Jacob Collection Group, LLC; Attorneys at Law Really attorneys or just a collection agency??? Oxford, Mississippi

This whole company is basically people are in college there or can not get another job. I worked there for less than a month and quit. Jacob Law Firm (I laugh to even dignify them as a law firm) is apart of Security Check collections. They pretty much skip trace and I never once came in contact with someone who had a law degree. I couldn't handle being cussed out by people who were being called by the spool at all hours of the day. Make them validate the debt before even calling them. 

To expound on my previous post, I cant emphasize enough the importance of filing complaints with the appropriate authorities against wrongdoersand this extends far beyond merely debt collectors to include just about any and every kind of business that operates in the United States (and to some extent in other countries).

Im new to this site, and although it impresses me as an invaluable resource for consumer protection, at the same time, just by its nature, it seems to be a somewhat passive weapon in your arsenal against perpetrators of injustice in that those who operate the site are not in a position to take direct action on your behalf. It also appears that there are a lot of people who have come here crying out for help and dont know where to turn. Well, Im here to offer you some suggestions.

First, I would argue that the single most important thing you can do is to file a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). As their name implies, they have regulatory jurisdiction over all trade conducted in the United States, whatever its nature. Although the FTC cannot take action on behalf of an individual, it can on behalf of a class of individuals. When you file a complaint with the FTC, they log it in their database, and if they accumulate a sufficient number of complaints against a business operation, they will investigate and have the authority to mete out punishment, including but not limited to class-action lawsuits. But if you dont file a report, theyll never be aware of the problem. They make it easy to file a report with them online, and its free.

In addition, another powerful resource is(are) the attorney(s) general of the state(s) in which the organization conducts business. A states attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer for his or her state and his or her job, therefore, is to see that the laws of the state are enforced. Every state has one. Although I havent visited the websites of all 50 states attorneys general, those that I have visited provide either an online mechanism for filing a complaint, or a downloadable interactive PDF you can complete and return; again, free of charge. Unlike the FTC, which is not a law enforcement but rather a regulatory agency, state attorneys general do have the authority to investigate and take action on your complaint, and, like the FTC, initiate class-action lawsuits, among other things. But again, if theyre not aware of the problem theres nothing they can do. Its easy to find the website of a states attorney general: either go the states home page, or do a Web search for, e.g., Virginia attorney general.

Furthermore, the Better Business Bureau accepts complaints against business entities whether or not theyre members of the BBB and actively works on your behalf to resolve your dispute with the business. Just go to the national BBB site, click the File a Complaint link, and youll be prompted for information about the business and then directed to the local BBB chapter under whose jurisdiction the business falls. Here again, you can file your complaint online at that chapters website, and, yesyou guessed itonce again its free.

Lastly (but not necessarily finally, as others may have further information to add), if the business is a member of a professional or trade associationsuch as the American Bar Association, the American Bankers Association, the National Automobile Dealers Association, etc.they, too, may very likely accept complaints against a member business; after all, they dont want any bad apples spoiling their bunch. Often membership in such an association is very easy to determine, as the business will proudly display the associations logo on their website and boast of their good standing in the group.

Believe me, Ive been where all of you are or have been and I know how physically and emotionally draining it is to try to deal with organizations that act like Barbarians. You feel like youre David against Goliath (but remember who won that fight!). You reach the point where you barely have the energy to push your computers start button and lift a finger to the keyboard. It may sound like its a lot of work to file all these complaints. But I cannot urge you strongly enough to try to collect yourself, achieve a state of calm, muster the energy, and do it. What were trying to do hereindividually and collectivelyis build critical mass that will generate action on our behalf. Strength lies in numbers. So, to coin a phrase, the life you save may be your own.

I also received a letter from this company trying to collect a debt. As is standard practice with any collection agency (because they are required by law to do so), they gave me 30 days to dispute and request verification of the debt. They never responded, which is an outright violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debtor's best friend. You can download a copy of it from the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection website, and should familiarize yourself with it. It may provide you some solace that the force of the federal government (within limits, of course) is behind you when it comes to dealing with debt collectors.

Also, if you simply do a web search on "debtors' rights" (make sure the apostrophe follows the s), you'll find scads of information about debt collectors, what they can and cannot do, and your rights as a debtor in the face of their onslaught.

I have started the wheels rolling toward taking legal action against the Jacob Collection Group, and what's great about it is that among other things, I can recover from them my attorney's fees!

No problem, Mary.

One more thing, however. If and when you do offer to settle for less than the amount claimed, do so in a letter stating "without admitting any liability on the claimed debt, I am prepared to settle this matter by making a one time payment of . . ."

You want to make clear that any communication is entirely negotiation based and is not an admission as to whether the debt is actually yours.

This is because statements made in furtherance of negotiations and settlement agreements are not admissible in court, whereas an admission of liability probably would be.

Best of luck!

Thanks Tim for the info.  I guess I'll wait a little longer and see just what happens.  I wasn't sure if anyone had heard of this agency.

It doesn't really matter a whole lot whether or not they are attorneys. They are still, at this point, acting as a collection agency and should be treated as such, at least until you receive a complaint and summons.

Until then, I would advise against payment arrangements. You would be better off taking the payments you would make, saving them up until you reach about 60% of the claimed debt, and then offering to settle the account with a partial payment.

If you make payment arrangements, you risk forfeiting certain defenses that you may have down the road.