Seriously Cindi, while information is a good thing, replying to every post here is overkill! It makes it appear spammy and really messy. Not all posters come back to read nor are reply notifications sent out. Please, tone it down in future. I've asked Admin to remove all the excess.
SCAM. DON'T FALL 4 IT. A MALE RECORDING CALLED FROM THIS # STATING HE WAS FROM NIAGRA PORTFOLIO & HAD 2 GET IN TOUCH W/ME IMMEDIATELY IN REGARDS 2 DOCUMENTATION IN THEIR OFFICE. 2 CALL THEM BK AT 855-977-2166.
Niagara Portfolio has called me every other day for weeks now, claiming in their recorded messages that they have sent me paperwork in the mail and that I've ignored it (I call B.S. on that - I've never received *anything* in the mail from this company), that they are "escalating this matter to my county", that they are "sending someone out to my home or workplace to serve papers", and that they are "filing charges against me in my county".
Today's message said "we are 'outsourcing' this file to your county", and that they were calling for the 2nd time as a courtesy - and that someone would be serving me papers in the next 24 hours. (They have called 3x in the past week, claiming to be serving papers in the next 24-48 hours - guess their process server is running behind, huh?) Past messages have said they were "escalating this matter to your county" and they were "proceeding with action against you in your county". They're very fond of trying to scare you into thinking you're going to have the cops pounding down your door over this so-called "unpaid debt".
This is going to be long, but it's worth a read and will help you understand what these people are doing.
First and foremost, DEMAND VALIDATION OF THE DEBT THEY CLAIM TO BE COLLECTING ON. I can almost guarantee they won't provide it. Why? Because 9 times out of 10, this company is collecting on an uncollectible debt - one that is either out of the statute of limitations for collections (and therefore uncollectible), or one that has been paid off already and they are trying to dupe you into thinking you still owe on it. They are counting on your ignorance of your own financial situation and of the law in order to get you to pay. DON'T FALL FOR IT. If you choose to call them back, demand written validation of the debt. Tell them you are NOT acknowledging the debt, but that you want validation of it so that you can be sure it's a valid debt. You can fully expect them to fight you on this - because they are usually not collecting on a valid debt. So they won't validate it.
Ever notice that in their phone calls, they don't even tell you what company they are collecting for? There's another red flag. According to the FDCPA, any legal and legitimate collector needs to follow this protocol: 1) They announce their company name and state that their phone call is an attempt to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Niagara Portfolio NEVER does this in their recorded calls. 2) They must NOT leave personal financial information on an answering machine if they are unable to verify they have reached the right person. Niagara violates this all the time. 3) They may not make threats that they have no intention (or ability) to carry out. You cannot be arrested for defaulting on a debt - there are no debtors prisons anymore. So their threats of having you arrested, charges filed, etc - all fake - designed to scare you into paying something you may not legally owe.
The only thing that could possibly happen is you could be taken to small claims court for a past due debt - but you would be served papers for that, and they would not be calling you in advance to tell you they were serving papers! (Stop and think about it - if every process server called in advance to tell someone they were serving papers that they were on the way, no papers would ever get served!)
Another red flag that this company is not legitimate: they spoof (STEAL) phone numbers from the phone book and use them to call you so they can get you to pick up the phone. I have received calls from numbers that belong to average everyday people - they do not belong to Niagara Portfolio. When I look them up online, they are not assigned to a company, but an individual, or they are untraceable cell phone numbers. Sure, that's REAL legitimate. This company may have a legal name, be licensed as a collector in NY state, etc - but that does not mean they are a legitimate, ethical company.
Unless you *know* for certain that you owe the debt these people are trying to collect on, don't take their calls. You can expect them to try calling your work and even your relatives - it's how they operate. Just let everyone know you have a scammer dogging you and not to take their calls - and make sure they know not to give out any other phone numbers you have, or they'll be calling those, too. If you owe a debt that this company is collecting on, contact the original creditor and tell them you want to settle the debt with them directly. You have the legal right to do so. Otherwise, your best bet is to block this company from calling you if at all possible. Eventually, they will stop.
I am not advocating the non-payment of legitimate debts - in fact, I encourage you to pay your debts off so you can live a better life. However, what these people are doing is just flat-out wrong. They are scaring uneducated consumers into paying something they may not legally owe.
I told the guy yesterday I knew it was a scam, I block so many numbers on my cell. They call from all different land lines and cell phones. I also told him where to shove his phone call. I usually never answer... but sometimes I like to give these idiots a hard time. lol
These people call our office daily-usually from different numbers-for a co-worker and they always say someone is coming to serve papers. We're here every day until 5:00 and noone has come by with any papers! Scammers!