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operaphantom2003 · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:16 am Subject: collection "County Courthouse" call

How can I get this collection agency? This "Inspector" from Graham Noble and Associates called a few days ago and today he called my mother and left and message on her machine. The message left went like this:
"This message if for (my mother) this is Inspector <coughing> and this message is regarding (my name and social security number). You need to call me immediately at the county courthouse at 1-877-836-3131 ext 17. If you do not call me immediately, you will be involved in this matter."

What a bunch of BS and they know it. All I have is a digital answering machine so I cannot have a tape of it. What can I do?

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:46 am Subject:

Hello,

I did a search on the BBB website for them, they also go by the following names

Benning & Smith Acquistions
Graham, Beagle and Associates

They are probably illegal, so they keep changing there name. I would file a complaint with the BBB and your states Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission. They have no right to hassle you or your mother, or anyone else for that matter.

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:56 am Subject:

opera - they are skirting the fdcpa law and they know it. They are stopping just short of informing your mother of a debt they are trying to collect from you.

However, it may be very close on the issue of making threats they don't intend to carry out, since they said they are from a courthouse (they aren't) and that they are an "inspector" (they're not) and that they will involve your mother in this matter (they can't).

I would contact an attorney and save that phone message.

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:05 am Subject:

This is a blatant violation of the fdcpa for claiming to be a court official!! File suit and contact the New York Attorney general.I imagine he will be pleased collectors are impersonating a court officer.

Guess what? · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:35 pm Subject:

Either A he's a attorney, probably not licensed to practice in your state (there's a violation of a law that as far to my knowledge is applicable in all states) or he's pretending to be an attorney which is also pretty serrious offense. If he is though, you might also want to file complaint with their state bar if you can manage to figure out what law firm they are with.

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:09 pm Subject:

He sounds totally bogus to me. Is there some law against leaving a person's social security number on an answering machine? It seems like that would violate someone's privacy.

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:39 pm Subject:

He left your social on the answering service? ::smacks head:: that is just stupid. What if the poster had a roommate? That must violate some law somewhere...

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:40 pm Subject:

If they indeed did leave a social security # on a machine that is also a privacy law violation.As I said before this is the kind of situation a consumer attorney needs to step in and smack them.

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:44 pm Subject:

I think a economy/family size can of legal (explitive deleted) needs to be opened up for that.

Guest · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:59 pm Subject:

it is a violation at least three ways--

1--disclosing your SSN in a message to someone else

2--threatening to take action against the third party that they cannot even take

3--implying that he is an officer of the court, or somehow otherwise connected with the court.

All three of these are major fdcpa violations, save that message at all costs. At this point, you should simply sue, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Any time spent waiting at this point will not get you anywhere, as they have just shown you their willingness to completely ignore federal law.

File a suit on this bozo as soon as possible, this one recording is by itself more than sufficient to prove beyond doubt all three violations.

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:14 pm Subject:

It would be a violation of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to disclose any "non-public" personal information about you to another party. Considering that your SSN is "non-public", there's your violation, even if it was your mother and she knows your SSN anyway.

If it were me, I would have my mom call back with a tape recorder and play along with it. Then you could probably get him on several more violations too.

piehead · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:03 pm Subject: graham nobel & associates

Today my husband received a call from graham and nobel and assocites - from an "inspector stewart" saying my husband has something from marin bank - we have never even heard of this before! I just want to warn everyone that this is a scam. My husband had this guy on speaker phone so I could hear everything, it was quite funny. We have a long way home from work about an hour - this "inspector" rambled on about nothing for an hour. He put him on hold 3 different times and one time another lady came on and said that he was in a meeting - he would be back in 30 seconds........who does that?

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:14 pm Subject:

Piehead, if it's legal in your state to record phone conversations with only your consent start recording their calls, if it requires both parties consent inform them that the call is being recorded and by staying on the line they are consenting to the recording.

Also you should send them a debt validation letter, send it certified mail, return receipt requested. (You can find a good template for a debt validation letter via the first link in my signature)

piehead · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:28 pm Subject: fake collectors

jcemt thank you for your links
action will be taken

happy holidays!!!!

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:08 pm Subject:

Could be some sort of scam. Especially seeing that two men, Graham and Nobel, are a couple of scientists who published a work in 1996 on plant life. I wouldn't think that a collector would stay on the phone for an hour, time is money to them.

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:24 pm Subject:

I completely forgot about the real Graham and Nobel. I should have noticed that.

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