Collect America attorneys have nothing that stands in court. They do sue - and if you respond to the court, they fold, every single time. If you ignore the suit they win by default - this is the only way they can win. The judge over my case even chastised the attorney for C.A. in his ruling. Defend yourself (and how's Harrison Ross Byck - world's stupidest attorney and close personal friend to Attorney's General everywhere)

Who ever is complaining about a collection agency giving them a hard time, needs to own up to the fact that they are the ones in the wrong, not the collection agency. If you would have paid your bills on time and at least tried to negotiate with the original debtor, you never would have had them calling you in the first place. Don't complain because you overextended youreself and tried to ignore your own repsonsibility. I realized hardships happen and things can sometimes happen, but there are a lot of ways to get help form other sources. By the time your debt got to collect america, don't deny the fact that you knew it was coming for a while. Quit wining and own up to your responsibilities!

I think a lot of people come on here and miss the point of why everyone is here. A lot of us are here because we know that we are in debt and we know that we owe money, however the point is some of these collection agencies are breaking the law.

Because a person did not pay a creditor is no reason for them to be harassed by a third party collection agency. Some of the original creditors are unwilling to work with the debtor.

But whatever the case, I think we are all here to get help, seek advice and get out of debt. A lot of us come here and we share our experiences, so that others can learn from them. I think everyone that comes here is responsible, because they want to get out of debt without being harassed or threatened.

My husband had a large debt and was contacted by Vengroff, Williams & Associates,Inc. It was actually a very positive experience, the collection rep really cared about my husbands situation, actually helped him vicariously, get a dormant business back up and running and truly helped my husband and I resolve this debt and improve our lives. This man was special.
I give Vengroff, Williams & Associates 4 Stars!

That's true John Smith. Not all of them are bad. There are certain collection agencies that hold satisfactory report with BBB. It makes me remember of the debate we had a few weeks back and there we had a discussion on the same fact.

Actually whenever we get a collection call, we get panicky, as the experience with collection agencies is not satisfactory on an average. If we hold our nerve and handle the situations carefully, lots of trouble will be eliminated right away.

I am a fraud victim, collect America will not take their claim off my Experian report even though I have talked to them and sent them my police fraud report many times. I guess they are hoping to make my life so miserable I pay a dept that is not mine. Scott Lowery (and I use the term freely)Law should be investigated. I am planning on writing to the N.Y. D.A.

Nina,

You can contact D.A. of your state. It's baseless to pay the debt that is not at all yours. Have you contacted Experian? Send them a letter to dispute this particular entry. They are supposed to make an investigation and they will rectify your report if the account is reported incorrectly.

For the time being, add a statement to your credit report that you dispute that entry. Credit bureau will be sending this statement along with your report in the coming days.

The problem is that debtors are looking for some way out of paying there bill. I agree having been in the business for 10 years that we have some shady operations out there. But that shouldn't be a loop whole every time some debtor decides they don't want to pay their bill. I have been in the business for 10, years and owned and agency with over 35 collectors, and we never had any issues with the law. Period. If you pay your bills you wont have a problem.

This is not true always. Anyone might have some real trouble to pay the amount; it doesn't mean that he is looking for some way out. If someone tries to pass up his debts, nobody out here would support him.

But that does not justify the unfair debt collection practices! collection agencies should follow the rules stated under fdcpa, which they rarely do.

Obviously there are good collection agencies as well. Check the debate we had few weeks back-
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com...ncy-harsh.html

We just received word from our lawyers that the address 1999 Broadway suite 2150 Denver, Co is NOT correct. I am trying alternative addresses.

