1st Credit Of America - ClearCredit ripoff - bogus claims for debts, illegal debt collection practices. This is a SCAM Aliso Viejo California

I have fallen victim to the same sort of scam as many others have reported - to wit:

I came home from a brief business trip to New York on Sunday, July 24th. Waiting for me was a voice mail message from a computer caller (an automated message) telling me that it was urgent for me to call "regarding my account", with no other information.

I called back the next day and got a voicemail box. I left a message. A few hours later I got the same automated message. I called two more times that day and left one more message on the voicemail box. The next morning the voicemail box was full.

I finally got through to a human being on Thursday, July 28th. The voice sounded like a young kid and I was told that I owed approximately $325 to a company called ClearCredit, based in Aliso Viejo, CA. I had never heard of this outfit until this call. I told the person at 1st Credit of America this and he said I must have used a credit card to sign up. I asked why hadn't my card been charged instead of acruing a debt, to which there was no reply.

I was told his supervisor would call ClearCredit to see if there would be a settlement offer. I was told to wait on hold and four minutes later I was told ClearCredit would settle for 60% and 1st Credit of America would charge an additional $5 "processing fee".

I was told I could pay online. I said I thought this was unfair (in fact, I felt like I was being extorted) but I also felt that I needed to protect my credit. (I am recovering from a Ch. 11 BK from three years ago)

After hanging up and thinking about it more I realized that this just wasn't right. I had never recieved any demand from ClearCredit for payment (even though 1st Credit of America said a letter had been sent) and I still had absolutely no recollection or written record of ClearCredit, and certainly did not authorize any sort of service that would have cost the amount they claimed that I owed.

The next morning I called the credit card company. The charge had been declined in any case, and I informed them that it would have been my intention to dispute the charge anyway.

I have sent both companies letters demanding that they stop harrasing me (I am still getting the automated call) and to provide written proof of any legitimate claims.

ClearCredit apparently has an unlisted phone number, and all I can do with 1st Credit of America is leave voicemail messages and send emails (which are being returned).

If they do put a deragatory on my credit, I will dispute it, but I think these people are intimiatding and harrasing folks into paying "debts" that they do not owe. At best they are violating the law, as I understand it, regarding debt collection pratices at worst this is a malicious rip-off.

In any case they need to be stopped.

Thomas
San Francisco, California
U.S.A.