Stephens and Michaels Associates – Has anyone got a call from them?

Verify you are the person they are seeking, verify your mailing address and inform them they have 5 days to send you details in writing. End the call. When they mail you their dunning letter, respond with a request for debt validation.

thanks for the info!

just thought of a follow up---ive never requested a debt validation. i assume it shows the detail of the debt along with any actions taken to collect (age of debt, too). if it is past the SOL and isnt on my credit report, what is the next step that i should take?

just called them and verified name and address, last 4 digits of social. they told me what the debt was for, etc...i asked for details of the debt in writing and they said they couldnt provide it, that the original creditor didnt provide that to them. all they can send me is a settlement letter. i asked repeatedly for the details in writing and the guy got testy. he told me all the info over the phone but wouldnt send me any itemized billing. all he could provide was a settlement offer letter. he said that he couldnt send any letter stating the details of the debt that he gave me over the phone. he asked why and i told him that i needed the details in writing to verify the details of the debt; that i needed a record of the debt. i told him that unless he sent that letter, i couldnt do anything about it.

correction--- i told him that unless he sent that letter, i couldnt claim responsibility for the debt. i also recorded the phone call. i am paranoid.

Well, by law the must send you details w/in 5 days of initial contact. Until they do, don't deal with them. Good thing you recorded it. it might come in handy. In the meantime, Google the FDCPA Sec 809 on validation of debt.

thanks. the collector told me that the last action of this debt was on june 11th 2004. the SOL for texas that ive read, verbal and written, is 4 years. does this mean they are pursuing this debt illegally or are they trying to get to me before this drops off my credit report in september?

In Texas, the SOL is 4 years from the Date of Last Payment. They must alos post a $10K Surety bond with the TX SOS which they have:
Stephens & Michaels Associates Inc. # 1

Address: 63 Range Road
Windham, NH 03087-
File Number: 20030210
Status: Active
Date Filed: 11/24/2003
Cancellation Date:
Phone: (603) 537-1740
Bonding Company: Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America
Bond No: 775224855TX

Reprt them to the FTC, the TX AG, the NH AG, and the BBB.


If this is dropping of of your credit report in September, then it went delinquent around March '02...does that about right?

yeah, it was 02. as to the month, i cant say off the top of my head. so, from this point forward i should have no contact with them? only report them to the FTC, AGs and BBB?

The only contat I would have with them is to send the a Full Cease Communication letter informing them you have no legal obligation to pay this debt and never contact you again. Send it CMRRR

thanks for all this helpful info. thanks very very much.

Keep thses links handy pertaining to collections in TX:

"http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/FI/content/htm/fi.005.00.000392.00.htm"

"http://direct.sos.state.tx.us/debtcollectors/DCSearch.asp"

By the way does anybody know about stephens and michaels associates in tn?

i tried to edit that last post but couldnt----will it be necessary to include a case or account number? im guessing no since i only needed to provide my full name and confirm my address..

That should be enough. Are they reporting on your credit reports? Have you pulled your free reports?

"www.annualcreditreport.com"

the debt has exchanged hands to more than one 3rd party :mad:. ive stopped keeping track. i already pulled up my freebie this year. i need to get it out and go over it again.

seriously, thanks for all this advice.

OH YEA!!! I have a few debts that will 'drop off' this year. When they 'drop off', I know my Credit Score will be raised a bit. Also...wanted to say if a CA says that they can't provide verification of the debt, then hang up. That's what I do. It can be ANYONE calling you and telling you that you owe them money.

Keep track of you credit report in this situation. Just because it falls off doesn't mean that it can't be collected but in your case, if the SOL has run and they are violating the FDCPA by trying to collect it, then if they report it to the credit bureaus, they may be violating the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) which is a whole other mess for them. If they are telling you they can't validate the debt with a letter or information from the original creditor, absolutely turn them in to everyone in a positoin of authority that you can think of.

