Alliance One ripoff deceptive practices and harrassment Mendota Heights, Minnesota

In response to threating phone calls. Creditors can and will sue you. What you debtors fail to realize is that you had a payment arrangement and defaulted what in the world makes you think a creditor will accept another payment arrangement when you get to collections. That's just not smart. And to all the people who think they know the laws check again. IT IS NOT AGAINST THE LAW TO CALL RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS. It is mearly a tatic used to get debtors to call in and clearly it works. So to make a long story short if you cant pay your bills file bankrupt that saves bill collectors a lot of time spent calling you and then you don't have to hear from us. And stop opening credit cards and charging nice dinners and hotel rooms and clothes and tv's and whatever other luxury you buy then when something bad happens you won't be in this situation.

Collectors can only call third parties in an attempt to locate the debtor, can call an employer only to verify employment and get information as to where to serve garnishments (if applicable)..information regarding the debt CANNOT BE DISCLOSED TO THIRD PARTIES (other than a spouse). You are a prime example that the collection agencies do not properly train their employees about the FDCPA and the collectors don't give a damn about following laws, just getting their 15-25%, ethics and legalities be damned.

One good thing is that consumers are getting educated and fighting back, taking legal action against collection agencies who break the law.

Steve, send these people a "cease and desist" letter, stating that you will not deal with a collection agency and will deal with the creditor directly. Emphasize that you are not to be contacted by telephone (at home or at work) and you are not to be contacted through third parties. A really good cease and desist letter can be found on budhibbs.com.

Good luck.

WRONG SHERRI --- if you could read I never said that I disclose information I simply leave my name and number with a third party in hopes that the third party will pass it along and 99% of the time it works.

I get angry debtors, such as yourself, calling and and screaming that I can't call their relatives when in fact I can so get YOUR facts straight. And I can call a debtor's place of employment until ceased so cleary YOU do not know the FDCPA. Have a wonderful day!

AND a college education..therefore, I can read:

b) COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES. Except as provided in section 804, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.

Perhaps you should get a little more education and get a REAL job, instead of trying to line the pockets of the bottom-feeders.

Steve, get a tape recorder, put the phone on speaker, tell the collector that the conversation IS being taped by you. You might check your state laws to see if you can tape without telling the other party. If you can, then do it. Then contact CITI and tell them you will work out a payment plan with THEM and not with a collection agency. Once you have that agreement in place, tell the collection agency to take a hike. Good luck.

Bill Collectors can call 3rd parties so stop wasting your time trying to prove me wrong. Bill collectors always have and always will call 3rd parties so get used to it. And pay your bills! Have a wonderful day!

Consumers are fighting back over the past several years and not taking the crap the bottomfeeders would like for them to do. And when collectors take the attitude you take about following the laws, we will see more and more stories like this one below..get an adult to read it to you, sweetie:

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2000 -- North American Capital Corporation (NACC) has agreed to pay a $250,000 civil penalty as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission to resolve allegations that it violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when attempting to collect delinquent consumer credit accounts. According to the FTC, the company's debt collectors made impermissible third party contacts regarding consumers' debts, such as to the consumers' employers and co-workers; harassed consumers by using obscene or profane language; and made false and misleading representations, such as that the consumers' wages would be garnished and their property seized.

In addition to the civil penalty, the proposed consent decree to settle the FTC charges includes broad prohibitions on future FDCPA violations, and would require NACC to inform consumers it contacts in writing that they may stop the company from contacting them about the debt.

In effect since March 1978, the FDCPA prohibits abusive, deceptive and unfair debt collection practices. For example, in an effort to collect a debt, collectors may not make false statements, use obscene or profane language, threaten to take legal action they cannot or do not intend to take, call consumers at work if they know it is inconvenient or not permitted by the employer, or call consumers at other times they know to be inconvenient to the consumer, such as before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.

According to the FTC's complaint detailing the charges, when attempting to collect debts NACC repeatedly violated the FDCPA by:

* communicating with third parties about consumers' debts without consumers' consent, for purposes other than acquiring location information about consumers;

* using obscene, profane, or abusive language;

* falsely implying that failure to pay the debt could result in arrest, imprisonment, or garnishment of wages; and

* threatening to take action -- such as threatening to refer the matter for criminal prosecution -- when the company did not intend to do so.

