FCS- Financial Credit Services, Illegal Collection Practices Palatine Illinois

This company contacted me to collect a very old debt on May 9, 2007. The debt is long since past the statute of limitations. The collector, Ms. Tracy Graye, stated that she had a affidavit from her "client" that I was being sued and that they could obtain a judgment against me without my knowledge. Ms. Graye stated that she just wanted to give me a heads up before the judgment and one last opportunity to pay. Ms. Graye attempted to contact me more than three times in the same day and a Mr. Ward contacted my mother-in-law about the debt.

I filed a complaint with the AG's of Massachusetts and Illinois. The IL AG had already sued this company in 2006, for this very behavior. The Better Business Bureau has hundreds of complaints on FCS. I sent FCS a Chapter 93A demand letter (Massachusetts) for violation of the FDCPA.

Mr. Joel Cohen, Compliance Manager at FCS, has responded to the IL AG's office, stating that Ms. Graye has been suspended for 3 days and that Mr. Ward used a skip tracing service to contact my mother-in-law (which is very unlikely). He states in the letter, "Our goal is to help consumers resolve debts." This debt is not collectible.

http://www.chicago.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=62001966
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/2006_05/20060518.html

Per a May 18, 2006 press release, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against Financial Credit Services, Inc. of Palatine, Illinois, as well as the company's President Bruce Cohen and Secretary Mario Bianchi, alleging that the agency used unfair and deceptive representations to obtain payments on uncollectible debt.

In some cases consumers alleged they were intimidated into making payments of between $100 and $5,000, while in others the defendants allegedly deducted money from the consumer's bank account without the consumer's permission.

The State of Maine Office of Consumer Credit Regulation has a "Cease and Desist and Order of Reimbursement" against FCS/Financial Credit Services These are the same guys that owned/founded CAMCO, which the FTC shut down. I haven't received another call from FCS/Financial Credit Services since filing the complaints.

T
Boston, Massachusetts
U.S.A.