Encore Receivable Management is harassing me. How to stop them?

hi Jerry--

In addition to a C&D letter, you will want to send them a debt validation letter. I actually send them one letter that combines the two, it saves you time and money. If you look to the right, click on the 'do it yourself' section, and go to 'sample letters'. There, you will find a "debt validation letter". You can use that as a starting point for yours.

If you only send a C&D, they cannot call you anymore but they can still try to collect on the debt. Sending them a DV letter is what you really need--it forces them to either prove to you that this is a legit debt, and you really do owe it, or stop trying to collect from you entirely. And, if they dont validate but keep calling anyways, you can then sue them.

Be sure to send all letters by certified mail return receipt requested, that way you will have a record of them receiving it.

My first-hand experience with these morons is that they dont pay much attention to the law. Previously, I dealt with them about a debt that was not even mine. Cease and desist, they ignored it. Validation letter, they ignored that too. I even sent them proof that they had the wrong person...they still kept calling. I finally threatened to sue them for harassment and that actually got them to stop. That was before I was even aware of all the laws.

Ranger--

First off, I always recommend that you take care of your immediate needs first. I know that collectors dont give a hoot about whether or not you eat or have a place to live, but I do. Take care of what is NECESSARY first, even if it means stopping their payments until you can afford them again. Here's the thing though--you will want to make sure that they cannot keep taking the money. You will need to go to your bank and get their help on this--often you need a new account, because many banks will continue to allow the debits for some reason, even after you have informed them that the debits are not authorized anymore. They are not supposed to, and if they do, you can usually get the money put back in your account, but it can be a hassle and take some time.

I would also recommend sending a letter, of course certified mail RRR, to the CA. Inform them in writing that while you do wish to keep paying on this debt, you are simply unable to continue the payments at this time due to financial hardship. This is a courtesy more than anything else, and if you ever did end up in court, you would have this to support your claim that you have always wanted to work with them. Every once in a while, you might even get lucky and deal with a collector that is polite and willing to be considerate of your situation. Since you have been making payments to them for some time now, it is obvious that you are willing to work with them--but many collectors wont look at it that way because they only care about $$$.

Now, they cannot have you arrested for fraud(or anything else). They cannot garnish your wages without a court order, which means they would have to sue you first, and that takes time. I do not know the size of the debt, or any of the details, but if you cannot survive yourself, then you cannot pay them anyways, right?

Take care of yourself, please, and then come back to your debts when you are in a better position financially. And please consider joining this forum, we are all here to help when you have any other questions!

Jon

I have been receiving calls from them non stop too. At least 5 in the last hour. Maybe I can block their number?? This has been very educational, I'm glad I found this post.

hi carly--

blocking the number will not usually work, especially since many of these companies use predictive dialer systems. The number showing up on your caller ID is not always even a real number. hell, I once had a CA call me up and my own name and number would show up on the caller ID as the incoming call!

Plus, they can have more than one number, so blocking one will not stop the calls. The only way to do this is to send off the letters as mentioned above. At least then, if they still call, you can sue them, and the penalty per fdcpa violation is $1000, payable to you from them....

So collector are you a registered FA with FINRA, formerly NASD?

I dunno bout all that, but he sure is a certified PITA...

how would you guys know what the matter is about if you dont answer the call or even bother calling back the number on the caller id? jeez.

but if you cannot survive yourself, then you cannot pay them anyways, right? - words wisely said from a guy who claims to be the MAN.

so it shows you just wanna avoid the debt.?

now what if this guy owes like $1000 in credit card debt and cant pay the amount due usually $150 for this type of balance. then we enroll 'em in a payment arrangement for a period of time usually 2 - 6 mos to make the account current for the lowest amount possible. BUT we particularly need a debtor's cooperation for this to work. now if you continue diverting the calls then nothing good will come off it. your debt will just increase coz of late fees and finance charges.

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I am changing my account. I have paid down my discover account with encore from 3391 to 1166. i will send them money when I have it.

thanks guys :D :D

How would ranger be able to work with ERMI, and even send them payments, if the phone was never answered or the call returned, Mr. Wizard? And how would jfg know that they were calling about a Dell account? ERMI doesnt leave voicemail messages that tell you what account they are trying to collect, now do they? You really need to go back to grade school and get that reading problem fixed. Reading just owned you....

- now in a perfect world this would be fine and dandy, me leaving messages on the phone sayng this is a dell account? now aint that stupid? leaving account information on the phone risking third party contact.? i thought you know the fdcpa law?
not understanding the fdcpa owned you.

and oh yeah i get paid mighty fine.

Hello caps lock. :lol:

Bet that is Cameron from ERI. Sounds like his style

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Well I guess the pay is a step up from minimum wage for him so I imagine it is just fine for him

oh i get paid more than that.. :)

they must offer incentives for how many times you can screw up when it comes to the law. Or maybe, the more you are recorded lying to a debtor on the phone, the more you get paid? Either way, who really cares? I make an honest living, actually helping people, and I make a higher salary than you do, but the little income you do have requires you to lie and break laws to get it.

nope doesnt work that way. who really cares anyways? i make an honest living. i help people settle/pay their debts. and i get paid mighty fine.

