[Anthony Lemons]

You make a report to the credit bureaus without proper validation, and you have committed a crime. So, be sure you follow the law, Mr. CAPS LOCK. If you are a genious at collecting, then you do know reporting a debt to the credit bureaus will cost your company, and perhaps even the individual collector, a lot of money for damages.

man u make me laugh. real hard.

You are not in any position to be laughing--your actions are going to land your butt in court someday. If you thnik that's funny, then by all means, laugh away. As for me, I AM laughing....because I hope to God wth all sincerity that the very next person you call in the course of your work is me. Then I will be laughing again--all the way to the bank. If you dont care enough to learn the law that governs your career, you shouldnt be surprised when you get proven wrong. Its that simple.

so what are you trying to say really?
that to all our debtors not no deal with our company..?

"not no deal"?? Up to this point, I assumed that you were at least educated enough to know the English language. Was that incorrect as well?

Anyways, what I am trying to say is this--your company is a friggin joke. You do not follow the law. You people think you dont have to. And this thread is only one example. Then again, the dozens of federal lawsuits that Encore has been slapped with in the last few years echo that sentiment, not to mention the many more that were filed in state courts. If you dont believe that, thats fine, but PACER doesnt lie. but hey, why look at those, when we have this thread?? Lets see what encore employees have said in here:

this is 'collections manager', on page 7:

fyi- not to upset anyone but don't bother recording calls they are in-admissable in court as you must advise us you are recording and our policy is to tell you we do not permit it. However...you can subpeona ours as well as the full documented history on the account. We do not record all calls but we do record some mostly for the purpose of evaluating our reps and improving on thier skills and correcting there errors for future.

thats a flat-out lie. In fact 38 states permit recording the call without notifying you first. Why is encore telling debtors not to record?? Only one reason comes to mind--to avoid having proof of your illegal activity being played off a tape for the judge.

These are from 'encore manager' on page 11:

Finally im going to list a few misconceptions out there…
Calling over and over is not harassment if there is reasonable grounds to believe the card holder can be reached at that number we are only allowed to speak with the CH once each day unless the Card Holder Specifically requests otherwise. However it is not harassment is calling without intent we have the intent to contact the Card holder and to collect on the debt

The law clearly states that causing the phone to ring repeatedly is in fact harassment, and as such, ILLEGAL.

from same person:

Cease and Desist needs to be sent to Capone General Correspondence not to encore if your cease and desist order is not received within 10 days your account will be contacted again by our office

The law is plain as day abotu this. C&D is to be sent to the entity which is calling, NOT THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR. The law actually uses the term "debt collector" in regards to this point, so claiming that the original creditor needs to get such a letter is just plain ignorant. Also, there is not one single mention in the law about a 10 day limit. I dont care how much time has gone by--if I send you a C&D after one year of you calling, then by law you MUST stop calling. This is nothing more than a ridiculous attempt to put false information out to the public. Thankfully, the law itself is clearly written and readily available.

again, same person....

If the collection agency is holding the account in valid terms, they will produce the debt validation details before you consider paying them.

False – all disputes need to be done with merchant, general correspondence, and or fraud dept.

This is a load of crap. The law clearly states that the DEBT COLLECTOR, upon receiving such a notice, is to immediately stop collection efforts, obtain the required validation FROM THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR or judgment from the court, and then provide it to the consumer. And to think--this is a person that is a manager at Encore and has been there for three years, yet they fail on the most basic parts of the FDCPA?!? Gee, you must be right, what was my point after all, huh sparky??

More from encore manager, page 12--

Validating debts…we have the last 6 months of activity on the account. Once you have verified your information if you would like to validate the debt with us or inquire about possible fraud activity please do not get snotty and rude, demanding written validation. However, if you state to a representative I think I might have fraud activity on my account can you go over my charges we will be more then happy to go over the last 6 months of charges and provide you with the amount, date charged, merchant name/location and all other corresponding information we are able to provide. Item by item, statement by statement.

