ARS National Services - Associated Recovery Systems ripoff harassing wrong person and won't stop Escondido California

First off, dont believe a word from any one associated with ARS. This is low of the low for any decent human being to engage in harassing and threatening hard working folks who dont owe them any money.
 
ARS has now taken their harassment of citizens to an all time high, now they have a guy driving around in many neigh hoods in the Sacramento, and Folsom CA area and leaving orange cards hanging on residents doors with the flowing message Please contact us regarding a pending investigation with (916) 295-1102 as a call back number.
Since debt buyers purchase the accounts for pennies on the dollar of their face amount, their aim is often to collect as much as possible from whomever they can convince to pay. Since ARS National Services offers an aggressive performance bonus policy to account representatives, the debt collectors for the company are highly motivated, which may cause them to brush up against the line of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

In fact, a search of the federal dockets turns up over 150 lawsuits filed against ARS National Services since 2006, all of them for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Consumers allege that ARS National Services makes repeated telephone calls to third parties who are not responsible for the debt, including family members, employers, landlords, neighbors and even people who have never met the original debtor and do not know him or her. The FDCPA says that debt collection agencies may only ask third parties for current contact information for the consumer, and must stop calling after they either receive that information or are told that the person called has no knowledge of their whereabouts. On consumer complaint boards, people contacted by ARS National Services have reported being called daily for weeks and months, and being told that the telephone calls will not stop until they deliver a message to the person named on the account, even after being told that the original debtor is unknown to the person they are calling.

Stop ARS National Services Harassment.  If you have been contacted by someone from ARS National Services, do not give the caller any information. Do not admit to incurring the debt or make any offers or agreements to pay the debt without seeing verification of the debt in writing. Any admission that you owe the money in question may give ARS National Services the right to reset the statute of limitations on the account and allow them to take you to court for payment or report the debt to a credit agency.

ARS National Services has been sued for allegedly violating both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. When dealing with a debt collector, do not become a victim. Learn all you can about the provisions of the FDCPA and the FCRA so that you know your rights. Document every contact that you have with any representatives of ARS National Services so that youll have evidence if you decide to file a complaint against the company with your state attorney general or sue them in federal court.

ARS National Services Contact Information
ARS National Services
P.O. Box 469046
Escondido, CA 92046
800-707-1927

Although I understand that most people feel  they don't owe the debt or have previously paid sometimes a little sympathetic person on the other end of the phone(myself) catches all the grief from the people that feel they don't owe.  In reality it is not the collection agencies fault that we have received this file once again.  Some of us are not the HARDCORE collectors that people deal with.  At some point debtors or non-debtors must realize that we are not out to get them just performing the duties of our job descriptions.  

DeeDee, it's all very well and good to say "you owe a debt" - but what about the many people who have been contacted by ARS that DON'T owe a debt? I have seen multiple complaints about ARS, both here on the Ripoff Report and on other consumer boards. In contrast to what you say, many of them HAVE complained about rudeness on the part of the company. You don't exactly help that image by the self-righteous tone of your response - about how all the people who are complaining must owe multiple credit card debts, etc. And in addition, many complaints are from people that DON'T owe debts that have been contacted because of ARS' incompetency. I happen to be one of those people. I have been contacted by ARS multiple times over a debt I did not owe. At first I ignored the communications, but finally ended up contacting them with proof that the debt had been paid. Despite that, I was contacted AGAIN - at which time I told them that if I received any further communications from them, I would contact my lawyer. Not surprisingly, that finally shut them up.

Come on "x employee" you are not being truthful. I have worked at ARS for 7 years and not once have I heard anyone cuss at a debtor. It seems like most of you don't "get it"...you owe a debt! Pay it back. Why is it you think you don't have to do what's right? Why get mad at the messenger? you should be mad at yourself. Most of you don't just have one or two credit cards in collections you have several. You just don't want to tell the truth. And more amazing you are still filling out credit card apps knowing you have cards in collections. My favorite line from a debtor (yes that is what you are if you don't pay people back) :you can't get blood out of a stone" What? Come on. The fact of the matter is times are tough but the right thing to do is pay back what you borrowed. Because one thing for sure when the card was good you loved the creditor now that they want their money back...

