Have received occasional calls from this # recently. Sometimes just appears on caller i.d., sometimes a rep. leaves a voice mail - indicating caller's name, the company (CRA), a spouting a "file" number of several digits and requesting a call back. Of course, I ignore completely. I was divorced several years ago, and had my attorney handle everything. Any debts, both then and now, were very few, all current, and small. Either they are calling me from mistaken identity, or it is possible my lawyer let some minor item “fall between the cracks,” but even if latter, if there WERE anything, it would be small, and way beyond any time period for legitimate collection. These folks buy old debt portfolios for a few ‘s ¢’s on the $’s, and then auto dial hundreds - even thousands - of calls, and a live rep. will get on-line if a live persona answers - then try to coax or threaten that individual to pay something. A couple of collections from many, many calls can be profitable. Apparently, when their live rep. gets on a line, other calls answered live will go untended, which is why nobody is there. Sometimes they make a call with live rep., who may leave a voice mail, as they did to me today. But whatever, ignore these weasels, because even if an item is old, or misidentified, giving them details, answering questions, etc. - I’m told - CAN result in possible restoration of collectibility, or at least, get you involved in a tiresome dialogue with them. So always ignore completely.
Thanks everyone for posting about this scam. I got a call at 8:45 from this number and when i answered it had me on hold telling me my call is very important to them. Immediately went to this site and found all this. Don't know who they are but i don't play these games, so if your this scammer reading this kiss my everlovin A** call me shorty and get a freakin real job ! ! !
Creepy pushy caller interrupted me in a mtg, and wouldn't cut to the chase and tell me the purpose of the call. Only offered nebulous words of 'letting me know what is going on about my case and documentation'. I have her one chance to tell me why she was calling. She mumbled something about federal law and my SSN, and did her caller id come across my phone.
I hung up. When she calls back, I will make her take me to her leader and will light him the [***] up.
This is CRA a third party that buys written off debts for pennies on the dollar then tries to collect the debt. Everytime you block them, they use another number to call you and they should be prosecuted for the number of harassing calls they make. I never return the calls, just block them.
I got a phone call on 02-08-2011 from a slightly different number. I wish I'd written it down now. The call came in around 8:38 AM....I'm one of those who looks at the time when the phone rings. A man asked for me by name. I said Yes, this is her. He hung up on me. I figured it to be a wrong number & let it go.
This morning, at the SAME EXACT TIME, I get a phone call from 864-674-8002 with UNKNOWN NAME as the caller id name. I figured it was for one of the surveys I do online. Occasionally, they will call me with follow up questions about a product I've tested for them like shampoo, conditioner, deodarant, cereal, oatmeal, etc. Boy was I wrong. This time, it was a lady who took the call after the automated computer voice told me to "Hold on. Your call is very important to us." She identified herself as Ms. Bramlett about an important matter. She said she was calling from CRA. She spoke very fast & I had to ask her several times to please slow down so that I could understand who she was & what she was calling about. I asked her to spell her last name. That's when she slipped up & said her name was Nikita Bramlett & spelled both names to me rapid fire. She asked if I could hold for about 30 seconds while she looked me up in her computer. I said no, not until you tell me again why you're calling & what it's about. She said she was calling from CRA, she rattled off the last 4 digits of my SSN & then put me on hold. I NEVER got to verify if the numbers were right to her. They were, BUT I hadn't said so to her at all.
About a minute later, a man gets on the phone, identifying himself as Richland Scott. He spoke rapid fire like Nikita did. I asked him three times to please speak slower & repeat his name to me. I was taking notes in a small spiral notebook by this time & wanted accurate info. He repeated his name, but this time, he told me his name was Richard Scott. So I said, Wait, I thought you said your name was Richland, not Richard. He said it's both. I thought WTF is he playing at, never speaking this out loud. He NEVER identified himself as a manager or supervisor. I asked if he was one, he skirted around my question by asking who I was, rattling off the last 4 of my SSN. I said you have her. What's this all about.