What? No pay your bills BS, been there....? How unlike you. No violations for simply attempting to collect. They can ask and you can tell them no, it is when they are miss-representing the legal status of the debt is where they will get in trouble.

The debt that will 'fall-off'?.....the SOL had expired some time ago.

First of all, I am proud to say I am employed with the firm of Stephens & Michaels Associates. Second, I would be more than happy to reply to the original posters question regarding his/her credit card debt. The reason the Representative scoured at your request to validate the debt in writing, is for three simple reasons. Number one, 99% of the people requesting "validation" of their debts, or "something in writing", know exactly what debt we are referring to, and are only doing so to waste our time, money and efforts, and to stall any collection activity. We are not a billing agency. We are a collections agency. You lost the curtousy of billing when you deliberately dismissed your financial obligations with your original creditor. Your original creditor extended a line of credit to you in good faith, taking your word as promise that you would responsibly pay for such services in the manner outlined in the original contract, which you agreed to, and have now defaulted on. We do not owe you the curtousy of billing statements. Furthermore, you have admitted to knowing exactly what debt that our firm is contacting you about. What further "validation" do you need? Validation is for those who are disputing a debt. Such as victims of identity theft, or ex-spouses who all of a sudden are being pursued for a debt their former spouse incurred in their name without their acknowledgment. Validating a debt for those like yourself is a waste of our time, money and resources. You know what you did, you know what you owe, so don't opt out using options that are designed for those who actually need them. Even if we did send you validation, sounds and looks like it would have been a real waste of time! Thank you for proving our point in public!

Another ignorant objection is your referencing Statutes of Limitations, or delinquint accounts "falling off" your credit report. The SOL is the amount of time your original creditor has to pursue the debt legally. Accounts will be removed from your credit report accordingly depending on the last date of activity, type of account, and applicable state laws. NONE of this means you do not owe the money! What is it about this you do not comprehend? YOU took money that did not belong to you, spent it, and did not repay it, violating the original creditors terms. You still owe the money till the day you die! The only thing that will release you is bancruptcy, and not even all bancruptcy's release you 100%. Furthermore, death may not even release you. Creditors can pursue your estate!

If what your saying were true, we could all borrow credit, dodge the horse for 7 years, and then start over fresh. I could tell my Mother the $15,000 she loaned me eight years ago to save me from bancruptcy is no longer valid!

You don't even realize it, but YOU and others like you are the reason that the economy is in the state that it is. YOU are the reason why interest rates are so high, along with penalty fees. Yes these creditors might charge off accounts, and sell them to debt purchasing companies, however, we the consumers get it stuck to us in the form of higher prices, interest rates and fees. Wake up! Take responsibility for your actions! Maybe your credit report is better, but what about your moral report? Have you run that lately?

There is nothing illegal or wrong about us trying to collect this debt. Go ahead and report it to whomever you please. What you really need to do is educate yourself and second, do not take money that you cannot repay.

what you need to do is stop wasting time coming on here and defending yourself,and other humanoids.the FDCPA is pretty self explanatory.your company should be multi-sued out of business.back to the phones with you humanoid.

you basically take me to task whilr defending a bottomfeeder.you are the same one who has a personal axe to grind with me.i deleted your other entries on the other posts as well.there was nothung truthful in the post above or yours.

What !!!!!! I don't even know you, all I did was thank the site for help and also said that the post gave me some good advice. Not everyone has to agree with everything. Isn't that the purpose of an open forum

please.the rhetoric gives you away.all right let me dissect that post.
asking for validation is a stall tactic.
the SOL is a flimsy way to get out of paying bills.
declaring BK is for losers
we are the reason this country is in the shape it's in.
did i leave anything out?what's redeeming or good anout that?yes the disagreement line has been used before by someone who shall remain nameless.you took that post to heart.good i personally should have deleted it outright.nothing truthful or good about it.

