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jabseb · #1 04-11-2005, 04:21 PM

I need to check on this company. I have been hospitalized for a smashed tibia and fibula. Things have been crazy and one of my bills made it to this collection agency. I told them I could start paying them in three weeks. Then I had a woman call me and tell me I didn't take make this agreement. I then thought it was a different company and new I couldn't make another payment of the same size and told her I could pay a smaller amount. Then she told me I had already made an agreement of the original amount. I then realized she was lying to me. They also want the routing number for my checking account with my agreement so they can put it through on that date. Well I don't trust them. Should I??

jtucker · #2 04-11-2005, 04:32 PM

You are under no obligation to release your Account Numbers to them for auto-matic withdrawals...and in fact if U do release this and they cause over draws etc it can hurt other activity you may have going on.

I suggest U get any agreements in writing before you start to honor them.

Jerry

jabseb · #3 04-11-2005, 04:41 PM

Thank you so much. Please if anyone knows what legal grounds I have please let me know. As of now this has not been put on my credit report. I have worked hard to improve my rating. I don't want these people to ruin all my work.

jtucker · #4 04-11-2005, 04:54 PM

Just have them send you any agreements i nwriting for you to review, adn thus by having it all in writing you have a legal document to follow.

And..if the amount they want is too high, make a counter offer for a different amount in writing and await their reply.

also check out the other sections here like the Self help Letter:

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/diy/

Jerry

benjaminz6 · #5 04-16-2005, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabseb

I need to check on this company. I have been hospitalized for a smashed tibia and fibula. Things have been crazy and one of my bills made it to this collection agency. I told them I could start paying them in three weeks. Then I had a woman call me and tell me I didn't take make this agreement. I then thought it was a different company and new I couldn't make another payment of the same size and told her I could pay a smaller amount. Then she told me I had already made an agreement of the original amount. I then realized she was lying to me. They also want the routing number for my checking account with my agreement so they can put it through on that date. Well I don't trust them. Should I??

I also believe that you should not trust them. Just from their lies, they have already proven to you that they are unethical. Don't give them your banking information. Because once they have your number and your authorization, it starts a transaction that is very difficult to reverse.

I suggest that you call the agency on your own and speak with the supervisor. Try to explain your situation in order to resolve this with him/her. If that doesn't work, get a lawyer.

Next time, don't make any hasty agreements with a bill collector over the phone. Because they can always pull a stunt similar to what you already experienced. In order to legally protect yourself for the next time, make sure that you get all agreements in writing. And before you sign on to any agreement, make sure that you understand the legalese/jargon of the agreement.

roxette · #6 04-18-2005, 12:41 PM

I fully agree with benjaminz6 and it should be clearly understood that we should not give our details to anyone over the phone. If I start giving information to anybody over the phone, then it is for sure that I will have to suffer sooner or later due to my silly mistakes.

jabseb, you take the professional advice of a lawyer so that he can review your case and guide you towards the positive things that can be done now.

Regards
Roxette

#7 04-27-2005, 09:56 AM

I have some collections reports from this company on my credit report. They were all paid more than two years ago. Does anyone know how long it takes to have them removed?

roxette · #8 04-27-2005, 11:40 AM

Hi jtapp

If you feel that your credit report is not having any mistakes at all, then you should ask for a debt validation letter from this company as you are rest assured that the debt has been paid back couple of years back.

Just being in the safer side, you can ask for an updated credit report from the bureaus so that you get confirmed that it is actually reflected in your report

Quote:

Does anyone know how long it takes to have them removed?

It depends upon the SOL of the state where you are residing presently. You can take the help of a lawyer in this regard for better understanding.

Hope to hear from you soon with your reply and a positive thought

Roxette

Pammila · #9 04-27-2005, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtapp

I have some collections reports from this company on my credit report. They were all paid more than two years ago. Does anyone know how long it takes to have them removed?

Will expire 7 years from the 1st delinquency leading to charge off.

So if you had an account last activity (paid prior to charge off) 1/2000 then 2/2000 would be the first delinqency and 2/20007 would be the expiration date.