The proposed consent decree to settle the allegations, in addition to requiring the $250,000 civil penalty, would prohibit the Buffalo, New York-based company from violating any provisions of the FDCPA in the future. Further, when attempting to collect debts, NACC must include the following disclosure in all written correspondence with a consumer concerning the delinquent account:

"This company must comply with a Federal law that provides consumers with certain rights. One of these is the right to have us stop communicating with you about this debt. If you write to us and ask us to stop communicating with you about this debt, we will. But if you owe this debt, you will still owe it and the debt may still be collected from you. If you have any concerns with the way we are collecting this debt, write to our CONTACT CENTER, [current address] or call us toll-free at 1-800- [current phone number] between 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time and 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time Monday - Friday."

The proposed settlement also would require the defendants to provide a notice to each of its present and future employees involved in the collection of debts, and to obtain and retain from those employees a signed statement acknowledging receipt of the notice. The notice would state:

Debt collectors must comply with the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which limits our activities in trying to collect money from consumers. Most importantly, Section 806 of the Act prohibits you from harassing, oppressing, or abusing a person, including, but not limited to, using obscene or profane language. In addition, Section 807 of the Act prohibits you from using false, deceptive or misleading representations. Individual debt collectors may be financially liable for their violations of the Act.

Finally, the consent decree contains a number of reporting and record keeping requirements that will assist the FTC in monitoring compliance with the terms of the settlement.

I DO pay my bills. I will be able to retire at 55.
And you?

Any third party who receives a call from a collection agency needs to tell them never to call again and if they do call again, file in small claims court. Report them to the appropriate agencies, including the police department and the District Attorney's office (in your county/state and in the collection agencies county/state) if they continue to call. And we COULD all feel sorry for Amber. She most likely can't get a job anywhere else. It is obvious from the reports on this site regarding most collection agencies that you don't have to have a high level of intelligence to work at one.

I'm 20 years old and a home owner I make over 50k a year depending on commisions and have a credit score over 800 if you really need to know. And you still must not be seeing clearly because in your cute little article you copied and pasted it doesnt say anywhere that you cant call 3rd parties all it says is you can't abuse them which I don't do. However, there are collectors that do. So, I will say one last time. Bill collectors can call 3rd parties to correct and or comfirm the location of the debtor and leave message for the debtor. So get over yourself or get a therapist because clearly you are a little insecure since you feel the need to prove yourself to me and the rest of the people that read this. Have a wonderful day!

Boy, you make a whole $50k a year! So what. Drug dealers do way better and do it just as legally as you. Try prostitution, or does screwing only one person at a time not suit you?

By the way, I pay all my bills, earn three times what you steal, and can still sleep at night knowing that if I died right now, I wouldn't go to hell.

Oh, just incase you need this pointed out to you, just because something is being done, does not mean that it is legal. Sheri is absolutely correct in everything she stated. You are an arrogant, small time hustler. One day you will pick the wrong fight, screw with the wrong person, and get what is yours.

Have a nice life, scumbag.

Dear Everyone:

My name is Tom . I am a debt collector. I started my first job as a collector on April 15th 1988. I have worked in the field now for 16 (and counting) years.

Lets get real here. First of all, whether or not your beacon score is 800 or 500 - it doesnt make you more or less of a human being. All of this finger pointing back and forth becomes more and more personal -and has NOTHING to do with what is really important.

The guy owes money. So what? The reason the collector is calling is because you legally owe money. The collector wants you to pay because she needs to hit a quota of money collected to keep her job. Collectors are under extreme pressure to produce.If they dont hit their quota on a regular basis -they are fired. It was and always will be the way it is.

Sometimes collectors are calling because they have hit their quota and any money over that is $$$$ money in their pocket in the form on commission -thus her claim of making $50 k per year ( exceptionally good for a 20 year old collector)

This may shed some light on why the pressure from the collector to pay right $#%^^$$ now!!!!!