This is a manager with your company, sir. This is someone with three years experience, sir. This is someone who clearly does not know the meaning of the word "validation". Demanding written validation is not only my right under federal law, it is also common sense if you claim I owe you money and I am not certain why. Like I tell all the scum--er, sorry, I mean debt collectors that come in here, if I called you one day and said out of the blue, "you owe me $500....", your very first question would be WHAT FOR....validation is no different. If I couldnt tell you exactly why you owed me that money and prove it, would you pay me? Of course not. Same goes for you, is this making sense yet??

Cease and Desist/written validation

Be weary of this because it is used as a stall tactic, however if you stall and your account is charged off because you did not make payments you will reap the consequences

Following the law is not a "stall tactic". This is the mentality of your company, as spoken by one of its members of management. There are more than a couple genuine cases where you have the wrong person, and these are the only thing we have to keep idiots that do not understand english over the phone at bay. But do continue--keep thinking that this is a stall tactic....and if you should ever happen to call my house, be prepared to get a real education about the law.

Still, same person--

Tammy we abide by cease and desist laws just as everyone else does however if you do not mail your cease and desist to the correct location of coarse it is not going to be processed furthermore for the second time WE DO NOT VALIDATE THE DEBT…

The "correct location" is precisely what your collectors refuse to give out over the phone. Gee, I wonder why...

And once again, YOU MUST VALIDATE THE DEBT AS REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW. There is no room for confusion there. And this "manager" sums up your company's feeling about validation perfectly clear...

the calls could be because you were being called by a diffrenent dept. within that particular agency and again we are not a mail/or billing center we really good give a rats ass what you mail us! we dont want your mail! Period!!! expecially if we have to pay money to forward on to the correct location, more and more because of sites like this that are based on he said she said and not facts we get more and more each day and more and more letters, faxes, ect fall through the cracks because plain and simple thats not our job

ITS NOT OUR JOB....what he really just said is "it isnt our job to follow the law and honor written requests....we only accept them in one location and we refuse to divuldge that location to you if you ask for it". The federal law sees this a bit differently than your employer does, chief....

So, what am I trying to say?? Simple--the law clearly identifies the manner in which you are required to act when attempting to collect debts. Encore ahs poo-poo'ed all over those requirements. Just look at this one thread alone....literally dozens of people talking about the BS tactics your company uses. We have seen people who owe no debts, people who are "wrong numbers" for you, we have seen people who cant even find out why youre calling them! THE LAW IN THIS COUNTRY PUTS THE BURDEN OF PROOF ON YOU, NOT ON US. And since you cannot follow that law to save your life, you get sued a bunch of times a year. I have a PACER membership...I was recently checking out the cases that have been filed in federal court the lase few years. Know what I found?? In ALL of the cases where Encore was a defendant, there was either a settlement made or a ruling against....Encore is paying settlements out the a$$! If Encore was playing by the rules, they would easily be able to show it in court, and they would end up paying NOTHING in such a case. I dont give a damn if you believe me or not--the statistics dont lie and they speak for themselves.

lemme tell you something pal. s**t happens in this world and credit card accounts are almost all the time messed up. now its not our freaking fault, the account were just transferred to our office automatically.

Which is the precise reason why the federal law requires validation when requested--so you STILL have no friggin excuse. Sure, someone else sends the account to you, but YOU THEN ACT ON IT, which is not the point. When proof is requested, YOU ARE BOUND BY FEDERAL LAW TO HONOR THAT REQUEST IF YOU HAVE ANY INTENTION TO CONTINUE COLLECTION EFFORTS. No amount of whining and crying how "it is automatically sent to me" will change the level of responsibility you personally, or your company, are required to present.

if you continue to neglect this it will show in your credit report. that's just the bottom line.

If I send you a validation request, it is not me neglecting anything. How stupid can you be? You say "you owe me money". I say "prove what you claim". IF YOU COULD PROVE IT, THEN WHY ARENT YOU? The law doesnt allow you the choice in the matter, at least not without consequences. You people dont even have a valid debt with my name on it legitimately, and here you are telling me whats going to happen to my credit because youre unlawfully harassing me and reporting on my credit report??? Someone needs to inform YOU whats going to happen when youre served.

now i'd be happy to address serious customer's concern not some wanna be sky diver that copy pastes everything off the net.

