RPM trying to collect a fake debt
Complaint
JP
Country: United States
On 4 Apr 08 I got a call from Receivables Performance Management (RPM) claiming that I owe $85 on a Verizon account from 2000. I know that I’ve never had a Verizon account, and that my phone account from 2000 (I forget which company) was paid properly. So I told the RPM rep that they were full of s**t, and that I wanted written proof that this debt is actually mine. They had the last 4 of my SSN and tried to pass that off as “proof” that their info was legitimate. I still didn’t fall for it and asked for everything in writing.
Fortunately I have records that go back that far. I also called Verizon to confirm that they don’t have any account information with my name on it. Surprisingly they have no record of me ever having an account with them. I then went online to find out if RPM is some sort of scam. They are a “legitimate” company, yet seem to be practicing what I would describe as predatory debt collection, or legal extortion. Unfortunately, there is not much information on the internet yet about RPM. However, there is a lot of information about AFNI, who seem to be doing the same thing.
So, after I found this web page, and read all of the information about AFNI, I downloaded the FDCPA and FCRA and read them. I’m sending RPM a letter in accordance with the FDCPA. I’m also sending the letter to my state’s AG and the WA state AG. (RPM is located in Bothell WA.) I also checked all of my credit reports to make sure that nothing has been placed on them. I’ll continue to monitor my credit reports very closely for the next few months. As this develops I’ll update this comment.
I’m considering contacting a lawyer to see if what RPM is doing is in any way actually extortion. It’s a crime that the max penalty under FDCPA and FCRA is only $1000 or actual damages. Obviously that small amount isn’t enough of an incentive to keep these companies from violating the law. I’m also going to contact my Congressmen about this. Maybe if enough of us complain the law can get changed?
Oh, and a huge thanks to the poster on this site TJ! His information and advice was invaluable!!
Fortunately I have records that go back that far. I also called Verizon to confirm that they don’t have any account information with my name on it. Surprisingly they have no record of me ever having an account with them. I then went online to find out if RPM is some sort of scam. They are a “legitimate” company, yet seem to be practicing what I would describe as predatory debt collection, or legal extortion. Unfortunately, there is not much information on the internet yet about RPM. However, there is a lot of information about AFNI, who seem to be doing the same thing.
So, after I found this web page, and read all of the information about AFNI, I downloaded the FDCPA and FCRA and read them. I’m sending RPM a letter in accordance with the FDCPA. I’m also sending the letter to my state’s AG and the WA state AG. (RPM is located in Bothell WA.) I also checked all of my credit reports to make sure that nothing has been placed on them. I’ll continue to monitor my credit reports very closely for the next few months. As this develops I’ll update this comment.
I’m considering contacting a lawyer to see if what RPM is doing is in any way actually extortion. It’s a crime that the max penalty under FDCPA and FCRA is only $1000 or actual damages. Obviously that small amount isn’t enough of an incentive to keep these companies from violating the law. I’m also going to contact my Congressmen about this. Maybe if enough of us complain the law can get changed?
Oh, and a huge thanks to the poster on this site TJ! His information and advice was invaluable!!
Comments
And how did their BBB rating jump from "F" to "A-"?
Trust me, RPM is on the [***] list of many State AGs.
People who you contact entirely in error also say that you harass them, repeatedly failing to remove their numbers from your call list. That indicates systemic compliance problems, entirely unrelated to "people forgetting about their bills".
You yourself have listed various deceptive excuses you use to convince people not to request validation, along with your justifications for why these are acceptable. You claim to be trained in FDCPA compliance, yet your excuses instead indicate training in what you can get away with.
You have also admitted that in your experience "validation" seldom resolves disputed debts, while other complaints against several of your clients indicate that your clients records used for validation are often in error and unreliable, or that debt collectors using them are systematically withholding complete validation in an attempt to use them to collect unowed debt.
You have a rising level of federal FDCPA lawsuits filed against you, currently at 4 times the rate of several years ago. That says that attorneys see you as worth suing on contingency, and that in their judgement you will likely lose.
"You only have 30 days to dispute the debt with the original client and 30 days from sending the DN. If you failed to do that, your screwed you owe the debt, "
I get back home. They better put it back in my account unless they want trouble. I am a very angry person right now. I want to hurt people that manipulate others into parting with hard earned money without permission.
You should NEVER authorize electronic debits by phone, and this is an example of why.
Have you requested that they obtain and send you proof of the alleged debt, as allowed for by FDCPA? Have you verified that the alleged account is actually yours, in your name?
Have you verified through PG&E directly that the amount allegedly owed is correct?
Have you verified that any charges allegedly owed are not for periods after you notified PG&E to terminate the account due to moving?
Here is a new complaint, for debiting without authorization. Must be one of those "mistakes" you never make.
Consumers should NEVER authorize electronic debits, as it allows debt collectors to debit at will, regardless of what is authorized.
