1st Credit of America contacting for debt owned by other co.

Md

If 1st Credit of America is authorized to collect the debt from you, fdcpa law forces them to validate the debt and you don't have to contact your creditors seeking information on it.

Send your letter certified with return receipt requested so that you have proof of your efforts made.

Has Accounts Receivables validated the debt before you agree to the payment?

No, Accts Rec. did not validate my debt. I called them and they said they sent it back to the creditor to validate. Instead I get 1st credit of america calling. They won't give me an address. I can't find them anywhere either. Anyone know their address? The lady gave me her fax number. Should this work to get the debt validation form to them? I don't understand the issue of no one just sending me the document that breaks down what I owe. I would pay if I understood all the charges. They are charging me over $100 from what I did owe before. If they added on fees, that's fine, I just want to understand them. What's the issue?

Hi MD

Please be careful while dealing with this company. They have an unsatisfactory record in the BBB and have failed to respond to most of the consumer complaints.

The BBB has involved in getting most of the consumer complaints resolved in the past three years.

debt validation process applies to any collection agency that is trying to recover the debt from you. Make sure that you have the clear picture of your debt from the company before you agree to any terms.

Please contact the company at the following address:

1st Credit of America LLC
300 N Elizabeth St
Suite 220B
Chicago, IL 60607
Telephone: (866) 505-2632

Regards
Roxette

I think these guys are rip-off artists. I got a call from an "Austin Brown" at 866 505 2632 stating my account was headed to collection unless I authorized a draft from my account or gave him a credit card number. I asked for something in writing and he refused. The next day I called 1st Credit and asked to be connected to Austin Brown. The receptionist (on 5 occasions) immediately connected me to someone, but never a Mr. Brown. Ms Wells eventually acknowledged that there was no such person in Chicago; perhaps that was their India branch that made the call. They asked for increasingly detailed information from me before "they could open my file".... I eventually declined to give them any more data and they said they couldn't help me and it would just go to collection. I've checked my credit reports, and everything is perfect. This company is a scam in my opinion.

Hi MCV

Welcome to the forums.

Do keep a check on your credit report frequently as they might try to hit your file by illegal motives.

Before you consider paying to any agency, you should definitely have something in writing so that you come to know the true picture of the said debt. If they are reluctant to give you any info, you can take legal actions against such companies. Be careful while you are dealing with them. Keep everything documented and record the phone calls. This will give you sufficient proof to file a case against them.

Regards
Roxette

They are a fraud. They are similar to Ellis Crosby & Associates. I already paid mine off in July and they claim that FSM hired them but I contacted FSM who denied it. They are very rude and refuse to listen to anything. I asked them to stop calling and the girl said they will call me every day. I cursed them out and hung up.

Here it again from a professional debt collector working for an honest law-abiding collection agency. First Credit of America are a bunch of crooks. No bona fide creditor will contract with them because they lie, break laws regularly, and behave like a bunch of Corleones. They are an orgaization of charlatans contracted by other charlatans fro the purpose of bullying money out of people. The kinds of accounts they work are nothing more than penny ante crap that can easily be eradicated with a dispute letter. No reputable creditor like The Department of Education, Cingular, Verizon, or Providian will contract with them because they flat out suck! Only other crooks contract with them. Get to work on your dispute letters right now!

They also harass people that have no credit debt. They use the telephone number one 800-293-1486. I have reported them to my state Attorney General's office, I suggest you do the same.

They too contacted me and said I owed them 158.00 for a credit card I said why would I pay money for a credit card she said it was actually a debit card I said I have a debit card with my bank she said you were on line and probably didn't realize what you were doing. I said no I know what I do online she said now you owe 198.00 I said why she said you bounced a check I said I never wrote you a check and I am not paying you anything she was rude and hung up.

They keep subtracting amounts of 180.00 out of my account and I cannot get in touch with them. Help!

FSM Group also has hired Certified Recovery Systems as well and they are threatening me. I just sent them a validation letter. FSM Group seems to use lots of CA's.

here is their website. Just cut and paste into your browser to go there.

