i get calls every hour on the hour stateing i owe them money and if i dont pay they will sue me for a debt i have dont incurred they also say thing a dead beat and so on
I have replied. You are calling my office and I cannot get a live person. My next move is to come to your office, and raise holy hell. I own this place and you had better quit calling.
0
Brad
The only reason you would be getting automated calls is to remind you to pay your account. Or to call you and let you know your account is about to have late fees added or the account is being turned over to a collection company.
The only way to sign up a account with qtbill.com is to answer a few personally identifying questions! Once we confirm your identify your account is created.
You also would have had to accept the charges before creating the account. For example to purchase this product for $14.95 please press 1 now or press I accept button on a web site. Then you would had to have answer several questions to create the account. So it is hard to understand why someone at that phone number would have no idea about the bill or the account.
If you are unaware of qtbill.com and the account you might want to check with those people who also have access to your phone or internet. Also we respond to every email and can tell you who at that phone number used set up the account. We try to handle most customer service issues by email so we may send supporting billing information.
The only reason we would call you several times is that you have not responded to our calls and we our trying to contact you about your account.
We are not a collection company. We are trying to collect on the account you set up with us.
If this posting has not helped please email us at service@qtbill.com or call.
Brad
0
Ander
That company sent me a bill and I HAVE NOT USED THEIR SERVICES! and i dont know what the h*** are they doin' exactly 'cause its suppose to be an invoice inside the orange envelope and its just the bill. That bill have two phone numbers and none of them is mine This is a scam! a REAL SCAM!!
0
c
I have recieved phone calls, threatening in nature, and obtrusive. If this continues and is still being sent to my minor child, using her number I will have the FCC check into this organization along with the better business buraeu. As of today, Oct 3, 2008, there will be no phone calls, automated or not to my phone, and I know you already have that information. If youare checkeng on a okay on sometype of charge then realize it isn't a good thing so deny it. I don;t owe you any money, if someone would come on the line after waiting for one full hour it would be great to talk to them then.
EVERYONE DO NOT LET THEM SCAM YOU THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO BE CHECKING FOR WRONG THINGS TO YOUR ACCOUNT NOT A COLLECTION AGENCY. LOOK THEM UP ON THEIR SITES. DO NOT PAY THEM ANYTHING. REPORT THEM TO ALL OF THE PROPER AGENCIES. DO NOT LET THEM HAVE ANY INFORMATION THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO USE IT AGAINST YOU AND YOUR ACCOUNT.
0
Brenda
My son is typing this for me.....I had a stroke two yrs ago and I DON'T EVEN GET ON THE STUPID COMPUTER ANYMORE!!!!!!!You better stop the F------ phone calls or we will call our wonderful State Representative to take further action.......I hope you can read!!!! U GOT IT!!!!!!!
0
Lee
That's funny, I sent an email requesting that qtbill stop harassing me at work. There are dozens of employees here who do not answer the phone and I have no idea who used our business number. I still haven't received an answer by email.
The qtbill website claims I can get customer service by calling the toll free number. I claim BS. That's NOT customer service, that's customer slap-in-the-face. Nothing but recordings.
I am really irritated and I guess I will have to simply block the phone number
0
Linda
The automated phone calls every day of the week are very irritating, we have never received an orange envelope and I have tried every way to contact you with no success, please stop calling or mail a bill.
0
Interesting...
It's funny how reb and brad just happened to post on the same day whereas no one else did and reb seems to be the only good commenter of QTbill
0
Rachel
I have accepted this service for my son's call. We have received repeated harrassing phone calls. We were out of town and did not have the bill info with us. I have made many calls to these #'s associated with this company, and cannot get to a person. I will NOT pay on line. Please call me and let me talk to a person. This stupid 14.95 has been an aweful experience!!!!!!!
0
MARTHA .schulze YAHOO <COM
stop call hear charlie roth this is hes phone he does not live hra no more
0
won't get fooled again
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) sets the national standard for collection agencies. The FDCPA, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), prohibits abusive collection tactics that harass you or invade your privacy. (15 USC §§1692-1695) The full text of the FDCPA is found at www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm.
