector" con artists probably calling from India or Pakistan.
Other than those, clusters of similar scam collector operations have shown up in Buffalo NY (the trail for one group goes back to Ohio) where the NY Attorney General shut them down and arrested several for larceny about a year ago after they made Dateline. Another cluster has operated in the Jacksonville FL area, with the Florida Attorney General periodically shutting one down, while another starts up under a new name. This cluster in Corona CA appears to be several small operations, but with common tactics, there must be some common origin.
They may just be pulling credit reports, looking for a particular profile: past problems, but with current indications of ability to pay (house, decent credit limits, etc.) when pressured to keep your credit clean. That would be the ideal target for this type of scam.
Just use your own credit report to get the information to claim one of your old accounts still has a balance. Most people will recognize an old account, and remember that they had once been delinquent on it. They might be convinced they overlooked some balance, and that it might have grown into several thousand dollars, but for a "settlement" of around $2k, convince them it's a bargan compared to paying an attorney.
The key element to make this work is to create panic so you don't have time to check, by creating the appearance you have already been sued, so you have to IMMEDIATELY decide whether to find (and pay) an attorney (something most people have never done), or just take the "easy" path and pay them.
Note the difference between normal debt collection practices, even debt collection attorney practices, and this scenario. With deception, there is always something that should be there, but isn't, or something that shouldn't, that is. Here there are both.
Over and over again, in complaint after complaint, it's the same game. Out of the blue, you are "sued", but they will "settle" if you pay them NOW, and vicious threats if you try to argue your way out.
You are staring at the design of a con, where each deviant component was put there for a reason, so that they all work together to further the goal: extracting money from the intended target.
"They did not have my birthdate correct"
Credit reports often have errors in exact DOB.
"my address"
Credit reports often have erroneous addresses. Skip-trace data is worse, even more commonly mixing data from different people.
" and they still had me listed as married to someone I divorced in 2001."
From credit reports, all they would know is that you may have had some joint account at one time.
" They pull your credit report and start calling."
That has been my conclusion from the picture painted by numerous complaints.
" They try to sound real official giving you a list of companies that MAY HAVE previoulsy owned the debt"
Confusion is a form of deception. Odds are not that bad that they might guess right, possibly hitting some past debt collector you already had contact with.
"So I received 2 more calls at my place of business on Aug 10,11 ,2010. "
They could get that from your credit report if you listed an employer name on a credit application. Their goal is to get payment without you checking, and panic and intimidation are their tactics, so calling at work offers the opportunity and threat of embarassing you in front of employer or co-workers.
"I called them back and reminded them that I had sent them a letter to validate this claim and then also had sent a cease communication letter 3 weeks after that."
Perfect response. Your ready to sue, but they appear to be totally ignoring all FDCPA and FCRA compliance. As you already guessed, there is no owed "debt" either.
They are using your own credit report to fake it.
Your first number, 888-393-6043: They are calling themselves NFC, or Atlantic Case Management, or Atlantic Resource Management.
Complaints matching same M.O., even including impersonating "the County Processor", whatever that is. Appear to be spoofed shill "complaints" as well. They appear to spike the phone cmplaint forums.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-393-6043
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8883936043
"They tried to scare me with the usual illegal "we'll take everything you own,"
" ...They called my ex-husband, who I divorced in 1998, and told him he's responsible because I forged his name. They broke every law in the book..."
"I was close to paying 4,000.00 on my ex-husbands credit card because they told me i was on the acct. I ecplained to them that we were divorced and they said I was just as responsible since i benefited from it blah blah blah..... i was crying telling them i knew nothing about it, good thing I shredded all my credit cards so there nothing I could pay the balance off with..."
Your other number: 866-990-2990
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-990-2990
"...saying thier someone calling from a Processing Service and his name is Kevin Johnson..."
They don't even have to serve you...
"...I too got a phone call similar to Spanky, except they were looking for my sister..... Gave me this number to call AND a docket number. They said if she did not call she would get a FAILURE TO APPEAR and her "case" would be decided without her. She said she would "suspend" the case for 24 hours since she spoke to me so I could notify her. ..."
"...
Called my wife and scared her to death stating a process had been served on me and I would be arrested in 3 hours if we did not call back..."
Again, they are making it up.
"...I told them to give me the acount number and they gave me one (made up). I told them that was not my account and thanks for trying.
they told me it was reported on my credit history. I had my current credit report open and I have no deliquent accounts. Caller told me that it was on Experian. Again, I had it in front of me. ..."
Don't even comply with the least of FDCPA rules.
"... the first time I answered I asked them to send me proof of the debt and they did not I assumed that they were just fishing but they have stepped up the calls with the "I'm frmo the Process Division" crap threatening to send "Uniformed officers. I know that this is a scam but I bet they are preying on folks who don't know that. This morning they callsed at 7:30..."
Another name: "Westside something"
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8669902990
Debra links them back to PMG.
"PMG dba West Mgt. Corona CA"
They appear to be using more different "company names".
Why don't you contact the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, which includes Riverside County, where Corona is located?
http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/
If they don't panic you, and you check on them, the game is over. All they can do then is harass you, and if you know they are phony that's not likely to work.
"what do you do without the license plate number"
You have a license plate.
You have caller id, and they have been using phone numbers traceable back to them. If you had to, you could subpoena the phone records to confirm whose phone line it is and that the calls were made when your records show them. Doesn't matter who they say they are.
You also have a recording. You have that transcribed and certified by a legal secretary or court reporter. There are companies that do that, so that they are admissible into the record.
As for recording further live calls, it depends on your goal.
California is a 2 party recording state. Either record them on your decision alone (if Texas is a 1 party state), or tell them you are recording, and they will likely cease calling. California has an exception that may apply to calls containing physcial threats, particularly felonies. Also note that for federal court purposes, 1 party authorization is allowed. But these are questions for your attorney, as you want to preserve the admissibility of your evidence in court.
You also may have calls to relatives or coworkers you might document, through their attested accounts.
Or if they are claiming they sued you, you can verify through your county court that no such suit has been filed.
Their various impersonations you can verify with the agencies they claimed to be with.
You can document filing of complaints with law enforcement on their various actions, and obtain a copy of the police report.
They really have been very sloppy.
bottom line it looks like they pull some shady bu***hit but they probably legitimately own the debt. now I can get a new car
"now my credit score increased"
A recently "paid in full note" would not increase your FICO score one bit in a few days. It would be as damaging as an unpaid debt. You are lying.
"bottom line it looks like they pull some shady bu***hit but they probably legitimately own the debt. now I can get a new car"
That is what you want people to believe. In a deceptive con, everything you try to convince people is true, is therefore suspect.
Your whole "complaint", complete with all its "details", is designed to present their normal M.O., (with all its clear FDCPA violations) as "legitimate", to portray "settling" as a "good idea". Your post matches a number of other similarly designed shill posts showing up on complaint forums in connection with this company.
More likely you are just a shill.
Nice try.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-990-2990
Anyone with good credit gets mad when threatened by a cheat.
"you think it's shady when wrex is on multiple websites"
Why would it even matter to you unless you are, or know, "wrex"?
"all the complaining msgs are reposted on the same sites too. "
Your victims are hunting and tracking you. They track your lame attempts to convince people you are "legitimate", and they are also exchanging notes behind your back.
"how you think i found thisplace "
Again, why would it matter to you? Why would you even look?
"I owe money just like yall"
When you cheat, your own success will bring you down.