Dangerous Illegal Collectors
Complaint
Angel
Country: United States
I received a call from someone "called" Ray Fischer. From a Company called HGG Filing Agency (aka PMG Filing Agency) Where he proceded to inform me about a debt I had, and started requesting my bank card information to collect a debt. And if he did not get that information immediately, he would have me served with papers!! Right after this introduction, he started calling me names and insulting me. The night after, he proceded to call third parties related to me and screaming and insulting them if I did not provide a bank information for him.
Federal Agencies pleeease take note on this cases, this is a clear violation of anyone civil rights, privacy rights, and whomever this people are, they are illegally accessing information and illegally contacting third parties to share these information and harass the law abbiding citizen.
Federal Agencies pleeease take note on this cases, this is a clear violation of anyone civil rights, privacy rights, and whomever this people are, they are illegally accessing information and illegally contacting third parties to share these information and harass the law abbiding citizen.
Comments
That appears to be typical of the amounts they demand, and what they will "settle" for.
"i owed 600 on this cc "
Even if you own on a credit card, they have not proved you owe them. Beware, since there are indicactions they have made similar demands even on people who have reported they owe no such debt. Since complaints indicate they have access to both credit and skip-trace information, they may be fabricating their claims.
Also beware that they appear to be posting phony "panicked" consumer complaints on consumer forums, particularly those tied to their phone numbers, and that they appear to be trying to create the perception that they always sue if you don't pay them, consistent with their suspect "process server" calls, and that you always lose and have to pay much more. Some of these phony postings are the first ones that show up under a new number.
"I HAVE NEVER once received anything in writing from this HGG company well i had told him okay email me some kind of proof stating that i owe this amount and this Ray Fisher guy stated that he could not do so untill i gave my VISA and payed the 1377 hmmmm found that strange so im supposed to pay 1377 without even knowing what its for?????? "
That is typical of the "strangeness" of PMG/HGG. Failing to mail what is called a "g" letter (for the part of FDCPA, a federal law, that requires it, 15USC 1692g) is a violation of law. The letter is required to notify you of your right to dispute, yet they are claiming you have to pay first to see "proof", also a violation of FDCPA for deception. Reports on these people always claim first contact is by phone, often by a "process server", claiming suit has already been filed, and with no "g" letter ever received.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf
As they may be making this up, you would have to go directly to the original creditor to verify who even owns or is authorized to collect any legitimate debt you might have. email "proof" would not be reliable.
They have made numerous violations of FDCPA, and probably your own state's debt collection laws, with no proof you even owe them. Contact an attorney in your state with experience in FDCPA and FCRA litigation to see if you may be able to sue THEM. Both FDCPA and FCRA allow the courts to award damages and your attorney fees if you win.
You might try www.naca.net
Apparently phony postings have appeared on several phone number tracking forums (for example, 800notes.com), trying to create the appearance that "consumers" are posting about being sued and supposedly having to pay much more than they could have "settled" for. The postings appear phony largely because the supposed "lawsuits" don't match normal legal process, with alleged timespans improbably fast and allegations of "garnishments" way beyond what is allowed by law. Also apparent is a consistent "voice" or pattern of protraying consumers.
This company is apparently located in the city of Corona, CA, based on their business license. At least 3 other "debt collectors" show up, also located in the city of Corona, and also engaged in the same pattern of making threats to collect on suspect "debts" combined with posting of phony "panicked consumer" postings on forums.
The above profile raises the likelyhood that this company is collecting on unowed debts and using illegal threats and deception to coerce payments.
Since reports are that they routinely use access to credit reports and skip-trace databases as part of their abusive and deceptive tactics, with most reporting that they are making threats regarding alleged debts they do not even owe, the possibility must be considered that they may be faking their claimed debt or that it is owed to them, using their access to consumer credit data to get information on a consumer's old accounts.
Debt collectors are required by FDCPA (and in their case, California's Rosenthal Act) to notify consumers that they can dispute alleged debts. When disputed by the consumer within 30 days of first contact, the debt collector MUST cease all collection activities until they have obtained and sent proof of the alleged debt from the original creditor. This debt collector is using tactics such as threats and deception in an attempt to panic consumers into paying without disputing, which is not only illegal, but may be fraudulent.
If you suspect they have conned or threatened you into paying an unowed debt, or one that you don't owe to them, getting access to your account information by fraud, then you would be wise to immediately block any card number or close any checking account they might have access to, to prevent being defrauded. Dispute any charges as fraudulent if they obtained your debit card number through illegal threats or deception.
In addition, contact your local police.