Generally, the FDCPA only applies to agencies that collect debts for others. However, other federal or state laws may apply to in-house debt collections. For more on debt collections not covered by the federal law, as well as collection laws in California and other states, see Parts 4 and 5 and Attachment A of this guide.
Can a debt collector contact me by phone?
Yes, but within limits. A debt collector cannot:
Call you before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. unless you agree.Call you repeatedly or use the phone to harass you.Trick you into accepting collect calls or paying for telegrams. Use obscene language, make negative comments about your character, or make religious or ethnic slurs.
Call you at work if the collector knows your boss does not allow such calls.
If you have an attorney, the collector should call that person, not you.
Fair play under the FDCPA also means a debt collector owes you the truth about who it is and what it intends to do. False statements and deceptive practices like the following are not allowed. A collector cannot:
Claim to be an attorney or government employee when it is not. Send you documents that look like legal papers when they are not. State that forms sent to you are not legal documents when they are. Say that you committed a crime.
0
won't get fooled again
A debt collector threatened to sue me. Can it do that?
A collection agency can file a lawsuit to collect a debt. However, among the many things a collector is not allowed to do is threaten you with a lawsuit just to get you to pay the debt. Examples of threats and deceptive practices prohibited by the FDCPA are when the collector:
Says it will garnish your wages or sell your property if it is not legal to do that. Says it will sue you, if the collector doesn't intend to sue. Is not truthful about the amount of money you owe. Says you will be arrested if you don't pay the debt. Threatens you with violence.
Does a creditor have to tell me before it sends my account to a collection agency? What about credit bureaus?
You have no right to be notified under the FDCPA that an account will be referred to a collection agency. However, your state may have a law that requires notice in some cases. In California, for example, you must be notified before a health or fitness club refers a debt to a collection agency. If you are threatened with such a referral with no sign of your creditor carrying through on the threat, the creditor may have violated the law.
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA or FACT Act) requires financial institution creditors to send notice that negative information may be posted to your credit report. Sample notices are available from the Federal Reserve Board, www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/caletters/2004/0412/CA04-12Attach4.pdf .
For summaries of the new FACT Act, see PRC Fact Sheet 6(a), FACTA: The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act: Consumers Win Some, Lose Some , www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs6a-facta.htm . Also, visit these consumer web sites:
Does an agency have to contact me in writing before it calls me?
No. A collection agency may contact you first by telephone. Within five days after the phone call, the collector must send you a written notice. The notice must tell you how much you owe and the name of the creditor that says you owe the money. The written notice must also tell you how to file a dispute if you don't agree that you owe the money. For more on disputing a debt that is not yours, see Part 6.
Does a debt collector have to tell me anything else?
The person who calls you from a collection agency has to give you his or her name and the name of the agency. The caller cannot pretend to be someone else. A collection agency cannot lie about who it is or send documents that mislead you.
I'm receiving phone calls from a collector. Can I stop the collection agency from contacting me by phone?
You can write a letter to the agency telling it not to contact you by phone, not to call at certain times or locations, or not to make any further contact at all. This last request does entitle the collector to contact you one more time to inform you of what, if any, action it intends to take to collect the debt, but not to threaten you. (See Part 6). You should send such a letter by certified mail and request a return receipt. If the company has a fax number, send the letter by both fax and by mail. Understand, telling the collection agency not to contact you should stop the phone calls, but it won't stop the collection efforts.
For more on collection tactics that are prohibited by the FDCPA, see the FTC publications:
Your first contact with a collection agency is likely to be a telephone call. The law requires a collection agency to send you a written notice five days after it first contacts you. The FDCPA requires a collection agency to tell you how to contact the collector in writing.
The written notice must also tell you how to dispute the debt and give you the information you need to lodge a dispute. The FDCPA (§1692g(a)) says the written notice should also tell you:
The amount of the debt. The name of the creditor. A statement that if you notify the debt collector in writing within the 30-day period that you are disputing the debt, the collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against you. A statement that, if you request it, the collector will provide you with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor. A warning informing you that, "This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose."
