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
Next time they call just say that you want to pay but that you want to call them back because your kid just fell down the stairs or something, then next thing you know, call them back calling them [***], [***], yelling and swearing at them. Then everytime they hang up on you, just keep calling them. I PROMISE YOU THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET THEM TO STOP HARRASSING YOU! Eventually they will need to get a supervisor on the phone because you are COSTING THEM MONEY if they can't use one of their phone extensions. You tell them that you will stop and give them ONE and ONLY ONE chance to not call you again. And if they do not take out your number and put you on their DO NOT CALL LIST so that your number does not get put back on to an account or on any accounts, or on any accounts with your name or anything that has to do with you then you will keep on calling calling them [***], and giving them a taste of their own medicine.
Trust me I used to work for these guys. I know it seems wrong to do this. But I can tell you, in my opinion it IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET WHAT YOU WANT FROM THESE PEOPLE AND TO STOP THEM FROM HARRASSING YOU. Call them telling them your going to rape them and stuff. It is the only way, or else they will keep bothering you for a bill that is not yours.
kamal phone-240-210-7111,315-410-2065
9:54 am
calls from this number.315-410-2065-9:52
9:49,,9:48,9:44,9:40,9:39 -3 time,,just on 4/12/2012
If you already know you are dealing with an adversary willing to engage in illegal threats and abuse on alleged debts that are already questionable, you can be sure that they will also not produce any recording proving they did so. If they even produce any recording at all, it will either be from a call where they violated no law, it will be sanitized to remove or clip off any problems, or it will turn out that somehow no recording can be found. This is even more likely since a number of states require two party agreement to record.
More effective is to document their calls as to time and date, noting abusive and illegal acts, and then obtain their call records through discovery should you sue them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_Moon_(film)
"Addie soon learns how Moses makes his money - he finds recently widowed women and visits them pretending to be a Bible salesman who recently sold a Bible to the deceased husband. The widows then pay him for the book. "
As to why Attorneys General don't act more, it varies. Some states are more effective than others at taking action against out of state debt collectors.
As an example, Florida has both a high rate of fraudulent scams (maybe due to a higher vulnerable senior citizen population), but also has tended to have pro-active Attorney General, known for taking action against abusive debt collectors based in the Jacksonville area, and listing even open investigations on their website under their Economic Crimes unit.
Other state AGs may be currently busier dealing with mortgage rescue scams.
There are also varying degrees to which state laws support regulation of debt collection. Texas law, in particular, provides stronger validation rights than federal FDCPA, and also requires that debt collectors be bonded to collect in the state.
You stop them by suing them. Federal and state laws prohibit deceptive, abusive, and threatening debt collection, and allow for damages, penalties, and attorney's fees if you win. The more abusive they are, ant the more thorough your documentation of their abuse, the more likely you can find an attorney to take this on contingency.
Send your dispute and validation request, certified return receipt requested, log all calls noting harassment and abuse, file complaints with your state AG and FTC to report their violations of law, then shop around for an attorney to sue them.
You did not chose them to abuse you. They chose you to be a victim. Choose not to be a victim.
You've got your "home foreclosure rescue" cons, telecom "cramming", puppy mills, "bait and switch" satelite TV sales, "negative option" buyer club membership scams, debt collectors allegedly collecting child support and keeping it, "negative option" magazine subscription cramming on retail sales, small business "toner and office supply" scams, doctor's office supplies billing scams, "business directory" scams, medical services "balance billing" fraud, magazine subscription renewal scams, debt collectors threatening arrest and claiming to be a "law firm", "government grant" scams, etc. They are all here, mixed and matched in various combinations.
Often whatever you heard elsewhere that someone was pulling, eventually several Florida residents get scammed and it shows up here, reported in dry, non-judgemental fashion, but reported none the less.
http://myfloridalegal.com/lit_ec.nsf/investigations
"...
L09-3-1117 Rodale, Inc.
L09-3-1110 21st Century Legal Services, Inc.
L09-3-1107 United Hope Alliance Corp.
L09-3-1105 Angelo R. Mozilo
L09-3-1104 The Helping Hands Foundation, Inc.
L09-3-1099 THE BULLDOG EXCHANGE, LLC.
L09-3-1088 American Mortgage Modification, Debt Advisory Alliance, Ron Quintero, MortgageLeadersEdge.com, Michael Tubbiola, Foreclosure Avoidance Network, FinanceThisHome.com, Inc., MyResourceCenter.com; Orlando Castano; The Law Office of Orlando J. Castano, Jr., Inc.
L09-3-1083 Americas Loss Mitigation Solutions Corporation a/k/a Stonehill Financial, Inc.
