American Recovery Service ,ARSI Even if you're the wrong person, they harass you and threaten to ruin your credit, though they have no claim. Thousand Oaks California

Donna,
As an ex-employee of ARSI, I could give you some insight of this greedy and VERY unprofessional company. TOM BAXTER, the owner of this company, basically has no idea what really goes on behind the scenes...he makes his presence known at times by walking into your department and saying the same old sayings, such as "how are you doing today" to the tried and true "doing a great job, keep up the hard work"...other than that, ALL departments are left to the devices of the so-called Department Managers, who will let the rules be bent to the point of almost breaking! I worked in American Express Merchant Services (small balances) and I have not only heard, but witnessed other AMEX team members mislead clients on the phone by stating that they were asscoiates of ARSI's in-house legal department of Berke & Associates..they were nothing more than collectors who handled larger balances than my area. Department supervisors and managers not only knew of this, they actually ENCOURAGED the practice. Nobody ever got in any trouble over this, although you are trained in classes that this practice will not be tolerated....yeah right!

In your case, TELL, not ASK Stephen to fax you a copy of the contract with your signature on it...as far as that being an asset when you purchased the business that may be true, but you are definitely indemed from that if your sale agreement states that, which I am sure it does. If this Stephen does not, or cannot supply you with this document ,ask to speak to the department manager AND have someone from BERKE & ASSOCIATES listen in, I can tell you with no amount of hesitation that they won't go that far.

Tom Baxters e-mail is:

tom.baxter@arsigroup.com

Shoot him an e-mail and let him know that this practice is unacceptable and that if it continues, you will seek litigation on him and his company for false representation and illegaly claiming to be an associate of a law firm (a misdemeanor in the state of California). Also, contact Verizon/Idearc once again and ask to speak to the person or persons who set up the account with ARSI and tell them that they are misleading their customers by stating that Verizon/Idearc are lying in general to customers who owe them. ARSI needs to held accountable for their gross collection practices...and if anyone from ARSI reads this and wants proof of my ex-employee status, then here goes:

at Christmas time ARSI auctioned off various gifts based on money brought in, and an individual in the Verizon/Idearc side won a flat screen t.v .
Also, there were showings of a Star Wars based film or something to that effect in the conference room...across the way from the break room and Legal area, which only can accessed with a badge.

Patrick Garcia, Robert Schultze, Michelle Cronin-Patrick, Tom Baxter, Jason Cheseboro, Robert Hitchcock, Stacey Turk.....need I go on?

ARSI, you need to be either shut down or seriously revamped due to continuous violations in your collection practices....and you should apologize to all those in which you terrorized !!

GO GET THEM DONNA !!

Do a search for Idearc to see what they are pulling in terms of forced renewal without the business owner's consent.

Thank you for your update. Here's where you're at, Donna.

The creditor likely DOES have a claim against your business. The liability was that of the business, and as the business was transferred, the liability was transferred along with it.

But that doesn't mean that you lost on this matter. To the contrary - if you play your hand right, you could potentially end up ahead.

As regards the creditor, the down side is that they can affect your business credit. The up side is that you have a "right of indemnification" against the former owner of the business. A right of indemnification is basically a chain of liability. You are liable to the creditor because someone else failed to pay them and, due to the circumstances, the debt fell into your lap. But if you are liable to the creditor, then that "someone else" is liable to YOU.

The situation is analogous to co-signing on a loan. If you cosign for someone, and they default, you are liable for the debt. Your recourse is to sue the primary debtor for the amount you have to shell out or are held liable for. It's like a "liability triangle" (if that's too obscure of a metaphor, imagine it on a law school blackboard).

Beyond that, it sounds like the prior owner of the business is liable to you for breach of contract. So, you can AT LEAST sue the prior owner for breaching the assumption of liability clause and, hopefully, get the money to pay the creditor out of them. You may have other claims, and may be entitled to attorney's fees, punitive damages, etc. depending on the wording of the contract and your state's law.

Unfotuntately, you may need a lawyer to take care of this. If the debt is substantial, you CERTAINLY need a lawyer. If the debt is rather small (i.e. within the jurisdiction of small claims), you may be able to pull it off without a lawyer (although your state's laws may require that you have a lawyer as you are a business).

I know that this is all rather convoluted and difficult to understand. Please post an update if you have any further questions and I will do my best to give you any more assistance needed.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone that has commented on my problem.

