701 W. 7th Street
Little Rock, AR 72203
Phone: 501-374-1300
Fax: 501-375-3670
4525 Harding Rd.
Ste 218
Nashville, TN 37205
8117 Preston Rd.
Ste 300
West Dallas, TX 75225
Web Address: www.hosto.com
Head Debt Collectors:
Boyd, Joel David, Lawyer
Buchan, Charles J. , Lawyer
Durand, Steven D. , Lawyer
Prater, Paul Andrew, Lawyer
Lawrence, Richard L, Lawyer
Hosto, Bryan Edwin , Lawyer
Thathiah, Melvin , Lawyer TX Bar #24048837
Sexton, Mark A., Lawyer AR Bar #98152*
Junk Debt Buying/Collector Subsidiaries that allegedly churn out phony affidavits, bogus court filings and other illegal, immoral and unethical paper mill manufacturing:
Mustang Capital Funding, LLC
Ozark Capital Corporation
Momo Limited Partnership
Hans Rudy, LLC
Converging Capital, LLC
Kevmar Capital Corp,
Esterosto, LLC
Haybar Properties, LLC
Double H Holdings, LLC
Nu Island Partners
LLC, Martino-Carrasquillo Group, LLC.
This law firm gives law firms a bad name. They collect debts under the names of Hosto & Buchan, Little Rock, AR and Dallas, TX. Collecting for some of the worst of America’s bottom feeders, Hosto & Buchan is a paper mill for bad suits, phony documents and bogus affidavits. One of their lawyers, Melvin Thatiah seems to screw up a lot of cases with his copied pleadings in case after case. He is known NOT to be a good litigator and apparently has a problem being in all the courts where cases are filed.
My impression of this organization is one of collection pimps who will stoop to the lowest levels of the sleaze bar to affect a paycheck, based on the list C- bottom feeders, they represent. (yuk!)
You would think that being lawyers gave them some smarts that does not appear to be the case on complaints we receive. Hosto & Buchan, along with Texas collection lawyer; Melvin Thatiah, have filed suits on behalf of a bottom-feeder debt buyer that are TIME BARRED by statute. This means they are too old to litigate, which leads me to believe that debt collector and lawyer Melvin Thatiah are deliberately trying to get judgments they are not entitled to. Furthermore, how bad a lawyer do you have to be to sink to the level of litigating for bottom-feeder debt buyers.
Hosto & Buchan is typical of the bottom feeder’s debt collectors who will take cases from anyone, regardless of if they have the legal documents to validate them, debts that are time barred by statute and all the typical garbage filed by bottom feeders. They are a loose organization of mistakes and bad lawyering.
You may not "owe" any debts, but that doesn't necessarily stop a lot of third party collection agencies from trying to collect on bogus and/or time-barred debts. You may also have been a victim of identity theft and not even know it. The debt buying industry is BIG business, and bottom feeders like Hosto and Buchan often purchase worthless debt portfolios (many of which are uncollectable and beyond the Statue of Limitations), with NO proof as to who actually owns the debt by the time they get them. They make their BILLIONS by purchasing these portfolios for pennies on the dollar then coercing unsophisticated and unsuspecting consumers into admitting that they "own" the debt by demanding a token payment. This automatically reages the debt, and the next thing the consumer knows they have been trapped into paying a debt that they never owed to BEGIN with.
Here is what you need to do, to protect yourself:
First of all, please be aware that Hosto and Buchan have already violated one FDCPA law by discussing your so-called "existing debts" with a third party (Section 805):
Next, pull your credit reports from all three bureaus (Transamerica, Equifax and Experian). If Hosto and Buchan have placed any derogoratory remarks on them without first validating that you legitimately own these alledged debt(s),you will have legal grounds to sue the S*** out of them:
Third, (and REGARDLESS of whether or not Hosto and Buchan have dinged your credit report), you need to demand validation of the alledged debt(s) they are calling about. There is NO need for you to ever talk to them, and you can instruct your secretary to tell them the next time they call not to call you at work again. If they refuse to comply with your request, you can then report them to the FTC for another FDCPA violation (Section 805).
