Have a whistle by the phone and a recorder...If they don't let you talk then blow as hard as you can..let them know they are being recorded as well. That's called harassment and they can be fined up to 1k..

THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT Violations
1. Section 805b - Collection Caller (Randy Dixon) misrepresented himself as a legal authority when he contacted me on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 at 8:15 am Eastern Standard Time. Furthermore, on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 8:15 am EST he contacted my tenant at a business property I own in Florida; therefore, by ACS' representative contract of my tenant ACS have probed into my personnel information from government records. I'm a third party contact that I have no idea how ACS got my phone number and how they think the above phone number is associated with this consumer/person that ACS is looking for. The above phone number is on the National-Do-Not-Call list. The consumer ACS is looking for is not a party to the billing address of the my phone number nor is the consumer a party on the billing address of the Florida phone number ACS contacted

2. Section 804(1)- Mr. Dixon violated this by implying he was calling about a legal matter; therefore, implying he was an authority in the legal sense

3.Section 804(3)- Caller Randy Dixon contacted my tenant at a business property I own in Florida; therefore, by probing into my personnel information from government records is in direct vitiation of my privacy information. I'm the third party person not the consumer/person ACS is looking for.

4.Section 807 (3),(7)- Mr. Dixon violated this by stating he was calling about a legal matter; therefore, implying he was an authority in the legal sense. ACS has once again falsely represented or implicated that the consumer had committed some crime in order to disgrace them.

Finally, ACS' representative has falsely misrepresented himself as a legal authority and has probed into my personnel information from government records by contacting my tenant of a business property.

Academy Collection Service (ACS)
Keith Dickstein, President
10965 Decatur Rd.
Philadelphia, PA 19154
800-220-0605

Filed Complaints to:
1)Federal Trade Commission online forms

2)ACA International - P.O. Box 390106, Minneapolis, MN 55439

3)Ohio Attorney General/Consumer Protection Office – online

4)Legal Department/Consumer Service Unit of the company ACS is calling for – 1301 McKinney Ave, Suite 3450, Houston Texas 77010

GET THIS COMPANY OUT OF BUSINESS THEY ARE UNELTHICIAL!

This company contacted my neighbors to try to get my son, whom no longer lives with us to call them back. I am really embarrassed about this whole thing. I feel they should never bother a neighbor and feel it is a very deceptive practice!

Got a call from Academy the other day, very rude woman, said she was on her way to serve me papers, and I was being sued unless I come up with the money I owed right now! Then she called back and wanted my boss. Thankfully he is very supportive and told her she couldn't call me here at work. She called back! Today I got another one from another woman saying she would be serving me papers today, and there 's nothing I can do about it now. She was very threatening and told me that I would probably end up paying twice as much as I actually owe because I would have to pay THEIR court costs as well as mine! I'm so glad I found these comments! I was on the edge of panic!

they have been constantly leaving messages for someone else. i have had this number for a year and
have called all three people that keep leaving rude messages on my machine.
let them know i never heard of this person and that this number is mine.
but they still continue to call and leave messages
they would not give their adress or transfer me to a manager or supervisor for complaint.
they get rude and abusive.
i definately will be calling to get a complaint form from financial institutions in las vegs
702-486-4130

You can fill out the online complaint form of the FTC, BBB and state attorney general office and request for immediate action. Make sure that you have your proof intact which might be needed later.

You can also record all the telephonic conversation and inform them that you are going to take legal action against them.

I agree with all the notes above.This company is a farce and they dont comply with the code of ethics that they say they do.
They are only a collection agency and they act like their the FBI or something.
I am sick of them harrassing me at work, home and cell.
I constantly get called from kim tanner at x4368. I hate that ****. Ive told her before i am dealing with someone else and she keeps harrasing me.

we should all get together and have these people stopped.
My husband told her and her supervisor who is just as rude to stick it.

Or we should call them and leave them rude messages on their voicmails too.

I called their bluff and now I call them and you should too. I call random ext. ##'s every free minute I have in between classes (sometimes 50-75 times a day ). Remember... they record every thing so just remain silent...I have been doing this everyday since June...some may say it's childish or even a waste of time, but hey, it helps me sleep better at night.

