Has anyone dealt with this Collection Agent before? They specialize in Apartment collections. I am currently facing collection calls from this agency. They have bought my account from Apartment complex I was staying before. The Apartment complex has put repair charges on my name. Basically their mode of operation looks like this- 1) When apartment complex contacts them they buy debt claim from apartment negotiating at rates say 50 cents for each $ to 10 cent a dollar. 2) Your apartment complex is washed of responsibility as they may not be expecting lawsuit for $500 - 600 from tenant. 3) Then they start sending you mails threatening to spoil your credit history and some trained university etc. 4) They run repeated Inquiries on your credit report. Looks like they have changed their name recently from PHS to Hunter Warfield to wipe out all the previous bad public records against them. I am planning to stand against this collection as in this case this collection attempt is no more than collecting money at gun point from me. Please share your experience and their methods of collection.
The apartment company cannot simply be "washed of responsibility", if you choose to dispute the debt, or sue them under state law. If you request validation, the CA would have to get it from the apartment company and forward it, or stop collection if they don't, even if they have bought the "debt". They are a "debt collector" as defined by FDCPA. Are the charges for damage caused by your actions for which you are responsible, or did they just add on charges with no legal basis? Did the apartment company follow any applicable state law in notifying you of any charges against deposits, or repair charges, timely, and itemized? Some states require this, or the debt or charge against deposits is illegal. For example, California requires an itemized bill within, if I remember right, 21 days. If the debt is illegal under state law, the CAs actions are illegal under FDCPA, and often state law, for misrepresenting the status of the debt (it is not a debt). In some areas, there are tenant's rights groups that offer mediation, which might inform the landlord that he is on shakey legal ground for reasons such as the above. Also, you may want to contact your local district attorney if this is what they are pulling, since they would likely have done the same with other tenants, and there may be other complaints. Also, normal wear and tear is not generally considered damage. For example, if your carpet is 10 years old, and they replaced it when you move out, they should not be charging you to replace it if it was simply worn out from 10 years of normal use. Did you request and do a walk-thru with the landlord or manager before moving out? Did you get an itemized list of claimed damages, or a walk-thru document indicating no damages were noted?
Did their first letter include notice that you could request the name and address of the original creditor, that you could request validation of the debt, and that if you did not dispute the debt within 30 days, it would be considered valid? Did you dispute and request validation?
I had disputed and had requested validation to HW. HW has provided me itemized charges and repair receipts. Apartment complex has added repair charges in my account. 1) Does merely putting repair charges in my account prove their debt claim? 2) What kind of proof Apartment complex has to provide to conclusively prove damages were caused by me? 3) On contrary what evidence I can show that these damages existed before I moved in? 4) Does lease agreement, move-in move-out reports, inspection requests, repair request are valid documents? 5) Is their specific procedure or guideline which apartment complex must follow while deciding repair charges or it is at sole discretion of apartment complex? The Apartment complex does not do move-in move-out inspection with tenant. They ask tenant to fill move-in sheet on their own and they fill up move-out sheets on their own. I had requested move-out inspection when I was present in Apartment and they declined. They have not provided me copy of Move-in and Move-out report. This complex already has cases registered with BBB and those were resolved with Tenant. My first step to contact BBB. But if BBB does not resolve issue I am willing to go to small courts.
I have a collection with Hunter Warfield also (apartment debt from Orlando). I am interested in the outcome of your dealing with them. I plan to try a paid for deletion negotiation in a few months. I would love to know where they stand on these type of matters, but I don't want to make any contact or start any negotiations until I have the funds to work with.
Research before you rant! I know this is an old post, but I just came across it. Seriously everything you said in this rant is wrong. 1. HWI does not buy any debt. The companies that own the complex are their clients and there is a contract b/t them. 2. The client (apartment complex) is not "washed" of any responsibility. It is up to them whether HWI pursues legal action or not. 3. The letter is a general demand letter, I am sure you have gotten a few of these, they are stating the name of the client and giving you a chance to dispute the claim. 4. FDCPA allows a collection agency to run 3 credit reports on an individual with specifications on time in between. Furthermore you state later that HWI did provide you with verification of the debt and the repaire reciepts. If the apartments had to hire an outside contractor to make the repairs them I gather they were above normal wear and tear. To answer you question about the move in-move out inspection being legal proof..duh why do you think they do them. If you filled out the move in inspection b/c you wanted to make sure you were not charged for anything you did not do then why did you not insist on a move out inspection so you could dispute or take care of anything they stated needed fixing or repairing? ignorance to the lease or not reading it or the old excuse of "they didn't tell me" don't fly. If you were old enough to not live w/ mommy and daddy and signed a lease then man up and make sure you read before you sign and check out what it says to do at move out before you rant and rave about your mistakes!
Hunter Warfield does not remove a bad debt from any credit report they will only update paid in full or settled in full
Hunter-Warfield is a turd company. I sued them...can't discuss the settlement (lol). It helped that the apartment complex sent them forged documents. I had several violations; no 30-day notice, attempt to con't collect w/o validation, etc... Hmmm, I wonder if Ms. Iglesias is still the lawyer handling their business. She was very nice, but for some reason didn't take me serious...BIG mistake.
I am interested in beginning a class action against this company, as well as a public campaign against such industries. I understand that they have watchdog agencies which need to correct the problem, specifically FDCPA violations. If anyone knows of anyone, or has experienced a clear FDCPA violation (harassment is the MOST difficult to prove, remember) by this company please contact me. They are attempting to collect on me with violations of debt validation, among other things (Section 809 A & B). I would also LOVE to get signatures against this company for online petitions or written petitions to their professional organizations which license them (and their CEO's). I have dealt with agencies before, this was the worst. It's an apartment debt, FYI, unverified, etc...like the last guy! Contact me anytime alissa.jordan@gmail.com, almjorda@uchicago.edu SAVE EVERYTHING! Alissa