Now hear this, you ignorant mutt--I gave this country years of my life. I earned my name by jumping out of airplanes and getting shot at. I am a combat veteran, combat wounded, who served and sacrificed so that little weasels like yourself could sit behind a keyboard and have the freedom to lie out your backside. Dont you EVER insult or question that. My name comes from honor, and sacrifice....youre here because of disgrace and dishonesty.

AS for what is posted from the internet, it happens to be word for word the federal law. Now, I know that means very little to you, but thats going to change, the next time you call someone like me, you had better hope that you cant be found because you will specifically be named in the lawsuit as a defendant. That will make YOU responsible for part of the payment that will come my way. So....how's your finances, sport?? Can you handle dishing out money to me from your personal bank account?? Because when this catches up with you, youre gonna have to. Count on it.

:twisted:

they wont stop calling. I agreed to "take a message" and that got them off my back for today but 10 bucks says they'll call tomarrow. They call continusly throughout the day, early in the morrning and late at night. I'm going to play a couple jokes on them until the calls start b/c its realy annoying. It's not even me they want so why call my house?

then answer the phone or call the number and tell outright it's a wrong number. that easy pal. we transfer 'em back to skiptrace. problem solved.

better idea--why dont you shut the hell up and try following the law instead of your constant stream of crap? the guy isnt even the one they are looking for but they keep calling his house even after being told-thats illegal harassment, moron.

[skydivr7673]

then answer the phone or call the number and tell outright it's a wrong number. that easy pal. we transfer 'em back to skiptrace. problem solved.

[skydivr7673]

then answer the phone or call the number and tell outright it's a wrong number. that easy pal. we transfer 'em back to skiptrace. problem solved.

You cant be serious....you didnt get the point that he already told them this? Lets think now, they keep calling...and calling...and calling...why wouldnt he tell them its the wrong number?

Oh, by the way, I know about skip tracing, and it is not "problem solved". Skip tracing will provide the last known phone number for someone. That is not "problem solved" because in a lot of cases, people move and dont get another landline phone. So, the info that skip tracing pulls up is not always current.

Guest--dont take any more "messages" for that person, because they will now believe that your number is a legitimate way to reach this person. You need to flat out inform them not to call you anymore, that the person they are looking for cannot be reached at your number. And then, send them a cease and desist letter informing them that you will sue them for their own stupidity and ignorance concerning the law. Well, dont word it like that, you know what I mean, but if the calls still come after that, you will have grounds for a legitimate lawsuit. And then, caps lock will have to face the reality of yet one more encore screwup, one more piece of proof that encore doesnt follow the law.

now here's the problem.
the next time they call. tell them it's a wrong number and have the number be deleted off the dialer. now how hard is that..?

[skydivr7673]

now here's the problem.
the next time they call. tell them it's a wrong number and have the number be deleted off the dialer. now how hard is that..?

your company has already been told that time and again. If it were really that easy, then why are people still having this problem to begin with? In either case, I also already addressed this when I posted the following not too long back, in this same thread:

Oh, by the way, I know about skip tracing, and it is not "problem solved". Skip tracing will provide the last known phone number for someone. That is not "problem solved" because in a lot of cases, people move and dont get another landline phone. So, the info that skip tracing pulls up is not always current.

Being that I am licensed as a bail enforcement agent, you dont need to educate me on the finer points of skip tracing. Rather, it seems that you are the one who needs that education.

you really dont have anything to do? dont you?

now what happens with guest if he doesnt take any moremessgaes from encore instead of saying it's a wrong no.? answer that one.

[skydivr7673]

what happens?? It looks like this--he has a couple options...

1--DO NOT ANSWER THE PHONE....he could simply let it ring. In which case, ERMI will call and call and call. How do I know?? They did it to me. At one point, I had gotten seven phone calls in less than 20 minutes from you morons. Well, looks like this one's not gonna stop the ILLEGAL HARASSMENT, now is it?