The Fair Credit Act, I think, states that a collections agency has no rights to collect in a state that they do not have a brick and mortar office in. That means if you live in Colorado and this company's office is in Nevada, they are conducting business illeagally. A class action lawsuit may be filed against them. You can also write a letter to them certified and simply state "Do not call me again". They have the right to try and contact you by phone 1 more time, which is also illeagal, after that they are on the list for harrassment

They called me today and gave me a court case number and said that I should be receiving a subpoena in the mail. I fell behind in payments and had fraud done of my account so pretty much, there was nothing I could do at the time. When I explained to the phone person at the Academy that in a month or two, I could completely pay off the balance, she told me that I needed to pay them check by phone or wire money TODAY! Should I be worried about going to court, or having my wages garnished? I have never experienced anything this extreme in my life!

Hi smileyface

If the said debt is legitimate, then I fear that you will have to face legal action. However, you can enroll yourself for a free counseling in this website for specialist advice from the trained consultant.

Regards
Roxette

Academy Services (ACS) has been harassing me....but now they're going to pay! They allege I owe a debt and kept leaving messages on my voicemail... and at other times they block their phone number (ie: Number Witheld or Unavailable appears on the screen) when they call. Next,they called my mothers house and left a message. My Mother called them back to find out what the call was about. My mother spoke to Hugh Arnold x5604. When asked what the call was about, Mr. Arnold asked "are you Mr.Gumby's wife"? To which my mother replied "I'm Mrs. Gumby" (Please note: She never answered yes or said she was my wife)Mr. Arnold then told my mother I had a debt for X number pf dollars and told her all the details of this alleged debt. 1.)It is illegal to harass my family members and 2.) It's illegal to notify anyone of your information unless they are your spouse, attorney or parent IF YOU ARE A MINOR! ACS has screwed up. I spoke to Mr. Arnold who was very defensive. He said they tape all conversations and would play the tape for me. I accepted his offer. Now, he's been dragging his feet for a week now and not able to present any tape.I spoke to two supervisors and say they will call me back tomorrow. I told the "Complaints" Mgr. named Melanie Cruz at ext 2821 that I was demanding the following to settle my charges against them: 1.) They issue me a letter stating my acct. is PAID IN FULL. 2.) They re-age the account, send me a letter stating so, and making sure none of this appears on my credit report, as I have very good credit. I told her a failure to work out an amicable solution will result in the following: 1.) I will notify Citibank about ACS's illegal practices. They do not like this. 2.) I will file a complaint with the FTC and other gov't agencies. 3.) I will file charges in court to recover actual damages, plus $1,000 in additional damages.
I'll let you know how this turns out BUT: If you've been abused by ACS, you can file a complaint online. The FTC takes these charges seriously IF more people complain versus only one.

While you send the letter, make sure that you ask them to validate it too. They should provide the complete details of your accounts with specific interest calculations.

my husband and i bought a housa in jan of 01in white city kansas. we got way behind on our credit cards and could no longer pay them. we were told that there would be a judgement placed on the house and if we ever sold it the cc co. would collect from the sale of the house. their lawyer said we didn't earn enough for them to garnish our wages. we've since then moved. we currently live in san antonio texas, we are buying a mobil home. we were unable to sell our house in kansas so my sister found some renters to live in and pay rent on the kansas house which we use for the house payment, house insurance water bill and all the expenses of upkeeping a house. well, my sister and her husband were served some papers today saying that the credit card company is going to start garnishing THEIR wages on OUR debt. can you please let me know if that is legal?? both of the houses are in both mine and my husbands name, and my sister and her husband are just collecting our rent money for us. thank-you, Sandra and Charles spires jr

If the debt is valid and you have not paid it, the creditors have the power to take legal actions. They will issue a notice and if you are not able to pay it within that period also, they might auction your property.

At this time, you need to talk with your creditors and stop them from making further actions. It can be stopped only if you can pay them. You can take a consolidation program to ease up the work and let the consultant handle your creditors in a professional way.

Once the judgment is entered, the consultant won't be able to prevent it. It is only at the present situation the consultant might be able to offer some help to you. Register yourself in the link given below to get in touch with the consultant before it gets too late.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/signup/

this Academy company is completley off their rocker. I hope at some point the athorities will catch up with them and put them out of business. Harrasment is a kind word to use about them. They don't care if it is not the right person, they keep calling. I say we all keep calling their number 800-441-6881 over and over and over again to run up their 800 number costs. Everyone send emails to all their friends to keep calling 800-441-6881 and harrass them back.