As an employee of a "Lawfirm" then which part of the law that says upon request of validation you MUST obtain it and provide it to the requesting party. Don't think the FDCPA says anything about only having to do it if it is not an inconvience or expense for you.
And We should jsut accept the fact that you are who you say you are over the phone and that you have the legal right to collect this debt. NOT

Please provide me with your name and phone number so I can call and tell you that you owe me $3,752.00. I won't provide any proof but I am sure you will be willing to pay because I say you owe it.

In the words of Dr. Gregory House, "You are and idiot."

What a statute of limitations is, is the last date within which they can file in court to collect the debt. So, in NY is it 7 years from the date the account went into deliquency. If no court action is brought before then, then there is no judicial way to enforce the repayment of the debt.
If it is brought to court they will, in fact, have to serve you, and provide you with proof of the debt, so this is all BS from the collection agency in an effort to bully you into paying as opposed to bringing you to court. It is much more cost effective to hire an underling to harass than an attorney to go to court and get an enforceable court order.
Theorectially, you still owe it, but they have no way of getting it out of you, other than harassing the heck out of you, which, as we all know, is illegal.
So, to the guy from the collection agency, I think you are SOL (Sh*t Outta Luck)

To the 'associate' of the agency in question, I'm not going to stoop down to the level of yourself nor some of the other posters on the board, however you and your superiority complex are no better than others on the board who may or may not be trying to skirt a debt.

I and others on this board owe money to various companies, and there's nothing wrong with you making that point, however you're wrong to accuse and assume that all whom owe a debt, owe that debt for CHOOSING not to pay. Due to this recession many dont have jobs, many have been laidoff or forced to choose between less pay in another position or no job, costs of living have gone up, and more. Yes there are definately people out there who choose not to pay but thats not everyone.

In addition you reference you are not a billing company you are a collections company. I understand that point and I agree. That just means your purpose isn't to let people know they owe money for a service but to collect money for service/items already rendered. Thats fine and well but every American rich or poor, con or non-con should have the right to verify that you are indeed the current holder of a debt before paying it. You seem to ignore that identity theft and electronic fraud is rampant right now. And your industry is not immune from it. There are plenty of fraudulent 'collections companies'. So just because people are asking for you to verify a debt doesnt mean they are stalling. It means in many cases they're trying to be smart and not make it any worse by paying someone who they dont owe and still having to pay the correct creditor. After all if someone contacted you and told you they paid someone else claiming to hold the account you actually hold even if they had proof you would still be requiring them to pay you and settle the other payment with the other party, am I right?

Next you blame those in debt with ruining our economy. This in-fact is completely backwards. Interest rates are high because instead of banks deciding to limit who they do business with they choose to continue to do business with high risk clients, who may or may not intend to pay, and use high interest rates with those people. Most of those people who they penalize and are 'high risk' cant afford to pay these higher interest rates if even one thing changes in their life (medical, job, family, etc.). The banks know this yet they dont care. They tell the consumer its the cost of doing business with higher risk clients. Its really for them to make money from the high risk people who can pay. The true way to reduce cost for all would be to restrict credit to those who can pay, and not offer credit terms to those who cant pay them. Yes, its the responsibility of the consumer to only accept credit terms they can afford but most of us arent accountants and dont know we cant afford it until its too late. Most people dont understand 50-80% of the legal mumbo jumbo in the contracts until, we owe the money and have no way out, other than to be told we are worth less than the grass under someones dog poop (quote from a collector who posted on a board I saw). These banks all know when they assess the credit of the people they are approving where the breaking point is, and they put the customer as close to that limit as they can with A: not going over and B: what they can justify. Its not illegal, and really not even morally wrong, but if you're going to use an arguement that our nonpayment ruined the economy then you have to take responsibility for what you've done helping push those people there.

