FTC and FCC Advise on Stopping Annoying Calls

My Fox New York provides a timely refresher on how to put an end to annoying phone calls and what rights you have under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. When it comes to telemarketing calls, the law says that you have the right to place your name on the Do Not Call Registry. Once you’ve been on the registry for 31 days, telemarketers cannot call you. This doesn’t apply to charities, political groups, or surveyors, or companies with whom you already have a relationship. When that’s the case, you need to specifically ask them to put you on their Do Not Call list, and they must honor that request.

When it comes to debt collection calls, the Federal Trade Commission (the agency responsible for enforcing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) advises that debt collectors can’t harass you or use deception in order to get you to pay a debt. While violations of the FDCPA don’t erase your debt, you can sue a debt collector and get economic compensation. The FTC says:

“You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can’t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney’s fees and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector’s net worth, whichever amount is lower.”

The bottom line? Always stand up for your rights. Doing so lets debt collectors know that they can’t get away with crossing the line, and it could put money in your pocket.

United Recovery Systems Harassment

About United Recovery Systems

United Recovery Systems boasts over 1,000 collectors. Headquartered in Houston, they also have offices in Tulsa, OK, Phoenix, AZ, Bryan, TX, Harker Heights, TX, and Monterrey, Mexico. Earlier this month, they opened a new call center in Tempe, AZ, that has 360 call stations. They new call center currently employs about 150 debt collection agents, but United Recovery Systems expects to hire another 100 in the coming year. United Recovery Systems deals in retail, commercial, credit card, and deficiency auto loans. They’ve recently had some high-level staff turnover, hiring a new recruiting director and new chief financial officer. United Recovery Systems is regularly sued for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Stop United Recovery Systems Calls

If you want to stop United Recover Systems calls, you’re not alone. One way to stop United Recovery Systems calls is to send them a cease and desist letter. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), United Recovery Systems must stop calling and writing to you if you send them a written notification. After United Recovery Systems receives your letter, they may only contact you to notify you that they are no longer attempting to collect the debt or if they decide to see a specified remedy.

In your letter, tell them that you’re making the request in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and that you insist that United Recovery Systems stop calling you at home, at work, on your cell phone or any other location. Also tell them that you do not wish to receive any further written or electronic communication. In addition, tell United Recovery Systems not to call or communicate with any third party acquaintances.

Once you write your letter, make sure to keep a copy for your records, and to send the letter to United Recovery Systems via certified mail with a return receipt requested. Keep your mailing receipt, as well as the return receipt that indicates they received your letter.

How to Stop United Recovery Systems Harassment Calls

If you truly want to stop United Recovery Systems harassment calls, your best bet is to contact stopcollector.com. The attorneys who work with stopcollector.com are experts on the Fair Debt Collection Practices act, and can stop United Recovery Systems harassment calls in their tracks. Best of all, stopcollector.com can pursue United Recovery Systems for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This means that you can be awarded up to $1,000 or more when United Recovery Systems engages in unethical and illegal practices. Representation won’t cost you a penny, since the FDCPA says that debt collectors who cross the line have to pay consumers’ attorney fees.

United Recovery Systems Contact Information

United Recovery Systems

5800 North Course Drive

Houston, TX 77072

800-568-0399

Buffalo Collections Industry Profiled in AP Story

About 10% of all complaints received by the Better Business Bureau last year involved a company in western New York.  One of the largest industries in the area is debt collection. A recent AP story, published in the New York Times, briefly profiled the Buffalo-based collections industry.

Debt collection companies were drawn to Buffalo by its inexpensive office space, affordable work force and government grants.

Almost everyone knows someone whose son or daughter has worked for a collection agency,” said David Polino, president of the Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York. ”This is one of the industries that used to be Bethlehem Steel, the Chevy plant — all the places where you used to get out of high school and find employment 35 or 40 years ago, it’s now call centers.

The debt collection industry has brought many jobs to Buffalo. The article reports that between 5,000 and 6,000 people work at 110 collection agencies in and around Buffalo, the nation’s third-poorest city of its size. However, state and federal authorities have increased scrutiny of abusive debt collection practices in Buffalo.

Debt collectors, some of them convicted felons, have illegally posed as lawyers or unlawfully browbeat people — threatening to have them arrested or stripped of custody of their children — to scare them into making payments.

There are law-abiding collections firms in Buffalo, however, we have heard from many consumers who have been harassed by collectors based in the area. Glad the issue is getting some press attention!

Sergei Lemberg, Esq., focuses his practice on defending consumer rights in the areas of Fair Debt Collection Law, Consumer Fraud, Auto Warranty and Auto Injury litigation.

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