Got called tons of times by this number. 1-2 rings then a hang up. Typical fly by night ambulance chaser that uses threats and the court as weapon to extort "their" money you "owe" them. Even after everything has been taken care of and paid to the company that was owed.
You know, you say they won't work with anyone but when I first starting paying, I was paying $90 a month. The woman I was working with insisted I pay that much. Mr. Edwards, the one that a lot of people are complaining about, took over and has worked with me so that I am only paying a fraction of that now. I am losing my job so what little I do make, I want to spread around to continue to pay my bills. Just because I'm losing my job doesn't mean that I shouldn't still pay my bills. I OWE that money. Not paying it just makes me more of a bad person than any bill collector. We need to stop treating these people like scum. Maybe you people should stop racking up bills you can't pay! Honestly, instead of fighting, next time they call, ask if you can pay less than they are asking but reassure them that you WILL pay, just pay what you can. It isn't a hard thing to do.
My situation is an extenutating circumstance. I was working at Dillards while I was going to school. I had worked there for almost a year when I came in one day only to be called in to the store manager's office (Tommy Burnett). I was in his office along with the Men's Department manager at the time (Katie Dobson). I was seated and asked if I knew why I was brought in. I had absolutely no idea. I had a "Dillard's Dollars" card thrown at me from across the desk.
[ At the time, that is how Dillard's handled returns when a customer had originally paid with cash. Customer's were given an "in-store credit" and the amount was put on a Dillard's Dollar's card. When handling a return with no receipt and when it was paid for in cash, the department manager needed to be called to approve the return. The manager would then sign off on the register receipt paper that they had approved the return in case there were any questions that should come up later. So one evening while working the closing shift in the Men's Department at Dillard's, a young man came in with two pairs of name brand jeans (Lucky and Silver) in a Dillard's bad. He didn't have a receipt and had paid cash for them. As you may have guessed, I called the department manager at the time, Katie Dobson, to approve the return. She did and had me put the amount on a Dillard's Dollars card.]
In response to the managers' question, I politely said, "A Dillard's Dollars card." They asked me if I knew what was on it. I had NO idea. They accused me of knowing exactly why I was in the office and why I was in trouble. I wasn't given any information at the time other than I had "falsified" a return. They told me I could tell them the truth or spend Easter weekend in jail. There was nothing to tell other than what I have stated here and was escorted through the store by two police officers. I was immediatly terminated and humiliated.
The first week in June I was served with court documents claiming that I was being charged with petit theft. I called an attorney right away. This happened to be Guy Hallam with White/Peterson. Their office is located by the Idaho Center.
Several agonizing and grueling months later Guy presented me with his findings. Long story shot, the young man who had returned the jeans had actually stolen them from the Men's Department and pretended to be "returning" them. His girlfriend actually worked at Dillards in the Men's cologne department!
So, he gives the Dillard's Dollar's card to her. One day she decides to "purchase" clothes from the Junior's Department. She wore large sized clothes and I wore extra small/small. The items she had were bigger sizes and when she was caught, she claimed that I had asked her to buy them for me on HER lunch break.
There are alot of unanswered questions and missing pieces of this crazy puzzle but I AM going somewhere with this story. ;)
So, Guy Hallam with White Peterson was working on my case. I was billed for every little phone call, piece of paper, etc. The bill quickly added up. Because I was unemployed at the time as well as going to school, I had absolutely no way of paying off such an exceeding bill. My agreement with White Peterson was that I would pay $30/month, interest fee as long as I payed on time and never missed a payment. I held up my end of the agreement....
After two years of nothing coming out of the case with Dillards (other than proving myself INNOCENT [funny how the system works, right? Isn't is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, NOT guilty until proven innocent?] ) I learned that Guy no longer worked for White Peterson so White Peterson wanted their money. They wouldn't uphold the payemtn agreement so I was turned over CBI.
I was NEVER notified that I was being charged interest until Adam Edwards notified me about a month ago. After five years of paying CBI, I thought I was almost done but my interest charges were more than my principal balance! Mr. Edwards was very informative and I completely understood that he was doing his job. HOWEVER, CBI itself lacks in communication skills. I keep very meticulous records and files on everything I ever get and there was missing information that CBI claims they sent me.
Bottom line, keep awesome and detailed records. Keep a file on everything you get from every phone call, to who you spoke with, payments you have made. Ask for receipts and copies of everything. You may have to call them in order to get things taken care of but it's worth the time.
You're absolutely correct! Kudos to you! Word of advice (just from my personal experience) I know you are paying the minimum that they are allowing you to because I did the same thing. However, I was being charged more in interest than I was paying off the principal amount. I thought my debt was almost payed off but unfortunately I had just dug myself in deeper. Good luck! :)
I have contacted these people to stop having their computer call me (which is illegal without my permission, which they never had, because it is a cell phone). The first time they hung up on me after asking me to hold a moment with another recording. The second time the guy who answered the phone refused to believe I had already paid the debt and that his actions were breaking the law. He further stated that it couldn't be illegal, because he is doing it. Which is quite the interesting logic. I wish I had recorded that call. Anyway, I do not owe them anything and they are still harassing me. I really hate this company and it's people.