Hi everyone,
I used to work for this guy (NOT as a debt collector) and let me give you a few hints...........
First of all, it is a legit debt collection agency, so don't worry about that particular thing. They don't "steal" money; they don't take your info and sell it to others and they don't even report to your credit report.
BUT... before everyone starts bashing me, I'll tell you something else:
There are most certainly very rude, immatute and irritating collectors that work there. They do whatever they can to get their money. The problem is, the compliance department and Mr. Hecker himself never knew about any of these problems until AFTER we received the complaints; by then it was too late. ((Trust me, I'm not defending Mr. Hecker; while he never got on the phone or allowed the collectors to talk down to debtors whenever he overheard them, I couldn't stand the way he treated everyone. He is a manipulative, condescending, contradictory, hypocritical and abusive boss.))
The compliance department monitored calls constantly (unfortunately, it wasn't a big enough department to monitor every call at once) and when they caught a debtor violating the FDCPA (or just being plain rude), action WAS taken!
The problem with most collectors is they think all debtors are deadbeats --- but debtors, you're not off the hook, either. Many debtors (I'm not saying 'all'!) get a call from a collection company and either a) they really aren't going to pay their bill or b) they know (or think they know, in some cases) that they don't owe the debt, so they immediately think its a scam. Debtors, a tip for you, to try to keep things civil, is not to assume its a scam - at least not from this particular office, because it's not. Mistakes do happen. Occasionally, it was their mistake, and occasionally it was the client's mistake for giving us bad information. If you don't owe the debt, calmly tell the collector that you don't believe it's yours and you would like some more information to determine if it is.
If you tell the collector that you have an attorney, you must provide the attorney's information otherwise the collector can keep contacting you until they get the information (in most states, anyway. Check the laws in your state.)
If a collector becomes rude, ask to speak to the supervisor. Don't scream and yell because honestly, it just gets annoying. Of course, if the collector becomes rude or begins to yell at you (it doesn't happen as often as people claim, which we could figure out from our random monitoring of calls, but I would never deny that it does happen) then tell them that you want all further contact done through writing. This way, you can write a letter to the company which will go through the compliance department, and they can usually get monthly payments or a substantial discount on a lump sum (if you owe the debt) or help you figure out what's wrong if the account is not yours.
Here are a few other things you might need to know about the FDCPA:
If a collector does not identify himself as a debt collector either on voicemail or in his contact with you, then this is a violation.
If he discusses your account with someone you have not given permission to, this is a violation.
He CAN legally call anyone listed as a relative, co-signer, spouse, child etc. to determine where you live or where to contact you if the information is not provided by the client, but as said above, he CANNOT discuss the account with any of these people unless you give permission for him to do so.
Believe it or not, identity theft has actually occurred and we have witnessed it more than once. If you truly believe you do not owe the debt, then calmly tell them that you think someone has stolen your identity and you would like more information about the debt so that you can review it (and it'll either jog your memory or save you from more trouble from someone who has stolen your identity.)
If ever you are having trouble with a collector, ask to speak to Joe Torok (he is the director of compliance and a very nice guy) or Tracey Hawkins (also in the compliance department.) They are extremely helpful.
Make sure you check any state violations as well, and check around online for more information about FDCPA violations.
I am on both sides of the fence. I am also a debtor and I receive collection calls and letters almost every day because of medical bills and problems with medical insurance. I know what it feels like to be a debtor. But I also know that mistakes do happen in collection agencies, that some collectors (if not most) can be completely disrespectful and that it is a legitimate collection agency. I would never defend the nasty collectors or the rude ones and would always take the debtor's side in those cases; but there are plenty of cases where the debtors jump to conclusions (because they read threads on the internet) and immediately get on the defensive.
Next time you get a call from a collector, think about which one of the debtors you are. That should help you decide how to handle the call.
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