There are plenty of respectable and good debt collectors that run their business in compliance with local and federal laws. And then there are the collection companies that engage in abusive practices and behavior.
For those of us that regularly work with people in debt it is hard to not become distrustful or develop a strong dislike for debt collectors in general when time and again you see people wrongly manipulated into paying. Don’t get me wrong, if someone can pay they should, but it should be in a reasonable, affordable and sustainable way that allows both the debtor and collector to meet their goals. But unfortunately holistic debt collection will always be less productive than intimidation and fear.
Watch the video below and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The video made me ill to watch, because it happens, and happens every single day.
(Can’t see the video above? Click here.)
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The Law Offices of Mitchell N. Kay of New York, NY, left a message with my husband on 07/07/09 for me to call them at 800-420-9132 x5238. I googled them and found out they were a scam collection agency. I then ordered my credit report from Experian and it came back perfect. On 07/09/09 I received a call from them again and the man told me they were calling about the $17,000 I owed Capital One. I told the man I never had a Capital One account and that I had a copy of my credit report. He told me social security numbers don’t lie and hung up on me. Then I called Capital One and spoke with with Roy Marquec, ID# TFI, of the Capital One Fraud Division (800-427-9428), where Mr. Marquec confirmed that I have never had any accounts with Capitol One. Mr. Marquec checked both my social security number and my name and address to see if there was any record of an account with them and found no accounts. This law office has been known to freeze bank accounts. I have reported them to the NYS Attorney General (where they are already under investigation), to the FTC, and to the NYS Bar Association.
Kate,
Thanks for the comment and information. The situation sucks but I applaud the way you handled it. I Don’t think I could have done better myself.
Steve
This is so patently ridiculous. I see collection agency abuses all day, but was still completely amazed by what Dateline showed on Friday night.
Even the industry trade group representative was speechless and could only say that more needed to be done!
Brents last blog post..Dateline NBC Airs Segment on Debt Collection Industry