L09-3-1082 National Payment Modification Company, a Florida Corporation, William Rodriguez, Jr., an individual, Chance Edward Gordon, Esquire, an Individual, d/b/a National Payment Modification, a fictitious name registered In San Diego County, California, and The Gordon Law Firm of Los Angeles, California.
L09-3-1079 Multiple Streams, LLC dba Consumer Foreclosure Protection Services
L09-3-1078 IMC Financial Services, LLC
L09-3-1076 Community Support, Inc.
L09-3-1073 Home Mitigation Direct, LLC
L09-3-1072 Home Rescue and Modification, Inc., Jason Lapaglia, Shawn Wright, Fidelity One Mortgage Group, Inc. Law Office of Ruiz and Clayman, P.A., Juan Ruiz, Esq., Eric Clayman, Esq.
L09-3-1071 Gretchen Fox and Associates
L09-3-1070 Keep Your Property, Inc., William R. Colon, Carlos A. Hernandez
L09-3-1069 Clear Financial Solutions
L09-3-1067 Florida Safety Inc.
L09-3-1066 Hope Now Foundation/The Treasurer, LLC
L09-3-1065 First Universal Lending, LLC
L09-3-1064 FHA All Day.Com, Inc.
L09-3-1063 Lincoln Lending Services, LLC
L09-3-1062 First Link Medical, LLC
L09-3-1060 Corporate Services, Inc. d/b/a Compliance Services
..."
http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=Receiv ... 5&max-year=2009
Note the use of harassment and intimidation of their children as an apparent defense tactic to attempt to get them to drop their suit.
Since this was a jury trial, do you think maybe the jury might have seen a connection between what they saw in court, and the abusive collection tactics the defendent was being sued for?
http://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?n=5:07-cv-05658-JW&s=&d=39730
"Date: 04-21-2009
Case Style: Fausto et al v. Credigy Services Corporation, et al.
Case Number: 5:07-cv-05658-JW
Judge:
Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco County
Plaintiff's Attorney: David Humphreys and Luke Wallace of Humphreys Wallace Humphreys, P.C. Tulsa, Oklahoma; Balám Letona, Santa Cruz, CA and Ron Wilcox, San Jose, California.
Defendant's Attorney: Tomio Narita and Jeffrey Topor of Simmons & Narita, San Francisco, California; John Gillespie and Jeff Lucas of Stewart and Associates, Atlanta, Georgia
Description: Manuel Fausto opened a Wells Fargo charge card at a local branch in 1992. The account had a credit limit of about $1,000. Manuel Fausto and his wife Luz made monthly payments on the account as agreed but the balance kept increasing. After asking (and being declined) at the local Wells Fargo branch to have the interest on the account "frozen" so the balance could be paid off, the Faustos received help from a local business that promised to negotiate a discounted payoff of credit card balances. The Faustos had no other credit card debt but paid the Wells Fargo account off in 1998 or 1999 with two money orders delivered to the local debt negotiator. Seven years later, in August of 2006, the Faustos received a phone call at their home from a debt collector calling from Credigy Services Corp. The Faustos had no dealings with and did not recognize Credigy as someone they owed. The Faustos also received a letter from Credigy claiming that almost $17,000 was due on the account. The Fausto's made an appointment with a non profit legal clinic, the Watsonville Law Center, who wrote a letter for Mr. Fausto to sign demanding that Credigy provide a copy of the contract proving they owned the debt and some proof that the debt was actually unpaid. Credigy responded with a form letter restating the balance claimed due. The Fausto's brought the letter back to the Watsonville Law Center. WLC wrote a letter for Mr Fausto informing Credigy that since they ignored the request for information, that the Fausto's demanded under federal law that Credigy Cease and Desist all further contact with the Faustos. Credigy continued to collect on the account, writing numerous letters and calling the Faustos home over 90 times. The collectors were calling from a Credigy affililate in Brazil and made repeated false threats to the Fausto's that Credigy would take their home and paycheck even though the time to sue had expired years before Credigy's first phone call to the Fausto's home. Mrs. Fausto tape recorded the last phone call from Credigy which documented false claims that the account had been reviewed in the legal department that the account was a joint debt owed by Mrs. Fausto also, that Credigy was a "Credit Agency" and that Credigy would report the account "forever" on Mr. Faustos credit file. Credigy's training manuals suggested to the Brazillian collectors, who were paid the equivalent of $400 monthly salary, to use the "coercion method," that credit reporting is the most important financial information for American consumers and to tell the consumer that their life will not be the same if the debt remains on their credit report. Credigy sued Mrs. Fausto claiming that its debt collection phone calls were confidential and seeking damages. Credigy admitted receiving the written cease and desist demand (sent certified mail) but claimed it made a “Bona Fide Error” in continuing its collection efforts. The jury heard testimony that the “Dispute Resolution Team” was confronted with stacks of dispute letters, was understaffed and told that no more resources would be made available because it cost the company money. Two employees who testified left Credigy because of physical problems they attributed to the stress of their jobs.