If they are refusing to give an address so you can legally request validation, then they are in violation of Federal laws. File a complaint with the FTC and your State Sttorney General as well a the ACA Int'l ( a trade organization which is supposed to police the industry and ensure actvities are carried out in full compliance, 1st Credit of America claims to be a member)

.1stcofa.com/default.asp

Here is their contact info:

Corporate Headquarters:
1st Credit of America
300 North Elizabeth
Suite 220B
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Toll Free: 1-866-505-CofA (866-505-2632)
E-Mail: info(at)1stCofA.com

My story started at the end of January. They claimed to own some account from a car loan from Drive Financial. The guy talked fast at first and I kept insisting he mail me something. He refused and finally a supervisor came on the phone and said they would fax it right over. I had to give them a credit card number to start payment arrangements. I refused, they came up with a slick idea of well we will help you out, just give us the credit card number. I should have looked them up right away. I gave it to them, the fax never came through. So I called my bank immediately, canceled my card and reported the charge as fraud. They attempted a transaction on that account a month later for over $500. Without my approval or notifying me, that is against the Fair Collection Act. As well as they refuse to mail anything. I called a few times in early March to request information to be mailed. They would badger me, threaten me, hang up on me, and so on. I reported them to the Better Business Bureau, FTC and the Illinois Attorney General (since that is the state they do business in). I sent them a certified letter requesting all phone calls cease. I got one last phone call from them last week when they received the letter, Dana Williams - who signed for the letter - advised me that she had received the letter, the calls would cease, but that the next time I heard from them since I obviously refused payment arrangements would be from my payroll department. Ahh another broken law by them. They have told me they cant mail anything out, and then on this last call said they mailed something a month ago. Talk about trying to cover your bum. They can't touch me or my credit because they have failed to comply with the law. I suspect they will be out of business soon enough.

this company has called my job 3 times. and told me that my company would not like their name splattered on the from of the news page as having a payroll manager accused of fraud because i have not payed my PDL to Apple. how can i stop them from calling my place of business. does anyone have an accurate address for them? they told me i have one hour to contact them and make a payment arrangement. when i repeated what he said to me about federal and state charges he got irate and said i was wasting his time if he were to tell me what would happen. and that i am in the computer to be processed. he asked was i recording the conversation and i said no just wanted to make sure i have this right. he then got upset with me because i asked for a letter of validation. can he really press fraud charges against me?

This comapny hit my brother in laws checking account today for $170.00. I can't get a number to call them or e-mail them. The bank said they can't do anything becuase the transaction is pending and they had all the correct information. I did authorize a $75 payment on May 1st with the understanding they would call me when the next payment is due. I am out of work and don't have the money to pay back. Can someone help me with a phone number or e-mail address?

Even though this was posted early in the thread, I feel that this is an important statement. Just to clarify to everyone, a CA does NOT "send an account back to the OC to validate". They only get rid of an account like this when they CANNOT validate it. There was a validation request made by md here, and they immediately got around that request by getting rid of the debt. It then went back to the previous creditor, who then got rid of it to yet another CA. This is important, folks--this is what is happening with the accounts you are getting called about. When a debt cannot be properly and legally validated, the CA just offloads it into someone else's lap, and the fun begins all over again. When this happens to you, stick to your guns!! Send each new CA that tries to collect from you a validation demand letter. And each time, when they cant validate it like in this case, you will just get shuffled off onto the next junk debt buyer.



Very important--NEVER FAX OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS TO A CA. You need to make sure that you have proof that they received what you sent. Always send any letter or documentation via certified mail return receipt requested, so you can prove they got what you sent. This company probably did not give an address specifically so that it would make it harder for you to send them a DV letter. They think that if they can make it hard enough, you will just give up and pay them. Dont fall for that!

Spektakularr--no, he cannot press fraud charges against you. Your PDL is a civil matter, and criminal arrest does not occur with a civil matter. There is not a single way in the world that these people can have you arrested for this. Not one. They just used a scare tactic on you to try to get you to pay them immediately. Dont fall for it. That entire telephone call sounds like one giant violation of the FDCPA--federal law that protects you from these morons. Next time someone asks you if youre recording the call, tell them you are. Often they will just hang up! About calling your work, you need to send them a letter immediately, demanding that they cease and desist from calling you. Inform them that any communication from them must be by US mail. Reiterate that they are not allowed to call you at your home, your place of business, or anywhere else. Federal law requires them to stop calling once they receive this letter. Be sure and send it certified mail return receipt requested, so you can prove that they got it. If they call after they receive the letter, then you need to think about getting an attorney and suing them. Seriously. The violations you have already mentioned are very aggressive and completely ridiculous, and you have the legal right to sue them and get money paid to you from them for those violations.

Donna--here is the contact info for this company:

Corporate Headquarters:
1st Credit of America
300 North Elizabeth
Suite 220B
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Toll Free: 1-866-505-CofA (866-505-2632)
E-Mail: info(at)1stCofA.com

About the bank--once the payment clears, you can go back to them and file a complaint about it. It does not matter one bit if they had the correct information--they need your permission in addition to that. Tell the bank that they had the correct information from a previous agreement but that they did not have any authorization whatsoever to take the funds this time. They are required to look into that.

This company got raided and closed down. I worked there is 05. Should have known they were fraudulent when we had to cash our checks at a nearby currency exchange instead of a bank. They wanted us to call ourselves independent contractors.