lighthouse Recovery Associates review: payday loans 35

I just received a call today from Lighthouse Recovery Associates regarding a payday lender. They give little information, but they give you an amount owed, if you cannot give you them a debit or credit card number, they immediately add up all kinds of charges and say they will be contacting your HR department. You get no other option, no other information regarding who they are and who are they calling on behalf of. You do receive anything (ie billing history or statement) via email or mail or call - just a bunch of charges. This is a form of swindling people out of more money for commission and monies for the company. The FTC and BBB and other resources should be contacted immediately, and let your employer know of the situation.

I will be going to the Attorney General office on these people. They do not reside in the state of Michigan

Company does not exist i will still be consolidating my payday on line loans through PDL assistance.

So far all i hear is how your being harrased. What about the money you borrowed. Are you gonna tell everyone here how you defaulted because you had a closed account or you were overdrafted when your payment was due? Or how you ignored this for a year in alot of cases? I mean seriously handle your business and quit whinning. FYI they are talking about bringing back debtors prison...wouldnt that be a kick in the pants. You guys would be posting from JAIL...hahahahaha

Contact this firm to sue for violations of the FDCPA:
Warren & Vullings
[protected]

Side note: Debtors prison is a ridiculous notion. Owing a debt is a civil matter, not criminal. Civil matters do not result in prison sentences, merely monetary damages.

Second side note: Payday loans are usurious and certain States consider the offer of such a loan to one of its residents illegal. (Predatory lending CAN be considered criminal under certain circumstances.)

I received a call today on my job from Lighthouse and I was outraged on how they handle their buisness. First of all i have no problem with paying a debt, thats not my complaint. But the way I was approached was straight out rude and degrading. I was told by one of there so call supervisors that i robbed peter to pay paul so my kids could eat. Thats where I draw the line and will make a formal complaint with the BBB. I was told today that they will sue me for every penny I got and leave me and my kids homeless. Now is this a way to conduct buisness, and to top it all off she tells me that we are being recorded and that the recording is inadmissible in court. Well I recorded the whole conversation as well, so we will see what's next after a response is given from the BBB.

If you tell them to stop calling you at work, legally, they have to abide by that, as it can disrupt the processes of a business by bothering you. That being said ...
The fax my manager received for employment verification included a completely bogus email address for the representative, who only identifies herself as Ms. Kemble. I have included the text, and even double-checked the email address; these folks tried to pull the full amount out of my checking account; lucky for me, I don't trust people, so I only had the set payment amount of $105 in there, so they didn't bankrupt me ... and now they're threatening with garnisment of wages. I told the rep over the phone that I would be more than willing to send payment via money order, but that I refused to give them my bank info since they'd tried to withdraw the full amount, instead of the agreed-upon payment. THe next step was the employment verification. Here is the undeliverable email:

"Hi. This is the qmail-send program at yahoo.com.
I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out.

:
Sorry, I couldn't find any host named lightousera.com. (#5.1.2)"

I received a call today at work after I requested no calls at work please and to call me back on my personal cell phone. They called my work and told mysupervisor I was being investigated for Fraud. This put a new spin on the outlook I have with this company and any future dealings I will have or not have with them. I faxed a cease and desist letter to [protected] that is legit fax number the rep on the phone gave me [protected] thsi is a non working number. I emailed the letter as well through the BBB web site to ensure their reciept, the bbb sends you confirmation. Tomorrow I will call the attrny gen office and see what I can do about the calls if it continues. I couldn't even get the rep at X7566 to give me an amount of what is owed I requested to speak to a supervisor as I too am in collections and know my rights. In the transfer I was disconnected. He just kept telling me I was under investigation for fraud. I have never committed fraud, I am guilty of falling into the payday loan trap. MY FAULTY and there were sevral most are accepting payments from me and have been reasonable, but to be attacked by thsi 3rd party company is beyond my thinking. I am not even sure whom they represent but I can assure I will be making a formal complaint. All I did was ask that they call my personal cell phone not my place of business. The man on the phone when I answered was an angry person or taht was his personality and threatened me like he was going to harm me. It was an awful experience I hope they are restricted in the future somehow.

This company is RUDE, they constantly called me at work and finally I called them AFTER they tried to get money from my job (didn't work). They didn't want to set up a payment plan. They wanted money today I explanied I didn't have the money but instead I would send them money ($100) on Friday - Today is Tuesday. and every other week I could send them $200.00 - $300.00 to settle the debt. They didn't want to hear that to be exact it was Chris (Who said he was the CEO of Lighthouse Recovery) and Susie at ext 4856. They were extremely RUDE and judgemental. I will be reporting them to the BBB. STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!