Threats from collectors come from these reasons:

Collectors make about 120 calls per 8 hr shift - and contact perhaps 10 people a day. The other calls are to ans machines -screening spouses and secretaries at work -no answers , buzy signals and of course the not in service numbers. It is aggravating to say the least all the calls -until you actually get to talk to a debtor!!!

So when the collector finally gets someone on the phone -they had better make it count!! who knows when it will be before they get them on the phone again!

The threats -the innuendo of court action -garnishment proceedings -seizure of assets -blah blah blah .....are all an attempt to get you to pay your freakin bill -and add to their monthy total so they can keep their jobs. If they cant get anyone to pay -they cant get their quota.

The sad reality is that no collector has the power to make anyone pay a bill. Its all just a sales job and a mind game. The only person who can 'force' you to pay a bill is a Judge. Not your employer -neighbour or anyone else.

Nobody can be garnished without first going to court and getting a judgement against them. So a collector says they are going to garnish you - they are in breach of the FTCPA . that would be a hostile act. They cant get around it either saying they are going to sue either -cause collectors dont sue anyone. If the balance warrants it -they can tell you that they are going to RECOMMEND legal action and forward out the account. Collectors arent lawyers so they cant personally take you to court. Further to this , the collector must have reasonable knowledge that the company does in fact sue for the amount -or they are threatening action they dont have intention of taking and is also a breach of the FTCPA. If challenged, the company would have to provide evidence that they in fact do sue over balances such as yours and have case law to back it up.

As for calling 3rd parties such as co workers and relatives? - The collector can call anyone they wish if they have reasonable cause as to find out where you are etc -however ..........

If you want a real quick ticket to a class action lawsuit............
Collectors sometimes lose sight of the fact that third parties have nothing to do with the debt. They have no signed agreement -no debt with the company and didnt solicit the call. The collector can call -but simply tape record the conversation -because 3rd party disclosure is a MAJOR breach of FTCPA and several lawsuits have been brought and won over the years. And let me say that almost all collectors at some time do in fact let slip 3rd party disclosure.

We all claim for the 'record' to follow all the legal rules -but if we in fact did follow the rules every day - NOBODY WOULD EVER HIT THEIR QUOTA. That is the double standard of employers of the collectors. So the employers turn a 'blind eye' -and ear!! to 'imbellishments' of the rules. The collectors 'push the envelope' constantly. Its a fine balance. Until someone gets sued of course!!!

The third party can tell the collector to get lost and dont call again . If the collector or anyone from the company ever calls again -they are in deep crap. None of this 'verifying employment ' bs . If they are told not to call by the business - they cannot call for any reason even if the debtor wants them to.

Collectors cannot call you 20 times per day. Once a day is the standard rule with direct contact. Ans machines dont count as direct contact.

But here is the major point i want to make. If you owe a debt -pay your god damn debt-or make resonable arrangement . Creditors may understand your follies -but are not responisible for your problems -so dont use it as an exuse for why :

you havent made a payment in 100 years -not even $10 bucks!!!

you never bother to call your creditors to explain or update them -u just hang them out to dry

We as collectors call you at work -but you claim you have no money at all (??). Nor have you had any since Christ was here so you havent paid a cent on your bill in eons.

We know its a load of bs. I think many debtors dont THINK they can pay -mainly cause it would make the poor babies take a cut in their LIFESTYLE . But sometimes its true they are cutting close to the bone -but if the debtor is not offering anything at all or $10 per month -it is always bullshit and they dont want to pay cause they are selfish and could care less. They just wanted the free money or service. If it were true they owe so many people they cant pay you -thats their fault -and furthermore should be declaring bankrupt instead of just blowing the creditor off. But it costs money to go bankrupt so be lazy and just blow the creditor off just like you have been doing all along right? no need for chpt 7 or 13 fees -just blow the creditor off.

