Focus Recievable Management

People, you all have encountered a debt in one way or another. Some of you acknowledge the fact and want to make it right. The MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT YOU ALL HAVE RIGHTS. Any kind of payment arrangements must be in writing. Make sure if you are making an effort to repay a debt, that the arrangement is in writing. You have the right and if these collectors are denying that right, then you request a validation of the debt. With all the identity theft out there, it is very dangerous giving out bank information over the phone or online. If these collectors are legit, they will respect your security. These collectors are aware of your rights. What they try and bank on is whether or not you realize your rights. When they realize you don't have a clue, they monopolize upon you. So educate yourselves with the laws that protect you from these people. As long as you are willing to take responsibility for your debt, they cannot take away your rights. If you need to make payment arrangements, then do it. If the collector is unwilling, then send them a letter,certified,with a request of what you can do to repay your debt. If they still don't want to negotiate, then go to court, if they pursue that avenue. At least you can demonstrate to the court, that you tried to make right the debt.

Marilyn, the only person a collector can contact is you or your lawyer. If they call a third party, they cannot discuss any matters of your debt. They can only ask general information as of your whereabouts. Nothing else. They cannot come to your house, unless it is someone trying to serve you for court. Your lawyer should know that as well. They cannot harass you like this. Document what is going on and file suit against them. Your lawyer probably has or should know what to do in this situation.

Do not give this company any of your information. I owed a debt and received a summons in the mail for a court date to persue garnishment of my wages. I didn't mind this because they can only take out 25% of my paycheck legally. I did not provide them with any personal information, but somehow they found it. On one day December 28, 2006 they debited my checking account and savings account in the amounts of $100.00; $139.62; $1915.47; and $91.43. I called them and they said it was some legal thing that the bank receives a summons to take the funds out of my account to pay the debt. The money is "frozen" until after the court date and if they are awarded the garnishment, then all the money goes to them. If they are not awarded the garnishment, then I get it back. I called them because I was very upset since I work on a 1099 basis - all that money that was in my savings account was to pay my taxes and now I have NO money left to pay my taxes when it's time. I have never heard of this and I dont know if it is legal what they are doing. They are also very rude since I told them that I would work with them to pay the debt and that they didn't have to just take it and he replied that if they told me then I would just take the money out of my account and they wouldn't get it. He also said that they have done this to people in the amount of $10,000.00 and the people called them crying because they couldn't pay their mortgage. This seems illegal to me but what could I do. On top of that...my bank is now charging me $100.00 for being made to deduct the funds from my account. This just does not seem right.

1. Do not give Focus your banking information. This can backfire on you many different ways.

2. If you want to pay the debt, send your payment directly to the original creditor. Bypass Focus. The original creditor will likely apply your payment to the account and you will eliminate the debt.

3. Document all Focus communications. Take your documentation to a consumer lawyer to see if you have a lawsuit against Focus for violation of the fdcpa and your state's consumer protection laws.

They are a less than professional name at best.

The company had called my phone, but never left a message.

When I called back according to their business hours, I had to wait over ten minutes before a recording came on to ask me to leave my name and phone number so they can call me back?

Eventually I was able to reach a live person several calls and several hours later. Gave them my phone so they can check their records. The young girl on the phone attempted to pronounce a name which doesn't remotely resemble mine. Then she gave up, and just said, the name sounds Oriental. All the while she can't even tell me what the name was.

Oriental is a rug, not people.

By law, once you send in a payment and they refuse it, you are no longer under obligation to pay that debt! So if they have refused your payment, you are off the hook. Let them know that you know this.

it's legal to call your neighbor and ask questions about you as far as where you live, where you work, and what your personal telephone number is.

it's also perfectly legal for any person to call your phone number and ask for a person who you don't know, whose name is hard to pronounce, or who they think might live with you. your response should be that you don't have any idea who that person is. if the calls drive you nuts, all you can do is exactly what you did do. call the company and tell them. don't be rude no matter how stupid the company rep is.. because the last thing you need is a dumb rep who doesn't remove the number from the computer list thing that is calling you. better to kill it kindly and get what you want, freedom from endless ringing.

if your payment is not accepted, it does not get you off the hook. if your payments are refused, put your payments in a shoebox until you have enough to pay it off. that's the smart thing to do. by then, maybe the debt collector will settle for less when paid in full- when if they had accepted payments you probably would have paid in full.

