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ARS National: How is it dealing with the CA calling from 888-238-8232?

Submitted by imkimssister on Tue, 02/28/2006 - 21:44
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Anyone dealt with these people before? Dell is claiming that ARS National has at least one of my husbands dell accounts. And they claim that ARS National collection agency has mine as well (I have one). Although my husband has four accounts with Dell--oxford is calling saying they have all four, yet dell has emailed me back on one account so far, and they're saying that ARS has it. This is INSANE!!!!!!!!! can I go jump off a bridge now? I'm waiting to hear back now about who has the rest of the accounts. These accounts have been passed around like hotcakes. and tell me, why is this????? if I ask for validation, here we go again. The last I heard (three months ago), oxford had two and Encore had two. This is the first I've heard of ARS having any of these accounts.

sorry, got carried away there for a minute. was just wondering if anyone here has dealt with these folks before? I'm starting to think in the terms of a lawyer---can we say L-A-W-Y-E-R?? if I had the money, I'd jump on it in a second. These people have jerked me around long enough. thanks, shirley


Wow...every time I think it isn't possible to be more complicated.

*speechless*

It seriously does seem like you are being jerked around, and I DON'T LIKE THAT! I don't think it would hurt to take a free consultation with a lawyer that knows his laws in this type of situation. Of course, I wouldn't have a clue as to where to start to find one. What is the next step you are going to take??

~Mary


Submitted by Mary on Tue, 02/28/2006 - 21:58

Mary

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well, I am going to wait to see if this person emails me back from Dell. I actually got an email from a real person with a real name and job title! so I'm going to wait and see if she writes back. Also, I sent out a certified letter on monday, will wait and see what that comes back saying. compair the info from the letter to the info from the email and see if their info matches up. Then go from there writing the collection agencies in charge.

This just doesn't seem right or legal to me the way they have handled all of this.


Submitted by imkimssister on Tue, 02/28/2006 - 22:22

imkimssister

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Shirley,

I think all the debtors should follow few steps-

  • Ask for validation. Unless the CA validates the debt, they cannot start collection activities.
  • Never pay anyone without written agreement.
  • Keep all the documents of your payments for the rest of your life; they can come up with peculiar claims any day.


I know you have been dealing with these accounts for so many days. Hope you will get some positive response this time. Keep us posted.


Submitted by stanley on Wed, 03/01/2006 - 09:59

stanley

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Thank you Stanley!!!! ((hugs)) I totally agree with all of your points there. I think more so than ever, because of these accounts getting scattered left and right every time I ask for validation--and now some companies say they have these accounts while I'm hearing that other companies have them. This has just gotten crazy! I can't do anything until I know who has what! I have emailed a person at Dell and sent Dell a certified letter on monday-also certified letters to the collection agencies THAT I THOUGHT had the accounts. Turns out now the accounts have changed hands again. gonna wait to see what I hear back. But I almost can't do anything right now, this is so tangled up! but thanks again Stan! shirley


Submitted by imkimssister on Wed, 03/01/2006 - 10:08

imkimssister

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If you ask a 3rd party collection agency to not call you at one of your numbers, they are not allowed to BY LAW. Once Dell sent your debt to a collection agency, it gets passed around through several. ARS is generall the 2nd or 3rd agency it goes to. A file is generally in a collection office for 6-12 months. If you speak with a Rep, verify your info, you can then find out if they still have the debt - and if so, work out arrangements for resolution. Remember - your charged off debt is accruing interest every day. Sometimes a settlement is the best way to get rid of the debt, often at less than what you originally owed.


Submitted by on Thu, 10/30/2008 - 14:27

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ARS National collection agency violates several fdcpa rules and often! They are known for calling third parities in attempt to embarrass the debtor. In most cases they will call anyone even remotely associated with you. They can only do so once to find out your location/phone number. However, they breach this law over and over. I have had phone call after phone call from these jerks and found out that recording them makes them squirm! ARS National collection agency fails to give me real names and I will often re-play the communication for them with a supervisor/account manager. Your best bet is to take them out of play because, giving them money is like giving a crackhead money! You are not dealing with honest people here so, save yourself some time and grief. You have rights under the FDCPA, look up the site. Times are hard and honest people are being harassed by these idiots! I'm not limiting the idiot name to just ARS, but collection agency practices as a whole.


Submitted by on Thu, 11/06/2008 - 12:29

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I am a third party and have come head to head with these harassing phone calls. I have never been treated in such a rude manner in my life and I am so angry and upset over the treatment I have received from these people that I am shaking! The "Witch" that keeps calling has informed me that she will keep calling until I get a message to the person she is calling for. I've tried to explain that person is not at this number, has never lived here and in fact does not and has never even lived in this state! These people are horrible and have no business dealing with the public. I don't know what she thinks she will accomplish treating me in the manner she is, but it won't be what she thinks she's doing. Miss "tuffy" has another "think" coming. I have called their number and they will not give out their address. I have asked to be put on their no-call list and to never receive a call from them again and reported "Jasmine", but of course they would not let me speak to a supervisor. How can we stop these idiots???


Submitted by on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 10:45

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The phone number on my caller id is "unavailable" "Unknown number"; however on one of the calls I did not answer a message was left leaving the following information:
"Jasmine" with "ARS National" at 888-238-8232 x2436.

I have just filed a complaint on line against ARS National collection agency at FAIR DEBT COLLECTION gov.

I sure hope it does some good because this is ridiculous. I am an innocent bystander being attacked just because someone at some point in their lives used me as a reference. No way can this be legal!!


Submitted by on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 11:28

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ARS National collection agency calling my home phone (land line) from 800 440 6613. They refused to give me a mailing address so that I could send them a formal complaint and request to remove me from their call list (which, by the way, I am on the National No Call List) and since I did not solicit their phone calls, nor do I have any business dealings with them, aren't they breaking laws just by calling me?

I can't stress how vicious this phone conversation was, how rude, disrespectful and down right abusive it was!!


Submitted by on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 14:39

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I dealt with ars national services collection agency a few months ago when they called me over a debt that citibank sold to them. I admit owing the debt completely and told them what I could afford to send and the guy I talked to laughed at the amount I offered. Basically told me it wasn't good enough. Then proceeded to tell me that they were going to look into wage garneshment the next day if I didn't pay them the total amount due, which is around $3500. I then laughed at him for making such a humorous statement and told him that he wouldn't be able to do that without a judge ordering it and I think that pissed him off. So, I said see you in court then! Haven't heard from them since and this was in October of 2008. Good luck!


Submitted by on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 17:03

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But see, the point is we don't owe the debt. Someone else who had used us as a reference at some point in time, owes the debt. We are getting the threats and verbal abuse ... and were told that it would continue until we agree to "pass the message along and they receive a phone call from the person owing the debt". We are not the ones who should be receiving these calls. Well ... no one should receive calls like this, however, it's even worse when you are totally innocent!! I asked why aren't they calling the ones who owe the debt. The ones who owe the debt won't return their phone calls, so I guess they have to abuse someone, so they abuse the innocent??? It's all just so ridiculous and crazy!! These people should be committed!!


Submitted by on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 17:36

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Ya ARS National is a legit Collection agency, although they only handle accounts that have been around for quite a while and have accumilated massive debt on each account. I used to work there, so I know what you are going. Collectors go to extreme measures to collect on your debts, even bluffing about wage garnishment and repomen. It sounds stupid but a great amount of people cave in when you threaten such things that's why those tactics are used. Besides you wouldn't be there in the first place if you werent a deadbeat bringing down the economy by never paying off your debts. Most debtors are lowlifes anyways with no respect for anyone. Why should we give you time and patience when you've owned money for X amount of years and show no attitude toward paying it off.


Submitted by on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 10:06

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because your CA is a bottomfeeder that shouldn't get a dime from anybody.


Submitted by paulmergel on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 10:20

paulmergel

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What in the world are you going on about? We were a "reference" on someone's paperwork ... not the ones "owing the debt". The person that owes the debt is not a deadbeat, either ... just someone down on their luck. So anyway, I can definitely see you as someone who works for such a place. Heartless, cruel, crude and from what I can tell ... a true "deadbeat".


Submitted by on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 16:20

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You're not to bright are you "Guest". If you had half a brain you would have known that the OP is not the debtor in question. But, then again, you only need a Good Enough Diploma to work as a collection agent( and you're obviously a failure at that as well) Pay no more attention to this CA scum bucket than you would dog crap on the bottom of your shoe. Now run along little troll before I pull out the pooper scooper.


Submitted by NASCAR_Devil on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 16:29

NASCAR_Devil

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i currently work for ars national, and i work on every client account in our building, i always treat my debtors with respect and always try to set up the best settlement i can give them, most people are just in a tight spot, i cant say that everyone in my office is nice, but most people in my office are very nice. just a word of advice, be nice to them, and they will be nice back in most cases.


Submitted by on Wed, 04/29/2009 - 19:00

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I do not believe it to be humanly possible for you to work on "every client account in [the] building". It is surely a typo or a hyperbole.

Since hardly anyone sues these FDCPA violators even though they are awarded statutory damages of $1000 and possible court and attorney costs, I note 72 cases filed in Federal court on FDCPA violations and other bad collection practices since 2004, with 25 of them being filed since 2008. Yes that is a very small number, but again, most people just complain on forums and blogs and do not file with the proper authorities.

But, on "http://www.westonlegal.com/debtcollection.htm" I see that it has DBAs: "ARS National Services Inc dba National Student Loan Services dba Associated Recovery Systems (fdba Associated Recovery Systems Inc)". So looking up National Student Loan Services there are 0. For Assoc. Recovery I found 10 since 2004 (it says 11 but 1 is a former employee). This does not count any suits filed in local courts, of which I could find only 1 which was dismissed (the debtor could not prove any violations, and the ones he did complain about pertain to the debtor himself and this particular debtor had an attorney and ARS only spoke with that attorney). I do not know the outcome of any of these cases because I am not an attorney and so do not have access to the PACER system so I cannot state how many of the alleged debtors won their cases.

So, since I am a staunch believer in fairness and justice and I strongly despise bullies and jerks and pushy/demanding control freaks, I still must be fair and say that I cannot claim that ARS is routinely violating the FDCPA. It could happen on occasion by new employees (these places have high turnovers - collections is a very stressful and dehumanizing job - personally I'd rather pick strawberries). Considering they have 650 employees (according to their website) and each collector will talk to about 200 people per weekday, 82 lawsuits in 5 1/2 years for FDCPA violations seems like a very paltry number indeed considering how Americans are allegedly a litigious society. Plus, they are not on consumer advocate Bud Hibbs' site as an agency to avoid ("http://budhibbs.com/coll_to_avoid_list.htm") either.

Remember, everyone is presumed Innocent until PROVEN guilty in a Court of Law. If this, or ANY debt collector violates the FDCPA, it is your responsibility to document it and take them to court. Violations only happen because the People allow it by not fighting back under proper and due process.


Submitted by Chrys Henderson on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 04:11

Chrys Henderson

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1. 2nd tier 3rd tier (etc) debt collection agencies buy long term outstanding debt for penny's on the dollar, If your debt is years old, it is almost guaranteed the original debt has been sold and resold several times. These companies are not here to help you, they are not there to help the original company you owed money to recoup their losses. It is their goal to make huge profits buying the legal right to harass you (sort of) and make HUGE profit margins to the "suckers" that cave in.

2. Their M.O is to harass and use scare tactics. VERY rarely do they actually take legal action, as legal action is a risky gamble for them. (ESPECIALLY SO if your debt is under 1000 dollars.) Legal action involves hiring a lawyer, setting a court date (IN YOUR COUNTY not theirs) Hope they win (you can easily delay court dates for 6 months or more.) And even if they do win, they have no guarantees they will ever get their money that way, (people change jobs, move to new location. etc) As for repo men that almost NEVER happens, how do they know which furniture is yours? People can sell items after they lost in court and so on. What I am getting at is, to take actual legal action is something they want to avoid. I get back to point on, their method of operation is to buy up debt, pennys on the dollar and try to scare/harass you into paying it.

3. Talking to them, admitting to debt.. and paying it are all almost universally bad. Just admitting you have a debt can allow them to extend the statuette of limitations in your state beyond the (usually) 7 years. You can also pay one debt collection company and still have them re-sell it to another.

4. Fight back, know your FDCPA rights by looking it up online. Soon as they break one of those rights threaten legal action, if they blow it off, pursue legal action and let these scum actually pay you for ruining your day. Show you know your rights and willing to back it up legally and they will probably leave you be for easier prey.


Submitted by on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 13:10

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I just finished dealing with these people. They are definitely a scumbag organization. I've had their "customer service reps" (HA!) talk to me like a dog, lie to me about the name of the company when I threatened to send a cease and desist letter, refuse to let me speak to their supervisor, refuse to give me the company mailing address so that I could send a cease and desist letter and hang up on me. I had to go through my state's attorney general's office and the secretary of state's office to find their information!!!

:twisted: :arrow: For the record, their information follows:

Associated Recovery Systems / ARS National Serices
PO Box 469046
Escondido, CA 92046

Their phone number is: (800) 707-1927
Their fax number is: (866) 422-0765

If you send a cease and desist letter, make sure you have gotten your account ID from them. Then send it by registered mail with delivery confirmation / signature confirmation.


Submitted by on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 11:43

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Got a call from these pus-bags today with a voice-mail message deliberately garbled to sound like ???IRS??? instead of ???ARS???. (Real IRS employees never identify by the agency???s initials) We don???t owe these scum a dime. They were looking for someone we know, but who never lived here. If they think we would rat out anyone to their breed of slimy night-crawlers, they are even dumber than they sound- and that boggles the mind! Our number is unlisted, so they obviously got it by pretexting or some other type of illegal phishing scam. Apparently, ???Elizabeth Giles??? is one of several aliases used by this Bill-bitch, ???Ms. Martinez??? being another. These lowlifes really need to grow a soul and get a real job. Can???t help them with that, so I will settle for blocking their number, filing complaints with the FTC and letting the person they are looking for know that they should do the same. I counted at least 3 violations of federal law related to that one call, and no one was even there to pick up the phone.


Submitted by on Thu, 11/19/2009 - 19:49

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I am caught between 2 agencies: ARS and Oxford, since they can't agree who has the account any future payments are on hold. I had already started paying Oxford for DEC 09 and now ARS states that I must pay them for DEC 09 also to continue the same payment arrangements, and yes, they can be very rude; a supervisor (supposely) hung up on me and told me my settlement was off when I asked when the individual that I had been working with would be in. It is bad when the rep states " I only want to close my account before the end of the year and you are messing with my numbers.


Submitted by on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 11:36

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I am dealing with these people right now over an old Corporate debt that has beenhanging around for 18+ month. I can't get any information from Capital One (original debt). They refer me to ARS. ARS tells me to get the info I want from Capital One. I'm so sick and tired of this crap. At one time I was dealing with Alex Westre at ARS who was rude, cocky & arrogant. Actually, one of his co-workers agreed with me and said a lot of people say that about him. When I told Alex what I could pay each month, his response was "that's not going to cut it". Well, I told hi - you can't get blood from a stone. I can't give you what I don't have!!!! I told him I would pay him X amount of money as a one time payment to make this go away. He said his offer was Null and Void and good luck to me. His offer was a joke.

I'm still getting calls from ARS asking to see if we can settle this. All I have been asking for from Capital One and the debt collector (ARS is the 3rd one) is a detailed account of principal and interest. No one can give this to me. And of course, no one has any records of the 4 payments I made to Capital One last year. The comment I got from ARS was - don't worry wbout the payments because we reduced the debt so much that it takes care of it. No, ARS reduced the debt by taking away the $500 a month interest that they have been charging me since Janaury of 2009 because I can't seem to get a straight answer from ANYONE!

I am writing a letter to the State's Attorney General's office to complain. I am so sick and tired of dealing with this.

Thanks for letting me vent.....


Submitted by on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 07:50

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As a former employee of ARS, you should just PAY YOUR BILLS! ARS will work with you on terms that will work for you. I'm sure you're tired for the endless phone calls, JUST PICK UP THE PHONE! Avoiding their phone calls will not solve the problem and only increase the amount of interest building up. Just be polite with your account representative. They want to help you, just give them a chance. Be honest and I'm sure you will sleep with the peace of mind knowing you're dealing with your debt, rather than avoiding it. Good luck! Lemme know if you have anymore questions [email]fwflores123@yahoo.com[/email].


Submitted by on Thu, 03/04/2010 - 11:12

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[QUOTE=Anonymous;662567]As a former employee of ARS, you should just PAY YOUR BILLS! ARS will work with you on terms that will work for you. I'm sure you're tired for the endless phone calls, JUST PICK UP THE PHONE! Avoiding their phone calls will not solve the problem and only increase the amount of interest building up. Just be polite with your account representative. They want to help you, just give them a chance. Be honest and I'm sure you will sleep with the peace of mind knowing you're dealing with your debt, rather than avoiding it. Good luck! Lemme know if you have anymore questions deleted.[EMAIL="fwflores123@"][/EMAIL][/QUOTE]

sorry you are just another humanoid with the PAY YOUR BILLS rant.btw people at first don't avoid compost like you.when you demand bank or cc info(not reqyired of the person you call)or threaten everything under the sun when the person suggests either payments,or an address to send payments you all freak.why i ask is providing an address or letting the person pay in installments a problem.don't respond please.your so civil on a public forum(the reason your e-mail was deleted),but i bet on the phone you are a b*tch on wheels.back to the phones with you.


Submitted by paulmergel on Thu, 03/04/2010 - 15:11

paulmergel

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OMG! These guys are sooooooooo rude and verbally abusive! This guy named "Rob" was shouting at me! The first time we talked HE hung up on me! The second time after yelling at me and talking to me condescendingly HE hung up on me again! He said so your not going to pay? okay and hung up. What I was saying was that I did not want to work with him because he was sarcastic and yelling at me! I kept calling and asking for the manager and they would keep sending me to this guy. He said he was the manager. There was no way he was a manager. Can we do a class action law suit???? I wish I had the tape to play to everyone! Can we get a hold of those tapes????? Is there anything I can do????? help!
Lenisa


Submitted by on Sat, 03/27/2010 - 11:38

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It ia not against the law to contact a third party to leave a message if an attemp as already been made to contact the debtor and home. Before you get upset read the FDCPA lawsQuote:

Originally Posted by Anonymous
ARS violates several fdcpa rules and often! They are known for calling third parities in attempt to embarrass the debtor. In most cases they will call anyone even remotely associated with you. They can only do so once to find out your location/phone number. However, they breach this law over and over. I have had phone call after phone call from these jerks and found out that recording them makes them squirm! They fail to give me real names and I will often re-play the communication for them with a supervisor/account manager. Your best bet is to take them out of play because, giving them money is like giving a crackhead money! You are not dealing with honest people here so, save yourself some time and grief. You have rights under the FDCPA, look up the site. Times are hard and honest people are being harassed by these idiots! I'm not limiting the idiot name to just ARS, but collection agency practices as a whole.


Submitted by on Tue, 04/13/2010 - 19:17

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I am a senior rep at a collection agency and what you are talking about is harrasment. All you need to do is record the conversation. Advise the rep if the calls don't stop you will be reporting it to the Attorney General. Collectors like that give good one( like myself ) a bad name. Also try and understand that alot of phone #'s are recycled. And I know its shocking ...but people do give false info to companies to get credit cards. Its not always the collectors fault.Quote:

Originally Posted by Anonymous
They are calling my home phone (land line). They refused to give me a mailing address so that I could send them a formal complaint and request to remove me from their call list (which, by the way, I am on the National No Call List) and since I did not solicit their phone calls, nor do I have any business dealings with them, aren't they breaking laws just by calling me?
I can't stress how vicious this phone conversation was, how rude, disrespectful and down right abusive it was!!


Submitted by on Tue, 04/13/2010 - 19:24

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Anonymous
It ia not against the law to contact a third party to leave a message if an attemp as already been made to contact the debtor and home. Before you get upset read the FDCPA laws


whatevs numbnuts.being as this place illegaly threatens everyday and twice on sunday your argument loses steam in a hurry.besides being abusive and threateing to third parties can,and will get this place and others like it sued.go defend bottomfeeders elsewhere.


Submitted by paulmergel on Wed, 04/14/2010 - 04:55

paulmergel

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well i just started working at ARS and I would love to help any angry people out there resolve their problems, im going into this company to make a change in collections, contact me and respond and i would love to help you, cant give u any addresses or promise any upper management contact, but i'll do my best to help u. . .


Submitted by on Wed, 04/21/2010 - 02:18

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Mmm Hmmm- "More than willing to help..."

If you've not answered a phone call involving these circling bolus- DON'T!

Answering machines are your friend- especially if you do not put "You've reached..." followed by your name or phone number. There's no proof they've made ANY contact with you. IF [and I do mean IF] they send you written crap about how much you owe or how much you can "pay per month" check the address on your "statement" against the pre-addressed envelope you're supposed to put it in AND THEN check to see if they've got another address [Google is also your friend]. The address used most often [especially if you can find their name & address corresponding to financials [hint: ARS is a subordinate to "Square Two Finances" through "LVNV Funding"- they're all s**t-sharks, swirling, one around another, in an effort to hide themselves] Square Two is a "public" entity- so their "direct contacts" must be listed under a public company.

Make sure you MAKE them verify that they have ownership of your debt- trust me, just saying they do doesn't cut it. An old bill record DOES NOT CUT IT. Send this verification request CERTIFIED & RETURN RECEIPT.

If you're getting phone calls to the point of mania- send a Cease/Comm letter to the first address that has a street and NOT a PO box. If you're unable to come up with a street address- try using the one off the internet that comes up the most often and make sure you SEND IT CERTIFIED w/ RETURN RECEIPT!!!

Get ready to record any and all phone calls you get afterwords [they'll only be able to call you one LAST time after 5 days upon your receipt of the RR] take notes and relish the $1000 per infraction "stimulus" you can collect just for them having called.

If they [somehow] refuse to sign the Cert- no worries, that's what the Return Reciept is for- it lets the lawyers know that they got it regardless of their "cutesy" little "no-sign"; set it aside with your recordings and when you've got about 30 days worth of info... Send them a "pleasant-gram" copied to your attorney general and sue those turds right down the flusher.


Submitted by on Wed, 04/21/2010 - 09:48

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For everyone that read this persons post, i would like to clear up a few things. ARS is not affiliated with "Square two Finances or LVNV funding" The company was established by a husband and wife and handed down to their son Jason who is the acting CEO of the company. They have offices in Escondido, Ontario, Jacksonville, Baltimore, and Phoenix. ARS is a legitamite company that collects debt directly for major Credit companies such as DELL, Capitol One, Bank of America, Citibank, Chase and collects on behalf of companies that have purchased debt such as Asset accpetance, Midland, and WAM. they do collect for a few more debt companies but i have forgotten their names. ARS DOES NOT PURCHASE DEBT! In regards to verification of debt all debtors are allowed 30 days from the date the 1st letter is mailed which by law is required within 7 days from placement of debt in the agency. If the agency does not have the correct address on the acct, which would be the fault of the debtor for not updating their address, then the agency is not required to verify the debt. In some cases you may find a collector that will give you the info to send in writing your request for verification of the debt, but it is not required to give this info once the 30 days has passed. If you do a verification of debt within the original 30 days then collections must cease until the verification is sent out to the debtor and back to the agency. If calls are placed then that is a violation of the FDCPA. Unless given permission a collector may only speak with you once a day, that includes leaving a msg on your machine, if no msg is left and they dont speak to the debtor then they can call you several times in a day. Third party calling is allowed to verify, employment, address and phone numbers, or to leave a msg asking the debtor to call. Collectors are not allowed to give any info to the third party. If the third party requests that they are not contacted again then the agency is to cease calls to that number. Based on the state where you reside will depend on other specific FDCPA Laws. For instance if you reside in the state of CA you are only required to verbally give a cease and desist on mail sent to you and/or phone calls. If an agency states you have to submit it in writing tell them in the state of CA i am not required to put this in writing, if the agency continues to contact you after this then they are in violation of the FDCPA and should be reported immediately to the Attorney General. When the complaint is logged it is sent to the agency, if they dont respond to the complaint back to the attorney general with some sort of resolution, then they are fined and a violation is put in their file, these are taken seriously. Most people that threated to file a complaint dont follow through so collectors dont normally take you seriously. Also if in the instance that you happen to have more than one account at the same agency at the same time, they are not given to the same collector, so if you get another call, make sure to verify the acct, they are calling about, because that account was probably not marked as a cease and desist. For people that want to try and see if a rude, vicous debtor was recorded, you can file the complaint with the attorney general, try to be as specific as possible about the day and time of the call, calls are randomly monitored by computer recordings and it is possible that yours may have been, if found the agency will be fined again, and you then have grounds for lawsuit against the company. In regards to a debtor recording their conversation with a collector, you must have their permission to record them, otherwise you can only record your side of the conversation, just want to make that clear. Agencies by law advise you that they are possibly recording your conversation, if you wish to not be recorded, you can ask them to ck that you are not being recorded. If they tell you that your not without checking they are lying to you, collectors dont know if the call is being recorded, at ARS they have to call the call monitoring department to verify if the current call for the collector is being recorded. If you ask to speak with a supervisor, or ask for the companies attorney name and number, they are required to do this, if not file a complaint with the attorney general.
Well this is all the info i feel like typing right now, if you have more questions for me, please just ask.


Submitted by on Sat, 06/05/2010 - 15:34

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I always find it amusing when a debt collector tries to give advice about what a consumer can and cannot do. The FDCPA and maybe even the laws in your state are there to protect you from illegal harassment. The best evidence of illegal harassment is a recording of the phone call. Record the calls if legal in your state because debt collectors will always lie and never admit to saying something that will get them in trouble. And, Yes, you can record the debt collector without their permission and without telling them when you are in a one party consent state like Texas. Then, instead of a complaint to the attorney general who does not pursue your personal claim for you, contact a consumer lawyer to help you sue the debt collection company and the collector.


Submitted by Joe Smith on Sat, 06/05/2010 - 16:58

Joe Smith

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I'm getting really tired of reading "just pay your bills" and "this wouldn't happen if you weren't a deadbeat." That's not true. I, for instance, am getting called because I paid my bills, and the money was applied to an already paid off account. It went to ARS after another company fraudulently got my checking account info and emptied my account. Now ARS is trying to pressure me to pay without seeing any documentation of my debt or offer of settlement. I'm just supposed to take their word for it orally? Well, the law disagrees. I never said I wouldn't pay. I am NOT a deadbeat. I just want proof that my payment will be applied properly.

You collectors will say anything to try to justify what you know is fraudulent practice. But no matter how you try, the guilt is still there, because you still know you are helping a conman to steal from the poor and give to the rich.


Submitted by on Thu, 10/07/2010 - 11:14

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I worked for ARS...The reason I am no longer there is because they do break all the laws that are there protect the consumer from being threatened or harrassed.I was always being monitored and told that I needed to be more aggressive,I did my best to help all the consumers that I was working with(by the way,they refer to consumers as "debtors") I know the physical address to ARS as well as all the members of management,(these managers are a joke,I know most of you were not able to speak to one,but you would have been very disappointed,they are truly a joke!) Everytime a payment is collected,all the collectors ring a bell..that place is a real circus,My advise is that you record the conversation and ask them to Cease and desist(by law a vebal C & D is all that is needed) and as for third party contacts,all it takes by law is that you tell them they have the wrong #,if calls continue,file a lawsuit.ARS does NOT protect there collectors,lawsuits are handled by each collector as a personal lawsuit.


Submitted by on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 22:58

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first things first, one of the guys at the toronto office is very rude and demanding. set strict deadlines, would not accept what i could afford to pay. i broke off all communication with him. then i got a call from the california office from sheri. she was so polite and understanding it completely blew me away. she accepted what i could afford $25 a week every week and now ill be free from this curse in about 10 months.


Submitted by on Mon, 04/11/2011 - 13:37

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I work for the law firm Kearney Alvarez and we are currently involved in a class action against ARS. We are looking to interview potential witnesses to what we believe are violations commited by ARS. Feel free to check us out on the web and if you are willing to speak with us our email and phone number our listed on our website.


Submitted by AndrewK on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 16:49

AndrewK

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