I know first hand what the majority of this so-called company's employees do, I used to be one of them. Of course I was on the more "lighter", (they said...), side of things being I didn't implement the vulgar language to attain my Debtors cooperation that most of their successful agents do. I usually ended up chatting for long periods of time with my Debtors answering surprised questions from them about why I was so nice all time as opposed to others who, to say aren't, would be a huge understatement.

Then finally, after giving most of them their lowest settlement percentages, (usually 40-44%, and sometimes lower, lol...), I'm setting them off with a "Have a nice day..." attitude phone click. You might be saying, "What a loser...", and really you're not too far off, when it comes to me working at A.R.S that is. You see, at first I was excited about working there and thought it would be my "New Frontier" profession to explore...at least in training class it seemed it would be. We, my orientation class and I, were taught to be Respectful and Professional. F.D.C.P.A was discussed frequently till the cows came home at some points.

I, for one, feared the very thought of not remembering this law verbatim per Debtor discussion and how I could be severely punished lawfully for not doing so. Oooooh boy, was I ever wrong...As soon as training was over I found myself feeling that I just attended a Psychology course for the upcoming Math determination quiz. What happens is you're sent to an "Kill The Nice in You" stable called the Bridge like cows awaiting slaughter so to prove you can adjust to the already known action of making mass amounts of calls in a short time.

This is where it really got interesting because on my first day, hour and minute at that stable I must've heard up to eight or nine agents disregarding the coveted F.D.C.P.A, (yeah, right...), and whom I thought authorities were going to kick the door down for at that time at in that day, haha. Anyhow, obviously it didn't happen and ergoe not all phone calls are monitored or recorded. In fact, thee only recorded calls I recollect are ones their successful agents scream out for when a huge payment is about to be received from a "tired of being harassed Debtor...", I presumed, lmao, (laughing my ass off, for those who don't know...). They have to be monitored as well by, a lot of times "shady", higher ups although monitoring does occur randomly as well.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of nice people that work there and that you'd, in general, probably want to befriend given the circumstances. My acronym only applies to those that abuse Debtors, wait let me drastically correct that, "HOMO SAPIANS!!...", with "I don't have parents.", laguage and empty threats based on information that even I could attain about someone or anyone on Google. "It's not right, let alone humane!". Throw a little less "B******" in there A.R.S, and like-kind companies, and trust me your field of expertise would be far more appealing than an Escort service in the middle of Bosnia right now. Take it from someone who's shoes, at times, match with those on the other side of your phone lines.

I know first hand what the majority of this so-called company's employees do, I used to be one of them. Of course I was on the more "lighter", (they said...), side of things being I didn't implement the vulgar language to attain my Debtors cooperation that most of their successful agents do. I usually ended up chatting for long periods of time with my Debtors answering surprised questions from them about why I was so nice all time as opposed to others who, to say aren't, would be a huge understatement.

Then finally, after giving most of them their lowest settlement percentages, (usually 40-44%, and sometimes lower, lol...), I'm setting them off with a "Have a nice day..." attitude phone click. You might be saying, "What a loser...", and really you're not too far off, when it comes to me working at A.R.S that is. You see, at first I was excited about working there and thought it would be my "New Frontier" profession to explore...at least in training class it seemed it would be. We, my orientation class and I, were taught to be Respectful and Professional. F.D.C.P.A was discussed frequently till the cows came home at some points.

I, for one, feared the very thought of not remembering this law verbatim per Debtor discussion and how I could be severely punished lawfully for not doing so. Oooooh boy, was I ever wrong...As soon as training was over I found myself feeling that I just attended a Psychology course for the upcoming Math determination quiz. What happens is you're sent to an "Kill The Nice in You" stable called the Bridge like cows awaiting slaughter so to prove you can adjust to the already known action of making mass amounts of calls in a short time.