Lastly most people have a negative impression of your profession not because they dont want to pay but because many of your colleagues treat us debtors like each and everyone of us is worthless. When you treat people like that it doesnt matter what their thought process was about paying before then most likely they will refuse to work with you. It makes your job harder, and prevents recovery even longer. The government made it illegal to harass not because it wants to make us happy but because its counter productive to resolving the issue because most Americans will hang up, curse you out, or ignore you and refuse to deal with your company, some all at the same time.

All thats illegal are the methods that are counter productive!

I have also been harrassed by this company. They were trying to collect on a bad debt 5 years old. In the state of Virginia it is unlawful to colect on a debt older than 3 yrs that has shown no activity or payments. After several requests for them to send me a detailed account of all activity current within 3 yrs of this "alleged debt", they stopped calling. I also reported them to the state attorney generals office with no real damage to them. I do however still have it on my credit report as a collection. I am in the process of writng the credit burueas asking for validation or removal. These companys try to collect on bad old debts and are very obnoxious about it. Check your state laws for time tables on collectable debts and fight back.

If they do for some reason able to collect money it goes in their pocket not to to pay off the original debtor.

These people keep harassing my elderly parents about some debt to some guy with the same name as my father but wrong birth date. We have sent letters to their office told them a number of times to stop as they are in Canada but they never do - my parents are in their mid 80's and this happens about 10 times per month they call them. Anyone got any answers for Canadians being harassed by these idiots.

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they called and had my husbands name, address and last for SS #. He gave them no information if he was that person or if the rest was correct or not. I pulled up one credit report and nothing on it. How did they get his SS and should we be worried with the info they have?

We have NO out standing debt.

same thing happened to me today, some girl named jesse called saying I owed money from 2002 on an account GE Belk of $113. Very odd considering I check my credit every quarter and nothing reported. She said they have sent letters and quoted my ss#.

I quickly re-checked my credit report and nothing has showed up. Sounds super shady to me... anyone else have these people call?

I got a call this morninng from a woman saying I owe money on an account that they represent. I don't remember what my answer was to that, I might have said okay, or yes, and I requested that they send a letter verifying my debt. She said she sent one in October but I told her I don't have it. Then she verified my address, which I responded with yes, and yes, and when she asked me how I plan to pay I hung up.

Now my fear is, is it paranoid, can they take all the "yes" I said on the phone and claim that I agreed to pay? My debts were back in 2004 in CA and way SOL.

they called today asking for my daughter. when i asked again and again who was calling they would not give me an answer.when i asked why they were calling she just kept telling me it was a personal matter. then i told the person they are asking for is 14 years old and i yelling at her cause i had lost it with her and she said that the person with my daughters name was not 14 years old and of course she hung up.who are these idiots?????

They called and asked me for my EX son-in-law who is deceased some 7 years (Iraq). I told them but they have called back twice more. I have emailed the FCC as we are on the do not call list. Apparently he had some educational debt from before he and my daughter were married. The caller wanted me to send them a certified death certificate. I told them they could pay the $21 themselves and I'd give them the date of his death and where to write and they refused. Then they asked for my daughter. Thankfully she's remarried and her name is changed. I refused to give them any more information and I do not pick up anymore for them.

I have also had interactions with this organization. They call themselves SMA or Stephens & Michaels Associates. Unlike the above notations, I have a pleasant and professional conversation, they explained the debt. Rather than playing the FDCPA game that most of my peers hide behind, I know I owed the money and they were reasonable with their approach to the debt.

Maybe if people would just own their debt, rather than hide from it, people wouldn't be so difficult on the collections end... I collected debts for six years and found that it was often individuals and not companies... I can also add that those who addressed/owned the debt (insert personal responsibility here), were the most welcoming calls and I was willing to do what I could to help both the client (creditor) and the individual (debtor)...

BTW, they appeared to me to collect for debt's that were purchased (I had a four-year old Best Buy Credit Card that was obviously significantly dilinquent)...

Sometimes, it might just be you...

you had your say shill now get lost.in fact let me dissect your stupidity.