As per the signed Agreement of Sale, it states, "The Seller promises and agrees to convey good, clear and marketable title to all the property to be sold hereunder, the same to be free and clear of all liens and encumbrances. The Seller warrants there will be no outstanding debts associated with the business. Any outstanding accounts will be satisfied, by the seller, by the date of settlement."

The prior owner's signature is on the agreement. What that tells me is that he obviously lied and I was totoally unaware of any outstanding accounts, nor I ever assume any of his accounts or sign any contracts.

I offered, many times during my conversation with the rude man from ARSI, to fax him a copy of my Agreement of Sale. He reply was, "It doesn't matter, you're still responsible."

The question of whether your business actually owes this debt basically comes down to whether you assumed the liabilities of the former owners when you assumed your company.

I say "basically" because the issue is alot more complicated than that but, if things weren't worked out just right when you took over this company, you may well be on the hook for previously existing debts.

And a little FYI on the FDCPA: it only applies to consumer debts. "Commercial" debts (those that are incurred in the course of carrying on a business) are exempt, even if the collector is going after an individual. (Read Section 803(3) in conjunction with the remainder of the Act).

Donna;
If yoy don't get any response from Mr. Robert Shultz.Emaile me and I will give give you another name.
Wayne at (((ROR REDACTED)))

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Donna,
You need to contact a mr.Robert Schultz at the Thousand Oaks office. The collector was totaly wrong in what he told you. I used to be a team lead for them working on Verizon. Check your bill of sale and see if tou are liable for all advertising and assets of the previous owner.

Wayne

You've made a big mistake.....You allowed the debt collector to bully you into making a payment that you were not entitled to pay.....Now you DO owe this debt....By making this payment you have validated this debt as legitimate and they can come after you for whatever bogus amount they can come up with.

Debt collectors have no power over you....The only power they do have is to trick people into thinking that they DO have power over you. Debt collectors cannot take your firstborn child...neither than they send the sheriff to your residence to have you arrested.

All you would have had to do in this case was send them a request for validation of the alleged account in writing. Do a Google search for the "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act." You have rights any time a debt collector calls. Understand these rights and next time don't be so quick to open up your wallet/purse to the next debt collector that comes along that is trying to collect on bogus debts.

If the amount they are trying to collect is small....like under $500...you might want to just pay it at this point as you've validated the debt by making this payment....If the debt is larger....Get an attorney if you can afford one..

Next time: Request WRITTEN validation of any alleged debt then hang up on the debt collector.

I hope you didn't give this debt collector your bank transit + checking account # to make an auto debt....Once they have this info there's nothing to stop them from taking out WAY more than $100....If you did do this, I would contact your bank ASAP and have the checking account canceled immediately to prevent them from raiding your checking account. If you made this $100 payment with a credit card...you might want to consider doing a charge-back.....Contact your credit card company about this....

You've made a big mistake.....You allowed the debt collector to bully you into making a payment that you were not entitled to pay.....Now you DO owe this debt....By making this payment you have validated this debt as legitimate and they can come after you for whatever bogus amount they can come up with.

Debt collectors have no power over you....The only power they do have is to trick people into thinking that they DO have power over you. Debt collectors cannot take your firstborn child...neither than they send the sheriff to your residence to have you arrested.

All you would have had to do in this case was send them a request for validation of the alleged account in writing. Do a Google search for the "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act." You have rights any time a debt collector calls. Understand these rights and next time don't be so quick to open up your wallet/purse to the next debt collector that comes along that is trying to collect on bogus debts.

If the amount they are trying to collect is small....like under $500...you might want to just pay it at this point as you've validated the debt by making this payment....If the debt is larger....Get an attorney if you can afford one..

Next time: Request WRITTEN validation of any alleged debt then hang up on the debt collector.

I hope you didn't give this debt collector your bank transit + checking account # to make an auto debt....Once they have this info there's nothing to stop them from taking out WAY more than $100....If you did do this, I would contact your bank ASAP and have the checking account canceled immediately to prevent them from raiding your checking account. If you made this $100 payment with a credit card...you might want to consider doing a charge-back.....Contact your credit card company about this....

You've made a big mistake.....You allowed the debt collector to bully you into making a payment that you were not entitled to pay.....Now you DO owe this debt....By making this payment you have validated this debt as legitimate and they can come after you for whatever bogus amount they can come up with.

Debt collectors have no power over you....The only power they do have is to trick people into thinking that they DO have power over you. Debt collectors cannot take your firstborn child...neither than they send the sheriff to your residence to have you arrested.