If you do not receive the notice within five days, call the collection agency and ask for its address and fax number. Then, send a letter to the collector noting its failure to send you the required notice. As a minimum, make a note for your file.
What information should I include in a letter?
We have developed several debt collection letters that you can tailor to fit your specific situation in Attachment B, www.privacyrights.org/Letters/letters.htm#Debt. We include suggested wording for disputing a debt as well as giving the collector notice to stop contact with you, people you know, or your employer. The sample letters are not intended to confer legal advice and are only offered to provide guidelines. In Part 7 we offer guidance on how to write a complaint letter to a government agency. The same suggestions apply when writing to a collection agency. It is particularly important to get organized, get to the point, and maintain a business-like tone.
It is a good idea to include a date in your letter by which you expect to hear back from a collector, for instance, that either it is investigating your dispute or will no longer contact you about another person's debt. Usually, a date of two to three weeks is sufficient.
It is also very important to send correspondence to a debt collector by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. This way, you will receive a signed and dated notice that the collector has received your letter. Without confirmation, it may come down to your word against the collector. You may also want to fax your letter before mailing it.
What happens after I dispute a collection?
After you file a dispute, the collection agency then must stop collection efforts until it has conducted an investigation. This means the debt collector cannot put the debt on your credit report. It must validate the debt by obtaining a verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment from the creditor. A copy of documents that verify the bill should then be mailed to you.When you send the collector proof that the debt is not yours or has been satisfied, ask for written confirmation that the collector is not holding you accountable for the debt. Some accounts, even though properly disputed with one collector, may be sold to another. This can happen years after you have successfully disputed an account.
This makes it all the more important to create a record of your experience with the prior collector. Keep your file indefinitely, especially if it contains correspondence that states you are not responsible. State law may keep a collector from suing you after a given period of time. However, there is no statute of limitations on collection efforts. What you thought was a closed file, may later come back to haunt you.
How long does the collection agency have to conduct its investigation?
There is no set time, but, again, the collection agency cannot resume collection action unless it confirms the debt.
May a debt collector report negative information on my credit report?
Yes. However, collection agencies are not consistent when it comes to reporting. Some collectors report only larger collection amounts while others report all collections. For a discussion about inconsistent reporting and other issues that arise when collectors report to credit bureaus, see the Federal Reserve Board Study, Credit Report Accuracy and Access to Credit , www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2004/summer04_credit.pdf.
If you dispute a debt with a creditor or a collector, any notation on your credit report should also state that you dispute the debt. Am I liable for the debt if I don't dispute it in 30 days?
If the matter ends up in court, failure to file a dispute cannot be held against you. The FDCPA (§1692g(c)) says failure to file a dispute does not allow a court to assume you admit liability for the debt. However, being able to establish that you did comply with all statutory requirements may greatly enhance your chances of success. Your goal is to establish the facts and convince the judge or others who decide the matter that you are credible and deserve to have the law applied with its full effect on your behalf.
0
won't get fooled again
What can I do if a debt collector violates the law?
If you have exhausted all strategies in dealing with the debt collector as described in this guide and the collector continues to use illegal, unfair and abusive practices, you may file a complaint, sue the collector, or both. We explain how to file a complaint below, and provide tips for suing a collector at the end of this section.
Federal Trade Commission. (www.ftc.gov) The FTC is the government agency that enforces the FDCPA. It may bring an action in federal district court against a debt collector that violates the law. Understandably, the agency does not have the resources to bring a court action on behalf of an individual or against every collector about which it receives a complaint. But the agency can and does take action against the most egregious offenders.
The FTC's primary source of information about abusive collection practices is through consumer complaints. It offers an online complaint form on its web site, www.ftc.gov. The address for mailing complaints is provided in References, Part 11.
To learn more about the types of debt collector complaints the FTC receives and actions it has brought against collectors, see the agency's most recent report to Congress on the FDCPA, www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/04/fyi0621.htm.