They outright lied when asked what the nature of their business was - they told my co-worker (who happens to be a good friend as well) that it was in regards to an EMPLOYMENT application I had submitted with them. He told them that I did not want to receive collection calls at work and all such should be referred to the contact information they have on file.

BTW - the "debt" in question is an old one which was actually discharged in a bankruptcy, so I wished them good luck in collecting it.

i had a payday loan that i defauled on and yes it was wrong but times were tough and i had every intenion on paying the 600.00 back. but light house took it over and they told me i owed 1000.00 how is that possible and what am i really reasponsible on paying back

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Deal with the terms of the contract you signed when times were tough and you received the money without question. Pay it back. It is your choice if you want to repeat the performance.

No.1...No nobody knows:

Good thing you have a friend at work. Maybe he/she should have read the agreement that you accepted when you took money from a company that placed it in your bank account with little more than your word and a few phone numbers, which you provided. How utterly embarrassing...to receive a call at work (contact #you so desperately provided at the time) and have your co-worker/good friend find out. Hello...you received the amount in full, spent it on your emergency, and called a bankruptcy attorney because you were asked to take responsibility and deal with a teeny-tiny loan (with respect to the incredible amounts of money that hard-working individuals lose on a daily basis, not including homes, businesses, sweat, heart, and soul). FYI...you have no "good friends", ...last time I heard, one shares everything with good friends. In addition. many of those unfortunate people take pride in their promises and have or are paying their payday loans back. Good luck, as you say, because one never knows.

This company called me and left a message as follows: Hello M****, My name is Mr. Curry. I work for the county courthouse as a legal assistant. I have a company that is bringing a law suite against you. I wanted to share with you the information I have about the law suite. Please call me back at [protected] immediately to discuss this matter. Please refer to your case # ...

They also called my sister and two friends. This is possibly a payday loan company about a late payment on my account. I never took out a payday loan with these people. I applied online for one, but I did NOT accept the conract offer.

Contact this firm to sue for violations of the FDCPA:
Warren & Vullings
[protected]
Ask for Angela

There are FREE lawyers to help you get back at these collectors!

www.FairDebtLawyers.com

www.NOmoreCollectors.com

www.FCRALawfirm.com

Why dont you all learn how to pay your debt and then there would be no problem at all with this company? They would not have to call you if you would learn how to handle your business and take responsibility for your actions. Maybe you should remember who you took money from and remember who you need to pay back. I have delt with LRA before and they actually handle accounts very professionaly compared to many other collection agencies. They DO GIVE YOU THE ORIGINAL LENDER AND ALL THE INFORMATION THAT THEY HAVE PROVIDED. By law they have to tell you everything they know and they do. LRA also works with you to get this paid off, they have a job to do just like the rest of us.. or for the ones who are working or paying off our debts. They also call your family and friends because you have listed them personally as a reference or they are by law aloud to leave a message with them, that is not harrassment its just what it is. They dont tell your family and friends why they are calling or your personal business so stop crying and complaining and grow up.

First let me say I DON'T have any dealings with any payday loans.

Secondly... this company called my home and asked for someone I told them that person was not here...The guy from the company that called his name is Neil... Well Neil went on to demand that I tell him where this person was.. I had no clue who this guy was calling my house or why he was calling..

I told him I had no clue as to who he was.. That is when he informed me that his name was Neil and then again demanded to be told where this person was... I said well Neil... you don't call my home demanding to know where anyone is... that is very rude...

He told me I was rude for not telling him and then hung up on me.

I in return called the company back and told them not to ever call my home again.

So, here's to Neil and the company and anyone working for the company...Don't call my home and harrass me and my young children. YOU ARE RUDE AND I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU CALLING MY HOME!

I was contacted by Josh at [protected] ext 4147 I explained to Josh that I was off work, because I had left ankle surgery and while I off I had also broken a toe on my right foot. I also told him that were I reside we were expecting a bad snow storm that weekend and I could put a payment of $50.00 in the bank on Monday for them to draft on Tuesday. Josh told me to hold on. The next thing I knew someone named Chris was on the phone and he told me that the $50.00 would not be enough. He told me that I needed to settle the balance on the account or he would begin wage attachment proceedings. I then asked him how much money would it take to stop the wage assignment he told me $271.00. I told him that I would find a way to get the money. Chris then asked me was I going to take out another payday loan in order to pay the money? I told him no and that comment really hurt me. I then asked him what kind of payment plan could I get on so that I pay the balance off? I also informed him that I was getting short term disability payments once a month and my next check would come on 3/09/10. He told me I had to set up a payment schedule for every two weeks and quite frankly he felt that I was setting myself up for failure. He said that in two months this payment plan would blow up in my face. I was so upset when I got off the phone with Chris and I told my husband everything that was said to me. The very next day my husband called Josh and told him that he would pay the settlement amount using our house payment and that he would report Chris and the whole company to the BBB . It feels good to know that I was not the only one bullied by this company. Everyone falls on hard times and wants to take care of their debts, everyone is not a deadbeat.

