Also have been receiving these calls CONSTANTLY. I literally just hung up the phone with them less than 5 minutes ago. I recently filed bankruptcy... so I was very distressed, thinking something may have been missed or someone had taken out a loan in my name with my information. The key is I KNOW I have never taken out a loan online, but they are good and had me so worried! It is crazy the things you can begin to believe when you are in a vulnerable state. The voicemail messages say "This is Joann Palmer calling from Howard Steiner and Associates. You are receiving this message in reference to a complaint we have received. Please call our office at 918-615-9866. Please be advised that this matter does require your immediate attention and we need to speak to you or your legal counsel immediately. However, if we do not receive a response we will document your file and submit it for processing"
They are posing as mediators between creditor and debtor and never could quite tell me what their PURPOSE was as a "mediation" company. They claimed I took out a loan from Rise Credit between $400 and $600. They said the debtor is not longer allowed to contact me and I cannot contact them - it is a part of the mediation. When I told them I had spoken with someone at Rise, they replied by stating Rise would not have my information since the account had been closed. I asked them over and over and over to send me something in writing - they claimed they could not since the information was all sent to my old address 6 weeks ago. I wish I would have thought to record all of this!
They said would be filing papers with the state for criminal charges; my intent upon receiving the loan was malicious and fraud b/c I did not intend to pay it back. (?! seriously?..) I asked over and over what it is that I could do to keep this from happening. She said that they can contact the creditor to see if they would even accept a settlement at this point; they may just file the charges. Again, I am thinking to myself, why is this company even involved?....
They gave me an old address from 2012 and the last 4 digits of my bank acct number at that time! Yikes. A little unsettling that they have that information. Luckily that account has been closed since late 2012. Another red flag- I did not live at that address in 2012 and had not lived there for years. Why in the world would I put that on a loan application!? They also said I needed a criminal lawyer for this (not my bankruptcy lawyer) since this is a criminal and not civil case.
I also talked to "Scott" who said he was the manager and I kind of explained what was going on when I had spoken with the other woman and he said "if she asked for any information from you, she would be in trouble!" He made it sound so legit since they aren't actually asking for any of my information or money (yet). They also transferred me to the same person the 3 times that I called; she had my "case file"; I am sure they do this for continuity of conversation with the same person - it makes them appear more legitimate. The woman never lost her cool, she was patient and explained everything in a flat, professional voice. They are well informed scammers and good at talking in circles; I was so sick of them calling multiple times per day and decided I needed to do some investigating. Thanks to this message board I realized I was being had. (thank you everyone for posting your experiences!)
I finally got them to screw up; I wanted to play their own game! I asked them repeatedly what the purpose of them speaking to my attorney would be. She finally said, "So we can send him, and you, an evidence packet" (after she had claimed in the last conversation that they did not actually have the evidence; all of that information was retained by Rise (creditor) and not given to them, but would be used in court). I then asked them why they could not just send that to me, because I may decide to represent myself. She then said, "Ok, we will send that to you this week!"... Ummmm... didn't you also say you couldn't send me anything in writing when I talked to you last?! I then told them I had a number for the attorney I would be in touch with and gave them the local police department phone number - haha :) I am daring them to call back. I will have fun with the "evidence packet" information and will be sure to record that conversation.
I am assuming if I had not done my research and continued to respond, they would have called me back at some point soon and said "the company has agreed on X amt of dollars to settle and you won't have charges filed against you", and THAT'S how they get the money.
Also have been receiving these calls CONSTANTLY. I literally just hung up the phone with them less than 5 minutes ago. I recently filed bankruptcy... so I was very distressed, thinking something may have been missed or someone had taken out a loan in my name with my information. The key is I KNOW I have never taken out a loan online, but they are good and had me so worried! It is crazy the things you can begin to believe when you are in a vulnerable state. The voicemail messages say "This is Joann Palmer calling from Howard Steiner and Associates. You are receiving this message in reference to a complaint we have received. Please call our office at 918-615-9866. Please be advised that this matter does require your immediate attention and we need to speak to you or your legal counsel immediately. However, if we do not receive a response we will document your file and submit it for processing"
They are posing as mediators between creditor and debtor and never could quite tell me what their PURPOSE was as a "mediation" company. They claimed I took out a loan from Rise Credit between $400 and $600. They said the debtor is not longer allowed to contact me and I cannot contact them - it is a part of the mediation. When I told them I had spoken with someone at Rise, they replied by stating Rise would not have my information since the account had been closed. I asked them over and over and over to send me something in writing - they claimed they could not since the information was all sent to my old address 6 weeks ago. I wish I would have thought to record all of this!
They said would be filing papers with the state for criminal charges; my intent upon receiving the loan was malicious and fraud b/c I did not intend to pay it back. (?! seriously?..) I asked over and over what it is that I could do to keep this from happening. She said that they can contact the creditor to see if they would even accept a settlement at this point; they may just file the charges. Again, I am thinking to myself, why is this company even involved?....
They gave me an old address from 2012 and the last 4 digits of my bank acct number at that time! Yikes. A little unsettling that they have that information. Luckily that account has been closed since late 2012. Another red flag- I did not live at that address in 2012 and had not lived there for years. Why in the world would I put that on a loan application!? They also said I needed a criminal lawyer for this (not my bankruptcy lawyer) since this is a criminal and not civil case.
I also talked to "Scott" who said he was the manager and I kind of explained what was going on when I had spoken with the other woman and he said "if she asked for any information from you, she would be in trouble!" He made it sound so legit since they aren't actually asking for any of my information or money (yet). They also transferred me to the same person the 3 times that I called; she had my "case file"; I am sure they do this for continuity of conversation with the same person - it makes them appear more legitimate. The woman never lost her cool, she was patient and explained everything in a flat, professional voice. They are well informed scammers and good at talking in circles; I was so sick of them calling multiple times per day and decided I needed to do some investigating. Thanks to this message board I realized I was being had. (thank you everyone for posting your experiences!)
I finally got them to screw up; I wanted to play their own game! I asked them repeatedly what the purpose of them speaking to my attorney would be. She finally said, "So we can send him, and you, an evidence packet" (after she had claimed in the last conversation that they did not actually have the evidence; all of that information was retained by Rise (creditor) and not given to them, but would be used in court). I then asked them why they could not just send that to me, because I may decide to represent myself. She then said, "Ok, we will send that to you this week!"... Ummmm... didn't you also say you couldn't send me anything in writing when I talked to you last?! I then told them I had a number for the attorney I would be in touch with and gave them the local police department phone number - haha :) I am daring them to call back. I will have fun with the "evidence packet" information and will be sure to record that conversation.
I am assuming if I had not done my research and continued to respond, they would have called me back at some point soon and said "the company has agreed on X amt of dollars to settle and you won't have charges filed against you", and THAT'S how they get the money.
I got the call too..made up a credit card number and told them to deduct the money Friday. When it didn't work I figured they would call back and figure out why. Never heard from them again. If if was real they would want their money and keep calling and calling. Scammers the whole thing