1)just by stating about admitting to the debt on the phones is stupid in the exterme.
2)btw i do belive you work in collections for this bottomfeeder in fact
3)i love how humanoid shills come on and bandy about personal responsilbilty.

bottomline this is a dirty bottomfeeder that should be reported not paid,and will never advise just paying a voice over the phone.nothing in writing,or validated by mail you are out of luck chuck.back to the phones drone.i hope nobody with an ounce of intelligence bought this garbage.

I too got a call from them for they say they are going to repo our 22k tractor,which was only 55 days past due 1x but now is only 33 days past due, We had a 5 yr loan and owe for 30 more payments which totals 9720.00 but they say they want 13,051.00 what they get over 3k for making a phone call? I called my lawyer who is sending them letters demanding accounting -I plan to pay it off in full immediately, but do not want to pay 3k more than I owe.My husband says if they try to come get it better be wearing a bullet proof vest.I hope he doesn't shoot them I cannot afford bail $$ too !Help !!! signed P.O'ed in H town

These dirtbags called me this morning about a bill that's gotta be close to if not over ten years old. (They were calling on behalf of their client, "Verizon".)
Contrary to what the scumbag above who claims to work for SMA left out of his rant, not ALL debts are valid just because the creditor says so. In my case, I actually *did* owe Verizon a portion of what they were billing me. However I canceled service with them, two months after which they continued to bill me. Back then I told Verizon if they would send me a bill for what I actually owed them, I'd be glad to pay it. They said "well just pay what you think you owe then." Yeah, right. Then you start billing me for the balance you claim I owe, which I do not. So screw you dude.
I lost count of all the violations of FDCA that Mr Anonymous (read - gutless coward who works for SMA) made in his mindless rant, above. When his company called, they assumed the debt was valid ("I'm calling on behalf of my client, Verizon Wireless, to whom you owe $750" " to which I replied, no, I don't, and hung up.)
Contrary to what you think, Mr. Anonymous douchebag, creditors DO make mistakes, and they DO lie. Dirtbags like you and your company are the reason why the economy in the country is in the toilet. You grabbed it and drug it down right alongside you turds.
Sam

I personally think that you guys approach the matter the wrong way. Every person I've talked to through this agency, has been disrespectful and down right rude. How do you get people to corpoerate with you, when you treat them like dirt? Find a new method.

This jerk called me a couple of months ago claiming I owed him 14k on an old card that I had already settled, I told him he was full of it, that the only loan I had ever had for over 14K was for my car and that he could go kick rocks for all I cared, I asked him if he knew the laws in California, and if he did, the he needs to leave me alone, the card he is trying to refer too is more then 8 years old, and the max I charged on that card was 2k, he said it was interest, I laughed and told him to go F**K himself and hung up on him, he is a rude jerk, who thinks because he hides behind a law firms name you are going to just dish out the money that you don't even owe, they buy debt with out even double checking and then try to punk people around into paying, check your credit records, if it's not there, don't even bother with jerk like this jerk....

Do not give them any info if they are legit they will already have all your info!!!

Figures you hide without giving your real name and you guys are just losers thinking you can intimidate people. Get off the drugs and get a real job. Haha!!!

If they r posting on credit report wich they r what do i need to do

I recently recieved a letter from them and also had an inquiry on my credit report from them. they do not have a delinquincy with their firm on my report but a inquiry. I talked to a man and he wanted my banking info imediately. i did not give it to him right away. the letter was dated april 22, i recieved it april 27th and called april 28th. he was claiming that i needed to make that payment immediately before the 30th to be able to take the settlement offer on the letter i recieved. i told him i didnt have my account info with me and would call back the next day. I actually was unable to call on the next day which would have been 29th but tried on the 30th. none of the numbers on the letter were in in service anymore so i looked at the website and called the number there and it said no longer in service to that number too so what do i do now? I am glad i didnt give them any account info that day.

These same people called me today about a debt from a creditor I've NEVER had an account with. I'm in the state of NY. grrrr!

Hello,
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