(this is a copy of a report I filed on another website)
These people, "TRS" if they are indeed who they claim to be, have harrassed me to the point of tears. They have called repeatedly over the last five days, and I have repeatedly told them the same thing:
I have no money. I WILL call you on Monday after I have looked through my bank statements and can figure out a payment plan.
They even called at 8:00 this morning (a Sunday), waking my two young children and behaving quite rudely. I was trying to get my kids to their school buses on time on Thursday; TRS stated that obviously I didn't care about the debt, otherwise I would drop what I was doing and immediately make a credit card payment right that second! I told them to stop calling me and hung up. Of course, they called again and again and again.
I can't seem to locate any information about this company's physical address, and I have yet to receive anything in the mail from them, although they claim to have sent a notice. I asked them to make a note in my file that I would be calling on Monday to make arrangements. They stated that their system is "not set up" to do that. It is designed only to collect money. And, apparently, to harrass and degrade the people who owe them.
If anyone has any information on TRS, I would appreciate having it. I have truly been driven out of my wits in a relatively short time. My intent is to report them to the BBB, the Washington State Attorney General, the FTC, and any other agency that will put a stop to their deplorable collection methods.
Thanks!
Addendum:
It has now been several weeks, and TRS continues to call between 3 and 6 times a day. They have now resorted to saying on my answering machine, "I need to talk to Miriam, please," and then waiting to see if I'll pick up. When I was willing to talk to them before, they consistently refused to work out a payment arrangement with me, and informed me that they "might" continue to attempt withdrawals from my bank account until the debt is paid. (a common fear-inducing collection tactic) The only "arrangement" they would make was to demand full payment plus their "processing" fee on each check. They were kind enough to offer to let me pay one check/fee at a time, to the tune of about $50 each for 2 checks - which I don't have.
My bank has advised me to close my old account and pursue legal action against Telecheck, despite the fact that my bank itself uses Telecheck's services. Clearly something is wrong here. These people have far too much power and control. As it stands now, I am unable to write a check pretty much anywhere in my local area. Obviously they don't care that I have 3 children to raise on my own, and they seem to believe I purposefully wrote bad checks (I didn't). As far as I can tell, TRS/Telecheck could care less whether we starve as long as they get their fees paid.
I will eventually pay them off, as soon as I'm able. In the meantime, I'm reduced to never answering my phone when it says "Unavailable" on the ID, unless I want to subject myself to more abusive language from them about how I don't care about my debt.
These people are fraudulent (they violated the law by never once stating that they are actually Telecheck, not TRS), abusive and are clearly on a power trip thanks to their incomprehensible good standing with the Better Business Bureau. If only I had the money I owe them; perhaps then I could afford to slap the class action lawsuit on them that they so richly deserve.
Miriam
Spokane, Washington
U.S.A.