When i talk to people like this - who want to whine and say 'I didnt get a bill' or talk about how hard done by they are -this is how i respond:

I hope your employer comes to you on payday and says :

sorry - i cant pay you - my dog ate your paycheck and furthmore its 'in the mail' . Furthermore i hope your employer goes on for half an hour about HIS personal problems and its your job to understand . I hope he then promises over and over about nothing -cant talk to you about ACTUALLY PAYING YOU -because he is at work right now -and your being mean for even asking him to pay you !!!!

It would serve you right. I hope your employer rips you off blind. I wouldnt shed a tear

remember:

you personal problems or situation that led you to be a debtor have nothing to do with the creditor so stop using it as an exuse not to pay your bill. The only reason why a collector will be calling you is because your debt is way way way overdue - and in breach of contract -nd you have ALREADY been given slack and consideration for your problems.So dont pull the same crap yet again .

Trust me : as a collector -if u dont want to pay your bill -tell the collector right away -so that they can move on to someone who actually cares about the fact they racked up the debt.

Either the company will sue you or let it rot on your credit bureau. You have the right to tell the collector or any creditor never to contact you again in any way. You must do this in writing and i suggest registered mail or notarized and faxed thru a law office.

By the way -make sure you state on your cease and desist letter that it include ANY FUTURE CREDITOR WHO MAY BUY THE DEBT AS WELL. This way when they sell it and the 'new' creditor contacts you -you have an automatic lawsuit.

In short :

when a collector calls -pay your bill or make arrrangements to pay. Record the calls. If u dont feel like paying -get a cease and desist letter to the creditor and or collection agency faxed or otherwize notorized. The rest means nothing at all.

tom

gahanna ohio

In December 2004 an Alliance One Receivable Management collection agent named “Andrew” began calling a debtors brother, sister, ex wife, mother, father and myself. The collection agent already had the debtors contact information. The collector got into abusive arguments with the family members, telling them that he would call back until the debtor paid the bill or made contact with the agent. The agent laughed at the “rise” he was getting from me, encouraging me, goading me to complain saying that complaints meant nothing.

I am married to the debtors former wife. In December 2004 I filed written complaints with the Minnesota Attorney General, the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Alliance One, and Alliance One's client, the Providian bank. The complaints included signed statements from other family members. The complaints detailed the collectors abusive statements and tactics.

In January I filed a complaint with the debt collectors trade association, ACA, and wrote to a local journalist.

All of these groups responded to my complaints with multiple letters. The MN Attorney General and the Providian bank took this issue very seriously. Even the ACA returned a letter.

This activity is illegal. If not, then why was I able to generate a response like this?

Amber, you are spinning your industry and either very wrong about MN law or you are trying to discourage uninformed people from complaining. Shame on you and Alliance One for trying to deny the consumers of Minnesota their rights by using a public forum like this.

It always amazes me to see what people believe they are entitled to. According to the FDCPA and MN law you are entitled to privacy. That means a collector can not reveal any info about the debt to anyone but the debtor or their spouse. That doesn't mean that a collector can't call 3rd parties for info. If someone sees this as Harrassment they are sorely mistaken.

But abuse by a collector in regards to 3rd party disclosure or excessive phone calls to 3rd parties can and does happen and needs to be punished.

Everyone always sees themselves as the injured party. Everyone says they should be the exception to the rule. That my word on a contract means nothing. Most debtors that feel injured be these practices are the first to bug "Friend A" or "Cousin b" when they don't pay back the small loan the debtor gave them. In reality it is easier for debtors to be injured and insulted than to acknowledge and pay a debt.
Simply put. Debtors no matter how they feel their situation is, have Stolen money from a credit card company.

If you went to Blockbuster and rented a movie, you are expected to return it by a certain date. If you don't you are assessed Late fees. If you keep the movie and don't return it cuz you are sick, lost your job, your mother/whole family is sick, whatever your sob story is, the company no longer has the asset. Isn't that stealing?Wouldn't anyone out there who loaned something to another consider this stealing? If you were the one loaning it out you'd be red faced and spitting acid trying to get it back. You can call us Scumbags, Lowlifes, whatever, but when YOU signed the contract YOU opened youself to these problems. You put yourself in this position. Not any bill collector. Don't blame people Like Amber and Ted for reminding you that YOU failed to keep your side of the contract.

