Collection Agency review: Fraudulent Collection Practice 1

Been in the telecom industry, I can tell you spoofing is illegal, you can always use other resources to follow thru. You may want to contact The US attorney general, the FCC as well as the FTC. Also if this is interstate you can actually contact the FBI.

Based on the law, they cannot contact you at your place of business. They are only legally able to contact you at your home; you can also send a stop and desist letter via certified mail.

Record their conversation, when you speak to them if you do, many of them have no clue of the law and make drastic mistake threatening people. They can't make any statements in which they can destroy your credit, call your family, call your work and or tell everybody that you have debts and you do not pay, this is protected by the law. IN this case now you have the upper hand, as now they open the door for a lawsuit, almost any attorney will take this type of cases on contingency. Is an infringement of your rights and punish by law. This people use scare tactics to scare people and even collect many times the same debts that have been paid previously.
The reality nothing that they can do, if you do not or can't pay, they must take you to court and get a judgment against you, then they need to be able to collect.
You want to get even, call then day in and day out, to their numbers use redial, and have anybody that you know do the same, do it day in and day out, that will shut down their PBX system, if they do it to you do it to them.
Yes annoying, but effective if hundreds of people do the same and saturate their phone lines.
Remember their 800 are free to you, they pay for it, call put them on hold and have your friend do the same, do this every day as much as you can. IF they have the right to harass you, you have the right to do the same to them. They called you first! Block your number if that makes you feel more comfortable. You are not subject to the same laws, do not talk to them, that is what they want, if you call back and talk to them they are verifying that you are acknowledging the debt regardless of the purpose of the call as they will not believe you are not the right person.

Here are some of the biggest scan bags in the industry, and believe me they are all scan bags at the end. They count on you to be afraid of them.

RGS Financial
http://www.rgsfinancial.com/
P.O. Box 852039
Richardson, TX [protected]
RGS Financial, Inc.
1700 Jay-Ell Drive
Suite 200
Richardson, TX 75081
Call their 800 numbers is free to you but not to them.
They use many spoof numbers if any, as many times they use no caller ID on purpose but they leave you a number to call. Always keep the recording particularly if they are menacing and report does to your police local department as now you have a legal record.
Spoof Number used: [protected]

Viking Collection Service, Inc.

Minnesota
7500 Office Ridge Circle, Suite 100
Eden Prairie, MN 55344Arizona
2075 West Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite 110
Phoenix, Arizona 85027 Spoof number use caller id Block. One of their numbers is [protected]

Primary Financial Services also uses Collection agency services to mask there illegal practices (http://www.collectionagencyservices.net/)
http://www.primaryfinancial.com/ (Their web site is been down for long time to be able to cover their illegal practices)
3115 N 3rd Ave Ste 112
Phoenix, AZ 85013
[protected]
[protected]

If you want to negotiate a settlement call your original lender directly, do not negotiate with this scan bags, they are on commissions or percentages based. Many banks and lender will negotiate up to 80 % of the debts, make sure they do not report it to the IRS if not they can make you pay the taxes on the remaining amount, and make sure they clean your credit, get it in writing first.

Don't get mad get even.

People which do block the caller ID and or use Spoof numbers always have something to hide, that is the only reason they will use a Spoof number (Fake number / Voip Number / Or PBX number whit no actual connection only rings and then dies) Report them to the Authorities, this business practices are illegal and punish by law: if they use spoof numbers, Obscene and rude language, threats, harassment, all this are felonies and punish by law. Report them to your Local Telecom provider, your local District attorney, the local police department, your local senator, record the conversation and keep any and all voice mail left, don't be afraid, they can do absolutely nothing to you till they take you to court if you owe them any money, is futile to argue with ignorant people.

THIS IS AMERICA,

More info

They don't get to choose whether they grant a dispute. They have to follow the law, specifically FDCPA.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf

They claim that you can't dispute it just because you didn't receive it in less than 30 days is false and deceptive, and therefore a violation of FDCPA. FDCPA does not say that anywhere.

What it says is that their initial notice to you must say this:

"...
(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;

(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and

(5) a statement that, upon the consumer’s written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.

(b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector. Collection activities and communications that do not otherwise violate this title may continue during the 30-day period referred to in subsection (a) unless the consumer has notified the debt collector in writing that the debt, or any portion of the debt, is disputed or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor. Any collection activities and communication during the 30-day period may not overshadow or be inconsistent with the disclosure of the consumer’s right to dispute the debt or request the name and address of the original creditor.

(c) The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer.
..."

THe 30 day FDCPA validation request period does not begin when they send it, but when your RECEIVE it. They may assume you have received it, say, 5 days after you mailed it, but that assumption is rebuttable, as in your case you couldn't have received it until returning from your trip.

Note that you have 30 days from YOUR RECEIPT of their letter, and if you were out of the country, you obviously didn't receive it until you got back.

They are using a deceptive misrepresentation of FDCPA in an attempt to convince you to pay a debt you may not even owe.

The dispute provisions in FDCPA do not make an alleged debt owed just because you fail to dispute, or fail to dispute in a timely fashion. In fact, it specifically states that no court can construe a failure to dispute as an admission of liability.

NOTHING says you can't dispute even after 30 days. NOTHING says you owe it if you don't dispute, only that they can assume you do. It just says they can continue to attempt to collect, whereas if you request validation within 30 days of receiving their notice, they must cease collection activity until they send you proof.

In fact, you can dispute at any time, regardless of whether 30 days has passed, and they must notify anyone they disclose the alleged debt to, including credit reporting agencies, that you dispute it.

If they are putting erroneous collection account information on your credit reports, you can also dispute that, through the credit reporting agencies, and if they erroneously "verify", you can sue them for their error.

Send them a letter, certified return receipt requested, notifying them that you dispute this debt and are requesting validation. Indicate in your letter that you received their letter on , on returning from a trip out of the country. Make sure you mail this timely, so your certified mailing date is within 30 days of the date you returned, but regardless, get it in the mail.

If they want to ignore your provably timely validation request, they run the risk you will sue. Do they feel lucky?

If you have any problems, file a complaint with your state Attorney General for their violations of FDCPA, for deceptively telling you that you couldn't dispute and request validation.

Your certified receipt proves when you mailed your letter, your green card or USPS website confirmation shows when they got it, and your airline tickets, and passport stamps, or credit card charges prove when you left the country and when you got back.

If push comes to shove, you can prove your dispute is timely, and your inclusion of your letter receipt date in your dispute refutes their presumption that 30 days has passed, and puts them on notice that they must comply.

If they fail to cease collection until they send proof, given notice as above, you sue them. It doesn't matter what they think or tell you. All that matters is what a judge makes of it.