Company started calling a few weeks ago. Almost gave them my credit card until I did some research. The company has no 800 number. They answer the phone "Hello" instead of company name. The guy on the other head told me "have a good one" when they hung up. Very unprofessional. Kept telling me they would send confirmation emails to me. Never got them. Half the agents sound untrained. No listing with BBB or Chamber of Commerce for the area the number comes out of. Their website is done by Google Sites and has really no information. Google map of the only address I could find puts them in an apartment complex.
Thoughts: The company is either not a company or a really badly done start up.
Company started calling a few weeks ago. Almost gave them my credit card until I did some research. The company has no 800 number. They answer the phone "Hello" instead of company name. The guy on the other head told me "have a good one" when they hung up. Very unprofessional. Kept telling me they would send confirmation emails to me. Never got them. Half the agents sound untrained. No listing with BBB or Chamber of Commerce for the area the number comes out of. Their website is done by Google Sites and has really no information. Google map of the only address I could find puts them in an apartment complex.
Thoughts: The company is either not a company or a really badly done start up.
This number called me for the first time today. A man left me a voicemail saying that his name was William Bailey and that he was calling me about a judgment that was about to be entered against me in my home county. He left a number as well (866-275-3160 ext. 303) and recommended that I or my legal representative call as soon as possible. I called the 866 number from an anonymous number on mute, and the same guy answered the general number with the greeting "Richmond Acquisitions Corporation."
hmmm .... Kinda hard to get a judgment without an actual civil complaint filing. Mel, I would bet my rent for the year this Bailey clown didn't give any required mini-Miranda in the initial call ("this is from a debt collector", etc) and your name appears nowhere on the local court calendar. Save and copy that voice message, and document all subsequent calls. If this bunch is as sloppy as NGH reported in April, you may gather plenty more FDCPA violations to sue over.
Learn how to exercise your rights as an alleged debtor at FTC-dot-gov.
Resident47 - thanks for your tips. Geez, a couple of rough years in a tough economy, and we're back to the 1800's with debtors prison and hyper-aggressive collection agents...
Legit collectors per section 809 of the FDCPA http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf *must* tell you at initial contact, or send you paperwork within 5 days of initial contact, the following:
1. $amount of debt,
2. name of the current creditor (which may differ from the original creditor who might have sold your debt),
3. a statement that that debt will be assumed to be valid unless you dispute in writing within 30 days,
4. a statement that that if you do dispute in writing within 30 days, the collector must mail you written verification of the debt,
5. a statement that if you ask the collector in writing within 30 days, the collector must send you the name and address of the original creditor if it's different from the current creditor.
If you don't get the 5 disclosures, orally or in writing (you do not have to ask for it, the FDCPA requires it), treat the collector like you would any SCAMMER. Scammers are using bought/hacked loan application data to extort payments for fictitious debts from victims and victims' families and friends.
The FBI warns about payday loan extortion scams here http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/paydayloanscam_120710
The BBB has issued several alerts on this scam, just google "bbb.org alert phony debt collector"
Report to the Internet Crime Complaint Center http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx , the Federal Communications Commission http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm , the Federal Trade Commission https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ and your state AG, as appropriate.