Pinnacle Credit Services - Consumer reviews and steps to deal with it

Nascar Devil,
I recieved a notice from clerk of court (North Carolina) saying I have to be in court on Thurs (one week from today). I haven't heard fo pinnacle before what can I do to either A) get ready for court or B) prevent myself from going to court.

This thread makes me really sad because it appears this "company" has been getting away with fraud for years. I have the same story as many others, Pinnacle suddenly appeared on my credit report (only one of the big 3) with a balance of $6500. I can't even tell exactly what year this is purported to be from because they list it as opening in 05/2008 and first being delinquent in 09/2005, three years earlier; and first being a major delinquency in 07/2008, two months after it was supposedly "opened." I am not the kind of person who would forget about $200 of unpaid debt, much less $6500. I have no clue what it's from, and suspect based on the posts here that it is fabricated or actually belongs to my ex-husband. One of the "attorney" offices listed here, Laurence Heckler, contacted me earlier this year looking for my ex. Their whole spiel seemed off so I decided to start digging. Class actions all over the place for violations of numerous financial laws. So it doesn't surprise me to see him associated with the crap this company is doing. I discovered the entry on my credit report tonight and got online to find a phone number. That was 2 hours ago...after reading all of these posts, my plan is to write the letter requesting debt verification tomorrow. But I'm wondering if I can contest it with Equifax at the same time. Does anyone know if that is ok? Or, is it better not to do anything but contest it with Equifax? I don't want to establish contact with them and give them a reason to update my last activity. I hoped to apply for my first mortgage at some point in the next month or so and this thread has left me troubled. Any insight would be appreciated.

What is this 952-939-8100 you cant get any information there, they say they don't have my account number and cannot let me speak to a supervisor to get the bottom of why they have 2,500.00 on my credit report!!!!

Just an update: I think it's best to file your dispute with the credit report agency itself rather than hassle with Pinnacle unless absolutely necessary.

send them a cease and assist letter and they can no longer contact you via phone!!!

These people from Pinnacle Credit are threatening law suits, calling neighbors and relatives. I told them I am a lawyer and they still threaten the laws suits. Bad Group.

NEVER give this company ANY information over the phone!! Including, information to verify the purpose of the call. Ask for the agents name and the company address, then send a Certified letter requesting verification of the alleged debt and a notation to CEASE telephonic communication.

If the statues-of-limits are barred in your state and/or the statues per Federal law on your credit report then these bottom feeders should be warned!!

Pinnacle is one of many credit companies that purchases your old debt and then tack on interest to your original creditor. I have received mail from them stemming from a very old debt that is not even no longer on my credit report. My original debt was taken off after 7 years. So I continue to ignore them since the debt is no longer on my credit report. I don't know why they still call me after the debt was taken off but I was told if I acknowledge them, they can put the debt back on my credit report so I ignore them. I have moved a few times, but they still find me by running my credit report. I was going to put a freeze on my credit report this is the only way to stop them from running my credit. Anyway, if it is not on your credit report, don't call them. If they are rude or threatening, contact the fair debt office. It is against the law for them to threaten you.

Got a letter in the mail today from these idiots. The want $1890 for a credit card that is so old it is no longer on my credit report. When I called them they said that since they bought the debt they will put it back on my credit report. Can we say illegal?? He then asked if I was going to pay it and when I said no he hung up on me. They are not willing to work with you at all. It said in the letter I had 30 days to dispute the collection attempts. But yet, when I call and say I want to dispute it they hang up on me????? A**holes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by anonymous "the MISTERYIOUS mark on you credit is your own fault you dumb shytfuc*"

First of all before you become a Lawyer, go to grammar school and learn to spell. Second, just because some one has a debt, does not mean they are losers. There are legitimate reasons why some people go into debt. Granted, there are people out there who are irresponsible and do not pay their debts. Third, this company can only call your friends, neighbors or relatives if they are co-signers to your debt. They can call them to try and locate you, but they may not under any circumstances reveal the reason why they are calling you is to collect a debt. Neither can they leave a message on your machine for others such as your room mates to know you owe a debt. This is the law, that you Mr. Lawyer should have learned in Law School. It stems from the Fair Debt Collection Act. A statute in 1978. Also, they may only contact your neighbors and family and friends once.

Under this statute they cannot in anyway threaten you, reveal debts to others, call you at work after you asked them not to. (This does not apply if they own the debt so pinnacle may call you at work if they bought the debt. Regular collection companies cannot call you at work if you ask them to stop.) and lastly, they cannot threaten to publish your debt in any publication, cannot threaten you to reveal your debt to others, cannot use verbal, derogatory or harsh language to collect this debt. The final thing is something you Mr. Wannabe Lawyer needs to learn. Using derogatory language is a sign of a lack of intelligence so does misspelling words. Tina

Collector guest, you are a soon to be lawyer? You need to learn how to spell first. Half of the things you are saying don't even make sense. Aren't lawyers supposed to be intelligent? Intellectual people can find better ways of communicating that using filthy language. Of course, someone like you is going to stand up for Pinnacle! Haha I feel bad for you...maybe one day you will realize that these poor people (including myself) have IN FACT been wronged by this company, and are not the pieces of crap you arae trying to make us out to be. To the lady whose husband is in the air force and was serving in Iraq, thank you to you and your husband for serving our country!

Wrong!

There are three parties to any collection case:

First Party: The consumer that gets/uses the card, borrows the money, etc.
Second Party: The company that initially issues the card, makes the loan, etc.
Third Party: Anyone else. This includes collection agencies, lawyers (when acting as collectors, debt buyers, etc.

A junk debt buyer is still a third-party collector. Buying ownership of, say, your Discover card account after charge-off does not entitle them to the priveleges of an original creditor (Discover, in this case). The JDB has the same status as any collection agency.

The only exception to this might be if you fall for one of the 'new card' scams. That's where they issue you one of their house-brand credit cards, and put the old debt on the card balance.

this company is pissing me off

How do they issue a new card and adjust the old balance (someone else's ) for the new one? Surely the new customer has the right to sue these guys.

Pinnacle still has to work within the statutes of limitations for your state. Most times they make threats and such to try and intimidate you. Check your states statute of limitations and tell them to stuff it!

How can Pinnacle Sevices get informaation on my credit report without me owing a debt. (Verizon wiireless)? I never had a verizon cell phone in my life. This has really hurt my credit scores