This topic has gone off into a wild tangent.Let's see if we can get back to discussing the topic of Encore and how they collect debt.

:P

My botom line is "If you have a debt pay it and owe no man nothing" but no one needs burning coals dumped on their head to do it. We/I just need the tools and help to be able to do this and that is why many of us are here to do just that. I donkt need a collection agency to tell me that I am in debt, I know it and I am getting out of debt with the help of this site and my determination. I do bless all the good collection agencies that are out there that really want to help both the collector and debtor, but the ones that prey on people thinking they are god, well, you wonkt last long.


all the best

what encore is doing is helping debtors settle/pay their account and make it current for the lowest amount possible. if you cant come up with the amount due payment ( w/c is usually 3 - 4 mos of minimum payments ) then the best thing to do is make arrangements with us that will maximize your finances at this point.

jeez, caps, you just keep spouting the company line of crap, dont you?

1--Encore helps people? HOW, exactly? When Encore hounded me over a fake debt, how exactly were they HELPING me? When I had to record phone calls, send out certified letters, photograph the caller ID to prove all the times they called each day--that was helping me? You really do have a couple screws loose, son. Especially since I made effort from day one to work it out, it isnt like I ran and hid, and refused to answer the phone. THEY screwed up, and here you are preaching the same BS line about how ERMI is here to help people?

2--I am not alone, there are tons of others that ERMI has gotten it wrong with as well. And in every case I have found, they handle it the same basic way--refuse to accept the fact that they screwed up and keep demanding money illegally. WOW, THANKS FOR ALL THAT GREAT HELP!!

3--Why didnt you inform our members about ERMI's history as a defendant in all the lawsuits? If all youre here to do is help, then you guys should not be doing anything that can land you in a courtroom, dont you agree?

4--just so you know, it is not physically possible to "make an honest living" by using dishonest and illegal practices, which is precisely what ERMI has been proven to use daily.

--refusal to honor validation request within the first 30 days, and also refusal to honor subsequent validation requests. ILLEGAL

--refusal to honor a cease and desist notice, in accordance with federal law this is also ILLEGAL

--refusal to follow fdcpa requirements for the allowable times of contact. ILLEGAL

--direct and intentional harassment, insulting language, and abusive telephone practices. ILLEGAL

--demands for payment or else they claim they will take actions that they cannot lawfully take. ILLEGAL

--refusal, after several notices, to properly report entries on credit bureau files as being in dispute. ILLEGAL

--refusal to remove illegally-placed information from credit files. ILLEGAL

Shall I go on? And this all was just my experience with them personally.....over a debt that was nowhere close to being mine! It took no less than four demands for validation, four cease and desist orders, furnished proof of their error at least three times, and finally the threat of civil and criminal legal action against them, before they would FINALLY stop calling. And that was just to get them to stop calling--getting them to clear someone else's debt from my credit report took even more. I jumped through every hoop they required of me, more than once....and the guy that supposedly had this debt didnt even have the same name as me!

Do yourself the favor and spare us the additional BS from you in here. You and I both know that ERMI is not there to "help" people, nor does ERMI act legally.

Good day.

DAYUM sky,you are certainly nicer than I could ever be.I would have filed suit and collected on all those violations.Sure fdcpa is only 1K,but Fcra violations are usually 1K per violation per bureau.

cajun-who says I didnt? This is all recent stuff and the one year limitation hasnt even expired yet. Dont worry, I'll get them for it. right now I am working on one that is a bit more pressing in regards to time.

Good wouldn't want you to miss out on a little honey for your troubles! :lol:

sky diver i don't know what exactly happened or what your experience with encore WAS. but the way i see it you're just seeing the other side of the coin. flip it sideways pops. it's ok youre an fdcpa master you have the talent of copying and pasting fdcpa regulations here in this forum i have to give you credit for that.

when i said honest living it means that I AM following fdcpa law. i love my job so much now why would i do something stupid and harrass people to get ME fired??

now you say there are tons of hundreds of people who were screwed by my company.. but that's just their side.. you still havent heard the side of the original client, the collector or even the store/merchant/credit card etc.

the problem with collections and in this forum is lack of open communications. no one would listen properly. all they do is lambast and lambast ERMI.

now i dont have any problem with that since it's not my credit that's being ruined anyways but i love you guys so much that i am still wlling to help out.

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pops you still dont make any point.

Its ridiculous...how can these people flatly say that we do not validate debts???????

Back in 2004, I had been an idiotic college student and opened up a credit card with Chase and was idiotic about paying it.