And by the way, for you smarties out there. Most people that are 20 don't make $50k a year. I'd be proud of my daughter if she was making that much money at 20. Being a Collector gives you as much life experience in 1 year than any 2-3 years somewhere else. I was a bill Collector for 6 years. In that time period i earned a net $800k.

After Burnin-out i went on to open a cabinet shop where every ounce of my collector experience was used trying to keep the biz afloat. After a year of that i got my Contractor's Lic. and am now in the seven figure a year category. The only reason for any of this is that i put my time in as a collector.

Collectors usually have the last laugh. Cuz at the end of the day we go home to our families and debtors will still have a bill to pay.

It is good for consumers to know that they do have rights under the FDCPA and they should pursue them against abrasive debt collectors. A quick and simple means of putting a stop to the daily calls that debt collectors make really is to pay your bills in the first place. A factor I'm sure everyone knows.

The other quick and simple means of putting a stop to the daily calls that debt collectors make is to send them a cease and desist letter by certified mail with return receipt. There are multiple formats of cease and desist letters to be found online and in books. Most people however are unaware that by sending a cease and desist letter to a debt collector that collector must cease attempts at contacting you further. They are allowed at least one more attempt at contacting you after receiving your letter and it's generally to inform you that they have the letter and what they intend to do. After that any further contact is against the law and your return receipt is legal proof that they received your cease and desist letter.

I've read through responses here and the berations of current/former collectors is amusing. They seem to take it as though they have some license to berate debtors... as though you personally owed them the debt and so they are justified in being abusive on the phone (as so many are). The fact is debt collection companies buy your account info. from the original creditor often at a third or a fourth the value of the full debt. They then attempt to get their money back by pressing the debtor to pay them the full debt. So you can see where the profit lies for a debt collection company, spend $2,000 or less to get an account where $6,000 is owed and you stand to make a nice chunk of profit.

As for claims made here that debtors have just stolen from the creditor, that's fallacy. We actually do have a legal system and true thefts can be taken to court. That is if a creditor deems to do so but many choose not to bother depending on the debt because it would cost too much money to pursue. However, they'd still like to make some money on the delinquent account and so enter ...the debt collection companies. Your creditor can, with no notice to you, sell off your info. to a collector and wipe their hands of it (ie. writeoff).

Some creditors actually do have an internal collection arm that cannot be dismissed with a cease and desist because essentially you're still dealing with the creditor to whom you originated the debt and to whom you truly owe it. You'll notice whether or not you're still dealing with the original creditor by looking for where your payment is to be sent. If it's not your creditors address listed you are dealing with a collector and by law you are NOT required to deal with debt collectors no matter what they say to the contrary.

I have used cease and desist letters against abrasive collectors and every one of them did cease further contact. It works but only if you use it. Rightly, you should pay your debt to your original creditor but if that creditor has written it off as a bad debt and accepted a fractional payment on the debt from a collector to whom they pass your account info... the creditor is really no longer owed. They've closed their books when they accept a collector's payment to get your account and are done with you. Just because the collector bought the account does not entitle them to anything but they sure do like to make it seem that way don't they?

Yes, I know who you are and where you live. It's all public record because you have to be licensed by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Any "idiot" can look at that information. To anyone being harrassed by this lady at your home, take this information and do with as you will.

Amber Peterson
7430 W 128th St. #203
Apple Valley, MN 55124
License# 20481046

Plus, if you live in Minnesota and want to report harrassment, please call the Minnesota Department of Commerce or get on their web site. I spoke with them the other day and they told me that three branchs of this same company were fined $70,000 in an adminstrative action for violations of the FDCPA. I, Amber, have a college degree as a paralegal, what do you have if your so smart?

In December of 2004 I recieved a message on my answering machine from a guy named Darren, who claimed he was from an "Attorney's Office," and that it was urgent I called him immediately, so I called him up.

He claimed that he was calling on behalf of an attorney's office and that I owed 800 dollars on a defaulted credit card. I told him the following: "Since you are communicating with me from an attorney's office, I am going to exercise my right to speak with a lawyer and I shall get back to you after I understand my rights." He got a little pissed off that I was going to speak with a lawyer, but I have that right, so I went to talk to an attorney.