All you would have had to do in this case was send them a request for validation of the alleged account in writing. Do a Google search for the "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act." You have rights any time a debt collector calls. Understand these rights and next time don't be so quick to open up your wallet/purse to the next debt collector that comes along that is trying to collect on bogus debts.

If the amount they are trying to collect is small....like under $500...you might want to just pay it at this point as you've validated the debt by making this payment....If the debt is larger....Get an attorney if you can afford one..

Next time: Request WRITTEN validation of any alleged debt then hang up on the debt collector.

I hope you didn't give this debt collector your bank transit + checking account # to make an auto debt....Once they have this info there's nothing to stop them from taking out WAY more than $100....If you did do this, I would contact your bank ASAP and have the checking account canceled immediately to prevent them from raiding your checking account. If you made this $100 payment with a credit card...you might want to consider doing a charge-back.....Contact your credit card company about this....

You've made a big mistake.....You allowed the debt collector to bully you into making a payment that you were not entitled to pay.....Now you DO owe this debt....By making this payment you have validated this debt as legitimate and they can come after you for whatever bogus amount they can come up with.

Debt collectors have no power over you....The only power they do have is to trick people into thinking that they DO have power over you. Debt collectors cannot take your firstborn child...neither than they send the sheriff to your residence to have you arrested.

All you would have had to do in this case was send them a request for validation of the alleged account in writing. Do a Google search for the "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act." You have rights any time a debt collector calls. Understand these rights and next time don't be so quick to open up your wallet/purse to the next debt collector that comes along that is trying to collect on bogus debts.

If the amount they are trying to collect is small....like under $500...you might want to just pay it at this point as you've validated the debt by making this payment....If the debt is larger....Get an attorney if you can afford one..

Next time: Request WRITTEN validation of any alleged debt then hang up on the debt collector.

I hope you didn't give this debt collector your bank transit + checking account # to make an auto debt....Once they have this info there's nothing to stop them from taking out WAY more than $100....If you did do this, I would contact your bank ASAP and have the checking account canceled immediately to prevent them from raiding your checking account. If you made this $100 payment with a credit card...you might want to consider doing a charge-back.....Contact your credit card company about this....

knuckle under.

""If Verizon/Idearc is due payment and THEY are telling me I'm not responsible, why is Steven from ARSI, who is contracted by Verizon/Idearc for collections, trying to crucify me.""

Answer: Because, as you painfully became aware, it WORKS ON MOST FOLKS.

In the future, NEVER knuckle under to any collection agency's telephone demands. Also, read the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act to arm yourself with knowledge of federal law so that the next time one of these scum contact you, you will KNOW what your rights are.

The ONLY time to talk to any collection agency is to state that you dispute the debt and you want a mailing address to send a certified, return receipt requested letter to formally dispute the debt and demand validation of the debt. That's it! Nothing else is to be discussed over the telephone whatsoever!

Unfortunately for you, most lower courts will consider a payment as an admission that the debt is valid and is yours if this matter ends up in civil court.

You should probably send them a certified letter, return receipt requested stating that the debt is not yours and that the ONLY REASON you made the payment was because the agent THREATENED your business via your credit reports. Clearly state to them that you have sought consel and have been advised that the threat was a violation of the FDCPA, that you NOW exercise your write to dispute the debt in it's entirety because it is not yours and you demand the immediate return of the $100 payment you made because it was made under coersive threats to your credit and your business. You should inform them that if they fail to return your deposit and validate the debt that you will file suit under the provisions of the FDCPA.

Hopefully, that will spur them to giving you a refund.

Also, if they don't comply with the law, you certainly should sue them. At the minimum, you can be awarded up to $1000 in statutory damages and reasonable attorney fees.

Donna,

This is exactly why you never speak to any debt collector on the phone. Upon first contact by a third party debt collector, you should always send a CEASE COMMUNICATIONS request as per your rights under the FDCPA.

Now for the bad news. When you made that $100 payment, you legally affirmed the debt and restared the statute of limitations for collections.

By making that payment, you legally accepted that debt as your own. They can now sue you and win. You don't have much recourse now as you affirmed the debt.

This is why they like to contact you on the phone. To play on your emotions and fears and get you to do something that you shouldn't.

They could not successfully have sued you on this debt and they knew it. You should have just laughed at the crackhead and hung up the phone. The date of default on the "debt" is very important as that is what determines the SOL.

NEVER fall prey to the threats of a crackhead collector.

STAY OFF THE PHONE!!!