I was contacted by this company and basically was told to pay the money an that I was a lowlife and demanded x amount of dollars. Well the money tree I have is a little dry and I made a "good faith " payment of 50 bucks and told them Iwould work with them and then again the next week they called and said i had till end of month which is 7 days away to pay another 200 then pay 2 more installments of 125 a piece. I agreeded, but in no way did I AUTHORIZE the compay to just draft my account without me giving the approval to make sure the funds were there. Well I open my email today and had the lette that they drafted my account without my approval and I kept calling and got no one on phone and when I finally did, they told me they were adding another 180 some dollard "just cause" i had no intentions of working on paying the debt off. I them I wanted to hear the recorded conversation from the day before an they could not provide that to me, so I then contacted my bank to dispute the charge as a fraudelent charge and they are going to help me recover that money and i will deal with the PDL a different way. I had another PDL with same company handle by different collector and becuase they treated me with repsect and helped me and understood my situation, I paid them immediately witha letter settled in full! Why would these people strong arm me when they had no right to for one and secondly I have intentionst to pay yet they are saying I dont and I'm not following thru yet I am in touch with them everyday. I am not a happy person with this company and they are being reported to the proper officials for bad busniess tactics.

I just received a call from this company and asked if I could have his phone number to call him back because I was at work and could not discuss it. He asked if I could get in an office where I could discuss it and I told him no and he asked what my intention are regarding paying off this $180 payday loan. I told him if he could not give me a phone number to call him back when I get home and can discuss the matter I wasn't tellinig him anything. He got louder and louder and asked so you don't have any intentions of paying this off - a debt that you aquirred. I told him that is not what I said and do not put words into my mouth and if I could not call him back where I can talk I was hanging up. This man was extremely rude to me over $180 that I am able to pay but will not after speaking to this rude idiot.

I've received several calls from this company... here's the funny thing, I paid back my loans with all the vendors who I received loans from and the company LRA is saying I OWE... WAS PAID... I've asked several times to give me their fax # or email address so I can forward the informati0n to them for their review, and what do I get in response, reps who have heavy accents and are VERY RUDE... they've called my job line as well as my home, what else can I tell these people that MY Loan was paid back with out stooping down to their levels... they even told me they was sending out a warrant for my arrest and i'm being charge for fraud and identity theft :-/... I was told by on Friday the cops will be at my home waiting to arrest me... this place is comical if you ask me, but again their business style leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. I wish everyone who are contacted by this company regarding a loan much luck...

These guys are absolute [censor]s. They call and yell and harrass me, I enjoy it, I yell back and think how pathetic their sorry lives must be to go to work everyday just to cause other people grief, what a bunch of low-life [censor]!

TheLAW29 wrote:
"Why dont you all learn how to pay your debt and then there would be no problem at all with this company? They would not have to call you if you would learn how to handle your business and take responsibility for your actions. Maybe you should remember who you took money from and remember who you need to pay back. I have delt with LRA before and they actually handle accounts very professionaly compared to many other collection agencies. "

This is hilarious. This person comes in here blasting others for not taking responsibility for their actions and being behind on their bills then has the gall to admit he or she has had dealings with a collection agency like LRA! This idiot even goes further and implies that he or she has had a lot of experience with OTHER collection agencies! What's up with that, Law29? How could someone as responsible as you end up having your accounts placed with collection agencies? LOL! What a f"****** hypocrite you are!

