But see, the point is we don't owe the debt. Someone else who had used us as a reference at some point in time, owes the debt. We are getting the threats and verbal abuse ... and were told that it would continue until we agree to "pass the message along and they receive a phone call from the person owing the debt". We are not the ones who should be receiving these calls. Well ... no one should receive calls like this, however, it's even worse when you are totally innocent!! I asked why aren't they calling the ones who owe the debt. The ones who owe the debt won't return their phone calls, so I guess they have to abuse someone, so they abuse the innocent??? It's all just so ridiculous and crazy!! These people should be committed!!

Guest, you have to send them a cease and desist letter by cmrrr. telling them to stop calling by phone is useless.

Ya ARS National is a legit Collection agency, although they only handle accounts that have been around for quite a while and have accumilated massive debt on each account. I used to work there, so I know what you are going. Collectors go to extreme measures to collect on your debts, even bluffing about wage garnishment and repomen. It sounds stupid but a great amount of people cave in when you threaten such things that's why those tactics are used. Besides you wouldn't be there in the first place if you werent a deadbeat bringing down the economy by never paying off your debts. Most debtors are lowlifes anyways with no respect for anyone. Why should we give you time and patience when you've owned money for X amount of years and show no attitude toward paying it off.

[paulmergel]

because your CA is a bottomfeeder that shouldn't get a dime from anybody.

What in the world are you going on about? We were a "reference" on someone's paperwork ... not the ones "owing the debt". The person that owes the debt is not a deadbeat, either ... just someone down on their luck. So anyway, I can definitely see you as someone who works for such a place. Heartless, cruel, crude and from what I can tell ... a true "deadbeat".

[NASCAR_Devil]

You're not to bright are you "Guest". If you had half a brain you would have known that the OP is not the debtor in question. But, then again, you only need a Good Enough Diploma to work as a collection agent( and you're obviously a failure at that as well) Pay no more attention to this CA scum bucket than you would dog crap on the bottom of your shoe. Now run along little troll before I pull out the pooper scooper.

i currently work for ars national, and i work on every client account in our building, i always treat my debtors with respect and always try to set up the best settlement i can give them, most people are just in a tight spot, i cant say that everyone in my office is nice, but most people in my office are very nice. just a word of advice, be nice to them, and they will be nice back in most cases.

[Chrys Henderson]

I do not believe it to be humanly possible for you to work on "every client account in [the] building". It is surely a typo or a hyperbole.

Since hardly anyone sues these FDCPA violators even though they are awarded statutory damages of $1000 and possible court and attorney costs, I note 72 cases filed in Federal court on FDCPA violations and other bad collection practices since 2004, with 25 of them being filed since 2008. Yes that is a very small number, but again, most people just complain on forums and blogs and do not file with the proper authorities.

But, on "http://www.westonlegal.com/debtcollection.htm" I see that it has DBAs: "ARS National Services Inc dba National Student Loan Services dba Associated Recovery Systems (fdba Associated Recovery Systems Inc)". So looking up National Student Loan Services there are 0. For Assoc. Recovery I found 10 since 2004 (it says 11 but 1 is a former employee). This does not count any suits filed in local courts, of which I could find only 1 which was dismissed (the debtor could not prove any violations, and the ones he did complain about pertain to the debtor himself and this particular debtor had an attorney and ARS only spoke with that attorney). I do not know the outcome of any of these cases because I am not an attorney and so do not have access to the PACER system so I cannot state how many of the alleged debtors won their cases.

So, since I am a staunch believer in fairness and justice and I strongly despise bullies and jerks and pushy/demanding control freaks, I still must be fair and say that I cannot claim that ARS is routinely violating the FDCPA. It could happen on occasion by new employees (these places have high turnovers - collections is a very stressful and dehumanizing job - personally I'd rather pick strawberries). Considering they have 650 employees (according to their website) and each collector will talk to about 200 people per weekday, 82 lawsuits in 5 1/2 years for FDCPA violations seems like a very paltry number indeed considering how Americans are allegedly a litigious society. Plus, they are not on consumer advocate Bud Hibbs' site as an agency to avoid ("http://budhibbs.com/coll_to_avoid_list.htm") either.

Remember, everyone is presumed Innocent until PROVEN guilty in a Court of Law. If this, or ANY debt collector violates the FDCPA, it is your responsibility to document it and take them to court. Violations only happen because the People allow it by not fighting back under proper and due process.

1. 2nd tier 3rd tier (etc) debt collection agencies buy long term outstanding debt for penny's on the dollar, If your debt is years old, it is almost guaranteed the original debt has been sold and resold several times. These companies are not here to help you, they are not there to help the original company you owed money to recoup their losses. It is their goal to make huge profits buying the legal right to harass you (sort of) and make HUGE profit margins to the "suckers" that cave in.

2. Their M.O is to harass and use scare tactics. VERY rarely do they actually take legal action, as legal action is a risky gamble for them. (ESPECIALLY SO if your debt is under 1000 dollars.) Legal action involves hiring a lawyer, setting a court date (IN YOUR COUNTY not theirs) Hope they win (you can easily delay court dates for 6 months or more.) And even if they do win, they have no guarantees they will ever get their money that way, (people change jobs, move to new location. etc) As for repo men that almost NEVER happens, how do they know which furniture is yours? People can sell items after they lost in court and so on. What I am getting at is, to take actual legal action is something they want to avoid. I get back to point on, their method of operation is to buy up debt, pennys on the dollar and try to scare/harass you into paying it.

3. Talking to them, admitting to debt.. and paying it are all almost universally bad. Just admitting you have a debt can allow them to extend the statuette of limitations in your state beyond the (usually) 7 years. You can also pay one debt collection company and still have them re-sell it to another.

4. Fight back, know your FDCPA rights by looking it up online. Soon as they break one of those rights threaten legal action, if they blow it off, pursue legal action and let these scum actually pay you for ruining your day. Show you know your rights and willing to back it up legally and they will probably leave you be for easier prey.

I just finished dealing with these people. They are definitely a scumbag organization. I've had their "customer service reps" (HA!) talk to me like a dog, lie to me about the name of the company when I threatened to send a cease and desist letter, refuse to let me speak to their supervisor, refuse to give me the company mailing address so that I could send a cease and desist letter and hang up on me. I had to go through my state's attorney general's office and the secretary of state's office to find their information!!!

:twisted: :arrow: For the record, their information follows:

Associated Recovery Systems / ARS National Serices
PO Box 469046
Escondido, CA 92046

Their phone number is: (800) 707-1927
Their fax number is: (866) 422-0765

If you send a cease and desist letter, make sure you have gotten your account ID from them. Then send it by registered mail with delivery confirmation / signature confirmation.

Oh my goodness....I just had a call from them. They are IDIOTS!!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how rude and crude they were. How can these people sleep at night!!!!

Got a call from these pus-bags today with a voice-mail message deliberately garbled to sound like “IRS“ instead of “ARS“. (Real IRS employees never identify by the agency’s initials) We don’t owe these scum a dime. They were looking for someone we know, but who never lived here. If they think we would rat out anyone to their breed of slimy night-crawlers, they are even dumber than they sound- and that boggles the mind! Our number is unlisted, so they obviously got it by pretexting or some other type of illegal phishing scam. Apparently, “Elizabeth Giles” is one of several aliases used by this Bill-bitch, “Ms. Martinez” being another. These lowlifes really need to grow a soul and get a real job. Can’t help them with that, so I will settle for blocking their number, filing complaints with the FTC and letting the person they are looking for know that they should do the same. I counted at least 3 violations of federal law related to that one call, and no one was even there to pick up the phone.