They are calling my new, unlisted number (?) and their web site scares me! :0 â??Very often, exposing the judgment-debtorâ??s nefarious schemes brings him to his/her knees, obviating the need to return to courtâ?. I'm wondering if sending a C&D will hurt more than help.
Is the money owed? You can almost bet any C&D received that doesn't get disputed, or if it does and they are able to validate the dispute, they will end up taking you to court.
â??Very often, exposing the judgment-debtorâ??s nefarious schemes brings him to his/her knees, obviating the need to return to courtâ?. Sounds great, but how do you "expose nefarious schemes", outside of court, even on a judgement, without running into this: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#805 "§ 805. Communication in connection with debt collection [15 USC 1692c] (a) COMMUNICATION WITH THE CONSUMER GENERALLY. Without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, a debt collector may not communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt -- (1) at any unusual time or place or a time or place known or which should be known to be inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that the convenient time for communicating with a consumer is after 8 o'clock antimeridian and before 9 o'clock postmeridian, local time at the consumer's location; (2) if the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with respect to such debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to a communication from the debt collector or unless the attorney consents to direct communication with the consumer; or (3) at the consumer's place of employment if the debt collector knows or has reason to know that the consumer's employer prohibits the consumer from receiving such communication. (b) COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES. Except as provided in section 804, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector. ..." http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#806 "§ 806. Harassment or abuse [15 USC 1692d] A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section: (1) The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person. (2) The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader. (3) The publication of a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except to a consumer reporting agency or to persons meeting the requirements of section 603(f) or 604(3)1 of this Act. ..."
"They are calling my new, unlisted number (?) and their web site scares me! :0" Since it IS a new number, are they calling for you, or even for the correct "you"? Have you actually talked to them, and have they mailed you any letter notifying you that they are attempting to collect a debt?
I found this site, using AltaVista on "judgement debtor nefarious schemes": http://www.assetsearchpi.com/ They call themselves "Advanced Surveillance Group", and claim to be private investigators. This may be the website you found, but no indication it is any relation to "Account Services Group". bbb.org shows this: "Account Services Group PA 689 -A Town Center Blvd Ste A Ridgeland, MS 39157 Madison County We are attempting to develop information on this company. At the present time we do not have enough information to issue a report. "
collectman, yes, I am assuming I do owe the money (perhaps you guys remember my posts about my sole proprietor company going under?) I do not recall receiving anything in the mail but I could be wrong. I know I have Viking calling on a Cap1 and NCO on another but I'm not sure what this is for. I don't so much care if people call me because it is my own fault but I don't like them calling my husband and my next door neighbor. Because of that I want to send C&Ds. I have nothing to take, I am now medically unable to work and am a SAHM of 4. I have the house jointly but no job and no other property. Would they bother taking me to court? ontrack, that is the website I ended up at. I swear I got there through a link mentioning account services group but darned if I can find the link now. So, they're not the same company obviously. This is the number they called from http://whocalled.us/lookup/7165644905 which originates in NY, no MS. If I search for ASG in MS I now get http://www.accountsolutionsgroup.com/index.htm So, do I C&D these people or no? Thanks
They will take you to court regardless of how much they think they could get out of you. You have a bank account in your name? Regardless of who else is attached to it they can seize it. Property is attachable. They can speak with your husband if the state law allows it, however, your next door neighbor is almost crossing the line, depending on what they are asking.
Well, they can take me to court if they want but you can't get something from nothing. My home is joint and RI has a $200,000 homestead exemption - we do not have that much equity. I do have a joint bank account but do not contribute to it. It's my understanding that if they freeze that it's reversible as my spouse is not responsible for my debts. State law does allow spousal communication (I think you told me that!) and my neighbor has been contacted twice by Viking. They asked for my number and when they didn't give it the asked for a message to be delivered to me (phone number, name, and company). Quite embarrassing and as they obviously know where I live (I'm at 141, neighbor at 143), it seems like it's crossing the line. Edited to add this from the original asg site: Q: Why can't you search for Bank Accounts? A: Recent changes in Federal Law (the Gramm, Leach, Bailey Act) have made it illegal for anyone, private investigator's included, to even try and obtain information about a person's financial accounts. This law is very broad and has eliminated all viable avenues to getting this information. When possible, the investigative methodology used must also comply with all restrictions of the Act, the FTC conditions and the various state and federal privacy acts. According to attorneys from the FTC, there is only one permissible purpose contained as an exemption in GLB and the FTC interpretation thereof. That one exemption is for child support collection in conjunction with a court order. In effect, there is no way to collect on a debt, even with a judgment from the court, unless it's for child support! When our government created these laws, they did so to try and protect people's financial information. The bi-product is keeping people who have need to know whether it is worth the time and energy to bring a law suit, or those who already have a judgment to be collected from finding the money owed. If you feel that your legal claim against an individual or company should be collected, write to your Congressmen and Senators urging an amendment to these biased laws. Q: Can you search for bank accounts if I already have a judgment from a court? A: No. Only if it's for child support and the judge in your case actually enters an order authorizing such a search. If someone else tells you otherwise, ask them how they are able to do this a stay within the strict constraints of the Gramm Leach Bailey Act.
There are still companies out there that will do searches on bank accounts. I know a couple and have used them and they are actually complaint with GLBA. I dont know all the legalities associated with it so I dont know how that part works, but our attorney says it's ok. Im still amazed RI's exemption is 200k...I haven't reviewed all those exemptions in forever...wow.
If that is the case I will remove my name from the accounts, it's not like I use them anyway. Your competitor(s) has this to say: Q: Aren't other companies offering to locate Bank Accounts? A: Yes. We see the same sites you do but in our opinion, these companies are either breaking the law or taking your money and then telling you something to this effect: "Based upon the procedures we employed and the results we obtained, no accounts were located". They leave out the fact that the procedures they conducted were to merely look at any court records they found to see if banking information was listed, and that's the end of it. Many of these companies advertising on the net are also foreign corporations. Watch your wallet with these guys. If $200k atypical? It seems like a lot to me too but before the housing crash our house was worth almost $375k.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_exemption 200k is a large amount. If they are contacting your neighbor and they are leaving messages when they have your home number that is a violation, unless you listed their number down on the application.
Let me clarify - they have my home address not my new number. I don't even know my neighbor's phone number!
http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE9/9-26/9-26-4.HTM http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE9/9-26/9-26-4.1.HTM
