I wanted to thank everyone on this forum. United Legal has been seriously harrassing my wife.

They call her every morning at 8 am and SCREAM into the phone...PAY YOUR BILL, PAY YOUR BILL, PAY YOUR BILL. We don't even know what bill they are talking about! They won't send us any info in the mail; will only take phone payments...and now they are threatening to call her relatives.

I just sent them the cease & desist.

Thank you for the advice! These are bad, bad people!

i got a call from them today saying if i don't pay $500 by 4:00 est that they will arrest me. i consulted several attornies on this matter and they all said that they can't do that. make sure that you record every phone conversation you ever have with those people and call an attorney immediately.

I just received a call this morning from a lady who didnt speak english well her name was MS.Matila Williams from United Legal she left a message on my voicemail then she call a close friend telling her i broke the law & i was going to be arrested.I called myself and spoke to a supervisor Daniel White he asked have i ever been arrested and that they were to have the police lock me because of check fraud .I asked for information he gave me an incorrect social security but he had my driver's license #,bank account # but he had my mother's address.He refused to give me the dollar amount,the date and he hung up once i told him this is fraud he replied no you are fraudlent person..What should i do i know i don't owe that them any money

They are scammers, you can't be arrested for a debt!

i just got contacted from this guy, "officer jeff" from united legal headquarters (looks like they changed the last part of their name). at first, i told him i filed bankruptcy in 2005, and this payday loan was from 2004. he said that bankruptcy doesn't make a difference and i still have to pay. i said no, and that i wanted it in writing. then he said "pay $200 and i'll send you something in writing". i was like... "WHAT!!!! no i want it in writing now." then i gave him my bankruptcy case # and he said ok, and hung up. so, i called him back and asked him if he hung up on me or is this case closed? he said i still have to pay. i couldn't believe this guy!!! i said no again, and i'm going to report their company to the FTC and BBB, etc. Then, he said "don't waste our time" and hung up on me again. so, i called back again and got a lady, and i said i wanted to speak to your supervisor, she acted like she didn't hear me, and gave the phone to jeff again. then, he hung up on me again. then, i called again. and automatic hang up. i couldn't believe it. these people are so unprofessional. i don't know, but i want to report them. i can't let this go on, knowing that they can do this to people. it's not right....

i did some investigation online, and found this story from ABC.

please go to abcnews.com and search "united legal", the first story that comes up is the right one. i believe this is what's going on.

i tired posting the link, but it won't let me. just follow the directions on the previous post, and you should find it. [justify:9b7e121ac7][/justify:9b7e121ac7]

Here is an excerpt from this news story:

Fake debt collectors Terrify Consumers
Alleged Debt Scam Calls Threaten Consumers: 'Only God Can Help You Now'
By ALICE GOMSTYN
ABC NEWS Business Unit
Aug. 21, 2008

RSS Scammers masquerading as debt collectors and law enforcement officials have terrified consumers with threatening phone calls and bilked them out of thousands of dollars, officials with the West Virginia Attorney General's Office say.

Law enforcement officials in West Virginia say they're struggling to track down alleged scammers who use repeated phone calls, threats and fake names to try to swindle consumers out of thousands in supposed debt repayments.
(ABC News Photo Illustration)Prosecutors said that the scammers, who speak with heavy foreign accents, are known for repeatedly calling people at home and at work and threatening them with arrest if they don't repay supposed debts -- debts that, according to West Virginia officials, don't actually exist.

The scammers operate under names such as U.S. National Bank, Federal Investigation Bureau and United Legal Processing, said West Virginia Assistant Attorney General Norman Googel.

The callers also have invoked the names of actors Denzel Washington and Steve Martin, people who've received calls tell ABCNews.com.

Googel said that the scammers have been impossible to track down, but ABCNews.com spoke to one man who claimed to be associated with U.S. National Bank. The man said he works for Financial Crime Division, a company he said provides services for USNB.

The man refused to give his name and gave little information about his company.

Has anyone spoke to a Austin Smith or David Marshall from United Legal? I'm not sure if it's the same company people are writng about, but the phone numbers I have gotten can be cross referenced to FL., VA, and PA. I live in TX. Can this be the same people? They harass me all day at work, every day, despite me telling them not to call.

You must send them a C&D letter to make them stop calling.

They refuse to give me a mailing address. I've contacted an attorney but he can't proceed without the information. I even asked for the moneygramm info. but I was told to call them when I was at the store and they would give that info then. They sure do sound like Ellis Crosby, which I sued and won, but then he filed bankruptcy.

I don't think you guys are getting the message, that these people are scammers... read the story below to see if it applies to you:

Fake debt collectors Terrify Consumers
Alleged Debt Scam Calls Threaten Consumers: 'Only God Can Help You Now'
By ALICE GOMSTYN
ABC NEWS Business Unit
Aug. 21, 2008

RSS Scammers masquerading as debt collectors and law enforcement officials have terrified consumers with threatening phone calls and bilked them out of thousands of dollars, officials with the West Virginia Attorney General's Office say.