File complaints for FDCPA violations with FTC, your state Attorney General, and the California Attorney General. Include in your complaints details of any threats, deceptive statements, claims you had been sued when you have not, refusals to prove you owe some alleged debt, or false claims to be "attorneys", law enforcement or government employees.
being sue and that they try to servie me at home, but no one was at home.
He ask for me and my son. I ask him what this was all about and who was
getting served me or my son. He states he had both our names. So he gave me
a phone to cantact and they would give me this information, so I did. I spoke to a man named Justin Morris. He states that I owe $2434.36, but he
could offer me a settlement amount of $1400.00 and the debt was a bank
that I owe Hscb and that my last payment was 06/2005. I told him I'm the soul supporter and my husband is disabl. so he offer me on my payday
Aug 31 I wuld have to pay $450.00 and then 4 installments of $200.00 for
6mos. I told it would be a hardship, but he stated that if I didn't do this
and I would be served and that they could put a leui on my home or take my
car or garnish my wages. I told him I have not received anything from this company before.Also ask him how he got my son name. He states they anyone
can get information regarding a person from the internet. So I did panic
and gave him my debt card#. Is this legal that they do this and should I stop payment at bank and check my acct #?
I need help, could anyone advise me
They are generally reported to be attempting to create the appearance that a lawsuit has already been filed, using calls supposedly from a "process server", a "Sheriff's employee", or a "DA's employee", although many complaints indicate consumers had checked with the local courts and found no such suit had been filed. In addition, many complaints allege they do not owe the alleged debt.
"call today first from a server company "
How do you know, uther than what they told you? What phone number?
Others have reported that getting calls from "process servers" using phone numbers tied to PMG itself. There are also several reports of calls supposedly from "the County Assessor's Office".
"atating i was being sue and that they try to servie me at home, but no one was at home. "
And since supposedly "no one was at home", how do you know they even tried to serve you? And why would a debt collector's first contact be AFTER they sued, anyway? The whole point of debt collection is to collect at lower expense than suing, not having to pay an attorney. And if they actually had sued, already paying an attorney to do so, why whould they now, on first contact, want to "settle" for around half?
What this gambit does do is put pressure on people to pay without asking for proof, violating FDCPA. Why would they want to do that if the debt was really valid?
"He ask for me and my son. I ask him what this was all about and who was
getting served me or my son. He states he had both our names. "
Do you even HAVE any account, particularly this alleged HSBC one, for which both you and your son are responsible?
"So he gave me a phone to cantact and they would give me this information,"
It is the job of a process server to be a disinterested party only responsible for serving the summons and attesting that it was served. Note how this "process server" is actually acting as a lead-in to the debt collector, threatening you into a "negotiation". So where is the "summons" on the "lawsuit"?
" I spoke to a man named Justin Morris."
So he says. Bet it's an alias.
"He states that I owe $2434.36, but he could offer me a settlement amount of $1400.00 and the debt was a bank that I owe Hscb and that my last payment was 06/2005. "
They can say anything they want, but it doesn't prove you owe it, nor does it prove you owe it to them. So far you have seen NOTHING in writing. If you pay a debt you don't owe, you can kiss the money good bye. If you pay someone who has no legal right to collect on it, even if you did owe it, the money is gone, and you still owe the debt.
"I owe $2434.36, but he could offer me a settlement amount of $1400.00"
That range of "debt owed" and "settlement offer" is typical of what is reported in many complaints. Typically, demand for $3k-$5k, "lawsuit already filed", you better settle "immediately", but they will settle for around half?
"Hscb and that my last payment was 06/2005."
If you had once had such an account, he could easily find that out simply by pulling your credit reports. Telling you that doesn't prove anything. And if your last payment was in 2005, in many states it is already past SOL, and they can't legally sue.
"so he offer me on my payday Aug 31 I wuld have to pay $450.00 and then 4 installments of $200.00 for 6mos."
He can offer anything he wants to get your card information. If the debt is bogus, it's all free money to him. Just decide what he can get from you, and juggle the "debt" and "settlement" to look like a "good deal". Paying money you don't even owe is never a good deal.
"but he stated that if I didn't do this and I would be served and that they could put a leui on my home or take my car or garnish my wages"
I though you were already about to be served. If they have sued, they have no reason not to serve you. They have even paid a "process server" to "come to your house", but he would apparently rather have you "settle" than be served, what he does for a living?
Notice how they make it sound like that is the only possible outcome, assuming they actually did file suit. So far, there have been no credible reports that they have, making such threats violations of FDCPA for threatening an action they do not intend to do. And there is that little bit about actually winning in court that they leave out.
"I told him I have not received anything from this company before"
Nor has anyone else who has posted complaints against them.
