The Bureaus

Then thye are likely a JDB.

Here is a post about them: The Bureaus INC ??????

On the BBB, it states that the company was founded in June of 1960 so they have been around quite awhile. The BBB Report states that they have received 31 complaints, 25 of those billing or collection issues. But there have been relatively few lawsuits against them for FDCPA violations, only 5 of them so far this year. Here is a nice brand new one by a person who was being pursued for a debt that was not theirs. "32. Bureaus, at all relevant times, including when imposing its phony debts on Plaintiff and when conveying its demands and statements of account to Plaintiff as set forth in detail above, intended that Plaintiff rely on said misrepresentations of the purported debt." (It means that the offered Debt Verification was not Valid.)

According to their website, they work for junk debt buyers, and on top of that, "In 1992 TBI began servicing accounts purchased by a related entity".

Wow, you are the man! They bought my debt with HSBC and placed it with a company called Asset Recovery Solutions, also in Illinois. I have sent a validation letter to ARS, certified mail of course. I am waiting to hear back from ARS. I rec'd a call, no message left, from ARS on 5/13. They rec'd the validation letter on 5/11. Is there any tricks they can pull on me where they would be able to sneak in a judgement without my knowledge? This whole deal is making me nervous. I have never dealt with a collection agency before and I have read how damn sneaky they can be. Thank you. I think the Bureaus have re-aged my account. I may have to hire attorney over this whole thing. I do owe this debt or at least the biggest part of it but I want to know who I really owe before I pay.

they bought a debt of mine and I have an arrangement of monthly payments. Every month they send me a letter thanking me for my payment and being responsible. Then a few months ago an employee of theirs named "Sterling Glue" (I don't know if that's a real name) sent a letter threatening me with all kinds of stuff and accusing me of not paying. I found the email of the ceo of the firm and emailed him and others telling them that I would be happy to meet them in court with all my cancelled checks and their letters thanking me for being responsible. I actually got an apology from the ceo. My advice is to be strong with them and do everything in writing. It took awhile to get them to stop hounding me in the beginning but I just kept sending them payments and certified letters stating that I could send this every month (and I made sure to do it every month) and then they accepted it. But do everything in writing-- I have never spoken to a single person there.

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When I opened the account with Direct Merchants/HSBC, I lived in the same house as I do now. I think a judge would see an improperly served summons as a bit of an issue. Since this is a newly charged off account, newly bought (by The Bureaus) and farmed off to a 3rd party collection agency, what do you think the chances of this collection agency being able to validate are? I would think it would be fairly easy. Since I have assets to protect, I will not let them get a judgement. That is not an option. So far I have rec'd nothing in reply to my request for validation. It will be 30 days on June 11. I am still waiting for my credit reports but I do believe The Bureaus have re-aged my account. If I were going to settle with the 3rd party collection agency, could I use the illegal re-aging of the account by the owner (Bureaus) as leverage to get a lower settlement? I have paid so many bogus fees to DMB/HSBC for so long that I wouldn't mind one bit getting a little back but I am not sure the collector would care since it is not them but the owner that has illegally re-aged the account.

Since re-aging your account is deceptive and dishonest, you may be able to get a countersuit against them together.

Yeah, you definitely don't want a judgment, depending on your state it could be on your record for a looong time.

Plus, if it went to court, you would file a Motion for Discovery which requires them to prove that the debt is yours, it is much more comprehensive than a DV.

And do not settle on it unless you are absolutely sure that it has not reached the SOL and so you'll have to pay it anyway.

It is within the SOL. The last payment was about 15 days before they charged the account off. I have been paying this bill on this closed DMB (closed in 2002) for 7 years. The balance is now half of what it was at its highest. The OC has changed 2 times. It was Metris then HSBC. Those people tack on huge fees. They refuse to honor oral agreements. If they would have honored the oral agreement and re-aged the account after I paid on time the required amount over three months it would not have been charged off. I have another account with HSBC that is current. I have been on the hardship program with that card and have seen a huge reduction on the balance in the last several months. When these 2 accounts are paid off, I will never do business with those people again. Capital One sucks as well. Thankfully, my balance with them is around $700.00 and will be paid off this year.

They do that a lot, that's why we always suggest that you not pay one penny unless you have it on paper. Document everything.

They cannot charge you any more than your original contract with the credit card company states. Definitely send a DV letter and specify that you want a breakdown of charges.

They *want* to make you nervous. Don't allow it. Be calm, breathe, and take it step by step. When you are nervous, you can say and do things that can swiftly derail your case and that is what they are hoping. Plus you will be at a distinct disadvantage in the courts which require a clear head - which is why appearing pro se (without representation) is so rarely advised (and why there are Legal Aid societies through the courts (inquire at your courthouse or look it up on their website). You can also go to the National Association of Consumer Advocates for attorney referral should you need it.

But, this site "http://www.nedap.org/hotline/court.html" has a LOT of good info on it about the Court Process and possible defenses, etc.