The attorney simply told me to tape record the conversation, and to ask for proof of the debt. Once my lawyer had validation of the debt, he would determine if I should pay, or whether I should tell the scum sucker...ERRR debt collector to F-off.

I went home and called this "attorney's office" and spoke to the scum sucker ERRRR collector about the debt and told him the following: "I am going to record this conversation and forward the tape to my attorney." He consented, so I turned on the recorder. The collector began to speak, and I started mumbling racist comments to him. (Telling someone a racist comment is not illegal) He told me to refrain from making such comments about him. I continued to call him names and I made derogatory comments about his race, his manhood, and the fact that he spoke in slang. He again told me to stop. I said the following to him: "What are you going to do about it, you vile human being?" He told me: "I will come to your house and kill you." Of course I had it all on tape, so I told him: "you know i recorded all of this? I am now going to sue you" He profusely apologized, but I had his threat on tape.

I sued the collection agency because of my evidence I had on tape, and won. I won a judgement of $5000, and all negative information had to be removed.

I recommend you try that with all collection agencies that call you, because most people who work for collection agencies are lowlives and uneducated people.

I hope someone can answer for me. My husband's ex wife has so mant debt collectors calling us that I am so frustrated from five years of calls. Neither of our phone numbers was a valid number at this address when she lived here. I have asked the collectors time and time again how they got our number since it wasn't the number here until after she moved out over six years ago. Some say it's the number she gave when she got the credit and some say Bell South gave them the number. Bell South denies ever doing this. Some of them have our number and her mother's address which is in a town 45 minutes away. The calls from collectors come as a recorded message asking that the call be returned and most of the time the caller ID says "private number". When I call the number back, they will not tell me who they are because I'm not the person that has the debt. I give them her number (I know she hates that!) and they say they will never call again and then a week or so later, they call back and the person says it's their first time to call about the file. How in the world can I make these people stop calling if I don't know who they are!!!! One of the times, I did actually find out who the debtor was because the man who answered when i returned the recording's call simply as if I was "Mrs. Plank" and I said yes I was which was the truth. After asking me some questions about a car loan and starting to sound very frsutrated, he asked if I was Rebecca and I said no I am not and told him he hadn't asked if I was Rebecca, he had asked if I was Mrs. Plank. He hung up on my so fast it was almost funny. Bottom line is I want these calls to STOP yet they only stop for a short period of time until a new person takes over the file. Do I have the right to know who is calling me so I can take action if they keep calling after I say stop?

has the debt to pay but there are those of us that don't give a crap either way like myself yet I have had to deal with a woman's debt's that hasn't lived here in over six years and, in my opinion, HAS made debts she never intended to pay which to me is fraud and a criminal act. She even took out two phones in my husband's name and didn't make one payment on either. We found out about one when OUR phones got cut off because of her non-payment and we found out about the other by finding the collection agency on my husband's credit report. We filed a police report and here we are almost two years later and they have not arrested her. Identity theft IS a crime yet they don't seem to care over a small amount involving an ex-spouse. I am FED UP with collection agencies calling thinking she lives here. I am FED UP with telling them to stop calling and they don't stop. I am FED UP with the fact that they won't tell me who they are so I have proof when they call time and time again. How do I know they're calling back? Certain info from them tells me it's the same people. I also keep detailed logs of what number called, what the file number is they're calling about as well as the name of the person I speak with and the time and date of the call. Most of the time, *69 says it can not give me the number. I think I will blow a whistle into the phone the next time a collector calls for her. I've been here over 5 years and it's time for this crap to stop. If I don't return the call, the recorded call keeps coming over and over so not returning the call isn't an option.

This whole thing is rediculous many of you are totally talking about two different things here. You are mixing up 3rd party disclosure with just trying to find a debtor through a third party. They are different.
The main reason I felt the need to post is that 2 of you disgust me.