The collection calls only stopped after a lawsuit was filed. Credigy had scheduled the calls to continue until the year 2020. No records from any source, including Wells Fargo existed as to what was charged and what had been paid on the account. A consumer from Illinois (a victim of ID theft) and another from New Mexico (former husbands account) testified that Credigy ignored their request for proof that the debt was owed and that Credigy continued collecting upon them after having received cease and desist demands.
Credigy’s trial strategy was to attack the credibility of the Faustos and their nine children. Mr. Fausto had a second grade education and Mrs. Fausto received a sixth grade education. Neither spoke English. Credigy issued subpoenas to depose the majority of their children and sought banking, mortgage and medical records of them and their children. The trial court permitted Credigy to elicit testimony that Mrs. Fausto had been charged with driving without a license and hit and run of a child on a bicycle and that Mr. Fausto had been cited for driving with a suspended license and that the police arrived at his home to arrest him during the time period Credigy was making its collection calls. Credigy also introduced evidence that the Fausto’s borrowed a significant sum against their home in the name of their oldest son and that the house was the subject of a foreclosure several months after the collection calls stopped.
The Credigy defendant's filed nine separate motions for summary judgment and withdrew four of them following receipt of Plaintiff's responses. In denying the remaining five motions, the trial court invited a motion for sanctions to be filed because of defendant apparent efforts to unnecessarily multiply the proceedings
Outcome: San Jose California Federal Jury Returns Verdict totaling $500,000, against Credigy Services Corporation. The verdict consisted of $100,000 in actual damages and $400,000 in punitive damages. We are informed that the verdict is the largest under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act on behalf of a consumer who owed the debt. The Fausto's are entitled to an award of attorney fees and costs as prevailing party under federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the California Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
..."
Humphreys Wallace Humphreys, P.C. Tulsa, OK
http://www.hwh-law.com/
Balam O. Letona, Attorney at Law
http://susderechos.net/
Ronald Wilcox, Esq.
http://www.e-bankruptcy.com/
What you do is sent a letter to them, certified return receipt so that you have proof they got it as well as proof you sent it within the initial 30 day period, disputing the debt and requesting that they send you proof that you owe it.
Once they get that letter, they must cease all collection activities until they send you that proof. Their own letter just saying "Yup, you owe it." is NOT proof.
If they do NOT send you the above letter with the required FDPCA notifications within 5 days (say, 10 days to allow for U.S. Mail), then they have violated FDCPA, and you can sue them. If they continue to attempt to collect, sending you additional bills, calling to demand payment, etc, before they have sent you proof you owe it, then they have violated FDCPA, and you can sue them.
As you can see from the above thread, this company has a history of attempting to collect unowed debts from the wrong people, using bullying, harassment, and deception. Those types of behavior are violations of FDCPA, and you can sue them for such actions.
You already know you are dealing with a debt you do not owe, and that they are evading their legal responsibilities to prove they owe it, instead using illegal abusive collection tactics. Send the above letter, and also file appropriate complaints. You can file an on-line complaint on the FTC website to document their illegal collection tactics.
You should also directly contact your state Attorney General, making clear in your complaint that they are harassing you about an alleged debt for an account that is not even yours, and that they are refusing to send any proof or documentation on the debt while continuing to harass you. Your state AG should be able to stop this, otherwise vote someone else in next time.
You might also contact the Washington State Attorney General, since that is the state they are located in.
Because your coworkers have an attitude just like yours, people are subjected to continued harassment despite promises to remove their phone number from your call list, threats and abuse, damaged credit when you collect on other people's debts from the wrong person and ignore their requests for validation, and other violations of law.
You know what the law is, you just don't care. Self-rightous arrogance, incompetence, or malice, I doubt anyone really cares what your justifications and rationalizations are.
The lower depths of the debt collection "industry" are just a fraudulent con game. With increased autodialer use, cheaply purchased OOS debt, overseas call centers with overseas labor costs, and mangled documentation passed from agency to agency, the toxic effluent from this industry is spilling over into the lives and credit reports of responsible bill payers.
The rules may change shortly. The role of fraud and deception at all levels of the current financial mess is being recognized, the costs are staggering, and taxpayers are pissed.
If current proposals for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency are passed, regulation of a wide range of financial activities including debt collection will be coalesced into one place, instead of fragmented across multiple federal agencies. Instead of FTC, with their responsibility spread across the whole economy, you may find yourself dealing with an agency focused specifically on protecting consumers from financial predation.
http://www.financialstability.gov/latest/tg189.html
In the mean time, if you have any problems with this company, contact the Washington Attorney General.