Freaking out,
They pretty much did the same thing to my mother. In fact they are a collection agency; however due to the pending litigation against them they were stripped of their collection rights. Shannon is careful to not identify her agency as a collection agency, that would worsen the case against them.
Call the Florida's hotline, leave a message and wait for the attorney general's office to return your call. Tell them everything you know, give specific details. The more detail you have the better the case against them.
Ellis crossed the line when they threaten to arrest people. There practices have been unlawful and this is way they are under investigation by the state of Florida (where they operate out of). Do not pay them anything at this point. When the case is turned over to a legitimate collection agency, then offer to set up payments with them to pay your debt off. If you pay Ellis, they will not give you a receipt telling you that your debt is paid and could potentially sell your debt to another collection agency who will then start hounding you to pay your debt (which you have already paid 1 with Ellis, but have no records to prove such). Ellis will probably just say all they collected from you is interest & service fees not the original debt.
Tell them to stop calling you at home & work, request them to only contact you by mail. Make sure they have your mailing address and ask them to mail you a debt validation letter. Stay strong when you speak with them. Don't let your emotions take control and treat them with respect as you would want to be treated. Shannon Moore spoke to be very politely and I got allot of information from her that I was able to turn over to the attorney general's office. Her actions/threats are just that. Inform her to do her job, if she needs to file paperwork against you then so be it (legally all she can do is to report it on your credit report, she can't have you arrested for anything). You, on the other hand must report it to an agency. Preferably the attorney general's office, the BBB, etc. Let those agencies assist you in resolving the situation. Remember you still owe the debt, this doesn't excuse it, but until it is being handled by a legitimate collection agency...don't pay anything to them. Hope this helps you out. I got a friend of mine give me some advice prior to calling Shannon on my mother's behalf. I knew what I thought was legal, per the law, just wanted someone else's opinion of what was legal & not from someone who knew the laws.
This is an excellent site to get advice. The moderators are very knowledgeable regarding the law as well.
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