Amy. Posting somebody's private information here is terrible. How dare you?! You ought to be ashamed of yourself for this. I know that if i were to find your personaly information and adress..and if i posted it here, you would be barking lawsuit at me. Hypocrite.

And Raja, you nasty racist. I don't know how you sleep at night. Granted, the person shouldn't have threatened you, but you provoked him. If i was a judge I would consider what you did a hate crime. I'm sure you don't care and have no trouble sleeping at night. But I hope one day you meet one of the very people you discriminate against and get what you deserve.

This is for "Monopolyman" the alleged professional know it all debt collector / bottomfeeder.

Are you just hitting every collections post without looking at the report date or relevance?

This report you just responded to is almost 4 years old and the last update was 2.5 years ago!!

And, just for the record to clarify the point that was never clarified in all of this jibberish. AS PER THE FDCPA: A debt collector can only contact a third party for the purpose of determining the whereabouts of that debtor. This is limited to 1 contact each in most cases. And, the collector cannot in any way indicate they are calling about a debt or debt collections. That is the law. And, some state laws even tighten up those requirements.

Here is the jibberish that "monopolyman" wrote / responded to:
Submitted: 9/13/2005 12:28:05 PM
Modified: 9/13/2005 12:28:05 PM Donna
Walker, Louisiana
U.S.A.

Hey Brad... It's nice that you have the last laugh and the debtor still......
has the debt to pay but there are those of us that don't give a crap either way like myself yet I have had to deal with a woman's debt's that hasn't lived here in over six years and, in my opinion, HAS made debts she never intended to pay which to me is fraud and a criminal act. She even took out two phones in my husband's name and didn't make one payment on either. We found out about one when OUR phones got cut off because of her non-payment and we found out about the other by finding the collection agency on my husband's credit report. We filed a police report and here we are almost two years later and they have not arrested her. Identity theft IS a crime yet they don't seem to care over a small amount involving an ex-spouse. I am FED UP with collection agencies calling thinking she lives here. I am FED UP with telling them to stop calling and they don't stop. I am FED UP with the fact that they won't tell me who they are so I have proof when they call time and time again. How do I know they're calling back? Certain info from them tells me it's the same people. I also keep detailed logs of what number called, what the file number is they're calling about as well as the name of the person I speak with and the time and date of the call. Most of the time, *69 says it can not give me the number. I think I will blow a whistle into the phone the next time a collector calls for her. I've been here over 5 years and it's time for this crap to stop. If I don't return the call, the recorded call keeps coming over and over so not returning the call isn't an option.

Submitted: 3/5/2008 5:46:06 PM
Modified: 3/5/2008 10:01:40 PM Monopolyman
Maplewood, Minnesota
U.S.A.

This is rediculous.
This whole thing is rediculous many of you are totally talking about two different things here. You are mixing up 3rd party disclosure with just trying to find a debtor through a third party. They are different.
The main reason I felt the need to post is that 2 of you disgust me.

Amy. Posting somebody's private information here is terrible. How dare you?! You ought to be ashamed of yourself for this. I know that if i were to find your personaly information and adress..and if i posted it here, you would be barking lawsuit at me. Hypocrite.

And Raja, you nasty racist. I don't know how you sleep at night. Granted, the person shouldn't have threatened you, but you provoked him. If i was a judge I would consider what you did a hate crime. I'm sure you don't care and have no trouble sleeping at night. But I hope one day you meet one of the very people you discriminate against and get what you deserve.

Monopolyman,

Where did you get your formal education, because you spell worse than my newborn child. You probably went to some high school that couldn't afford to hire proper teachers and got textbooks from the childrens section at a bookstore.

I am sick of people saying that not paying a credit card debt is theft. It is not theft, it's what makes America great. Imagine a country where you can get a loan for thousands of dollars without securing property, and then buying all the stuff you want, and never having to pay a bill.

Then, when a collector calls you, just goad him or her into saying something threatening or illegal, and if you have it on tape, you can sue! I've done it before, and I'll do it over and over again.

Next time you lowlife collectors call a debtor who defaulted on a debt, don't blame them for being a deadbeat. Blame the bank for giving him a loan based on his SSN and not his character.