Now technically this account should say collection paid, and zero balance, if it is not reporting correctly you will need to contact the credit reporting agency and dispute the status and amount with them.

#10 07-05-2005, 11:00 AM

Dear friends,
I am not a lawyer, nor is this legal advice. that said, I am a fairly well educated person and my instincts say something smells rotton and these folks Pinnacle financial absolutely appear to be acting in bad faith and ethics may not even exist..that is if any collection agency has any?1 these folks called my home and tried to speak to my wife through trickery, she said her first name and needed to speak with my wife's (first name) and I was like? who? where does she know you from, and she said pinnacle financlial,and I had to probe in order to make them finally admit they are a debt collection agency. clearly their methods are lacking any ethical merit. point is, my wife has aa common naamee, and regardless of what they said, she owes nothing. we have our credit reports monitored regularly. I said that and she asked for information to confirm, I volunteered NOTHING. nor will I. i said, if you think she owes you, send it in writing. she said they already did, and that made it clear she was a liar and obviously has the wrong party. she made threats, when I saaid I will be filing a casse for harassment. she said she will keep calling, and ruin my wifes credit. do it, I saaid, and stop calling. we don't owe anybody anything late, and I am well aware of that, but they wont stop calling. verizon has *57 and you dial it after they call you and the call is traced. some states require you do this twice. then get a police report, and verizon will, with the police take matters in their own hands. I can asssure you, that I don't believe any company we deal with amex, audi, etc would use a company like this. there are levels before a collection agent is hired because that means the company must give them a portion of the debt, and if we really owed anything, we'd know it before collections, and gain, this sounds like a shady black listed company. there are probably some good ones that reputable companies use. I doubt it would be them, even so the nature of the biz is ugly. record them if it's legal in your statee, and tell them they're beeing recorded, I'm sure they'll talk differently. 8)

roxette · #11 07-05-2005, 12:19 PM

Hi friendly advisor

Welcome to the forums. It is nice that you monitor your credit report regularly to know the latest of your credit file. Moreover, when the people from Pinnacle financial can't provide any written copy validating your debt, it means that they are just causing harassment to you. It is understood that when they call a person to recover a debt, sometimes they end up calling a wrong person. The fdcpa does not stop any debt collector from calling a person. But the illegal part is that when they continue to call a person knowing the fact that the person has nothing to do with the said debt.

Please inform them that you will be recording all their telephonic conversations and will take legal action against them if they do not end it here.

If they continue harassing you, please contact your state attorney general office and file a complaint with the FTC keeping all necessary proof intact which will prove your point stronger.

Regards
Roxette

benjaminz6 · #12 07-05-2005, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benjaminz6

Quote:

Originally Posted by friendly advisor

Dear friends,
I am not a lawyer, nor is this legal advice. that said, I am a fairly well educated person and my instincts say something smells rotton and these folks Pinnacle financial absolutely appear to be acting in bad faith and ethics may not even exist..that is if any collection agency has any?1 these folks called my home and tried to speak to my wife through trickery, she said her first name and needed to speak with my wife's (first name) and I was like? who? where does she know you from, and she said pinnacle financlial,and I had to probe in order to make them finally admit they are a debt collection agency. clearly their methods are lacking any ethical merit. point is, my wife has aa common naamee, and regardless of what they said, she owes nothing. we have our credit reports monitored regularly. I said that and she asked for information to confirm, I volunteered NOTHING. nor will I. i said, if you think she owes you, send it in writing. she said they already did, and that made it clear she was a liar and obviously has the wrong party. she made threats, when I saaid I will be filing a casse for harassment. she said she will keep calling, and ruin my wifes credit. do it, I saaid, and stop calling. we don't owe anybody anything late, and I am well aware of that, but they wont stop calling. verizon has *57 and you dial it after they call you and the call is traced. some states require you do this twice. then get a police report, and verizon will, with the police take matters in their own hands. I can asssure you, that I don't believe any company we deal with amex, audi, etc would use a company like this. there are levels before a collection agent is hired because that means the company must give them a portion of the debt, and if we really owed anything, we'd know it before collections, and gain, this sounds like a shady black listed company. there are probably some good ones that reputable companies use. I doubt it would be them, even so the nature of the biz is ugly. record them if it's legal in your statee, and tell them they're beeing recorded, I'm sure they'll talk differently. 8)

Yes, I agree with you, this is among one of the worst stories that I have heard about debt collectors.