To the "debt collectors" or employees of this company- let me tell you a story. My husband worked for an energy company in Houston. We owned a 4000 sq ft home and had great credit. When greedy Enron's bad press hit, my hubby's company had to let his whole section go. We paid our bills for a year, even though he was unemployeed. We paid our mortgage. I even spent my inheritance from my mother- over $50,000- to keep up payments as we didn't want to be "deadbeats", as so eloquently listed above. Then- the $ was gone. Our home was foreclosed on and our car was stolen. We buried our baby boy in April 2003, buried my Mother in September 2003, and lost two more babies in 2004. Our lives were already hell and we were being driven crazy by creditors. People who we'd PAID even though we were eating mac and cheese everynight! Now, just as my husband has a good new job, we file bankruptcy. And THIS company is using false addresses or playing jokes? We're trying to rebuild OUR LIVES! Bankruptcy/credit problems are an everyday occurrence. It happens to rich, poor, and us- middle class. I'll bet we make more in a year now than most of the people working for Collect America, but our credit is gone so we pay almost 2000 a month in rent for a house we should be owning! We didn't lay about and eat bon-bons! We used every frigging cent we had to pay off creditors, but it was never enough! Because of Enron, there were so many houses for sale in our area of Houston that 4 in our neighborhood ALONE were foreclosed on! Just remember- not everyone gets to be a credit problem b/c of laziness! I spoke to every creditor we had, but their bag of tricks was too much. Sending our account to 5 different credit agencies, or lawyers- just be honest and tell us what to expect. I cooperated and paid as much as I could before we went broke. Now we pay double the rent we should and more for a car loan than someone with NO job! We live paycheck to paycheck and HAD to file bankruptcy. Even w/o the creditor payments (which we kept up until we were OUT of money)we are 1 paycheck from the street! And we're considered UPPER middle class! Sorry- but there is no excuse for lumping all people into one classification as deadbeats. And furthermore- if people get into credit problems, it is often the fault of the credit card companies who try to hook everyone. I take my punishment and so does my husband. We've been punished enough. This bankruptcy was supposed to be a new chapter in our lives. Not if Collect America has its way! be upfront and publish the correct address for this company- do something right for a change!

Hi thaliajen

Welcome to the debt consolidation Care forums. Sorry to hear about the situation in which Collect America has put you. Please contact them at the address as listed in the BBB.

Since the debt has been discharged in bankruptcy, please ask your attorney to send a notice to them at the following address.

Collect America LTD
370 17th St. #5000
Denver, CO 80202-5622
Phone Number: 303-296-3345
Fax Number: 303-376-2094

The lawyer that founded it, Phillip Scott Lowery, was fined $1.6M for harrasment and DIS-BARRED in the mid-90s. Some perspective, huh?

The collection agencies pay for the debt then try to collect on it. The debt may not have been "sent."

Be sure to check out budhibbs site as well as they often have nothing to stand on -- especially if you have filed bankruptcy and discharged that debt.

Link made inactive as per forum rules - Vikas

D.B. Cooper, I find it hard to believe you are employed at all, let alone employed by Collect America. You "supervise" lawsuits? What the hell does that mean? Either you are a lawyer, in which case you litigate, not supervise, lawsuits, or you are an administrative assistant, which means the only thing you supervise is a Xerox machine. But even a janitor who works at a collection agency knows how to spell Bankruptcy.

The money owed to original creditor is not owed to YOU. Not all people are trying to shaft the Credit Card companies, many are honest working people like yourself who have been thrust into circumstances that make day to day living - IMPOSSIBLE with out some relief. It is a GREAT prejudice on your part to assume otherwise. If you ever find yourself in a financially devistating situation - I hope you will find people who care- unlike yourself (MR OR MS PERFECT). You bring shame on people in general and on collection agencys who are willing to help.

My husband paid off his chargeoff debt years ago. Collect America updated Equifax and Trans Union but failed to update Experian. We have disputed through Experian three times only to be told we must dispute through Collect America. We have sent numerous letters, left numerous phone messages (we can never get to a person. "All agents busy, please leave a message") and have never received a single response. Such an easy fix on Collect America's end would have major impact on us but they are missing in action.

Angry Wife,

Welcome to forums

If this is the scenario, then considering adding a statement with your Experian report. You would be able to explain your situation there. It will also help your future financers realize what happened to you.