"Also ask him how he got my son name. He states they anyone can get information regarding a person from the internet."
So they can just look up your relatives on the internet, and then add them to this "lawsuit"? He just admitted your son is not on the alleged "account". So why is some "process server" trying to serve your son?
"So I did panic and gave him my debt card#. "
That was their goal. The whole scheme is designed to create panic, to get you to pay without checking. Everything they do and threaten is OPPOSITE of what they would be doing if they were collecting on a legitimate debt.
A legitimate debt collector would have sent you a letter notifying you of the debt, and stating that unless you disputed it within 30 days, they would assume it was valid. That notice letter is required by FDCPA to be sent within 5 days of first contact, if they contact you by phone, or as their first letter by mail. Under FDCPA, you could then dispute and request proof of the validity of the alleged debt, and they would have to cease all collection acitivity until they obtained it from the original creditor and sent it to you.
They have avoided all that, even though it is required by law (FDCPA). They have attempted to panic you into paying without verifying the legitimacy of the debt or their right to collect it. They have used illegal threats to create that panic, including threatening to drag your son into this, first claiming he was part of the same suit and being served, and then you find out they just found out his name by searching on the internet.
They got you to disclose your debit card number by using threats, and although supposedly they are only taking your money according to some "payment plan", there is nothing to stop them from taking it faster, even today, to pay a totally unsubstantiated "debt" you may not even owe.
It stinks of a "con".
If you suspect the debt is bogus, you have every right to have your bank block the card number to prevent impending fraud. They may have already crammed through charges, which you can also dispute.
Based on their routine use of threats, if you block your card they will probably threaten you next with "arrest" or "jail", probably claiming blocking your card is like "bouncing a check". It's not. (Blocking payment of a "debt" isn't even the same as writing a bad check in exchange for "value", since you obtain nothing in return for nothing.)
They have obtained your card number through deception and illegal threats, with numerous FDCPA violations. Immediately block the card through your bank, or it is likely that you will be defrauded. If they have already charged against it, then that charge is not authorized by your "payment plan", so dispute it as an unauthorized and fraudulent charge.
If you had an HSBC account, contact them directly to see if any balance is actually owed, and if so, if any collection agency actually has the right to collect for them.
Contact your state Attorney General to find out your state's Statute of Limitations on credit card debt. You may find that even if they did sue, you could get the case tossed on SOL grounds.
Then contact a consumer protection attorney. You may have reason to sue them for their violations of law. FDCPA allows couts to award statutory and actual damages, and attorney fees if you win.
You might try www.naca.net for an attorney with experience in FDCPA and consumer debt litigation in your state.
states they I owe a debt from back in June of 2005. I said since I have not been served that I could settle or if I don't then their was a judement against me and that could lead to leui's on my car and garnish my wage. So I panic also so I gave him the # of my debt card and the pmt would be $450.00, then $200.0 for the next 5 months. I search the internet
last nite and saw this website and I know it was a bad thing to give him my debt card#. I work for the state and we have attorney services so I called and he said what they said was not legal and you have to go to court to a hearing and when I told, the man said that I was already had a judgement against, which he said is not true. so I went to my bank and they cancel my debt card and issue me a new. My advice is go to your bank and do the same. they are a scam! Also the lawyer advice if anyone calls like that to contact them. I hope this helps you.
Indications are that you are dealing with a "con".
So-called "process server" means so-called "lawsuit". It's an impersonation to lure you into calling them.
"when I talked to them he had said that i owed 2800 and needed to pay 1377 for them not to take me to court!!"
"i owed 600 on this cc but times got tough for me and my husband and stop paying all credit cards!!"
Doesn't mean you owe THEM. They can find your old accounts by pulling your credit reports. They work hard to avoid proving they own the alleged debt. Why is that?
"I HAVE NEVER once received anything in writing from this HGG company"
Nor apparently has anyone else, not even the FDCPA required notice letter. They apparently don't feel the need to comply with the same laws as other debt collectors.
" i had told him okay email me some kind of proof stating that i owe this amount and this Ray Fisher guy stated that he could not do so untill i gave my VISA and payed the 1377 hmmmm found that strange so im supposed to pay 1377 without even knowing what its for?????? "
According to FDCPA, you have a right to demand validation, "proof" that you owe them an alleged debt. He's selling a "pig in a poke". (In that classic middle-ages scam, the "pig" was usually a stray cat or rat.)
"im 8months preg and lost SLEEP over these A**HOLES!! cause here i am thinking and still thinking that im going to have cops knocking on my door to demand payment!!! "
Stop worrying about them. No cops are coming to your door. you have not comitted any crime, and all indications are that they are a bunch of fakes. Get an attorney so maybe "Mr. Fisher" can lose some sleep for a change. It's what they do for a living, and FDCPA allows courts to award damages and your attorney fees if you win.