Richard, or Richland, said he was calling about my old account with Crate & Barrel. He said that I had stopped paying on the account as recent as last year & now needed to bring the account current. I replied that I'd never had an account with Crate & Barrel. He said he was going to file a 1099 form with the IRS & that I'd owe them $4,000-$5,000. I laughed & said you can't file such a document. I asked him if he even knew what a 1099 form really was with the IRS. He replied yes, it's a debt forget/forgiveness document. I laughed again & said No, it's not. Not in my state it's not that form. He asked where I lived & I said you have all the magic information. YOU tell ME what state. He gave me silence. I said in MY state, a 1099 form with the IRS is for game winnings from a game show, lottery/lotto, gambling winnings, or other sweepstakes winnings.
I got silence again. He then threatened to file the 1099 form. I said Go ahead. The IRS will deny your form & you'll be up that proverbial poop creek sans paddle. He asked what's Sans paddle. I laughed at him again & told him to look it up. I also said I'm disabled & your company can't collect from me or garnish my income. He said that's ok, was going to file the 1099 form. I said no you won't because I refuse to pay something I don't owe to begin with. I asked him to stop all phone calls from this point forward & that his company had to cease & desist with any further phone calls due to the Fair Crediting practices. Before I even finished that sentence, Richard/Richland had hung up on me.
I got online & found Crate & Barrel's info to call them about a credit card. Since I didn't have an account number, I had to use my SSN & the last 4 of my home phone number on their automated system. The first time, it said it wasn't valid & to try again. On the second try, I got transferred to their automated hold info. My call was next in line & an agent would be with me shortly. After listening to their hold music for a few minutes, a woman by the name of Natasha took my call. She pronounced it Nuh-tay-sha, but spelled it Natasha. She looked me up in the computer with my SSN & home phone number. Nothing was there. She asked if the account was more than 2 years old. I said I've never had an account with your company & told her a little bit of what was going on. She reminded me not to pay a debt that I didn't owe.
I got onto Yahoo's search about CRA. That's when I found this site & few others with complaints against them. Here's what I found either on this site or others:
CRA aka Consumer Recover Associates aka Consumer Recovery Associates
2697 International Parkway
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
CRA Collections Inc
1150 Lancaster Boulevard
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
A few are disconnected. A few are real numbers. I don't remember which ones are which, so take your pick when calling them back.
Advice for calls from CRA & their employees:
Do NOT let them scare you.
Do NOT let them tell you that you owe a phantom/zombie debt.
Do NOT let them tell you that they will debit your checking, savings or other bank account(s). They can't without you giving up that info. Do NOT provide it to them at all.
Do NOT let them intimidate you with IRS threats. The threats are empty & have no merit.
Be polite when you deal with them. Laughing at them for the wrong info will get them to back down, either with a silent response or more misinformation.
Do NOT give them your whole SSN. Ask THEM to rattle off the last 4 of your SSN to you. Do NOT give them your last 4 of your SSN. If they have it, it's THEIR job to verify it with you. Not you verify it with them.
Take notes during any & all phone calls from CRA.
Use a sprial notebook or other notepad of paper to keep track of the call(s). Ask for the name of the person who gets onto the phone after the automated computer voice. If they talk fast, ask them to please slow down. Ask them to spell their last name, even if it sounds familiar, like Green, Brown, White, Smith, Jones, etc. Do NOT tell them you're taking notes. If they ask why you need the info, tell them you want to make sure of who you're talking to. The minute they know you're taking notes, they'll hang up on you.
After I spoke to Crate & Barrel, I called CRA back. I found a working number to call them back on. It's one of the list above. I spoke to a guy who identified himself as Steve. He refused to give me a last name. Fine. I didn't care. I told him why I was calling & wanted more information about why CRA had called me to begin with. He went off on me, telling me that I was a lousy consumer for allowing my Crate & Barrel account to go behind. I interrupted him & said I had no such account. He paused so I jumped in & told him that I'd spoken to Crate & Barrel's credit card department. C & B had told me they had no old or new info about me in their computer system. More silence from Steve. I told him that I didn't want any more phone calls from CRA or any of its employees. I asked for an address to send a statement in stating this & got hung up on.
CRA & its employees are rude, insensitive & practice bad business practices.
I too have gotten repeated call from CRA. My cure was to have that particular number transfered to an exchange (if you have Magic Jack, it works great for this) immediately upon connecting to my home phone. I then set the Magic Jack to send this number immediately to voice mail. Then periodically all I need to to is check email and delete anything sent by CRA. ( and no if you were wondering, I do not need to open them or listen to them).