State Attorney General or State Office of Consumer Protection. State officials may enforce the FDCPA as well as state collection laws. Before submitting a complaint to your state officials, check to see if your state has its own collection law (see Part 5 and Attachment A). When writing your complaint letter, be sure to describe a collection agency's actions that violate the FDCPA as well as those that violate the law in your state. Keep detailed notes, correspondence, and recordings of any documents or messages that may indicate the collector has violated state or federal laws.
Debt Collector Associations. The American Collectors Association is a national organization made up of member collection agencies. To become a member, a collection agency must agree to follow the FDCPA and a set of industry standards. A complaint against a member debt collector may be made through the organization's web site, www.acainternational.org/intcontent.aspx (click on "Contact ACA"), or by writing the Association at the address in Part 11 at the end of this guide.
Debt collectors may also be members of a statewide association. In California, that's the California Association of Collectors. This state organization's web site has a list of member collectors (see Part 11). To find out whether a collector association has been organized in your state, consult the white pages of your telephone director or try an Internet search.
What should I include in a complaint to a government agency?
Here are some general tips about writing a complaint letter:
Get organized before you begin to write your complaint. This is where your file will come in handy. Keep good notes of dates, representative's names, and details of any conversations, correspondence or personal contact. Keep originals of all correspondence you send and receive.
Create a chronology or timeline from your file. Always start with the date of the first contact by the debt collector. Your chronology does not have to be elaborate. It can be as simple as putting all your notes, letters and other documents in date order. Attach copies, not originals, of any documents, like a paid receipt, that support your version of events and strengthen your arguments. Keep your originals in your file.
Select only major points or important details to include in your complaint. Not every contact by a debt collector amounts to an abusive practice. For instance, it is not necessary to include every telephone call made from a debt collector in your complaint letter -- unless the telephone calls are made at odd hours, are harassing, or are calls made to your employer after the collector has been informed that you are not permitted to accept such calls.
Summarize minor points. Frequent contacts that did not include abusive practices, may simply be noted in a summary statement. For example, "Between January 1 and February 1, the collection agency contacted me fifteen times." If you are unsure about what should be included in your complaint, review the prohibited practices under the FDCPA explained in Part 2 and Part 3 in this guide and in publications in the References section in Part 11.
Start your letter by giving the first date you were contacted by the collection agency. This is a critical date. It can go a long way in supporting your complaint or lawsuit if the problem cannot be resolved otherwise. The original date of contact can establish, for example, that you have been attempting to resolve the problem directly with the collector for a long time. This date can also show that the collection agency did not, as required by law, follow up a telephone contact with a written notice within the five days required by law.
The tone of your letter should be business-like and to the point. To hold the attention of the agency official or others who read your complaint, you should briefly state who, what, and when. Be concise. Simply explain the actions by the collector you feel were abusive and violations of the law.
May I sue a collection agency?
Yes. The FDCPA allows individuals and class action plaintiffs to sue in federal or state court within a year of the violation. Under the FDCPA, if you win, you may recover actual damages plus up to $1,000. Attorney fees and court costs may also be recovered. Members of a class action may recover actual damages plus a total of $500,000 or one percent of the net worth of the debt collector. Attachment A to this guide, www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs27plus.htm, may have information about collection laws in your state.
There are many private practice attorneys who specialize in assisting consumers who have experienced violations of state and federal debt collection laws. The web site of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, www.naca.net, provides a directory of member attorneys. The search process enables you to find attorneys near you and to specify those with debt collection experience, www.naca.net/db.php3.
May I tape record calls from the collector?
If the collector is verbally abusive when phoning you or engages in other practices in apparent violation of the law, you might want to gather evidence by taping the calls. Such evidence can be invaluable if you file a complaint with the authorities and if you sue the collector. Be aware that in a dozen states including California, you need to obtain consent before taping the call, with some exceptions. Check the web site of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for a 50-state compilation of laws regarding tape recording, www.rcfp.org/taping.
0
won't get fooled again
I Posted the above information so all you people can get educated on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). What QTbill and other comapanies need to know is that we are on to them and we know our rights. They need to stop all harrassment and phone calls now, or everyone that you called and are harassing will file complaints against your company located in Indianapolis to the Atorney General of Indiana, following the guidelines set above. I would advise everyone to read the paragraph stating if we can sue. We can file a class action suit against these guy's and make them pay us for damages. Now, BRAD and company, is that worth it?