" I called small claims but they have no information about a company taking me to court!! "
Nor has any other credible consumer complaint indicated they have actually sued, but they appear to be posting shill "complaints" made to appear like "panicked" consumers. Threatening to sue, or claiming to have sued, but no actual lawsuit, is an FDCPA violation. Sue them for it, in federal court.
There is no point talking with them on the phone about this, as it will resolve nothing, and just gives them the opportunity to further harass and intimidate you.
Since it appears the "debts" they claim to be collecting on aren't even owed to them, this is essentially a phishing scam, regardless of what story line they are using.
If you have an elderly relative being conned into disclosure of account information leading to fraudulent charges, assist them in disputing any fraudulent charges through their bank under FRB Reg. E or FCBA, and contact your local District Attorney to file a complaint for elder abuse and fraud.
You will also need to close the account or block the card number to prevent additional fraudulent charges.
I too have received a call from this company but that was after they called my son to get him to tell them where I live. He would not fall into their trap knowing this had to be something that could not exist since my husband and I have no money, no credit cards and live on SS and Small VA pention. They finally called me and had this man threaten me that I must call their number immediately and they are trying to serve me with legal papers. I did call and spoke with a man called Rick Davis and he sugguested that I call back next day, no a/c and office had to close early, when I asked what this is all about said he could not get to my file. I then knew this was a real SCAM....I notified my attorney and will be notifing the Ca. board of ethics about this company and their illegal pratices. They have to be STOPPED NOW,there are too many people who will fall for their CRAP and they will really put you on the street . I will never give them my bank information and if they try to tap in I will definetly go after them with all I have. Please do not fall into their SCAMMMING WEB of taking what you have and do not owe.
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/9KSRegEiBgDcFwjNBu7N8g
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/8K8ICcKeigDrqAjM7ZFIxw
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/QrqUYTUISgCLBgjMeJtSCQ
"I too have received a call from this company but that was after they called my son to get him to tell them where I live."
Many other complaints indicate first contact was by a call to a relative. That appears to be part of their M.O., used to panic the family as the caller pretends to be a "process server".
"He would not fall into their trap "
"They finally called me "
He didn't disclose how to contact you, yet they had no problem finding you anyway. The call to him was just an act, they could have called you directly. FDCPA requires that debt collectors NOT disclose anything about the alleged debt to third parties, yet they routinely disclose.
"had this man threaten me that I must call their number immediately and they are trying to serve me with legal papers."
That is what most other complaints indicate. Why is it that a debt collector always claims they have filed suit BEFORE the consumer has received ANY prior contact on what is generally an unrecognized debt?
"I did call and spoke with a man called Rick Davis and he sugguested that I call back next day, no a/c and office had to close early, when I asked what this is all about said he could not get to my file."
That's a real problem for that, since they can't get access to your credit reports to make up their fake debt if it's so hot their computers shut down. Or maybe they "forgot" to pay their electric bill?
"I notified my attorney and will be notifing the Ca. board of ethics about this company and their illegal pratices. "
Your attorney should recognize this for what it is. A simple check at your county courthouse should verify that no lawsuit has been filed against you. That would make their claim to have done so a violation of FDCPA.
There are numerous complaints that they are pulling consumer credit reports to use information found to convince people to pay unowed "debts". This would allow them to not only use the name of an old creditor account to create a fake "debt", but would also allow them to determine the likely amount a target might be conned out of.
There are some indications they may be choosing targets similar to other fraudulent telemarketing scams, possibly targeting seniors as more vulnerable to this particular con.
Contact the California Attorney General.
If you should actually be served (unlikely), find an attorney and respond, since all complaints indicate they are running a fraud and extortion racket. As it is unlikely that they have any right to collect on any debt you actually owe, you may be able to sue them for violations of FDCPA or FCRA.
File complaints with FTC, your state Attorney General, and the California Attorney General.
You might also contact an attorney with experience in FDCPA and FCRA, to discuss suing them. Both laws allow courts to award attorney fees if you win, so you may be able to find an attorney willing to take such a case on contingency. You might try www.naca.net
The person behind this company appears to be a Wayne Swanson. His name appeared as a contact on their BBB report for a short while before being removed. He and some other guy who refused to do business with him were trading barbs across various websites several months ago.
Normal debt collectors would not engage in prohibited third party disclosure which would expose them to an FDCPA lawsuit. If they had actually sued, they would have no reason to make illegal threats, and many reasons not to.
They say a lot of things, mostly illegal threats, from the safety of the other end of a phone line.