Law enforcement officials in West Virginia say they're struggling to track down alleged scammers who use repeated phone calls, threats and fake names to try to swindle consumers out of thousands in supposed debt repayments.
(ABC News Photo Illustration)Prosecutors said that the scammers, who speak with heavy foreign accents, are known for repeatedly calling people at home and at work and threatening them with arrest if they don't repay supposed debts -- debts that, according to West Virginia officials, don't actually exist.

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The scammers operate under names such as U.S. National Bank, Federal Investigation Bureau and United Legal Processing, said West Virginia Assistant Attorney General Norman Googel.

The callers also have invoked the names of actors Denzel Washington and Steve Martin, people who've received calls tell ABCNews.com.

Googel said that the scammers have been impossible to track down, but ABCNews.com spoke to one man who claimed to be associated with U.S. National Bank. The man said he works for Financial Crime Division, a company he said provides services for USNB.

The man refused to give his name and gave little information about his company.

"It's not necessary that each and everyone knows about Financial Crime Division, and probably one of them is you," he said. (To hear an excerpt of this interview, click here. Links to more interview excerpts are included on the second and third pages of this story.)


But Mark Feury, a 35-year-old assistant manager at a hotel cafe, said it was the threat of an arrest that drove him to wire nearly $800 to U.S. National Bank in January. The Lewisberg, W.Va., resident said that he took out several payday loans -- short-term loans -- in 2005 to help pay for Christmas presents and medical treatments for his son, who suffers from autism.


Feury said he paid his loans back in 2007, but the scammers' phone calls -- at least 35 in all, he said -- and their threats made him doubt himself.

"I was scared to death," he said. "Everything they said literally just stressed me out to the max."

The group has targeted consumers who took out payday loans through Web sites years ago, Googel said.

The group has secured consumers' Social Security numbers and other personal information, which may have been stolen from Internet payday lending sites, Googel said.

What has made the group especially intimidating, Googel said, is its use of phrases that sound like legal terms -- such as "downloading affidavits" -- but, in reality, are meaningless.

The alleged scammers have also invoked God, Googel said, telling victims that "only God can help you now."

Some of the scammers' tactics are downright puzzling.

One West Virginia woman, who asked that her name not be revealed, told ABCNews.com that a scammer once called her and identified himself as "Denzel Washington."

Feury said that one of the scammers who called him said he was calling from "Steve Martin's office."


Googel said that the scammers' use of celebrity names may indicate a lack of familiarity with American names. Some, he said, suspect that the scammers are based in India.

Since July 2007, Googel said, the West Virginia Attorney General's Office has heard from nearly 20 consumers who have complained about the scam.

West Virginia residents aren't the only ones complaining. The Florida Attorney General's Office said it has heard more than three dozen complaints related to U.S. National Bank.


"The way they've hidden themselves is pretty slick," he said.

ABCNews.com called a phone number associated with U.S. National Bank -- Feury listed the number in a complaint against the company -- and was transferred to the man who claimed to work for Financial Crime Division.

The man, who spoke to an ABC News reporter for about five minutes, said that U.S. National Bank owns Internet payday lending Web sites and that Financial Crime Division is a "legal affidavit processor" -- a term that Googel also has dismissed as meaningless -- that works to notify borrowers that they still owe money to USNB. (The man refused to provide ABC News with contact information for U.S. National Bank.)


"They have taken so many loans they have forgotten that one to pay back and we are calling them about this legal matter," the man on the phone said. "That's not our problem that they have forgotten."

The man argued against the complaint that his company had called people about nonexistent or repaid debts. Consumers, he said, have failed to provide the company with proof that their debts have been repaid.

"When we are asking the information, they are not ready to give to us," he said. "If they have paid it, they must have something in writing, some kind of receipt, but they are not going to give it to us, so how can we trust them?"

When asked where Financial Crime Division was based, the man hung up.


Googel said that he has been on the phone with the suspected scammers many times and that each time they refuse to provide identifying information such as valid addresses or a licensing number, which collections agencies operating in West Virginia are required to have.

"I yell and scream at them, but it doesn't do any good. It's sort of high drama in a way," he said.

Googel said that he has notified the Federal Trade Commission about the scam, but the FTC would not confirm whether it had launched an investigation. An FTC official told ABCNews.com that it does not disclose whether it is investigating a company unless it takes the company to court.

The official said that consumers with complaints about U.S. National Bank are encouraged to contact the FTC, the Better Business Bureau or their state attorney general's office. Read a statement by the West Virginia Attorney General's Office's office on the issue here.

Hi i had someone call me his name is john thompson saying they have a cease and decist order about a payday loan. They told me i have to call check and business servies in new york. When i call they just answer hello then he said that i will go jail if i don't pay for this and he said his name is todd evans and they work for the deparment of check and business services in tonawanda new york. They sound like they are scammers, they said if i don't pay some one will come to my house is this true. I am in a debt program trying to get my life straight. Can someone help

Ignore any and all calls from United Legal - they are scammers and cannot do anything to you despite all their threats to the contrary. I like to ask them what court the alleged case was filed in, when it was filed, and when I can expect to be served as I am sitting on my porch right now waiting for the summons and complaint. Nobody ever shows up.