0
Former Employee
Looks like the old One Call Management has moved on to a new company and is up to their old tricks. They screwed their employees out of thier last 2 weeks pay when the doors at One Call closed and before that all went down they set up this company.
Do not pay these bills! They are a scam and a rip off. As someone who was on the inside at One Call I can tell you they are all crooks. Hopefully Pence, Benge, and Bernard will get their due soon.
0
Former Employee
Looks like the old One Call Management has moved on to a new company and is up to their old tricks. They screwed their employees out of thier last 2 weeks pay when the doors at One Call closed and before that all went down they set up this company.
Do not pay these bills! They are a scam and a rip off. As someone who was on the inside at One Call I can tell you they are all crooks. Hopefully Pence, Benge, and Bernard will get their due soon.
0
Brad
Jr as you can read through these post none of this is a scam. The only way we would be billing anyone is that they requested us to do so. By giving us their personal information requesting us to bill them for a product or service. Sometimes we find that someone bills something with us and not everyone at the home or office is aware of it when we call on a past due bill to the phone number they gave us. If you email us we can give you the person who did request the bill.
I hope this helps
Brad
0
Brad
Diane if you email us at service we can give you the personal information that was given to us to set the account up. Some of this information would only be known by that individual. Please contact us so we can help you remember the event.
Thank you Brad
0
Brad
I think we have given you the name of person to you at your office who signed up to have the service billed to them. If not please email us and we can help you further.
Comments
The only way to sign up a account with qtbill.com is to answer a few personally identifying questions! Once we confirm your identify your account is created.
You also would have had to accept the charges before creating the account. For example to purchase this product for $14.95 please press 1 now or press I accept button on a web site. Then you would had to have answer several questions to create the account. So it is hard to understand why someone at that phone number would have no idea about the bill or the account.
If you are unaware of qtbill.com and the account you might want to check with those people who also have access to your phone or internet. Also we respond to every email and can tell you who at that phone number used set up the account. We try to handle most customer service issues by email so we may send supporting billing information.
The only reason we would call you several times is that you have not responded to our calls and we our trying to contact you about your account.
We are not a collection company. We are trying to collect on the account you set up with us.
If this posting has not helped please email us at service@qtbill.com or call.
Brad
As of today, Oct 3, 2008, there will be no phone calls, automated or not to my phone, and I know you already have that information. If youare checkeng on a okay on sometype of charge then realize it isn't a good thing so deny it.
I don;t owe you any money, if someone would come on the line after waiting for one full hour it would be great to talk to them then.
EVERYONE DO NOT LET THEM SCAM YOU THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO BE CHECKING FOR WRONG THINGS TO YOUR ACCOUNT NOT A COLLECTION AGENCY. LOOK THEM UP ON THEIR SITES. DO NOT PAY THEM ANYTHING. REPORT THEM TO ALL OF THE PROPER AGENCIES. DO NOT LET THEM HAVE ANY INFORMATION THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO USE IT AGAINST YOU AND YOUR ACCOUNT.
The qtbill website claims I can get customer service by calling the toll free number. I claim BS. That's NOT customer service, that's customer slap-in-the-face. Nothing but recordings.
I am really irritated and I guess I will have to simply block the phone number
never received an orange envelope and I have tried every way to contact you
with no success, please stop calling or mail a bill.
Generally, the FDCPA only applies to agencies that collect debts for others. However, other federal or state laws may apply to in-house debt collections. For more on debt collections not covered by the federal law, as well as collection laws in California and other states, see Parts 4 and 5 and Attachment A of this guide.
Can a debt collector contact me by phone?
Yes, but within limits. A debt collector cannot:
Call you before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. unless you agree.Call you repeatedly or use the phone to harass you.Trick you into accepting collect calls or paying for telegrams. Use obscene language, make negative comments about your character, or make religious or ethnic slurs.
Call you at work if the collector knows your boss does not allow such calls.
