I received a call from Linda at ACS today.. She said that someone was going to be at my door on Monday AM if I did not call her back? I do not know what she is talking about. I owe citibank about 1,500 from about 3 years ago.. I am in New York.. Is this going to happen?? Whats going on??

These are all collection threats. There is nothing to worry. Contact Citibank and inquire if they have transferred your debt to ACS or not.

If ACS calls you, ask for validation. Also send them a written request for validation. Send it via CMRRR.

Thank you Stella.. I was so worried. She sounded crazy on the phone. I was really concerned.. I will contack citibank.. Thank you for the peace of mind.. I now can actually get some sleep..

You are welcome Cathy.

Also if you face any problem in future, discuss it with the community members here. I have been doing this and have always got good help. Now I also belong to this community and I am proud for that.

i work for academy and am very succesful at my job and take it very professionally however there are some coolectors out there who use scare tactics to collect debotrs have to realize however that its not that deep of an issue,you signed a legal contract saying you would pay back the client and also agree to their interest,fees,and charges and upon default of contract you will remit the balance that is owed. We offer you a settlement that is a luxury that we are providing you,you owe the balance and then cry and scream and yell at us because you owe the bill,not us,you owe. Also it takes close to six months before a debt is sent to collections,that means the client gave you every oppertunity and grace period to do whatever was necessary to get this money and pay them what is rightfully owed. If we call you and have the wrong # dont freak out,say politely like a civilized humna being "im sorry but you have the wrong #",dont pry for information becuase we cant give that out under the fdcpa,dont scream and yell because the collector will probably think your the debtor and are being evasive becuase their are many people who use these tactics to avoid paying what is rightfully owed. Debtors always say send me a bill and i will pay,you received bills for every month from the client and they sent you letters for six months prior to you being sent to collections,this is simply a tired stall tactic,we dont send bills we are not a billing service we are a 3rd party collection agency,anything you request its not a problem put in writing and send it to us,you will get bills showing that you owe the debt provided by the client,if you call them they will not speak to you,they will connect you to us at academy. So before i keep going on and on,in closing i just want to say dont blame collectors for doing ther job,3rd parties stop being noosy we cant give you any info,and debtors we dont hate you,we arent angry with you,this is business and you are in breach of contract we simply try to help you pay what is rightfully owed. thank you

Jeez since you put it that way I guess I can forgive all the calls to my neighbors , the lying about who you are, the threats to my neighbors about sherrifs being on the way, and all you people are going to jail, Pay now or face prison time, "This is her cousin and there has been a family tradgedy and she needs to call this number immediatey"

I guess their may be collectors who are professional in thir job, but their are some who aren't, face it us debtors are in financial trouble, thats why we are late on payments and thus even talking to you, you want respect , so do we. Why lie , c'mon we know who is calling and why, there is no need for threats and lies, bottom line is I wiill pay when I can, thes cc companis aren't goin out of business because I can't make a $30 payment for a few months.. they can wait! These charges they impose are absolutely criminal.. plus the fact they know whos in trouble and when just from our charging and payment habits, how dare they punish me for getting cancer, and you heartless people harassing me for it, do you feel good about yourself at the end of the day for putting stress on othes.. just business right, wheres the support of your fellow human beings, sure there are bad people out there, but don't just assume we all are, maybe then I can assume debt collectors actually care about others and not the bottom line.

Collector, you've said your piece.
Most of the people on here are not trying to run from their debt, we are just searching for a way to get out it by supporting each other with advice and our experiences with these collectors.
Not everything you have said is true, there are alot of problems with receiving information, harrassment, and downright illegalities.
We are NOT bad people. Some of us are having crisis' that lead us to decide whether we should "pay the collector" or "buy food this week"
If you have any advice or additional information that can help us all on here, it certainly would be appreciated.

I recieved a call from ACS yesterday andspoketo "Shelly Church". My question is, did they violate the law by:

1)stating that they are a law firm. later in the conversation after i pressed her on being a lawyer she said she was a paralegal.
2) she stated that if i didn't pay my original debt to citibank that i would owe an additional $2500 for their services.
3) if her real name isn't Shelly church does that violate the law?
4)by saying that the call is from Academy Services, instead of Academy Collection Services does that violate the law. i figure they said this so that they could implythat they were a law firm like they said.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Collection agency cannot misrepresent their identity. That is not lawful. You can file complaint against them if they do so. But, collection agencies can charge collection costs if you agreed to pay it in the agreement with original creditor.

Jedi Mistress Ari posted that collectors can use easy to understand names. It appears that one person should use one alias consistently while calling and this name should connect the particular employee within that agency.

never spoke with a unhelpful group like this! Looking for a relative, Very hard to get a word in edgewise. I wish someone would tell their potential clients how mean these people are!


glad I didnt do business with them!

Academy Collections Services doesn't understand the words,don't call again,but they keep calling back.

Academy Collection Service,Inc I feel so sorry because i didnt find this forum before.because of you i have to go the court for make you disappear with your lawyers and chase bank wrong debits.

These people called me at 8:30 AM while I was on my way to work. Fortunately, my answering service says that if you call me before 10 o’clock in the morning I will hunt you down and kill you….They haven’t called back

They called my mother she has an unlisted number. I know I owe money and they offered a settlement for about 1/2 of what I owe if I could collect the amount from other sources. I thought that was a good deal so I asked for a couple of days to get the money. Now I think they are a scam and I feel stupid for giving them my information over the phone. Should I put a stop payment on the transaction with my bank? Tell my bank I think I am being scammed? Cause even if they authority to collect my Citi debt and they say it will clear my dept I don't have any of that in writing who is to say they won't start calling again saying that I didn't pay the debt? Does anyone know. This thread seems to not be currently very active but I hope someone is out there.

Great forum folks. Having been down this road, may I offer some advice?

First, know your rights, and exercise them.

Don't be afraid of these people, they will howl and scream and lecture you, but they cannot do anything outside the law. If they do, hire a young hungry attorney and sue them.

Remember, you have the power. They are trying to get you to do something - if you decide to do it, do it on your own terms, not theirs. (Of course, know the legal repurcussions of your decision.)

Good luck, and don't be intimidated.