I received several phone calls from this company which I'd characterize as very rude. My only offense was to have a phone number that used to belong to someone who I guess owed money. Shocked and a little upset by the treatment, I did some internet searches on the company and found this thread that exactly echoed my experience. I also found the Better Business Bureau site that reported they'd had their BBB license revoked due to failure to respond to accusations of questionable business practices.
I also see several people who are attacking those complaining. My guess is that these people work for Lighthouse; otherwise, it would be odd that they'd randomly discover complaints for a little-known company. My guess is that management pumps them full of stories about how horrible the people they're calling are, like a coach does before a big game. Maybe this helps them sleep at night. However, if they're reading this I hope they continue to read on.
I write this as someone who's spent their entire career working for a bank, including jobs that involved working with collections groups. Yes, there are some true deadbeats and thieves out there. But the vast majority of people who wind up in collections are good people who got in situations that spiraled out of control. Sometimes they made bad decisions, sometimes they just had a run of very bad luck.
Especially in this economy, where unemployement has hovered around 10%, there are a LOT of people who'd like to pay and just can't. True - they entered into an agreement to pay. But they weren't psychic - even if they didn't get into one of the crazy mortgage plans, they still entered into a loan with the basic assumption that their current pay rate would continue and most likely increase over time. Then they were laid off: unemployment at most pays 1/3 of your salary (less if you make over the salary cap). Mortgages that were once taken wisely within the range for someone of their salary range suddenly eats up all or nearly all of their monthly income, leaving little room for anything else. House values have plummeted, so there's not an easy out for that problem. Even if they finally find work, it will most likely be for a huge salary cut, where they may still have problems meeting all obligations that they undertook while at their previous salary.
Collections managers and financial institutions know that almost everyone has some source of cash inflow: unemployment, government assistance, relatives, a job, etc. They also know that unless there was a misunderstanding that landed the person in collections that chances are there are other companies who are also calling them for money. So the person in debt has to choose which loans they repay and the trick for collectors is to get the person to choose theirs. There are various tactics they can take. As such, there are rules in place about what they can and can't do.
Without being a legal expert and in my own personal opinion only, if some of the things I've read about this company are true, then they're walking an extremely fine line of using illegal business practices. People can't threaten things that aren't going to happen and they can't represent that they work for the government when they don't. Telling someone that if they don't pay they're getting sued in a couple of days may get your money, but if it's not true that the paperwork is in motion, then it's fraud. Not only is it unfair to the consumer, it's unfair to all the other companies who live by the letter of the law and aren't getting money they'd otherwise get from the customer because of it.
I have no idea if the law firms mentioned earlier in the thread are any good, but if I had the misfortune to land in collections and be treated this way, I would be calling them or another law firm. Yes, people should do everything they humanly can to honor their debts and obligations. But in return businesses should also do everything they possibly can to abide by the laws.

If what has been stated in these threads is true, then Lighthouse Recovery Associates have violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act over and over. Everyone who was threatened, lied to, or even spoken to rudely should not only file complaints with their Attorney Generals, but also seek legal action against this company. You can find a lawyer at www.naca.net. Won't cost anything upfront and if you win, which from what I have read, you will, you won't pay anything. Look up the FDCPA and familiarize yourself with it. You, as a consumer, do have rights, even if you do owe money to a creditor.

I dont even know who thes people are i just checked my credit report as i do alot to see who is looking at ne an thay have showed up as of this month thay were checking my credit an i dont know what for.About 2 years ago someone got in my bank account an cleaned me out then the bank was give them my overdreft money up to 500.00 dollers that was 5/3 bank so watch them too every body is out to get us louisville ky..ps thes light house people were useing my florida address witch i dont use on much of anythang BEWEAR

I hired a PDL arbitration co. to handle my loan because the debtor would not make
payment arrangements as I lost my job.They ignored them and quickly had Lighthouse
Recoveries call me with their strong arm tactics; they are VERY rough folks; they scream.
insult you, threaten to sue. I'll tell you. I was in tears and my blood pressure went up!
I paid them their hefty fees as I was scared. (They are on commission, so they work you
over)
Now I'm getting calls at 6am from Powell Law Group who is affiliated with them
The loan was paid in full and they are so unprofessional...they talk over me
when I tell them it's fully paid and to contact my PDL consolidation company to confirm.
In closing. I know many of you out there have made comments we deserve this
inhumane treatment. No one deserves to be treated like this.In my case I paid a
professional company to arbitrate and Lighthouse and Powell ignored them. I call this
unprofessional and damaging.

