There are complaints about them all over the internet for harassing people that do not owe the debt, threatening to arrest people for a debt, telling people the only way they'll stop calling is to pay "court costs" on an alleged suit they filed, etc. According to some of the MANY complaint pages and numbers they've called using, it seems they call about debts that are 5-10 years old, don't care if they were paid or not because they want money. There are people who have fallen for this, and stated that they paid, and are STILL waiting on getting the documentation of the debt from them. Of course, their story is that they sent it out ... yeah, right.
What's laughable is one page on their website that says they follow the law during collection attempts. OBVIOUSLY, NOT! THEY have an F rating with the FL BBB (see below).
By the way, it would seem to me that, IF you had a bad debt, it would show on your credit report (if still eligible to be reported). IF you do have a bad debt on your credit report, you might want to consult an attorney and/or the original creditor, rather than these folks who obviously could care less about the law. [I am NOT an attorney, nor do I profess to be one. I am NOT dispensing “legal advice,” simply giving my opinion!]
IF they were calling about a legitimate debt, they would NOT be calling to see if you'll be home all day on certain day to "deliver legal documents" or "subpeona." A legit collector CANNOT discuss your bill with anyone else OR threaten to arrest you and/or send you to debtor's prison, etc.
Make yourself aware of the rules in the FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT.--http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.shtm
Here is more info on it from the FTC Consumer information -- http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection
It's glaringly apparent that these folks enjoy breaking most of these rules.
Hope this helps someone!
As well as filing a complaint with your State Attorney General and the FTC, you can also file complaints in Florida.
Here is the Florida Office of Financial Regulation's complaint info page:
http://www.flofr.com/StaticPages/FileAComplaint.htm
(Florida) Bureau of Financial Investigations
http://www.flofr.com/StaticPages/BureauOfFinancialInvestigations.htm
(Florida Bureau of Financial Investigations) Online Fraud & Abuse Tip Referral Form
http://www.flofr.com/StaticPages/documents/OnlineFraudTipForm2.pdf
Here are some other agency contacts:
NATIONAL WHITE COLLAR CRIME CENTER (NW3C) http://www.nw3c.org/Home
Phone: (804) 273-NW3C
Email: ISS@nw3c.org
FBI “Contact us” page -- http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us
FBI Tips and Public Leads submission form https://tips.fbi.gov/
“Please use this website to report suspected terrorism or criminal activity. Your information will be reviewed promptly by an FBI special agent or a professional staff member. Due to the high volume of information that we receive, we are unable to reply to every submission; however, we appreciate the information that you have provided.”
[NOTE: As far as I’m personally concerned, the behavior of these companies IS a form of domestic terrorism, although the FBI may not.]
It also occurs to me that, particularly on the GreenDot/Prepaid card “payments,” since they are apparently difficult to trace, I seriously doubt they are reporting these funds on their income taxes === tax evasion. (That’s the way they finally got Al Capone!) The IRS has forms for reporting suspected evasion, and even a reward form you can complete for if you help them catch the folks!
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/How-Do-You-Report-Suspected-Tax-Fraud-Activity%3F (I’m 99% sure it’s the Form 3949-A that you’ll want to complete if you’ve been swindled by these folks.) It looks like Form 211 is to claim a reward!
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3949a.pdf -- Form 3949-A
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f211.pdf -- Reward form
I personally don’t care WHICH branch of the government goes after these people, as long as THEY get REAL FEDERAL ARREST WARRANTS out on them!! So, if you’ve been taken in by these folks, besides filing with the above, don’t forget the IRS! (You KNOW they like going after money!!!)
It may not help, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to fill the mailboxes at the White House with letters about these folks. If the President wants to get involved with courts and everyday peoples’ lives, then he needs to get involved in THIS!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact -- to the right side of the page, there are links for leaving online comments, writing a letter, or calling the White House.
I'd suggest giving a list of time, date, phone number, and anyone's name you were given on these calls...EVEN if you didn't answer or it went to VM.
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GOODMAN AND STERN, LLC