This is where it really got interesting because on my first day, hour and minute at that stable I must've heard up to eight or nine agents disregarding the coveted F.D.C.P.A, (yeah, right...), and whom I thought authorities were going to kick the door down for at that time at in that day, haha. Anyhow, obviously it didn't happen and ergoe not all phone calls are monitored or recorded. In fact, thee only recorded calls I recollect are ones their successful agents scream out for when a huge payment is about to be received from a "tired of being harassed Debtor...", I presumed, lmao, (laughing my ass off, for those who don't know...). They have to be monitored as well by, a lot of times "shady", higher ups although monitoring does occur randomly as well.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of nice people that work there and that you'd, in general, probably want to befriend given the circumstances. My acronym only applies to those that abuse Debtors, wait let me drastically correct that, "HOMO SAPIANS!!...", with "I don't have parents.", laguage and empty threats based on information that even I could attain about someone or anyone on Google. "It's not right, let alone humane!". Throw a little less "B******" in there A.R.S, and like-kind companies, and trust me your field of expertise would be far more appealing than an Escort service in the middle of Bosnia right now. Take it from someone who's shoes, at times, match with those on the other side of your phone lines.

I know first hand what the majority of this so-called company's employees do, I used to be one of them. Of course I was on the more "lighter", (they said...), side of things being I didn't implement the vulgar language to attain my Debtors cooperation that most of their successful agents do. I usually ended up chatting for long periods of time with my Debtors answering surprised questions from them about why I was so nice all time as opposed to others who, to say aren't, would be a huge understatement.

Then finally, after giving most of them their lowest settlement percentages, (usually 40-44%, and sometimes lower, lol...), I'm setting them off with a "Have a nice day..." attitude phone click. You might be saying, "What a loser...", and really you're not too far off, when it comes to me working at A.R.S that is. You see, at first I was excited about working there and thought it would be my "New Frontier" profession to explore...at least in training class it seemed it would be. We, my orientation class and I, were taught to be Respectful and Professional. F.D.C.P.A was discussed frequently till the cows came home at some points.

I, for one, feared the very thought of not remembering this law verbatim per Debtor discussion and how I could be severely punished lawfully for not doing so. Oooooh boy, was I ever wrong...As soon as training was over I found myself feeling that I just attended a Psychology course for the upcoming Math determination quiz. What happens is you're sent to an "Kill The Nice in You" stable called the Bridge like cows awaiting slaughter so to prove you can adjust to the already known action of making mass amounts of calls in a short time.

This is where it really got interesting because on my first day, hour and minute at that stable I must've heard up to eight or nine agents disregarding the coveted F.D.C.P.A, (yeah, right...), and whom I thought authorities were going to kick the door down for at that time at in that day, haha. Anyhow, obviously it didn't happen and ergoe not all phone calls are monitored or recorded. In fact, thee only recorded calls I recollect are ones their successful agents scream out for when a huge payment is about to be received from a "tired of being harassed Debtor...", I presumed, lmao, (laughing my ass off, for those who don't know...). They have to be monitored as well by, a lot of times "shady", higher ups although monitoring does occur randomly as well.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of nice people that work there and that you'd, in general, probably want to befriend given the circumstances. My acronym only applies to those that abuse Debtors, wait let me drastically correct that, "HOMO SAPIANS!!...", with "I don't have parents.", laguage and empty threats based on information that even I could attain about someone or anyone on Google. "It's not right, let alone humane!". Throw a little less "B******" in there A.R.S, and like-kind companies, and trust me your field of expertise would be far more appealing than an Escort service in the middle of Bosnia right now. Take it from someone who's shoes, at times, match with those on the other side of your phone lines.

I am dealing with this company as well, they keep calling for my step father
who's recently had a stroke. They know this, they've been informed he can not speak any longer. They continue to call all hours of the night and day and ask for him. We are in the process of filing bankruptcy because of the situation.

Another thing you can try, call the bank and let them know what sort of tactics these people use. It may give them a reason to look elsewhere for a collection agency. I've contacted our attorney on this one after last night. They started calling around 10pm.
Good luck!

To answer your question regarding which Attorney General I filed with; I filed where I live, but your idea makes more sense. File a complaint in California where the company is based and maybe your state too. I am sure you can do both online. Good luck!

P.S. I contacted Citibank also and they couldn't find anything in my name either.

