My experience with Universal Fidelity

here's MY experience with UF (to which i say FU)

they call my number at least 15 times a day and when i answer, it's a voice recorded message saying blah blah "please call 281-647-4155"

so i do. and after 10 rings it puts me through to a voicemail... blah blah in english and then a minute of spanish and then a message saying "THIS MAILBOX IS FULL YOU CANNOT LEAVE A MESSAGE" (this has happened EVERY TIME that i've called that number back)

great. okay, so then i call the number that's on my caller ID is 281-647-6152.

RUDE is not the word for them. they are nasty. they chew gum in your ear. they put you on hold until you hang up - to call back again. they say they've sent letters - of which i've not received ANY and then they say they will not mail anything else.

this has happened repeatedly.

today, it happened with a woman named Tariah (pronounced Tara. but i pronounced it the way it was spelled and she got mad and hung up on me.) prior to her getting in a snit because I didn't pronounce her name right, i told her the whole "full mailbox" thing. and she said "whatever." and had attitude.

then i called back and she said she wasn't speaking to me. meanwhile i was prepared to pay whatever the heck 200.00 that i owed... but she just put me on hold.

so i called back. got some guy named Chris (a gum or food chewer.) who then says "we sent mail and we're not sending any more" --- well, how the heck am i supposed to send in a check if they won't send me a legit item in the mail? it's really quite shady. and the guy says "you got your mail. check with your postmaster general." and hangs up.

anyway... a few hours later, i get the voice recording calling me AGAIN... i call the number. of course it's mailbox is full. so i call the 281.647.4152 number.

i get some twit named Vania ("teehee it rhymes with Tania. Spell it like that") whatever. I tell her about the "full mailbox" thing and she said "i know nothing about that" and i said "maybe you can tell your supervisor" and she replied with "it really doesn't matter" --- ARE YOU SERIOUS!? anyway, i asked to speak to a supervisor. of course, no one was around... right.

so i said "i've received 15 calls from your company today even after speaking with 2 people this morning - i would like you to note this and to stop harassing me with the calls"

she replies, get this... "well, lady, you haven't made a payment" --- in the last 4 hours? no. because you jerks keep hanging up.

and then she says "and it's NOT harassment BECAUSE it's a voice recording and no live person is calling you directly"

and then she hung up.

how'dya like them apples, people?

Oh my goodness!!! It sounds like you found the very bottom of the bottom feeders of the Houston barrel!!!

It is harassment any which way they want to slice that pie. I agree with your statement in ( ).

Principal Name: Universal Fidelity LP # 270
Address: 1445 Langham Creek Drive
Houston, TX 77084
Phone: (281) 647-4100

See if this debt is on your credit report. If it is, dispute it through the credit bureaus. If it is not, send them a validation letter certified return receipt(see the diy link to the right). Also, tell them in the letter to cease all phone communication and to only use the US Postal Service. If they validate, DO NOT use a credit card, debit card or your checking account to pay them. Go to the post office and get a money order. You can have it traced for $3.15.

Wow, what is wrong with these people??? I agree with checking your credit and the debt validation letter. atxmbb gave you some great advice. You don't have to put up with that crap!!!

I got one thing to say on this:RETAIN COUNSEL AND SUE THEM FOR EVERYTHING YOU CAN!!!Go to naca.net for referral.

UFLP puts off lawyers in the same way. If you do get an attorney to go after them, I can provide some useful information.

I dont get why they hang up? Isnt the point to get payment?

That would be the point, but I really don't think that some collectors are smart enough to grasp that concept! I think what we need to do in dealing with these people is call them back with a mouthfull of food each time and make a point of chewing in their ears. Sounds wonderful when you're wearing a headset, as I can attest to....

My point is sue them every time they violate.When they get hammered enough on the wallet,they may reconsider how they collect.

Texaslawyer would know a lot about this if you are in Texas. Yes, sue them for every violation.

Would make for a good payday for yourself!!!!!

If a colllection agency or lawyer collecting does not even attempt to follow the laws in place,I see no point in bothering with them.Collect your violations and sue them for every cent possible.Ensure you ask for punitive damages for willful violations of the law.

All the other posts here sounds a lot like my dealings with UF. Have had conversations with rude people and those who are OK. I don't envy their job, but I'm also no criminal. I apparently owe a $100 debt at Macy's, an account I had not used in 7 years and have since changed addresses and applied for loans and mortgages during that span and the debt never cropped up. (I didn't understand the one post about disputing it via a credit report and going through the credit bureau, can you expand on that?).
One UF lady accused me of evading the collections agency and said they were gonna call me every day and harass me until I paid the debt. She wanted to know why I have ignored the debt over the years and asked, sarcastically, if I ignore my mortgage payment as well. When I laughed, she asked what I thought was funny, and I said that a mortgage was a lot different than neglecting a $100 dept store charge I had not used in 7 years. Well, I have a 5-letter word for that gal, and it starts with a B. What kills me, is that they expected me to pay over the phone with a credit card, even though I had no written document from them or Macy's detailing what I owe. In another conversation with another UF gal who insisted I pay over the phone with a credit card, I dropped an F bomb and said no way was I gonna pay a charge over the phone I had just learned about that day without receiving something in the mail. She then screamed at me and hung up.
RE one of the other posts here, when I asked for details of the debt, another UF contact told me to contact Macy's, but Macy's has no idea who I am, since they handed over the account and collections to UF. Very aggravating to say the least.

These people called my fiance and when I asked what this was regarding they asked who I was and I said his wife as we are engaged. The man on the phone told me there was a bill that needed paid, the amount and asked if I was going to pay it. I promptly told him he had violated the FDCPA and he started yelling and I hung up. I have informed by fiance of this and will have him report this violation. Can these people be sued, possibly a class action suit? They have no regards for this Act as I have worked in collections and this is no more that harassment, violation of the privacy act and the FDCPA.

Nope. They have no way to tell that you fibbed. "The term 'consumer' includes the consumer’s spouse, parent (if the consumer is a minor), guardian, executor, or administrator". [15 USC 1692c(d)]

To Sophie/Sasha:


There would be no way you would win in court. Considering that you identified yourself as the spose doesn't make them wrong! Being rude and unprofessional is a legitimate complaint, but the rest of these complaints are for the birds! You people complain about them calling, yet they wouldn't if you paid your bills!

it doesnt matter if you owe or not...
the point is they have to follow THE LAW...
someone could be the victim of identity theft so therefore they would not pay the debt collectors...
it doesnt matter the debt collectors are suppose to follow the law...
so my advice to everyone RECORD RECORD RECORD ANY CONVERSATION THAT YOU HAVE WITH ANY DEBT COLLECTOR!!!
you also send a letter thru the mail but you must certify it with a return receipt and in that letter you can state ow they contact you and if they can contact you...
and fyi you never have to pay a debt collector because you can pay the original debtor...