The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:
•is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
•refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
•asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
•exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.
If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:
•Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.•Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
•Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft – charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
•Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate – but you think the collector may not be – contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
•Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.
I dealt with this [***] Taylor today. He is a liar and does not follow any Fair Debt Collections Practices Act laws. Everything he is saying and doing is illegal. Report everything in FULL detail to the Federal Trade Commission as well as your Attorney General. They can't have police come after you, say they have a litigation against you etc. It's all a collections game because they say to their clients they can collect within 10 days. Here is the site http://www.sterlingunited.com/company-profile.html. Good luck and record EVERY call or save EVERY voicemail from him to send to your local police, FTC and Attorney General.
I received a call from this RUDE person, Taylor Johnson, telling me he was from the Commercial Lien Investigation Division and that my company's assets were going to be ceased for my business partner's debt! He proceeded to tell me her business (which I believe is illegal) and that he was contacting our customers to investigate our company's financial position! Her debt has NOTHING to do with our business and when I informed him of this, he told me I was wrong. I informed him not to call me again and he continued to speak to me in an offensive manner. When I insisted he didn't work for the State of Florida, he said he represented Colier County and their interest in a portion of the collection. He was LYING. I called the company he really worked for, Sterling United, and reported him for telling me someone else's business. Kevin, of Sterling United, was also verbally abusive to me telling me I was the reason our nation was in the economic state it's in. I reminded him I am NOT the debtor and then I hung up on him. Taylor Johnson called me back at work again. This has got to be ILLEGAL! What the heck is wrong with these people?
I receive at least 2 calls a day from Mr. Fisher, Mr. Martin, Mr. Jones. All scream at me about a debt. They either use unknown number on caller ID, or they spoof local area code numbers. When I call back the local number the owner of the phone didnt call my number. Sprint said to block the local number. I call the owners and I tell the person to call their phone company and file a complaint. As of this date, (888)360-2638 or (800)683-7498 is their numbers. Do not give them any information or money. This is a total scam!!
I have been in contact with Mr. Kramer, Mr. Banks, and some other Mr. who would not give me his name...these guys are A-Holes to the max. First I want to say that the debt they are calling on is a valid debt. It is a debt I intend to pay and want to pay. But first let me share this....back in December I filed bankruptcy chapter 7. I did not include this in the bankruptcy because I want to pay it. Ok so the first phone call from Mr. Banks started off with him telling me he was calling to collect on this bill. I started in with my programmed 'I filed bankruptcy on December....blah blah blah' not thinking about what debt it was. He then started yelling at me that this was not included in the bankruptcy. I stated that yes it was and asked him to take my attorney's name and number'. Before I could even say another word he said I don't work for you or your attorney and he hung up on me. Ok. So, then a few hours later he calls me back to yell at me how I was breaking the law and what I was doing was illegal. Yelling at me....he said since I went out and bought a car 2 weeks after I filed bankruptcy that was illegal and I was breaking the law...he continued yelling at me that they were going to notify the bankruptcy court and my trustee to let them know I was breaking the law...unless of course I paid the settlement in which he was offering me. I then asked him to send me a bill so I could take a look at it and to please stop calling me during the daytime while I was at work. That sent him into an yelling tailspin.....yelling at me how ridiculous that request was...and how he was in just total disbelief that I would even request such a ridiculous thing and he hung up. Ok....I called back, because damn it I wanted to work something out and pay my bill and just be done with this already. So, Mr. Banks did not come to the phone, but another guy did. He refused to give me his name and then started to tell me how repulsive I was because I could go out and buy a car but not pay this other bill. I then told him that I told Mr. Banks to not call me during the day while I was at work....and yell at me. Of course then he really started to yell at me some more about how horrible I was and how repulsed he was by people like you....I asked him to please stop yelling that as the consumer I have the right to not be yelled at...oh that pissed him off even more, he yelled at me some more - so horribly I had to say what because I didn't understand him -, and he hung up on me. So, I called the original creditor and spoke to a manager there. I told him I fully acknowledge that this is a legit bill that I want to pay. I asked him if they could pull my account and work with me as I did not like the over the top bullying, yelling ,and threatening the other company was doing...but that I needed some time to get with my son's grandmother who was going to help me pay the bill - this bill was for my son. He gave me Mr. Kramer's name and told me to talk to him. SO, I called him. I spoke with him. He was nasty, but not as nasty as Mr. Banks. I explained the situation to him and asked him to email me so I could forward that on to my son's grandmother for her review. 2 hours later Mr. Banks calls me back and basically says ok he sent you the email now the offer is on the table until monday....I explained to him that his grandmother who is helping me pay the bill is in real estate and would not be able to discuss it with me until sunday or monday due to her work schedule. oh that pissed him off. He then started to yell at me once again about how I was a game player and trying to do a tap dance. He took the offer off the table and yelled at me to go whine to his boss and his client about it like I did before....then he continued to yell that monday they were going to proceed with suing me and taking everything I own.
What pisses me off is I want to pay this bill and they won't shut up long enough for me to tell them how I can pay this bill....and that actually they will probably be making more off me because I can not pay what they are offering.....but I think they just like to bully, intimidate, yell, scream, and just be so nasty that they cant see straight. I will be sending a cease and desist letter....maybe then I could get some peace. and then maybe I can pay the bill on my terms...not theirs.