If you have an attorney, the collector should call that person, not you.
Fair play under the FDCPA also means a debt collector owes you the truth about who it is and what it intends to do. False statements and deceptive practices like the following are not allowed. A collector cannot:
Claim to be an attorney or government employee when it is not.
Send you documents that look like legal papers when they are not.
State that forms sent to you are not legal documents when they are.
Say that you committed a crime.
A collection agency can file a lawsuit to collect a debt. However, among the many things a collector is not allowed to do is threaten you with a lawsuit just to get you to pay the debt. Examples of threats and deceptive practices prohibited by the FDCPA are when the collector:
Says it will garnish your wages or sell your property if it is not legal to do that.
Says it will sue you, if the collector doesn't intend to sue.
Is not truthful about the amount of money you owe.
Says you will be arrested if you don't pay the debt.
Threatens you with violence.
Does a creditor have to tell me before it sends my account to a collection agency? What about credit bureaus?
You have no right to be notified under the FDCPA that an account will be referred to a collection agency. However, your state may have a law that requires notice in some cases. In California, for example, you must be notified before a health or fitness club refers a debt to a collection agency. If you are threatened with such a referral with no sign of your creditor carrying through on the threat, the creditor may have violated the law.
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA or FACT Act) requires financial institution creditors to send notice that negative information may be posted to your credit report. Sample notices are available from the Federal Reserve Board, www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/caletters/2004/0412/CA04-12Attach4.pdf .
For summaries of the new FACT Act, see PRC Fact Sheet 6(a), FACTA: The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act: Consumers Win Some, Lose Some , www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs6a-facta.htm . Also, visit these consumer web sites:
National Consumer Law Center, www.consumerlaw.org/initiatives/facta/nclc_analysis.shtml
Consumers Union, www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/000745.html
Does an agency have to contact me in writing before it calls me?
No. A collection agency may contact you first by telephone. Within five days after the phone call, the collector must send you a written notice. The notice must tell you how much you owe and the name of the creditor that says you owe the money. The written notice must also tell you how to file a dispute if you don't agree that you owe the money. For more on disputing a debt that is not yours, see Part 6.
Does a debt collector have to tell me anything else?
The person who calls you from a collection agency has to give you his or her name and the name of the agency. The caller cannot pretend to be someone else. A collection agency cannot lie about who it is or send documents that mislead you.
I'm receiving phone calls from a collector. Can I stop the collection agency from contacting me by phone?
You can write a letter to the agency telling it not to contact you by phone, not to call at certain times or locations, or not to make any further contact at all. This last request does entitle the collector to contact you one more time to inform you of what, if any, action it intends to take to collect the debt, but not to threaten you. (See Part 6). You should send such a letter by certified mail and request a return receipt. If the company has a fax number, send the letter by both fax and by mail. Understand, telling the collection agency not to contact you should stop the phone calls, but it won't stop the collection efforts.
For more on collection tactics that are prohibited by the FDCPA, see the FTC publications:
"Fair Debt Collection," www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.htm
FTC Staff Commentary, www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/commentary.htm#805
Your first contact with a collection agency is likely to be a telephone call. The law requires a collection agency to send you a written notice five days after it first contacts you. The FDCPA requires a collection agency to tell you how to contact the collector in writing.
The written notice must also tell you how to dispute the debt and give you the information you need to lodge a dispute. The FDCPA (§1692g(a)) says the written notice should also tell you:
The amount of the debt.
The name of the creditor.
A statement that if you notify the debt collector in writing within the 30-day period that you are disputing the debt, the collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against you.
A statement that, if you request it, the collector will provide you with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.
A warning informing you that, "This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose."
If you do not receive the notice within five days, call the collection agency and ask for its address and fax number. Then, send a letter to the collector noting its failure to send you the required notice. As a minimum, make a note for your file.
What information should I include in a letter?
We have developed several debt collection letters that you can tailor to fit your specific situation in Attachment B, www.privacyrights.org/Letters/letters.htm#Debt. We include suggested wording for disputing a debt as well as giving the collector notice to stop contact with you, people you know, or your employer. The sample letters are not intended to confer legal advice and are only offered to provide guidelines. In Part 7 we offer guidance on how to write a complaint letter to a government agency. The same suggestions apply when writing to a collection agency. It is particularly important to get organized, get to the point, and maintain a business-like tone.