Considering that you do not owe anything, this really does show ignorance, a lack of professionalism, and a lack of information on their part. You do not deserve to be harassed like this for no reason.

In many instances, debt collection companies are operating on bare bones information about their debt subjects.

That is because after a few years of trying to collect a debt, companies start to draw down information about these debtors in their databases.

This could also be a result of companies using collection agencies to collect the debts. So, they call up the debtors hoping that they can scare the people into paying.

They are relying on the fact that many people do not ask to validate their debt. Many people do not ask for verification. They just assume they have debt and they decide to pay.

However, there are steps that you could take in order to take action against this debt collection company.

First, you should ask this company for validation of this debt in writing.

You should know that within five days after you are first contacted, the debt collector must send you a written notice detailing the amount of money you owe; the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money; and what action to take if you believe you do not owe the money.

This information is required by law. So, if they have not done this yet, you should send them a letter insisting that they do so ASAP.

If they can't produce such a letter, that would pretty much support the idea that they do not accurate and complete information about the person that they are pursuing.

In addition, you could get these debt collectors to stop calling your house. All you have to do is send them a letter saying that you do not wish to be contacted by their company anymore because the information that they are using is inaccurate or incomplete.

And according to law, they must stop calling your home. You should check our creditor database to see if the contact information for this creditor is available.

#13 07-14-2005, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabseb

I need to check on this company. I have been hospitalized for a smashed tibia and fibula. Things have been crazy and one of my bills made it to this collection agency. I told them I could start paying them in three weeks. Then I had a woman call me and tell me I didn't take make this agreement. I then thought it was a different company and new I couldn't make another payment of the same size and told her I could pay a smaller amount. Then she told me I had already made an agreement of the original amount. I then realized she was lying to me. They also want the routing number for my checking account with my agreement so they can put it through on that date. Well I don't trust them. Should I??

Don't give this people anything that can be used against you. I tried to deal with them and when I asked for their address the rep became agitated and refused to give me their address or to let me talk to a supervisor. He actually hung up on me. I was never rude in any way.

roxette · #14 07-14-2005, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Don't give this people anything that can be used against you. I tried to deal with them and when I asked for their address the rep became agitated and refused to give me their address or to let me talk to a supervisor. He actually hung up on me. I was never rude in any way.

Have you filed a case against them on charges of harassment to you? Apart, if they don't provide you the complete details of your debt account, it is not appropriate to start paying on anything that they claim.

Do make sure that you are aware of your legal consumer rights and you exercise them in the legal way if anything tends to be unfair to you.

Regards
Roxette

#15 08-08-2005, 08:12 PM

Pinnacle continually calls my house every day at 830 in the morning. I have told them that the person they are looking for does not live there and I don't have a number where they can be reached. The person told me that he did not give Pinnacle my phone number, and that he gave them his phone number. Which leads me to believe that they have aquired that information fraudulently. On one occasion when I asked the representative how they got our number, he hung up in my face. Pinnacle's representatives are very rude. One man, Jake, went as far as to tell me to put him on the phone because he knew he was lying in bed next to me and that he was always there at that time of the morning. Another has tried to threaten me, degrade me, and chastise me for asking where they were calling from. They told me I was being "nosy" and that I should stop. They also said I was not supposed to ask them any questions, but to they could ask all they wanted. I don't trust Pinnacle at all. What should I do to make them leave me alone?

roxette · #16 08-09-2005, 04:34 PM

Hi

I strongly recommend you to file a complaint against this company at the FTC. The remarks passed by the representative are highly unpleasant.

Please write a letter to the Pinnacle and ask them to stop further communication with you otherwise you will take legal action against them.

Regards
Roxette