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#1 02-26-2007, 06:33 PM

Hey I got a call a few weeks ago about a Dell (DFS) account that was charged off on in January. The company that called me was Valentine & Kebartas

the gey said that paper were already being filed and that If I set up some payments with him he might be able to stop the legal papers from going to my counts court house. So I did I set up payments with him I made 3 payment of $500. I ahve two more payment set up but I am not going to be able to make them, I called a week ago and had them move one of my payment's and they got mad about that so what going to happen if I cancel the rest of my payments until I can get the rest of the money. Has anyone ever had any dealings with Valentine & Kebartas are their lawyers or just a collections agency.

thanks

brownsugar · #2 02-26-2007, 06:41 PM

Valentine and Kebartas is a collection agency. Their address is:

Valentine and Kebartas, Inc.
15 Union Street
Lawrence, MA 01840
(978)975-0799

#3 02-27-2007, 02:35 AM

What does it mean they Charged Off my accout?

Morningstar · #4 02-27-2007, 02:48 AM

A charge off means that the original creditor has declared your account a loss, and sold the debt to a collection agency.

texaslawyer · #5 02-27-2007, 02:40 PM

V&K has lawyers working with them. I have heard some really bad things about their collection tactics, so beware of violations of the federal/state law. The good news is they pay when caught.

#6 02-27-2007, 06:39 PM

Does anyone know anything else about Valentine & Kebartas or had an account with them . They really scard me the other day when they called with things they said. I don want to pay them back but I dont have the money right now. I have already paid them $1000.00 and I owed $3000.00 at the start of all this. Anyone have any advice on how to deal with them?

#7 03-08-2007, 06:12 PM

I just got off the phone with a Ms. Scott at V & K. This is an incredibly foul organization. Three weeks ago I had dealings with another individual that Ms. Scott supervises. We had agreed at that time to settle my account with Dell Financial for $600. It was very clear through the conversation that this would close the account and this individual agreed to send me a payoff letter. This evening, after another employee discussed the account with my wife, Ms. Scott got on the phone and proceeded to instruct my wife that they would be deducting approximately $658 a month for the next three months, until I had payed $2574 (the original $600 had been paid). While I admit my balance was more than the $2574, I NEVER agreed in my original dealing with V&K to pay more than $600.
When I asked to speak with the original individual I was told I couldn't speak with him. It was very clear that Ms. Scott did not approve of the deal my guy had arranged and wanted to bully us into accepting her deal. I want to take these people to court, but I am going to need proof of the original deal (Ms. Scott kept asking if I got the deal in writing. Well of course I didn't, even though I was told I would get a payoff letter, none was forthcoming). One question, don't they record these phone calls, and can't I subpoena the call to prove the original deal?
I apologize for the length of this post, but I am furious.

Morningstar · #8 03-08-2007, 06:20 PM

Calls are not necessarily recorded. If I were a shady collection agency, I wouldn't record calls for the exact reason you had in mind. In the future, get the details of anything to be sent to you prior to sending them money. Also, be aware that if this account was in default for a while, you have just reset the clock on the statute of limitations by making the $600 payment.

texaslawyer · #9 03-10-2007, 07:31 AM

collection agencies will not admit to having recorded calls when the recordings work against them. If legal in your state, record the calls. It can be proof of your ageement and collection violations.

Ms. Scott sounds like the Mrs. Scott recently fired from AllianceOne.

#10 03-19-2007, 01:22 PM

These people are criminal. Really... THey are threatening, rude, oh I can go on and on. They can intimidate but I wouldn't stand for it. I paid a visit to them and only then did the stop harassing me.
I owed Dell a few hundred that I refused to pay because the laptop sucked and Dell wouldn't fix it underwarranty so I bought something else and stiffed them. Did it hurt my credit score? No, because V&K had to remove it when I disputed the claim because they did not show satifactory evidence from dell that I owed the money. V&K had NO invoice copies thus no proof. All they had were invoice numbers but no invoices!

#11 03-19-2007, 03:41 PM

I got yet more calls from V&K . They called friday and said for me to call them back right away the the RE-Marketer were going to come after the equiptment and all the paper work had been re-activated. They wanted me to call them right away the guy said there was nothing he could do for me any more but he did give me his info for a Western Union to send him some money or I could over night him a certified check or money order. Has anyone ever heard of Re-Marketer's that go out for Dell and get the computer's?