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/9NpnRaEYWQDQEQjKZgegmQ/13
"Mr. Lashelle ...
My problem with this company is that they contacted me several months ago on a debt owed to PG&E. I made one payment installment and then asked that they contact me at the next projected payment date to make sure I was able to make a larger payment. I live in the bay area (CA) and am attending a wedding overseas. I have not been contacted or had any attempts at contact noted in voicemail, missed calls, or email. $211 has been taken from my primary checking without any prior authorization that we had agreed upon in my initial phone conversation. "
Just *stop* answering your phone. Use your caller ID. Everytime a new number shows up - don't answer - call it back a few minutes later and add that number to your calling list: Bottom-Feeder*1, Bottom-Feeder*2, etc.
"RPM Guy", note that this consumer is reporting being subjected to the same deceptive talk-off you spout, blaming consumers for YOUR "mistakes" as you imply they have to somehow disprove the debt. This is a violation of FDCPA.
If you call RPM back, they will have your phone number for sure.
Has not been my experience that they ever stop calling. They use auto-dialers. As long as the number is working they will continue calling.
Thousands of complaints have so stated.
First step is a "cease and desist" letter. Immediately followed by complaints to FTC.BBB. And above all, your States AG.
Original creditors make mistakes, in billing, in correcting errors, and in identifying their customers. Other debt collectors make mistakes. You make mistakes, as complaints here indicate, including that apparently you can't even stop calling when you have the wrong number and are told to cease.
"RPM is a multi Million dollar business they aren't going to use someones SSN# or account to make business purchases."
I never said that was likely.
You are both sloppy and deceptive, and your compliance training is defective, and although that may be profitable, it is both illegal and morally wrong. It is really irrelevant if 90% or 99% of your contacts are accurate if for the remaining ones you are abusive, deceptive, and violate the law. The law (FDCPA) doesn't care, either, whether you have the right person or not, if you violate it.
You are right, however, in assuming that I am mostly concerned about your "errors", because that affects a lot of people's lives, including my own and my family. People don't just lose credit when you make an error, they may not get student loans so they can get their college degree, they may not be able to rent, or get a security clearance, or buy a house when they could otherwise afford it. The costs of all of those "little" errors compounds over time. The 90% of our society that pays its bills is subject to being held hostage by your sloppy industry, and that is intolerable.
There is no reason for the 90% of consumers who pay their bills to put up with your errors and harassment. That includes people with the same name, those who may have once lived at some address, those who just got a new phone number, and relatives, too. You talk like as long as there is an excuse for why you made your error, so it's really "someone else's fault", it somehow no longer matters how you act in correcting it.
Of course people lie. Some of your debtors lie. Some of your coworkers lie. Some of your clients lie. And lots of criminals are running around lying as they try to defraud and steal and get other people's money for nothing, even as they create some of the very fraudulent accounts you end up with. To lie is human. In a world full of liars, it is ridiculous of you to expect that anyone should accept you (or any stranger) at your word.
I believe composites and profiles contructed from repeated consistent complaints from independent sources over an extended period of time. It filters out the chaff from confusion (some of it encouraged by debt collectors), along with attempts at spin control by those who would claim "No, we would never do THAT!". As the number of consistent complaints increases, repeated patterns become clear, and the likelyhood and reliability increases with it. It is just a practical consequence of the Central Limit Theorem.
You have 2 visible patterns. They keep repeating. They are consistent. They are from many independent sources, not only on this site. And they have shown up for an extended period of time.
This morning at 8 AM I received a call from someone from RPM who claimed to be an attorney hired by the company to pursue legal actions against me.
His fellow employees told me he wasn't. He was a debt collector lying to me about legal actions - which is prohibited under the FDCPA.
So people have a lot of pride that work there, huh? Next time, make sure your hands are clean before you decide to post.
They're nice to you when you set up a payment... but as soon as you tell them you want validation, they start sighing and groaning and you can almost see the pain on their faces since they won't get commission from that particular case.
His fellow employees told me he wasn't. He was a debt collector lying to me about legal actions - which is prohibited under the FDCPA."
You could sue both the company, and the individual employee, for violating FDCPA.
"So people have a lot of pride that work there, huh? Next time, make sure your hands are clean before you decide to post."
Some people just believe everything they are told. They want and need to believe it is true, to believe that what they do is right, or that it matters. They are what Eric Hoffer called "True Believers", or the KGB would refer to as "полезные идиоты".
They usually call during the day and don't leave a message. I am NOT dealing with this at work. I got another call last night and again the gentleman, I use that term losely, argued with me and told me that I just needed to give him my credit card number and he would not be mailing me anything unless they are serving me with court documents. Doesn't sound like they can do any of that since they won't take my correct address.
beleive me when I say that I know I should have paid this but no one know what my circumstances were at the time that the bill happened. However, never should I be threatened or talked to in that manner when i am admitting to owing it and just wante dthe plan in writing to protect myself.