Amanda Pitman left a voicemail first laughing then said she was calling from Impact Mediation. I goggled the name and nothing came up. I think this is a scam of some kind.
Received call from a Ned Monroe claiming to be from Impact Mediation. Claims I owe a payday loan from 2001 and have not paid. When I asked for specifics, he was very vague and gave some company I never heard of. When I pressed even more, he then hung up on me. Please have nothing to do with this company and ignore their calls.
This company have called me and my family saying I would be arrested when found. I called them and said start the court procedures because the loan was false. I did not even live in the state they claimed I got the loan in. They will lie and threaten, do not pay unless you actually owe the debt for sure.
I know it is. They try to use the terms mediator or arbitration to convince you they are not subject to FDCPA law,, but in reality they are.
It is incumbent upon them to prove that the debt exists and that you owe it. Not the other way around.
This is a common ploy by criminals masquerading as debt collectors who are attempting to extort money from people by scaring you into believing that you will be criminally charged, go to jail, lose your driver’s license, have wages garnished, be sued, and a variety of other variations on this, all for an alleged or nonexistent debt. One of the tricks they use is to call your work place, friends, or relatives repeatedly in an attempt to shame you into paying. They also use the “process server” ruse who calls and claims he is going to serve you, but then says you could avoid it by calling another number
Federal law (FDCPA) requires them to send you a letter (US MAIL ONLY) within 5 days of their first contact that contains their name, physical address, the creditor’s name, and the amount of the alleged debt. It also must contains “mini-Miranda” telling you that it is an attempt to collect a debt and that all information will be used for those purposes. The one other important thing that this letter must also have in it is that you have a right to dispute the debt within 30 days of receipt of the letter and if you do so, all collection activity must be stopped until the debt is verified.
Read up on your rights here, get template letters to send and also make a complaint at this government site: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/
Also file a complaint with your State Attorney General's office.
List of State AG’s offices: http://consumerfraudreporting.org/stateattorneygenerallist.php