many call per day
Complaint
joan payne
Country: United States
I am being called so much by this number. I continue not to answer, or when I did, it's a recording. They called and 8:45 this am, the number is as follows: 866-816-1066. I have no debts, and am sick of all this calling.
Comments
File complaints regarding harassing calls with FTC and Pennsylvania AG.
http://www.ethannonsequitur.com/nco-financial-systems.html
They are specifically required to track ALL complaints and how they resolved them so that the above agencies can audit their compliance with the settlements. Basically, they have to fink on themselves, and if they don't a judge could slam them with an even larger penalty for violating the settlements.
Send all complaints, disputes, or cease communications letters certified, return receipt requested. If you fail to get the proper response, file complaints with FTC and PA AG, including a copy of your original letter to NCO along with a copy of your USPS proof (green card) that they received it.
Settlement with FTC:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/05/ncogroup.shtm
"For Release: May 13, 2004
NCO Group to Pay Largest FCRA Civil Penalty to Date
One of the nation’s largest debt-collection firms will pay $1.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by reporting inaccurate information about consumer accounts to credit bureaus. The civil penalty against Pennsylvania-based NCO Group, Inc. is the largest civil penalty ever obtained in a FCRA case.
According to the FTC’s complaint, defendants NCO Group, Inc.; NCO Financial Systems, Inc.; and NCO Portfolio Management, Inc. violated Section 623(a)(5) of the FCRA, which specifies that any entity that reports information to credit bureaus about a delinquent consumer account that has been placed for collection or written off must report the actual month and year the account first became delinquent. In turn, this date is used by the credit bureaus to measure the maximum seven-year reporting period the FCRA mandates. The provision helps ensure that outdated debts – debts that are beyond this seven-year reporting period – do not appear on a consumer’s credit report. Violations of this provision of the FCRA are subject to civil penalties of $2,500 per violation.
The FTC charges that NCO reported accounts using later-than-actual delinquency dates. Reporting later-than-actual dates may cause negative information to remain in a consumer’s credit file beyond the seven-year reporting period permitted by the FCRA for most information. When this occurs, consumers’ credit scores may be lowered, possibly resulting in their rejection for credit or their having to pay a higher interest rate.
The proposed consent decree orders the defendants to pay civil penalties of $1.5 million and permanently bars them from reporting later-than-actual delinquency dates to credit bureaus in the future. Additionally, NCO is required to implement a program to monitor all complaints received to ensure that reporting errors are corrected quickly. The consent agreement also contains standard recordkeeping and other requirements to assist the FTC in monitoring the defendants’ compliance.
..."
Settlement with PA AG:
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/press.aspx?id=881
"Friday, Jan. 27, 2006
Attorney General Corbett announces settlement agreement with PA based debt collector NCO Financial Systems
...
Corbett said that the alleged violations included engaging in or using unfair or deceptive debt collection acts and/or practices, and engaging in or using false, deceptive, or misleading representations or means in connection with the collection of debts.
Corbett said that many consumer complaints involved claims that NCO Financial improperly contacted consumers at their place of employment, or called at unusual times or at times NCO Financial knew, or should have known, were inconvenient to the consumer, such as calling consumers before 8 a.m. and/or after 9 p.m.
Other consumer complaints alleged that representatives of NCO Financial used obscene or profane language and engaged in conduct to threaten, annoy, abuse, or harass consumers.
Corbett said there were also allegations that NCO Financial continued to communicate with consumers after the consumer had notified them in writing that the debt was in dispute or that the consumer wished the debt collector to stop calling.
"Many consumers were very upset after they had received abusive or threatening calls from NCO Financial, in some instances even after the consumer had unsuccessfully tried to tell them that they did not owe the debt," Corbett said. "In many cases, these calls did not stop until the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection got involved."
..."
Several inside reports on NCO from current or former employees paint an interesting picture.
http://www.budhibbs.com/debtcollectorpages/nco_financial_systems_cmts.htm