I was just checking out this company online to make sure they are legit before I pay them. I read all the comments. I have to say, I owe them a credit card not a payday loan, but wow. There sure are a lot of people who don't like to take responsibility. I feel terrible for defaulting on the credit card. I don't have a thousand excuses either. But if I don't pay it back, I'd be stealing, wouldn't I? I mean, I borrowed the money, bought things with it and then didn't pay it back like I agreed. I'm the ###, not the company. And since I dealt with the guy like an adult, guess what? He treated me like an adult. And it looks like we struck a deal and I'll pay it back over the next few months. No one yelled at me or treated me unfairly and they transferred me to a couple other people for some sort of a payment plan and all of them were helpful. One was a little snooty, but so was the girl at the dentist's office last week! Here's what I think. I think some of you were nasty and they were nasty right back. My advice is to work with them to pay the debt and then they won't call your work and home and friends. This company is giving all of us the opportunity to clean up our debts and start over. Suing them isn't going accomplish that.

I keep getting calls to my new cell phone for someone named Benjamin Johnson, from [protected]. When I call the number they answer either Lighthouse Recovery or something like "LLC" or something...I can't understand it sounds like everyone there mumbles. They have hung up on me 2 or 3 times (would suck if I did owe and was trying to return their calls). Everyone that I get in touch with says that my number is NOT in the system so they can't do anything about it, then like 2 hours later I get another call from them. I am not supposed to receive non-emergency calls at work and it's starting cause me anguish. They just won't stop calling, around 2 or 3 a day at least. SCREW THESE A-HOLES!

they call call call &call (but) it is not for me for somebody I don't even know thank you lighthouse recovery&associates

We just started getting phone calls today to my daughters phone.If it's about a payday loan, then there's something wrong because Arizona outlawed payday loans several years ago.I have not had a payday loan in about 6 years and paid everyone off.I've tried calling them back, but can't get through.I'm very leary that this is another scam.I've started getting calls again from a so called company out of Vermont.I've gotten calls from these people out of Vermont with very thick heavy accents and gotten into yelling matches with these people.I tell them to send any information to the address on file.I do not give out any kind of information.If they had a true collection agreement with someone, they would have the address and would be able to send some kind of paperwork.When they start trying to threaten me I tell them to contact my lawyer.I make police reports in case they are able to access my s.s.#.I will then contact the BBB and attorney generals office.As soon as I mention police report to them, they usually quit.These people have called out of Vermont before only from a different number.I have had others tell me they had actually looked at my credit report and when I asked why they were so interested in my credit report, been hung up on.Don't give out ANY kind of information.Make them give out the info.or do some research on them first so you'll be armed with something.The police have actually been surprised with the amount of information I've been able to supply.

There is this rude black girl name "Connie" (which probably isn't her real name), but she has NO customer service skills. They just started calling me and when I tried to set up payment arrangements, they wanted more. Then the smart mouth heifer asked if the loan company gave me the loan in increments. She doesn't know what the loan was for, but she kept reiterating that she didn't have time to play games with me because she had other people to call. This is only brief to our actual two-day ordeal. I have contacted my employer and an attorney. I told "Connie" that I would make payments, and to send me something in the mail because I didn't feel comfortable giving my information over the phone. Her reply was, "Oh, so it's like that"? Heck yeah! She told me that a manager would email me, but hours has passed and I still have yet to receive an email. Mind you, I've NEVER received any mail correspondence either. I guess she expected me to provide her with my bank info over the phone without any type of verification of who they actually are. She told me to Google the company because she just Googled me. This company is bogus and they need to hire reps with customer service skills. Being rude will not get you any money! I'm sure there are plenty of customers willing to pay, but the piece of s-h-** employees they have will make them go out of business.

So does this company really serve you papers and sue you in court?

I paid Lighthouse Recovery $844.68. They said they were collecting for Cash net usa which I had a loan through and had defaulted on. This loan was from 2008 and I was contacted by them in 2012. I then made arrangements to pay them. The balance on my Cash netusa loan was $571.00, so when I questioned the $844.68 amount they said it was interest and some sort of collection fee. I explained that I had paid the loan in full to another collection agency called IAG International which I paid $571.00 in 2011, the amount left on my loan. So needless to say, I have paid Cash net usa, so I thought. I contacted Cash net usa because the $571.00 amount shows on my credit report which is RUINING my credit. I explained to them the amounts I had paid to the various other companies only to be told that it had to have been a scam. I couldn't understand how these companies got my Cash net usa loan number, customer ID number etc... Did Cash net usa get hacked? Which they told me it did not. They said they sold my loan to another company called Debt Management Partners. They gave me their phone number and I called them. They said they sold it to Sullvin Management and gave me their number. I called them and they could not find me in their system what so ever. So what to do now? I paid these other companies automatically every month from my checking account so if they were scamming me, why didn't they clean out my account which I heard happens. Apparently I got a nice scamming company. I don' think those exist. Just looking to clear up my credit report and stop anymore collection calls.