I think it is time more me to contact a attorney about these phone call and this account with V&K.

And I have asked time afer time to get something in the mail from them and I have still got nothing from them at all.

glenn · #12 03-19-2007, 07:34 PM

In the short time when I could make no payments at all (I was very poor at the time) I avoided calls from them. The messages they left were threatening and implied strongly that they were a law firm, not a collection agency and they liked to use the word "Action", as in "this has been referred to our firm, and we're filing an Action against you."
My account went to the other agency I posted about who's now not telling the original creditor I paid.

#13 03-21-2007, 06:59 AM

From 1999 to 2005 Bill Collectors and clerical staff at V&K have been stealing money and leased equipment from people all over the country. The scam was pretty simple. A collector would call the debtor explain that X amount of money was owed. This amount represented the actual bill (principle) and collection charges usually %20. The collector would tell the debtor to pay the principle to V&K and send the collection charges to the phoney agency, Muffucci Collections. V&K would report to the client that the principle was paid in full and the account was "settled in full". The collection charges went right into Ellen Muffucci bank account. The issue is that the account was "paid in full" and the debtor didnt get credit for paying the balance. The debtors credit report would list the account as "Settlement accepted on account" when actually the balanced was paid. If collateral was involved the principle was still paid, client was told account was settled in full and also that the equipment was bought. The debtor was told the account was settled but the equipment had to be sent to Muffucci collection. LOTS OF DELL COMPUTERS WERE STOLEN THIS WAY.

They were caught by a client. Ellen Muffucci, the ring leader, was dismissed. No charges were ever filed. NO WAY ELLEN was the only one involved. Fact is someone from the clerical department had to answer a phone call or two. It went on for 7 YEARS !!!

Wanna be a concerned citizen. Contact your congressman. Request an inquiry. All they have to do is review Ellen Muffucci bank records and they will see the depth of this larceny.

#14 09-20-2007, 03:20 AM

Yes i had dealings with Valentine and Kebartas Lawrence MA with a charged off Chase account. they're aggressive, a wee bit nasty and dirty. for i told them for no unknown reason not to call my parents number just call mine and i'd relay the message to my mom who loaned me the money. she use tried to use a check that she was told by her bank that was good. Lo and behold the guy handling my account called both of our numbers three days later telling us we don't take checks. to make other arrangements. my father found out about the incident with upset him very much. we got it paid after i mentioned the deal he told me about when he first called me. then calling him to get an end of obligation letter was a scream i called the collector 5 times getting a your fax isnt working answer my dad called him once and was nasty and the letter was faxed to me 2 hours later. i learned one thing. after this checking accounts for me

#15 09-22-2007, 09:55 AM

Valentine & Kebartas attempts to collect on debts accrued by T-Mobile. T-Mobile extended credit to people who illegally used their employers' ID numbers to open a phone account. Not only is this illegal, but when the individuals default on the account, Valentine and Kebartas Lawrence MA, threaten the employers to try to make them pay. These are small employers who cannot afford to have their credit or their businesses affected. Valentine and Kebartas needs to seriously be investigated by the federal governement for illegal credit practices and mail fraud. I have written to 3 state attorney generals about the T-Mobile incident. Look out, V&K, here I come to get you!

#16 12-20-2007, 12:56 PM

long and short of good advice - when calling them...allow them to leave messages on your answering machine and record them separately for your own records. When calling them back, if you state requires that both parties ona phone need to consent to recording a call then tell them when you call that you are recording the call. That's what I did. Don't be intimidated. Although yu may owe a debt, there are still laws that they are obligated to follow. I have had two contentious conversations with two different representatives from this company. I was denied verbally denied notification in the mail and was threatened that I would be paid a visit from my sheriff to serve me papers. During the second call, after telling a different rep. that I did receive the paper the previous week (after the original call, and that I would be taking a few days to check that with my own records from the original creditor. He tried to pressure/embarras me into not taking the 30 days I am allowed to see if there is a dispute and further told me that there would be no payment plan options...I know this is a lie because I have worked another issue. Be careful and confident with them ...and record your calls(legally).