Repeated unsolicited calls for two months
Complaint
Jim Yeung
Country: United States
Two weeeks ago, I finally call them back and asked them why they were calling us. They said they were calling a John Curtis and I explained to them there is no such person in this household. they insisted that in July they had talk to him on this phone and John promised to send them a cashier check. Next day they called again and I explained to them agian and asked them not to call me again. If they call, i will report them.
they call again today at 5:55 pm.
I think they claimed established previous business contaact as a loophole for continue calling harassment.
they call again today at 5:55 pm.
I think they claimed established previous business contaact as a loophole for continue calling harassment.
Comments
A high percentage of the complaints against this company reported below are that they are calling the wrong person.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-741-2100
Here is their settlement with FTC. They were fined $1.3 million for abusive and deceptive collection.
http://www2.ftc.gov/opa/2007/11/debtcol.shtm
"For Release: November 6, 2007
Nationwide Debt Collector Will Pay $1.3 Million to Settle FTC Charges
A Texas-based debt collection company will pay more than $1.3 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it misled, threatened, and harassed consumers in violation of federal law.
“Debt collectors who get complaints from consumers should not only take notice, but also take action,” said Lydia B. Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The message from this case is clear: Either comply with the law or face stiff penalties.”
According to an FTC complaint, in many instances, collectors for LTD Financial Services, L.P., which collects on about 1.25 million consumer accounts per year, violated the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by falsely threatening or implying that LTD would garnish consumers’ wages, seize or attach their property, or initiate lawsuits or criminal actions against them if they failed to pay.
LTD collectors, who collect in English and Spanish, allegedly called consumers at their place of work despite knowing it was inconvenient for them to receive calls there, and disclosed the existence of debts to family members, employers, co-workers, and neighbors. They also allegedly harassed consumers and used abusive tactics such as immediately calling back after consumers hung up on them, and sometimes used racial slurs and profanity. According to the complaint, in some instances, front-line supervisors and mid-level managers either participated or were aware of such practices under their supervision but failed to impose sufficient discipline.
Hundreds of consumer complaints against LTD are filed with the FTC, the Houston Better Business Bureau (BBB), various state attorneys general, and the company itself, the FTC’s complaint states, noting that LTD’s response to complaints “is cavalier at best,” that complaints from attorneys general and the BBB alleging egregious law violations frequently are dismissed without significant investigation, and that collectors often go unpunished or merely receive a warning. The complaint also alleges that LTD’s internal compliance program regularly catches collectors violating federal law, but even multiple egregious violations often go without serious punishment, and that senior managers either turn a blind eye to the unlawful acts or fail to exercise the supervision necessary to recognize the problems.
Under the proposed settlement, LTD will pay a $1.375 million civil penalty. In addition, LTD and its owners, Timothy Feldman and Leonard Pruzansky, and its top managers, John Brewster and Derrek Davis, are permanently prohibited from misrepresenting to consumers that nonpayment of a debt will result in garnishment of wages, seizure or attachment of property, or lawsuits. They also are permanently barred from using false, deceptive, or misleading representations in connection with the collection of any debt, communicating with a consumer at any unusual time or place, including their place of employment, or harassing, oppressing, or abusing any person.
The settlement requires the defendants to clearly and conspicuously disclose to consumers that they may stop the company from contacting them about the debt, and to notify consumers that they may contact a special LTD physical address, e-mail address, or toll-free phone number if they have a complaint about the way the company is collecting the debt.
The Commission vote to refer the complaint and consent decree to the Department of Justice for filing was 5-0. On behalf of the FTC, the documents were filed by the Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.
..."
Note the terms of the settlement agreement. A settlement agreement has the legal force of a court order, and violations may be treated as contempt.
If you have any problems with abusive or harassing calls, or if they continue to call you after you tell them to cease calling (regardless of whether you are the person they are trying to reach), contact the FTC to file a complaint.
FTC can also provide you with a way to notify the company to report any violations of law, where they are required to track and maintain records of their response to ensure compliance auditable by FTC.
You report to fTC, you notify company as directed, and if they keep it up, they screw themselves. If they pretend they didn't know, they also screw themselves.
They are calling me, telling me that they understand that I am the person legally responsible for paying off my deceased mother's debts. I have nothing to do with her debt. She did not have any "estate". She lived on social security, and her debt is not mine.
Aren't collectors supposed to say who they are and where they are from BEFORE they ask for the person by name?! At least that's what I had read at one time!
He loves taking these guys on for about $400