Here's a template of a VOD letter. Just fill in the blanks and send it VIA certified mail with return receipt requested. Be sure to keep copies of everything you send:
Today's Date
Your Name
Your Address
Collector's Name
Collector's Address
VIA CERTIFIED MAIL
Dear {insert name of collector or company},
I am writing in response to your (letter or phone call) dated {insert date}, (copy enclosed) because I do not believe I owe what you say I owe.
This is the first I've heard from you, or any other company on this matter therefore, in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Section 809(b): Validating Debts:
(b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.
I respectfully request that you provide me with the following information:
(1) the amount of the debt;
(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
(3) Provide a verification or copy of any judgment (if applicable);
(4) Proof that you are licensed to collect debts in (insert name of your state).
Be advised that I am fully aware of my rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. For instance, I know that:
Because I have disputed this debt in writing within 30 days of receipt of your dunning notice, you must obtain verification of the debt or a copy of the judgment against me and mail these items to me at your expense;
you cannot add interest or fees except those allowed by the original contract or state law.
You do not have to respond to this dispute but if you do, any attempt to collect this debt without validating it, violates the FDCPA.
Also be advised that I am keeping very accurate records of all correspondence from you and your company including recording all phone calls and I will not hesitate to report violations of the law to my State Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.
I have disputed this debt; therefore, until validated you know your information concerning this debt is inaccurate. Thus, if you have already reported this debt to any credit-reporting agency (CRA) or Credit Bureau (CB) then, you must immediately inform them of my dispute with this debt. Reporting information that you know to be inaccurate or failing to report information correctly violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act § 1681s-2. Should you pursue a judgment without validating this debt, I will inform the judge and request the case be dismissed based on your failure to comply with the FDCPA.
Finally, if you do not own this debt, I demand that you immediately send a copy of this dispute letter to the original creditor so they are also aware of my dispute with this debt.
They have five days to respond to your request for debt validation (VOD). If they refuse to comply and continue calling, send you dunning letters or attempt to get a judgment against you without first validating these alledged debt(s), they are in violation of another FDCPA law (Section 809). If they can't (or won't) provide proof that you legitimately own this debt, they get NOTHING. NO judge is even going to remotely consider awarding a judgment without PROOF that the debt is owed.
Do NOT ignore them! Even though you may never hear from Hosto and Buchan again, that phone call your secretary intercepted on June 30th may very well be an indication (as Bud Hibbs has stated above), that they have (or are) in the process of creating documents to ultimately obtain a judgment against you to collect on a debt that you may have NEVER owed to BEGIN with.
Bottom feeders rely on the ignorance of unsophisticated consumers to make their money. And, until (and IF) the FTC ever gets around to overhauling the outdated FDCPA laws to address the exploding debt buying industry and their deceptive (and often illegal) tactics they use to collect money they aren't entitled to, it is up to US to educate ourselves.
You're somewhat of an idiot to believe anything off Budd Hibb's website. Did you notice that he thinks EVERY debt collector is bad?? That he doesn't list a single company that does things right? It's because he knows fools like you will keep HIM in business as an 'expert' by slamming the people who are trying to COLLECT MONEY YOU OWE to them.
He's the Rush Limbaugh of trying to get people out of their obligations.
And what exactly is a 'bottome feeder' or 'junk paper' - if you SIGNED A CONTRACT SAYING YOU PAY BACK MONEY YOU BORROW, that contract isn't ever 'junk' - your signature may be 'junk', but morally you'll always owe the money. Legally, you'll owe it until the statute of limitations runs out in your state, then, if you move states, the debt could reemerge due to different statute of limitation laws.
You're an idiot yourself. Requesting validaiton is your federal right; it is not a means of getting out of your debt. Remember, the burden of proof is on them! What the other guy was trying to implicate is that debt collectors NEVER can prove you had a contract with anyone (with your signature). So your argument about a contract to make the other poster look stupid makes you look incompetent and doltish.