Thanks for responding! I have had 4 of their "agents" take my phone # off this file they say is mine. I asked them why if my # was removed they still call, one kinda nice employee of their's told me my # can't be completely removed because its in their "notes" about the case and someone can pluck it out of the notes and call me. But the law states that if they have contacted you by phone and therefore they do know how to contact you, they cannot contact a friend or relative if you tell them not to. (They called a relative of mine) Did you file a complaint W/California Att Gen or your state?? I'm trying to figure out where to send mine. Thanks again and I hope they don't bother you anymore!!

PS Citibank has never heard of ARS National or me for that matter!!

ARS only contacted me once and my friend once. It might have been a combination of both things. When they called me, I told them to send me proof that this so-called account was mine and if they ask for your address, just tell them "if you say this is my account, you already have my address". He hung up on me. When he called my friend, he left a message on his answering machine and I told my friend not to call him back. By calling them back, he would be acknowledging that he knows me. So I haven't heard from them since. It's been over five months and it hasn't shown up on my credit report. Hope this helps. I also filed a complaint with the Attorney General, but they didn't do much anything.

The same thing is happening to me. Debtor has the same name as me, but different ss# and EVERYTHING else. What did you do to stop ARS Patricia? Is this still going on??

The same thing is happening to me. Debtor has the same name as me, but different ss# and EVERYTHING else. What did you do to stop ARS Patricia? Is this still going on??

The same thing is happening to me. Debtor has the same name as me, but different ss# and EVERYTHING else. What did you do to stop ARS Patricia? Is this still going on??

The "system" Don is talking about is a collection of companies with names like Choicepoint, Acxiom,
Info USA, Claritas, Lexis Nexis, Experian,
TransUnion, Equifax and even the MIB.

These companies gather every scrap of info they can get their hands on. Public Records,Discount shopping card info,legal,medical,financial,
residential, phone records,DMV,insurance,cell phone location information,magazine subscription info, pharmacy records, sweepstakes entries,
warranty cards, surveys, credit card info and anything else they can find.

They then sell this info to pretty much any company that wants it to try and target you for almost any purpose.

So,if you have ever done anything together,they know about it. Talked on the phone? Went shopping together? Used your "VIP" discount card? They can track you through your cell phones. So all they have to do is look for where you go and who you meet.

If you have ever lived at the same address,they know. Lived next door? They know. Went to school together? They could tell someone what you did and what you bought over the last 10 years better than you could.

And now with GPS,RFID,surveillance cameras everywhere and other technologies, they will know more than ever. They will probably even have the video. Think you're safe inside? Not with UWB radar, thermal imaging and other penetrating technologies.

You should get a copy of the FDCPA,the FCRA and FACTA.

The FDCPA spells out what a collector can and can not do.(Google-FDCPA for complete text)

From 805(b).(Not exact)

Without the prior consent of the consumer directly to the debt collector, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any other than the consumer,his attorney...

They can contact others only to try to acquire location information. And they can only say they are confirming or correcting location information.

And since they already had your location information, what they did was illegal. It was done strictly to harass and try to intimidate you.

They have violated many of your rights under the FDCPA,FCRA and FACTA.

You had already told them that it wasn't your debt. Once they have your dispute,they have to follow specific procedures.
They can not give any details or say that you owe any debt.

Check out info from all collection agency posts.
There should be enough info to help you figure out what to do next.

In response to the rebuttal question, did they disclose the nature of the debt, they did say they needed to contact me regarding Citibank, reference case number XXXXXXXX. And as for the friend being in the system, I am unclear about your response. If I never put my friends name on anything I applied for and he never put my name on anything he has applied for, how can ARS possibly connect the two?

How they linked your friend with you??? Anytime a name and phone number is put on a credit card somewhere, it is put in the "system". For example, I looked up a friend (lets call him Bob)in the system of mine (who is not in collections). It listed his wife, his parents, his in-laws, his brother, his ex-girlfriend, his ex-girlfriend's brother, and 2 of his previous roomates. If Bob had an account fall into collections, the system would list all the people as contacts. These are legally only to be used to get location information, although if the person offers, in most states they can take a message.

When they left the message at your friends, did they disclose the nature of the debt, or just a file number? If they disclosed the debt (which I understand is not yours) on the message, they have violated the Fair Debt Collection PRactices act. They can not disclose the nature of the debt on an answering machine.