Criminals masquerading as debt collectors attempt to extort money from people by scaring you into believing that you will be criminally charged (they use the bad check or hot check claim a lot) and go to jail, lose your driver’s license, have wages garnished without actually being sued or going to court, be sued, and a variety of other variations on this, all for an alleged or nonexistent debt. One of the tricks they use is to call your family, friends, neighbors and/or places of employment (past or present or both) to create panic and embarrassment so that their intended victim calls them and they can scare that person into paying their extortion money. They will use the words “Mediator”, “Arbitrator”, or “Law Office” to make you believe that they are something other than a debt collector want-a-be and that they don’t have to follow Federal and State collection laws. They do have to follow those laws, but they won’t. They mention that they have received a Fax document, to create the sense of urgency. They also tell you that if you fail to call them back you are "waiving your right to council", which is pretty much nothing but hogwash. They also use the “process server” ruse who calls and claims he is going to serve you, but then says you could avoid it by calling another number where they will ask for money to “make it go away” (this is actually the same place, they work in teams, one pretending to be the server, and the other usually pretends to be a lawyer). Process servers do not ever call ahead so that you can dodge them. Process servers get paid to serve papers, nothing else.
It is incumbent upon them under the law to prove that the debt exists and that you owe it, and that they have the legal right to collect it. You are not obligated under the law to prove that you don’t owe or that it is paid.
Federal law (FDCPA) requires them to send you a letter (US MAIL ONLY) postmarked within 5 days of their first contact that contains their name, physical address, the creditor’s name, and the amount of the alleged debt. It also must contains “mini-Miranda” telling you that it is an attempt to collect a debt and that all information will be used for those purposes. The one other important thing that this letter must also have in it is that you have a right to dispute the debt within 30 days of receipt of the letter and if you do so, all collection activity must be stopped until the debt is verified.
Read up on your rights here and also make a complaint at this government site: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/
Also file a complaint with your State Attorney General's office.
List of State AG’s offices: http://800notes.com/faq/attorney-general
First, you're replying to an old post. Second, I find it suspicious that you would post a personal email on this site. Third, I think it would be a very bad idea for anyone to trust you with their financial information. Third the FBI has a site dedicated to collecting information from victims and they include the reality of getting your money back.
So to pAMELA and others who have been victimized, read the FBI warnings on these scams:
http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud
If you've been victimized report it here:
http://www.stopfraud.gov/report.html
Anyone who has been threatened by this group should report them.
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection (Threatening criminal prosecution in order to collect a civil debt is a clear violation of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)
Also contact your local attorney general
If they continue to bother you, and you know you do not owe any money, tell them that you know this is a debt scam and that you are making a complaint to the police for extortion. Once you get a copy of the police report and they call you again , just read out the file number and the name of the PD or Sheriff’s office involved. Tell them you’ll be glad to send a copy to them at whatever address the jack***es are working out of now. If you can find them.
[Anyone who has been called by this group should simply call them back and read out what the FDCPA prohibits as far as these kinds of threats go. Be as professional-sounding as possible. Do mention you do not like to be victimized by scammers. ]
I received a call from a lady named Nancy Kirkland on Tuesday April 7,2015. She told me that she was Ligation Services, and I wanted for 3 accounts. She informed me that I took out a payday loan from Advance America back in 2012. And told me if I send them a payment of $315.00 then they will stop the processing fee. She was very rude, she did not give me a case number or a file number. I am single parent with two kids struggling trying to make it by. I called Advance America and they told that it was scam and I do not owe them anything. These people need to find real jobs and stop trying rip people off.
I received a voicemail from them and decided to call them back. Her name was Nancy. When I did, I was told that I had a warrant out for my arrest which would go out today by 2:15 pm if i did not pay restitution fees of $943.23 due to a check or loan that i took out three years ago. I was scared because she had all of my personal information very accurately. If I did not pay it, I would be arrested and have to get bailed out for five thousand dollars. When I asked for the lender's information, she became very rude and called me a criminal and that I know damn well that I owe money. She hung up on me. Now I feel better knowing that other people have in fact received the same call. They really should be reported, because for a minute there, they almost got me. If that is their way of getting money from people, it's wrong and they need to be dealt with.
I got a call from this same lady, Nancy Kirkland saying we owed for a past payday loan and that there would be a warrant for my arrest. She called from a Lufkin, Texas number though at 936-225-4550. She was so incredibly rude, made me so mad.