Harassing Collection Calls
Complaint
Sharon Marsh
Country: United States
I am not sure that this is the name of the company because it is very difficult to understand the name of the company. This company has called me 2 times and left 15 minutes of messages on my answering machine. He repeats his name (which I cannot understand) and his phone number over and over again for 15 minutes.........I called them back the first time approximately a month ago and told him do not call again, and today I received the same 15 minute message. He is not calling for me, but and I am not going to put up with the harassment. The phone number that he give to call back is 1-800 -335-0872. I DO NOT WANT ANYMORE COLLECTION CALLS. I HAVE GOOD CREDIT AND I DO NOT CARE WHO HE IS CALLING FOR HE HAS NO RIGHT TO CONTINUE TO CALL AND HARASS ME! Please let me know what else I can do to get him to stop!
Comments
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-335-0872
Here is their website:
http://www.mrsassociates.com/contactus.asp
"MRS Associates Inc.
1930 Olney Ave.
Cherry Hill NJ 08003
888-334-5677
They claim to have offices in:
"Cherry Hill, NJ (Headquarters); Parsippany, NJ; New Albany, OH; Mumbai, India"
They appear to have a call center in Phoenix.
http://www.budhibbs.com/debtcollectorpages/mrs_associates_inc_cmts.htm
You told them they had the wrong number, and to cease calling.
They are continuing to call, and are therefore violating FDCPA.
Send a similar request in writing to their headquarters, certified return receipt requested. Notify them that they are calling your number "xxx-xxx-xxxx" apparently trying to reach <whoever>, that you do not know that person and they cannot be reached at your phone number, and that they are to cease calling and harassing you.
If they fail to cease harassing you, file a complaint with FTC for the FDCPA violation, and contact the New Jersey Attorney General.
Do NOT be deceived! Once the entity you DID have an agreement with turns it over to a 3rd party YOU are DONE! Chase, BoA, or WHATEVER company you were making pmts to SELLS the debt to the collectors YOU are NO LONGER indebited to them!!! STOP GIVING YOUR $$$ to thieves! DEMAND that they send you the "VALDATED DEBT" (which they can't because they don't have a contract with you) and ask for the original contract SIGNED BY YOU with the debt collectors ~ NEVER ACCEPT MAIL FROM THEM OR SIGN & RETURN ANYTHING YOU RECIEVE FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR) AND also add that you are taping the phone calls and that after you have proof of the 3rd call you will commence stalking charges against them. ALL of this works. DEMAND to speak to the supervisor of everyone they put on the phone. Demand their name, badge #, and keep going until you have the name and address of the President and/or CEO of the company.....browbeat them as much as they browbeat you. Be relentless. If you email me @ Gwenyvere9@aol.com I can mail you a lawful Notice where you can fill in your name, Ref #, etc., mail it off to them "Return Receipt Requested" and they will have to stop the harassment or face further Lawful action and you can collect big time !!
If validation is so available, why do debt collectors work so hard to avoid providing it?
Why the con game?
If the alleged debt went delinquent in 2004, under FCRA it is either already not reportable on credit reports, or about to be. FCRA allows negative information to be reported for at most 7.5 years from the original date of delinquency.
That makes them subject to the various provisions of FDPCA, including the requirement to mail notice of the debt within 5 days of first contact, and the various prohibitions against abusive, harassing, and deceptive collection. It also allows consumers to sue them for violations, in their home state, in state or federal court.
The notice (sometimes called a "g" notice, for the section of FDCPA that requires it), is required to be mailed within 5 days of first contact, and must identify the debt collector and how to contact them, the amount of the alleged debt, and who it is allegedly owed to. It is also required to include language notifying consumers that if they don't dispute the debt within 30 days, it will be assumed by the collector to be valid. (That does not MAKE it valid, and no court may use any failure to dispute as any indication of anything.)
Here is the full text of FDPCA, from the FTC website:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf
California's Rosenthal Act has similar provisions and requirements to FDCPA, except that many of them also apply to original creditors as well.
MRS is a debt collector as defined by FDCPA.
Collection Agencies routinely violate the FDCPA and the TCPA. Most of the time, they are auto dialing which is why you have to say "hello" more than once to get someone to respond. Every time they auto dial you they are violating the TCPA which is a fine of $1000 per occurrence.
I too ran into debt issues when my wife experienced extreme health problems. We never missed a payment, but we did use our cards. They kept raising my rates over a period of years despite a perfect payment history. One company had me at 36% and I had never missed a payment by so much as one minute. They're thieves and the swine who "buy" the so called debt are lower than whale dung. I learned the facts and the law and when I run across a real jerk, I toy with these bozos just for the fun of it.
Now pay attention! Try this: after you answer and they finally pick up the phone they will try to take control of the conversation by insisting that you answer their question. This is where you win or lose. They will always start with "Is this..." or "Is so and so there?". DO NOT ANSWER THEIR QUESTION!! NOT EVEN THE FIRST ONE. For the love of God, they're calling you're home. YOU are in charge. Do you get it? YOU rule your roost, not them.
IMMEDIATELY you take control. You say, "What is your name?"; "What is the name of your company?"; What is your extension?"; What is your address?;" etc., etc. YOU ask the questions. They'll huff and they'll puff, but they CAN'T blow your house down. Remember, they are just people trained a certain way and you're talking to some poor sap trying to earn a living.
Get this straight. Susy is right. With the right paperwork I have routinely sent lawyers packing. Most people who have debt issues have been sold a bill of goods by rip off banks and credit card companies.
Their goal is to make you feel lower than a snake's belly in a wagon wheel rut in Death Valley. It's a game. Learn to play it or they'll kill you with stress.
One caveat: if they sick a lawyer on you who is a member of the Bar in your home state, the same rules apply, but don't mess around. You have to know what you're doing or they'll get a judgment on you and now your dealing with the courts. The fact is the "home town" lawyers are more careful not to violate the collection laws and when you know what you're doing you can easily win IF you do what you need to do before they go to court.
Even lawyers are after the low hanging fruit. If you make them work too hard, they'll go away too, but DON'T ignore them. You have rights and they have obligations, but you must exercise your rights in a timely fashion which is hard to do if you don't know what your rights and their obligations are.
Remember the old saying, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse?" I used to think it meant that I might accidentally violate some law and suffer the consequences. Well that is only half true. The flip side is that if you don't know your rights and somebody tramples all over them, you have no excuse. If you're in a legal battle, don't come armed only with stupidity.
You can find one through www.naca.net
Why don't you take a remedial English class at your local junior college.
If you want advice, I sugest an Attorney who knows what he/she is talking about.
No one sells debt to a collector, they sell it to a debt buyer.
Have you heard the term "you get what you pay for"?
well this person is offering free advice
think about that
What is governed by FDCPA is spelled out in FDCPA. It covers debt collected by any party other than the original creditor after it's delinquent, whether sold or not. So, once it's delinquent in the hands of the original creditor, FDCPA applies to ANY other party who attempts to collect it.