They said they are a mediation firm called compliant contact solutions based out of Phoenix Arizona and work on behave of midland finicial who bought my debts from other companies. She said that this is the final step before midland files a civil suit. I am not sure if a scam or not, I had financial problem back in 2008 and had payday loans, I believe I paid all but she said I didn't and since I have moved I can not find info that I did or did not. Said they need to set up a payment plan, I am not sure what to do because I have no physical proof of debt. They will not mail me anything because they did to my old address and I never received but she said she finds that hard to believe and she said I can contact original debt but said she can't give me the names because it is in mediation, she is just working with midland to see if I will pay or I wish them to continue with legal proceedingI I wish I knew if this is a real company. I can't find any info on them.
Yeah they always claim they are a "mediation" firm or "arbitration" firm and claim that they don;'t have to abide by the FDCPA. Sorry to tell them but they do.
This is a common ploy by criminals 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 repeatedly in an attempt to shame you into paying. They also use the “process server” 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
Thanks for your reply! I will make sure I get a letter before I proceed, Do you know If the mediator has to provide this letter, she told me I had to contact Midland for this info. Thanks again!!
Quote: she told me I had to contact Midland for this info.
Incorrect.
As BigA stated, by law, the caller is supposed to send you the letter, even without you requesting it!
(Keep reading ... )
A phone call, email or text message from a supposed debt collector is not legally sufficient evidence of debt.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) includes statements such as this:
* Every collector must send you a written “validation notice” telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don’t think you owe the money. ["Written" means snailmailed - US Mail ... not emailed or texted]
Therefore, if that caller wants you to pay immediately, before you get the written validation notice via snailmail, or if the caller wants payment via Green Dot, MoneyGram, Western Union, prepaid gift card or other untraceable means, then the call is definitely not legitimate.
IF you wish to communicate with the supposed collector / creditor, visit the following page, for example "Action Letters" to snailmail:
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/debtcollection/
If you KNOW you owe no money, or believe the call was from a fake debt collector, please take the time to read this:
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors