Bank of america/FIA

Stop talking to them, write a letter to them detailing what you have said here, with names, dates, and approximate times. Lay out what you can do and let them know that you know that the behavior of this person is violating the FDCPA and you will file a complaint if it happens again.

I found their 800 number, says call 24/7...obviously they are lying. I wanted to speak to someone to see if they would make some arrangements. I have a job starting next month, I'll be able to pay everything in full. I heard from someone if they refuse payment, it goes away. This seems odd to me.

Actually, FIA Card Services is owned by Bank of America. Since they give the appearance such that a reasonable person would consider them a separate entity, then they are governed by the FDCPA.

That was very odd advice indeed. Debt doesn't just go away unless it slips past the SOL and even then it'll pop up to say hello now and then.

If they have bad customer service people (and apparently they do) then I would always write things down. Specify that you only wish contact by mail and for them to not call you. Inform them that you wish to pay off the debt but you need to work out an equitable payment plan. Offer them a decent monthly payment amount and request them to verify (by mail) and then you will begin paying.

It's too bad you didn't record that conversation, the lady was very rude and her behavior is not only inexcusable, but an FDCPA violation.

I work for AT&T as a Call center Rep. Ive never been rude with a customer. This lady was very rude. My limit is 500, I owe 837. I can make three payments of 279(?)ish and be PIF. I'm just afraid now that I'm going to have horrible credit because they think i wont pay. I want to pay, but the way that lady talked to me, wow I should be like most people and just never pay.

Your credit was negatively affected from the moment you were first late, unfortunately. That is quite a small sum to be so nasty over, my goodness.... That's why I said to detail those conversations in your letter so it is properly documented. You may even wish to file a complaint against her with the FTC.

Yeah Ive read all these horror stories of people with debt twice-five times more than what I owe. I wish I had her name and ext number. I know I spent over an hour with her and her manager on the phone. See I had even made payment arrangements with Bank of America, then the first payment was received and they sold my account. I figured that was weird but thats what i get for getting a credit card huh

FIA Card Services moved my account to First Financial, who will take 100 dollars from my checking for May, then 3 withdraws over June and July. This was the only compromise they had. I'm hoping I dont get screwed over.

I would advise that you keep a close eye on your account durring this time. If they take even a cent more or take anyhting out before the designated date it is illegal.

And I hope you got a letter form them with all the details of the deal spelled out.

They didnt offer a letter. Do I just call them back? What exactly do I ask for? They were very willing to work with me. They said if I put 100 for May, they would cancel all interest. Mr.Green is the one I delt with.. I told them they had the day to take the money out, I wouldnt put it in a day early and it wouldnt be there a day after.. he said that was fine. I'm just not sure what I should ask for now

Ask them for a letter with all the details of the deal spelled out, and how they will report the debt (as "Paid as Agreed" or "Settled for Less than Full Amount" or something else) and that after the settlement offer is paid, the debt is considered closed.

Okay so just some form of this now formal agreement on paper with dates and then a a debt closed. Any other time I'm a mean person when it comes to possibly screwing me over, but it seems with this stuff I'm just not meant to be mean, I'm afraid to be sued and the rest of my credit be brought down by them. I sure am glad your helping me thru this.

You wouldnt happen to know anything about this company would you? First Financial Asset Management... They never gave me an address of their location, just told me they'd withdraw it from the checking account. I read someone earlier that this number is known for a recorded message asking to return the call and ask for Mr.Shapiro.. 1-866-953-5652 is the number for the company

I understand and agree. And that is why you need that letter. I Googled First Financial and all I could see was a Debt Settlement company. I just wanted to check how shady the organization is.

But, you see, what could happen - without a settlement agreement letter - is that they may sell the remainder to a junk debt buyer (it's called Zombie Debt) who will try to collect it.

So it's best to cross all T's and dot all I's, if only for your peace of mind and financial safety.

I think I should just send you 50 bucks and let you do the talking lol - Yeah I tried to google the company but I did get a website of 1fam.com or something of the sort. I checked with BBB credidation, and it does count to BBB.

You responded as I was typing!! Ok, I looked up the name...
"http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=First+Financial+Asset+Management"
There are 45 lawsuits in the last few years filed against them, mostly for FDCPA violations - so now I say definitely, get that letter or don't pay a dime.

Oh great! Another sleepless night! You sure you dont want 50 bucks? lol they wonder why people refuse to pay, give us this b.s to go thru and then try and screw us over and we get to scared to send money.

What will be the fasted way of getting these documents? They want to take out money from the account on the 15th of May, 18th of June, 2nd of July, 16th of July. i bet these no way I can make the bank watch the account for anything suspicious.

CLOSE the account ASAP and open a new one!!

Really ? Close my account?

I'm not understanding why you are telling me to close my account. Thats not making any sense to me. How will they get payment then? I offered to send them money orders but they only wanted my checking account.

They will empty your account. That is why they want your checking account information. It has happened too many times in the past to others. If they won't accept a money order or cashiers check, don't fool with them!!

Ok, now I'm getting a tad nervous, too. No letter? Bank account only? Hmmmm.

This person is suggesting that you close your account because you just might get hit with improper charges, double charges, etc. and end up in a worse situation than when you started out. They don't sound legitimate at all if they refuse to take a money order and provide you a remittance address... I am terribly sorry to add to your stress, but it's better to have all your ducks in a row so that you don't have even more stress later on. There's a reason they call it "zombie debt".

I completely appreciate your apprehension and I wish I knew the answer. Because they made poor business decisions, they want to make other poor business decisions in order to make up for it! It doesn't make sense to me either. While I dislike big government and excessive regulations, there needs to be some regulations (free market capitalism is a utopia, as it requires humans to be completely ethical, and it has been proven time and time again that when faced with money and power, humans become anything but ethical, but boy is *that* another topic altogether!).

But the big point is, here, is that if something goes wrong and they turn this against you, without proper documentation you will have a harder time presenting your defense in court, should it go in that direction. I know you are trying to avoid that (I would, too) but with FDCPA violations it's a pretty cut and dried case if you have documentation. That's quite a few lawsuits against them so I wouldn't trust them at all. However, on the other hand, FDCPA violations not only can possibly pay your attorney fees and court costs, but also net you $1000, which you can then use to pay them back!! HAHAHAHA!! (I just love irony, don't you?) So it's not as bad as it sounds.

When you talk to them, I am sure there is an announcement that the calls are being recorded. I would make your own announcement to that effect (even if you are not recording) just to see their reaction. if they refuse to speak anymore then you know that they are dishonest.

There are many people on this board who have gone through this very same situation so you are in the right place! So relax even a little bit, we'll help you pull through!

Thanks Chrys, for trying to help this person, I have seen so many times on this board where people have been scammed and their bank accounts emptied and it makes me very angry when this happens. If a company is legit they should be willing to accept money orders and cashier checks.

Well I thought something was odd with them wanting to strictly take from the checking account. I've always sent my payments to BOA with money orders. I wish BOA would just take my money and be said and done. I guess I'll be at the bank as soon as it opens. I dont need them taking anymore money than nec. So my best bet is to cut the ties ASAP eh?

I'm just wondering if this is a scam for real, I have received a phone call from this number. I still have the voicemail if I havent let it erase. Wanting me to speak with Mr.Shapiro, but they were claiming I had a termite/pest policy out of date. I rent so that isnt something i worry about i just tell the landlord to take care of that, i just blew the phone call off. If anyone can find more information on First Financial Access/Asset Management pls do, I'm not getting any results

Me too, Guest. It's why I simply stopped talking to them on the phone at all, and only communicating in writing. It does no one any good to get all upset and start yelling at them when the person on the phone is just following orders and their options are very very limited.

And seeing the person's account attacked like that, and then the bank smells blood and attacks them too, and it goes into a downhill slide. It just makes me want to go all Attila the Hun on 'em (and gets me to like "Fight Club" even more - not the self abuse part, tho :wink: ).

But big bear, I suggest you ask them for a settlement letter first. That way you can better gauge their intentions. When/if they say they are sending one out, call them every day to make sure that they have put it in the mail.

Another thing you can do is send them a letter yourself, detailing your conversations with both FIA and First Financial. Discuss the deal, send them a money order as per your telephone agreement (I hope you had written down the date, time, and name of agent when you made the agreement). That way you can prove (in case you end up in court) that you did the responsible thing and made every attempt to pay your debt as best as you can. Also, in that letter, withdraw your permission for the automatic debit, and then clarify that statement by stating "you are not authorized to withdraw any finds whatsoever from my bank account." (Send this letter via Registered Mail, Return Receipt Requested.)

Yes, that termite/pest call is a scam. File a complaint with the FCC.

Yeah I wrote down the name and time and date and the agreement. I have it all written down in a journal. I'm going as soon as the bank opens to see what they can do. I wish I didnt have to close my account.

Hopefully you don't have to, see what the bank can do. Let them know that you have withdrawn permission for this company to withdraw as you have opted to pay them in a more secure manner. Maybe you can ask them to have you verify each and every incoming transaction. I am so glad that you were meticulous in your documentation, it will assist you greatly.

I'm doing research on the number, there are a lot of complaints from scamming/spamming calls from this number. I even tried calling, like most places you'd think the recorded message would say "sorry were closed" no it rang 11 times and did a weird loud buzzing sound. Again another sign of the complaints from other people about this number. It would be nice if the bank would loan me the total amount and then id just pay my bank. I doubt they'd do that though. Although I do have a student loan thru my bank which has never been late, its almost paid off and it hasnt been that long since i got it. Big dreams..i know i know.. I'm going to be so mad at myself if i go to the bank in the morning and they have withdrawn already, which means my rent check is bouncing.

Oh, that changes everything. Now I say close your account immediately. Here is a thread about closing your account. Even though it discusses payday loans, this bottomfeeder has got alarm bells ringing all over the place.

Let's see... No settlement letter... Insistence on bank account info.... And now this.... Red flags!

Open a new account first (try not to use the same bank because many banks will just transfer the ACHs to your new account regardless of what you say) and then close that. If you have direct deposit, let your HR know that you have to close your bank account fast due to possible fraud.

Be sure to not forget to change over any legitimate auto debits you may have in place, to your new account.

Well everything is falling in place, I'll let the landlord know to take their money as fast as possible, then I'll get the bank to freeze the account and start a new one. I'm hoping I'm not to late. Maybe I'll get lucky! 3 more hours to go before the bank opens... What should I do from here as far as making payments?

As I've already said above, request them to mail you a settlement letter before you pay a dime.

Also, since it can take a few days to clear any debits, it would probably be better to pay the landlord by money order this time. The account will not fully close unless everything is completely posted.

Okay will make sure to do that then.

Excellent, please keep us updated, and if you have any problems, be sure to ask! I wish you the best.

Oh, and welcome to the Community!

Thank you, this has been very helpful!

Bank of America/ FIA Card Services is evil and fraudulent. They faked a pay by phone check and started taking money out of my checking account. I posted the details in another thread, which was moved to the ID Theft section. I had to close my checking account, and did get my money back after I complained to the Comptroller of the Currency. I'd like to see a class action lawsuit against them for their practices.

So far FIA card services was the easiest company for me to deal with. This woman dropped her pants so fast to offer me 15% I owed almost 19,000.00 or so, I had been dealing with them for a while, it ended up in FIA's hands pretty quick, I always returned there calls, sometimes missed but made sure I let them know I was trying to come up with them money, etc. You need to play the game with them that they are playing with you. All my credit card companies have my original bank account info. So I left that account open, so I can put money in there for them to take out. So they started at 50% then went to 30%, I never made a counter offer, then this woman I was dealing with just dropped her pants and said, if you do 15% 4 payments of 700.00 a month ALL IN WRITING!! you are paid in full, I figured I would be crazy not to take it. So what I do, is right before the date is coming up, I put the money in the account for them to pull out, the only problem is, they dont pull it right away, but so far the longest they took was 3-4 days after the date, they say it takes a while for it to go through. Anyway. I have opened up 2 other accounts at other banks, I only use my original bank the creditors have information on to pay them from there and nothing else goes in that account. So far I have made 2 payments and 2 to go. I was really surprised how easy they were to deal with, and how quick they were to get down to 15% to settle, I really tried to get to 10%, but they wouldnt budge and I didnt want to lose what they were offering, again, I got it all in writing, with the dats, and will receive the PIF letter once it is done. I am dealing with Advanta right now on almost 40,000.00, they are offering 17k, which I still can not aford to pay off in 6 mos, they keep threatning that its going to go to litigation, but I am taking my chances that they will also give me 15%. I saw one on here that got 10% from advanta after 9 mos, I hope that happens to me but we will see. After that I have to wells fargo business cards that are pretty high. Now wells fargo screwed me once by taking money out of my account, this is why I only use them for paying off the debt now and keep it very low, once I pay off these first 2, I will close wells fargo acct, then deal with them to settle. Anybody ever deal with wells fargoe before? I can use advise on this one.

I closed my checking account today. My bank did research on this so called First Financial Asset Management. They have no records of this being a BBB or even heard of. They cant find a location or number relating to this business. I called them today demanding Proof of business, address, phone numbers, their FIN or FEIN number to identify this company as being known to Federal. They agreed to fax all information to me, An hour later and still no fax. I believe I have called their bluffs and now they are mad as h*ll. My bank has put a freeze on anything coming and going on my old account. I withdrew every cent and switched accounts. So far they havent tried to take any money, and lets hope it stays like that. I talked to "Mr.Green" yesterday, and today I talked to a guy that had the same voice and tone with me and his name was John Dickson. Lets go ahead and say this business is a fraud. I will be contacting BOA in the morning to dispute a PIF amount. If they refuse to take the money...I'm not sure what we'll do. But as far as I'm concerned I would rather do my dealings with BOA from here on out. They would be stupid to not take the full amount. What do you think about this Chrys

I would say that either your bank is incompetent, or this story is invented.

This company has a B+ rating with the BBB & is also Accredited.
"http://www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/collection-agencies/first-financial-asset-management-inc-in-atlanta-ga-15000007"

Their parent company is also on the NASDAQ trading at $50.84/ share, so they are a huge company.

In fact, on Bud Hibbs site, they aren't even mentioned since 2007!

If you feel they have violated the law, you need to file a proper complaint with the FTC and your State Attorney General's Office.

I even searched the company on BBB's website both by name and by telephone number, BBB doesnt have any evidence of this company. So your telling me that closing my account was wrong?

I just posted the BBB link. A space was automatically inserted in the URL, you will need to copy-n-paste, and then remove the space. I found that link via Google (it was the 4th link). Also, I just now went to the BBB site and did a company search by copy-n-paste from the name of the company as you posted it above, and I got 4 hits.

But regardless, I would never pay any collection agency a dime without a settlement agreement letter detailing how much I'll pay, how many payments over how long, how they will close the account, and how they will report it.

Well I have come up with the full amount that I owe, and Im going to call BOA in the morning and request a "cease and desist" ? They should take the money.. I got to looking at my money order receipts and the last that i sent while FIA card services had it, I sent it to BOA and they put it towards the account. So I dont see why they wouldnt take the full amount. We will see, they open in 7 hours! Hey is there anything beside the cease and desist i need if i go thru BOA?

Did you get a settlement letter?

You can also contact BofA (or FIA) and tell them that you are ready to pay but you insist on dealing with them and not their dogs - I mean collection agency.

Good news, I drove to the nearest boa today, took them a cashiers check for the full amount, they excepted the money, informed me that FFAM wasnt who they deal with, they strictly work with FIA. They informed me that my account number had been changed. They posted it to my account. They gave me a receipt of the deposit. My letters will be in the mail today. They told me to call the 1800 number for BOA tomorrow and make sure that everything is taken care of and they should go away and wipe the account away.

I had called BOA this morning as soon as they opened, and told them if they wanted their money they would get it personally. I wasnt going to deal with their other companies and to have them leave me alone. They said it was fine to do it this way, most people refuse to send to FIA anyways. I think I need to get in touch with the attorney generals office of Arkansas and see if there is anything left to do.

Excellent! I'm glad it worked out for you. Definitely don't let FFAM off the hook, at the least file a complaint with the FTC, the FCC, and the Attorney General.

Yeah my mother is helping me with the paperwork for the Att Gen. and the rest of them. Thank you kind sir for all your help. This has opened my eyes to all the fraudulent ways of these companies. I hope everyone else that comes into these problems can get a resolve like mine. I most certainly can relax now. Again, thank you for all the advice.

Excellent. Hopefully this letter will help, it is from a state Attorney General's office and outlines what is needed by them for a proper complaint. I could hug you right now, seriously... :hug:

My husband made an arrangement with a rep from Bank of Americia for a settlement of a % of the total amount. The withdrawls were to be made from his checking account at 4 monthly payments. After all the payments had been made they wanted to know where the rest was. They were mean and rude. Because we had no written statement this could not be proven.

Bank of America tried to do the whole payments from my checking. They started taking several payments in a week. Its stupid the way they work.