just got a recorded message from this # saying that you are being investigated for check fraud and if you want to speak to someone, hit # 1, another freaking scam by foreign freaking pigs, I have so had enough of these people, get a really flipping job in your OWN DAMN COUNTRY
Consumers across the country report that they're getting telephone calls from people trying to collect on loans the consumers never received or on loans they did receive but for amounts they do not owe. Others are receiving calls from people seeking to recover on loans consumers received but where the creditors never authorized the callers to collect for them. So what's the story?
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.>
This is for Concerned Citizen------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Debt Collector Dorsey Thornton & Associates Enters into $15.5 Million Settlement with the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection
February 29, 2012
ATLANTA, GA – Dorsey Thornton & Associates, LLC, a Georgia debt collections company, and its principal officers Wyteria Dorsey and Michael Thornton, have entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection (OCP), resolving charges that the company committed multiple violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act. OCP’s investigation stemmed from a series of reports from consumers that Dorsey Thornton & Associates harassed and deceived consumers by:
• Threatening consumers with arrest or imprisonment if they did not pay the debt;
• Refusing to send consumers written proof of the debt owed;
• Identifying themselves as “Investigators” rather than disclosing that they were debt collectors attempting to collect a debt;
• Contacting third parties and divulging information about the debtor’s account;
• Calling consumers before 8:00am or after 9:00pm
• Continuing to contact consumers even after they told the company to stop calling them;
Under the Assurance, Dorsey Thornton & Associates has agreed to forego collection of 31,433 accounts, representing a total of $15,491,899.36 in consumer debt. The Assurance also requires the company to pay a civil penalty and to reimburse OCP for investigative and legal expenses.
“Debt collectors who engage in this kind of harassment, deception and other illegal behavior in the state of Georgia must and will pay a steep price,” said John Sours, Administrator of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection.
Press Contact Info
Shawn Conroy
404-656-3790 3988 Flowers Road Ste 610 Doraville Georgia 30360