while you're at it.. record your phone conversations. if they swear at you, call you names, or threaten things they can't or don't intend to do.. then you can sue. debt collectors can imply you are a deadbeat, but they can't say it. they try to make you feel bad because it gets you to pay. in the end, if you aren't paying they really don't want to call you. they have to because it's their job, and they don't make much money, so they do what they're told to do. sometimes they find it funny how upset people get, or how people threaten to call a cop, or people threaten to call the BBB, or they threaten to sue. debt collectors know suing them is an empty threat, it would be easier to pay the bill than to sue. the calls continue. "do not call me on this number" is what the response should be.

keep in mind, it is a violation of the fdcpa to cause a consumer to incur more debt in the collection of a debt. overdrafts are a concern, calling you on your cell phone, calls at work that piss your boss off. these are things you need to tell them to not do as they happen. you are 1 in about 400 calls they make everyday. you aren't that important. don't give them a reason to want to harrass you by acting crazy on the phone.

I received a call today on my cell phone from a woman from this collection agency. When i ceased her from calling my cell phone she threaten to keep calling. She kept talking over me. Focus -- you get more with honey than you do bees. I am a debt collector -- I do know the laws -- watch it or watch yourself in court

this is in response to
celestialskye13

this company did me the same way I payed $10 as a one time charge then I told them I would call them backon the 31st of july to pay the remaining balance on the account. I did not have the funds in the account so I didn't call. But they took the remaining balance out of my account anyway which added an overdraft charge on that account. I called constantly and did not get any help from anyone from this company. the location of the company I was talking to was in Marietta, Ga. I spoke with a manager named mark then a supervisor named Ms. Lewis (which I originally made the arrangement with who denied everything) and then they gave me their supervisors number Mr. Peterson and he NEVER answered his phone so they played the run around with me. So I went to my bank and closed the visa account they had on file so no more charges will be taken out. But I don't know if this company is legit or not but I will definitly find out. They are very non professional and very rude.
But I want answers and I will get them.

I just got a call today from this same company. The agent calling had a terrible attitude so I told her that the person she was looking for was not available, so she exclaimed "gosh" and hung up. WOW! such professionalism. It's sounded fishy to me so I googled their name and came across this site along with googling them I did a "Reverse number lookup" in MSN White Pages and the town they list this number under is Jonesboro, GA Clayton County. I have experience Fraud before with people calling under so called legit company names. I have become verify paranoid about these kind of things. So before I got giving someone my account I will exhaust all my resources to confirm that they are legit. You don't want to give them any friends or family member accnt info and then have them go and empty out their account.

I would continue to read more on them before I make any steps in contacting them.

is there a way to find out how much they paid for your debt.

There is an agency that ALL collection agencys answer to. The Federal Trade Commission. You are protected from such acts, as the agency taking out money
from your account. Do not agree to any payment arrangement without it being in writing. get a copy of the fair debt collection practises act from the Federal Trade Commission and educate yourselfs!

Any person that can possibly spread the word about how quickly Direct TV turns their customers over to one of the the most unethical, inhuman collection offices... make it known to others any way that you can. If you work in any form of media, newspapers, small town radio or tv, let people know. It should be investigated to see just exactly what the business relationship between Direct and Focus is and brought to light in the mainstream media...so people think twice about starting an account with Direct TV. This is as much a scam as most of the stories that CBS Sixty Minutes has ever investigated..!!!

i got a call from focus receivables today and the man said he was calling from the new mexico office ofcourse he wouldn't give me an address so i could send them a cease and decist letter but i can't find that address

Focus is harrassing anyone who will allow it. If you do some research online you will see they clearly dont follow the Fair Debt Collection Act...they call us about 10 times a day, sometimes 2 or 3 times in just minutes. start recording all of it. There is help too...atty's that will help you if you've got a good case against them 866-775-3666 give them a call...it doesnt cost you a thing because they will charge the company for all fees! Check it out! Isn't it funny how sooooo many people dont get the letters they supposedly mailed out too...totally rude people too. hope this helps!

I kept getting phone calls leaving me messages to call back a number and they were asking for someone I didnt even know. I finally called back the number and when I told them I didnt know the person and the customer service person hung up on me. They continued to call my house twice a day asking for a person named Jennifer and to call the number they provided. I called again and let them know I was on the no call list and the F$$kers hung up on me again. I have made a complaint on my states nocall list website with this ignorant company. Now when I try to call the number it automatically disconnect the call. I hope they get fined big time.