I was contacted by James Roberts. He said that we owed money and if we did not pay by Friday they were going to give my husbands debt case to a process server and he would issue a warrant. I told him we would like to make payment arrangements. He transferred me to the accounting department. A woman named Kathy spoke with me and said that she was with Blakewood Lord and Associates. I asked repeatedly if they were a collection agency, and was told they are only a mediation firm...BS. I called Blakewood Lord and Associates back and they had no Kathy there??? I told them I would like my validation of debt which is my right throught the FDCPA. I spoke with a woman named LISA!!! Lisa Wang perhaps??? coincidence??? LOL I think not. She said she had never heard of such a thing. I spoke with a John White and he said he would look into getting it for me. 24 hours later I have not received it and cannot get John White on the phone. I believe they are owned by Anaheim Asset Management. It is just a " face company" who "hires" Blakewood for mediation...that way they can say that they technically are not the debt collector. It is some seriously shady crap. I mentioned to the investigation company- Benchmark- and to Blakewood the Finance Code that they are directly in ciolation of. For the stat of Texas it is section 392.304. It covers coersion ( telling someone they will be arrested) as well as deceptive practices. It also states very clearly that they have to communicate clearly who is owed the debt. They did not appreciate that I had done my research. I have been hung up on 5 times. Now I have debt collectors DODGING MY CALLS. Talk about irony. Do not pay these scamming, lying, pieces of human waste.
Admin Edit: "It's a FAKE comment!"
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I just received a call yesterday from this company and was thinking about paying til I google this company name and it brought me to this forum. My dad is a Judge in Dekalb County and I told him about this situation. He will be making some phone calls to see who own this company and the workers, He want to make sure the owners and employees are legitimate and license to work for a collection company. Hopefully they will locate someone who do not suppose to be working in an environment like this.
Uh-huh ..... Debt lawyers have tried that ruse, too. The FTC and the courts disagree. Call yourselves anything you like, but when a stranger on the phone makes a debt claim and his salary is not paid by an original creditor, he is a "debt collector" per the FDCPA. A few states apply the same definition to in-house OC collectors. Tell me any different and I will do *my* job of naming you and your boss as "defendant".
In a word, extortion. There is no "criminal investigation" since debt in the States is strictly a civil matter, even from old payday loans both real and imagined. Most debt claims made with such hostility are false and the rest cannot be proven. Bullies like this are violating your state and federal rights. It's not clear from this short thread if the unnamed colllection agency has a US address to receive a summons. It may well be another tiresome South Asian scammer. Anyway, the following linked material should help everyone determine what's so very wrong with the behavior described.