2--TELL THEM IT IS A WRONG NUMBER....already been done from the sound of it. How much good did it do, caps lock??? BE HONEST....if they listened like they were supposed to, he wouldnt have had to post here that they still call. You need proof?? Look no further than this very thread, and you will see things like this:

Page 15--

Capital One called me for a month with three to eight calls a day asking for a Mark on my cell phone. They also spammed me about 20 times with junk mail saying I had been pre-approved for a Capital One card. I don't know who Mark even is and told them they had the wrong number and to stop harassing me. Finally Capital One stopped calling but now Encore Management just started calling and harassing me. What are my legal actions? What can be done? I found this website through google.

Same poster:

I called Encore back. Told them I didn't know Mark * and they agreed to take my number off their list and I shouldn't receieve anymore calls.

And again, same guy, two days later:

Nope! They lied..the calling continues! What to do? I own no debt to capital..it is not me they are looking for.

Next page, from someone else--

These idiots keep calling me about someone I don't even know and they are driving me crazy!

On to page 17....

Keeps calling, over one year, looking for Daniel Schlegel, wrong phone number, keep telling me they delete my phone number, keep calling

Page 18...

These people will not quit calling me!!! The person they are trying to reach is no longer at this number. I have only had this phone for about a month, but have received more than a dozen calls from them. I have had to call them twice now to tell them that he is no longer here. Isn't it harrassement if they call me again after I tell them to stop? I don't know how to prove to them that I am NOT the person they are looking for nor have I ever heard of him. The messages they leave are very long, and I want them to stop calling me or give me an address so that I can send them the bill for the minutes I am paying to listen to their voicemail messages.

That one highlights the problems with skip tracing that I mentioned earlier, and that you are apparently not educated enough on the topic to understand.

Here is something a little different:

This company calls starting at 7am 7 days a week and calls continue all day long. Why don't they abide by cease and desist requests? Usually a recording says this is Jay Young from Encore Receivable Management and you need to call Jay Young today! Then a lady named Beverly tries to get cell phone numbers out the children when they answer the phone. These are calls trying to reach a child that moved out of the house 15 years ago. How do we get it stopped?

Tell me, oh master of the collection world, what is the law concerning third party contacts?? How many times is a CA allowed to call one particular third party like that? MORE ILLEGAL TACTICS...

So, that about takes care of your ridiculous excuses and dishonest claims here regarding how Encore works. Unlike you, I know the law...and I know what your company does first-hand. Encore doesnt follow the law. And there are plenty of examples of that fact in this forum. So, like I said before, if youre not willing to be 100% honest about your company, as I have been about my experiences and financial history, then kindly seek life elsewhere.

you really dont have anything to do? dont you?

When your entire career consists of calling people, lying to them, ignoring federal laws and basically being a major pain in the a$$, you are in no position to worry about what I have to do in my life. I have a fantastic family, which I support happily. Matter of fact, I just found a new position that will very nearly double my income. How sad that you will still be on the phones, illegally harassing people whether they actually have a debt or not!! Good luck with that, and come back here when you learn the meaning of HONESTY.

[Anthony Lemons]

I truly despise those people who come here and attempt to display that their collection tactics are the consumers fault. "You made me threaten you with arrest". "You caused me to become irate and utilize profanity and threaten your children." "I continue to call, even after you told me it was the wrong number, but my boss is putting a lot of pressure on me, and this number is the only one I have".

harassment is calling over and over again without purpose. debtors are being called bec. they have a debt they need to pay.

[cajunbulldog]

Guest please do yourself a favor and read the Fdcpa.There is a link in my signature.It specifically states causing the phone to ring excessively is a violation of federal law triggering a claim of up to $1000 statutory damages,actual damages,attorney fees,costs,and quite possibly punitive damages.You should also be aware that individual collectors can be sued personally under this statute.

HARRASMENT OF ABUSE

Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.

my 2 cents. there was nevet the intent to annoy, abuse or harass any person. the intent was to collect on the unpaid debt.