Anyways, back to Monopolyman, you are probably as smart as an embryo, so I'll spell this out in terms you'll understand. Collectors like you are scum, and stupid, but you already knew that. I don't care about screwing a bank over, because that's all banks do.

I had filed a complaint with the FTC, for these above mentioned issues, and to make a long story short, WON! I had actually forgot about this matter other than I had come to this web site to file a new complaint aginst Classmates.com for taking money from my account without authorization, (This I just won too)and remembered my original complaint. I actually feel sorry for Amber, she will have a hard wake up call someday, and realize what a bitch she really is. Oh, and Amber should you read this, dont even bother replying. dont waste your time, I really do not care what you have to say! I actually have one debit in collections, and surprisingly, they set up very reasonable payments, and have been nothing but nice to me, infact I got into a conversation with the guy about cars, and were ended up BSing for 30 minutes after I made my arraingements. They were nothing but professional, and NEVER threatened me, even when I couldnt pay the first time. I told him when to call me back, and I was true to my word. Now they call me, though the original guy is no longer with the agency, once every 3 months to make sure everything is ok and get my permission to continue with the payments. They actually seem as though they care, THIS makes me WANT to pay, and I DO. So to all you collectors out there, use a little sugar rather than vinagar.

Alliance one taught me one thing, how to beat collectors at their game! I dont use these tactics to beat debits, I DO pay, however, I have won several times after when I was on hard times. Needless to say, there are 3 unemployes collectors out there thanks to me. One thing I had happen, and I laughed for days over this one, some indian guy called me about a debit, he kept asking me if i refuse to pay the debit, I said I DO NOT refuse to pay, I am unable to pay at this time, and then would talk about the weather, he was getting mad and again asked me if I was refusing to pay and I again repeted the same responce, and then again went on about the weather, after about 10 times back and forth, he gave up and hung up. 2 days later the same collector called me back and again we went through the same dialog, needless to say, I never heard back from him again. he, I am sure was recording the conversation hoping that I would refuse. I created the debit, I will in time pay the debit and fees occured, it was my doing not theirs, they are just doing their jobs, but when they are understanding and treat me with respect, as some have, they get immeadate results.

The results: in short,

1. All debits paid were paid to the original debitor, not the collection agency in full, other than those that were respectful towards me, they were paid directly, and recieved their commissions.

2. I learned a lot about the laws of collection, and help out others, and have fun doing it.

3. Don't mess with the informed consumer, we as I are becoming smarter every day and win every day

4. We understand we made the debits, with hard times some are unable to pay as opposed to unwilling. understand that!

5.  To those unwilling few, pay your debits, you made them as I did. It is your responsibility to pay, not theirs. Even if it is $10 a month as a show of faith, send it along with an explaination. Should they refuse to except your good faith payment, than shame on them, should you refuse to make even a good faith payment, than shame on you. The system is there to help those that are on hard times, not those whom want something for nothing. Sooner or later, you will have to pay, one way or another.

I have once again fallen on hard times, but this time is different, I have very little debit, and no collection calls. I was able to weather this hard time, this time. All thanks to Alliance one, for making me become a well informed consumer.

In closing, if you can't pay tell the collector you are unable to pay at this time, leave it at that, they have heard it all. Never refuse to pay! When you can, make good on your debit, after all it is YOUR debit. if you are a true deadbeat, than shame on you! You are the reason those of us that actually want to pay, have these issues. live within your means, it DOES make life less stressful. if you think that you have to have that latest gadget, or fancy car, to impress a friend, than that friend is not a TRUE friend. They really don't care about you, only themselves.

 

My Advice To Everyone On This Post Thread... Is IF You Do Not Like The Way Things Are Being Done In Business Today Write A Detailed Report And Send To:

http://www.ftc.gov/reports/index.htm

PLEASE file a report at this agency:

http://www.ftc.gov/reports/index.htm

I had a collection agency call my cell looking for another person and I told them they had the wrong # . The person I spoke to told me that they would remove my # from their computer. That did not happen they called again showing thier # and leaving a message. I took  care of it by blocking thier calls from my cell phone .