It is a good idea to include a date in your letter by which you expect to hear back from a collector, for instance, that either it is investigating your dispute or will no longer contact you about another person's debt. Usually, a date of two to three weeks is sufficient.
It is also very important to send correspondence to a debt collector by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. This way, you will receive a signed and dated notice that the collector has received your letter. Without confirmation, it may come down to your word against the collector. You may also want to fax your letter before mailing it.
What happens after I dispute a collection?
After you file a dispute, the collection agency then must stop collection efforts until it has conducted an investigation. This means the debt collector cannot put the debt on your credit report. It must validate the debt by obtaining a verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment from the creditor. A copy of documents that verify the bill should then be mailed to you.When you send the collector proof that the debt is not yours or has been satisfied, ask for written confirmation that the collector is not holding you accountable for the debt. Some accounts, even though properly disputed with one collector, may be sold to another. This can happen years after you have successfully disputed an account.
This makes it all the more important to create a record of your experience with the prior collector. Keep your file indefinitely, especially if it contains correspondence that states you are not responsible. State law may keep a collector from suing you after a given period of time. However, there is no statute of limitations on collection efforts. What you thought was a closed file, may later come back to haunt you.
How long does the collection agency have to conduct its investigation?
There is no set time, but, again, the collection agency cannot resume collection action unless it confirms the debt.
May a debt collector report negative information on my credit report?
Yes. However, collection agencies are not consistent when it comes to reporting. Some collectors report only larger collection amounts while others report all collections. For a discussion about inconsistent reporting and other issues that arise when collectors report to credit bureaus, see the Federal Reserve Board Study, Credit Report Accuracy and Access to Credit , www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2004/summer04_credit.pdf.
If you dispute a debt with a creditor or a collector, any notation on your credit report should also state that you dispute the debt.
Am I liable for the debt if I don't dispute it in 30 days?
If the matter ends up in court, failure to file a dispute cannot be held against you. The FDCPA (§1692g(c)) says failure to file a dispute does not allow a court to assume you admit liability for the debt. However, being able to establish that you did comply with all statutory requirements may greatly enhance your chances of success. Your goal is to establish the facts and convince the judge or others who decide the matter that you are credible and deserve to have the law applied with its full effect on your behalf.
If you have exhausted all strategies in dealing with the debt collector as described in this guide and the collector continues to use illegal, unfair and abusive practices, you may file a complaint, sue the collector, or both. We explain how to file a complaint below, and provide tips for suing a collector at the end of this section.
Federal Trade Commission. (www.ftc.gov) The FTC is the government agency that enforces the FDCPA. It may bring an action in federal district court against a debt collector that violates the law. Understandably, the agency does not have the resources to bring a court action on behalf of an individual or against every collector about which it receives a complaint. But the agency can and does take action against the most egregious offenders.
The FTC's primary source of information about abusive collection practices is through consumer complaints. It offers an online complaint form on its web site, www.ftc.gov. The address for mailing complaints is provided in References, Part 11.
To learn more about the types of debt collector complaints the FTC receives and actions it has brought against collectors, see the agency's most recent report to Congress on the FDCPA, www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/04/fyi0621.htm.
State Attorney General or State Office of Consumer Protection. State officials may enforce the FDCPA as well as state collection laws. Before submitting a complaint to your state officials, check to see if your state has its own collection law (see Part 5 and Attachment A). When writing your complaint letter, be sure to describe a collection agency's actions that violate the FDCPA as well as those that violate the law in your state. Keep detailed notes, correspondence, and recordings of any documents or messages that may indicate the collector has violated state or federal laws.
Debt Collector Associations. The American Collectors Association is a national organization made up of member collection agencies. To become a member, a collection agency must agree to follow the FDCPA and a set of industry standards. A complaint against a member debt collector may be made through the organization's web site, www.acainternational.org/intcontent.aspx (click on "Contact ACA"), or by writing the Association at the address in Part 11 at the end of this guide.
Debt collectors may also be members of a statewide association. In California, that's the California Association of Collectors. This state organization's web site has a list of member collectors (see Part 11). To find out whether a collector association has been organized in your state, consult the white pages of your telephone director or try an Internet search.
What should I include in a complaint to a government agency?
Here are some general tips about writing a complaint letter:
Get organized before you begin to write your complaint. This is where your file will come in handy. Keep good notes of dates, representative's names, and details of any conversations, correspondence or personal contact. Keep originals of all correspondence you send and receive.
Create a chronology or timeline from your file. Always start with the date of the first contact by the debt collector. Your chronology does not have to be elaborate. It can be as simple as putting all your notes, letters and other documents in date order. Attach copies, not originals, of any documents, like a paid receipt, that support your version of events and strengthen your arguments. Keep your originals in your file.
Select only major points or important details to include in your complaint. Not every contact by a debt collector amounts to an abusive practice. For instance, it is not necessary to include every telephone call made from a debt collector in your complaint letter -- unless the telephone calls are made at odd hours, are harassing, or are calls made to your employer after the collector has been informed that you are not permitted to accept such calls.
Summarize minor points. Frequent contacts that did not include abusive practices, may simply be noted in a summary statement. For example, "Between January 1 and February 1, the collection agency contacted me fifteen times." If you are unsure about what should be included in your complaint, review the prohibited practices under the FDCPA explained in Part 2 and Part 3 in this guide and in publications in the References section in Part 11.
Start your letter by giving the first date you were contacted by the collection agency. This is a critical date. It can go a long way in supporting your complaint or lawsuit if the problem cannot be resolved otherwise. The original date of contact can establish, for example, that you have been attempting to resolve the problem directly with the collector for a long time. This date can also show that the collection agency did not, as required by law, follow up a telephone contact with a written notice within the five days required by law.
The tone of your letter should be business-like and to the point. To hold the attention of the agency official or others who read your complaint, you should briefly state who, what, and when. Be concise. Simply explain the actions by the collector you feel were abusive and violations of the law.
May I sue a collection agency?
Yes. The FDCPA allows individuals and class action plaintiffs to sue in federal or state court within a year of the violation. Under the FDCPA, if you win, you may recover actual damages plus up to $1,000. Attorney fees and court costs may also be recovered. Members of a class action may recover actual damages plus a total of $500,000 or one percent of the net worth of the debt collector. Attachment A to this guide, www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs27plus.htm, may have information about collection laws in your state.
There are many private practice attorneys who specialize in assisting consumers who have experienced violations of state and federal debt collection laws. The web site of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, www.naca.net, provides a directory of member attorneys. The search process enables you to find attorneys near you and to specify those with debt collection experience, www.naca.net/db.php3.
May I tape record calls from the collector?
If the collector is verbally abusive when phoning you or engages in other practices in apparent violation of the law, you might want to gather evidence by taping the calls. Such evidence can be invaluable if you file a complaint with the authorities and if you sue the collector. Be aware that in a dozen states including California, you need to obtain consent before taping the call, with some exceptions. Check the web site of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for a 50-state compilation of laws regarding tape recording, www.rcfp.org/taping.
Here is the full article about One Call:
http://www.ibj.com/html/detail_page_Full.asp?content=20754
Do not pay these bills! They are a scam and a rip off. As someone who was on the inside at One Call I can tell you they are all crooks. Hopefully Pence, Benge, and Bernard will get their due soon.
Here is the full article about One Call:
http://www.ibj.com/html/detail_page_Full.asp?content=20754
Do not pay these bills! They are a scam and a rip off. As someone who was on the inside at One Call I can tell you they are all crooks. Hopefully Pence, Benge, and Bernard will get their due soon.
Sometimes we find that someone bills something with us and not everyone at the home or office is aware of it when we call on a past due bill to the phone number they gave us. If you email us we can give you the person who did request the bill.
I hope this helps
Brad
Thank you
Brad
If not please email us and we can help you further.
Brad