In 2005, I got a letter from Encore stating I owed the debt; I decided it was time to fess up and called Encore, gave them the information and attempted to make an arrangement so I could get the cash and pay them.

I had read the law on the subject and the next thing I knew, they called my neighbor...BIG MISTAKE, because my next call was to my attorney because I knew that I initiated contact with them, and they got me at a legitimate number and even divulged the collection matter to my neighbor who subsequently signed an affidavit for the summons and complaint I was to serve upon Encore.

I could never forget the guy's name, Brad Garrett, just like yesterday. I received validation and informed them I had an attorney and they were to communicate with my attorney and even included the retainer letter.

Next day, Brad's calling me...violation #2 and also significant legal problems because they were not to call me due to the fact that they're not allowed to do that...

I keep getting calls and my attorney's trying to get the situation under control and then it's just keep track of the violations in order to calculate damages, including call logs and phone bills with call logs...
This went on for 2 weeks when I paid my attorney and he paid to settle the account, as the supervisor Caroline Teeter indeed did say that the settlement offer was still good. My attorney and I decided that it would be a good idea to give chase a call and deal with an Encore liason who was absolutely horrified by the situation who stated the settlement offer was valid with all the violations that happened; we made a strategic move and added Chase into the lawsuit.

A month later we served both parties and waited for the time to tick for their motions to dismiss to be denied, then their answers come and it's time to talk settlement.

Chase proposed an amicable settlement that they would fund the difference between real balance and settlement amount, we accept for a paid in full rather than legally settled amount, they also agree to remove encore from credit report which is another key to the spectrum. Chase in turn, moves to sever me from the action as I was disposed and SUES Encore for what they had to fork over and for my attorney's legal fees that they were awarded, Encore had to pay legal fees as well.

I check credit reports with all three bureaus and chase not only had it paid in full, they also removed any and all adverse information from the report. A month later, a credit card offer comes from Chase!


Thank you Encore, your egregious violations of the fdcpa turned out well for me as it got that nasty gunk out of my reports!

Congrats hockeyman. This is what should be done when a company is so blatantly walking on a consumer's rights.

hey caps lock--where the hell is that "flip side of the coin" now, big guy??

:lol:

it's just there waiting to be flipped over. i wish this forum also has testimonies from all the wonderful people we helped. *laughs*

you really cant be that smart, capslock. if your company really "helped" so many people than I suspect that forums like this, and the laws that exist, would not even exist. This place and the laws only exist because of your industry's criminal practices, so flip your coin on that.

Help them? To where? The poor house? Help them bend over? Hmm? Forget flipping the coin..I know just where he can stick it....

Hey Caps lock, you did create hell for me that achieved more than I wanted to begin with! In essence, you did help me by getting the chase garbage off my credit report. In a month's time my credit score shot from 400 to 753 after that incident!

If you know Brad Garrett, you can tell him to screw with more people, that will help em

Attention all individuals being harassed by this phone number & capital one.

I will be organizing a lawsuit against them and I need all your compliants. Please email email address removed as per forum rules - Mike with these questions

Name:
Phone Number:
Description of Problem:
Average call per day:

They don't have right to stress you out. Lets show them a lesson, easily done.

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Offensive post deleted as per forum rules - Mike

Ok Jack- first warning- you can post here, but if you decide to post rude, attacking and mean posts, it will be dealt with or deleted..Bossy4455

Recently I have fallen behind on my charge cards because I am out of work because of my medical condidtion, I am now just down to one income . So Encore starts calling from 8am to 9-10 at night . I have spoken with them after a while the calls get threatning, and the reps on the other end are from INDIA who can barely speak english.
I spoke with the company that supposley sold my account and they inform me that they never sold my account nor did they ask for encore Receivable managments help concerning my account. I filed a complaint with the BBB in Kansas, still Encore has not responded.Then ENCORE calls me again I assume it is to negotiate and an appology for the in appropriate calls what do they do they threaten me even more that I started crying over the phone.
Why are companies allowed to do this??
I should sue, but you must always channel first.

Oh my god! I am sorry they made you cry.

I have been unemployed, for medical reasons, since February of this year and have had just about every type of CA call me. A lot of them have been calls just like yours. I had one CA push me to the brink of making a disastrous and permanent decision, because of the nasty message they left. I found this site because of that, and managed to regain a little of my dignity by suing that CA for violations of the fdcpa.

I am glad you came here, I would definitely recommend bookmarking this site, registering, and reading everything you can here. Learn about the FDCPA, and your rights under this law.

Have you received anything in writing from Encore yet? They are required to send out written notice within 5 days of the initial phone call. This notice should list the debt, how much you owe, and advise you have the right to dispute within 30 days.

Also, you mention they call between 8 AM to 9-10 at night? The latest they can call is 9 PM your time. If they call after that, it's a violation of the FDCPA.

There is a lot you should learn here, and I would definitely start reading, if I were you. I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg. Be sure to ask any questions you might have and someone here will help you out.

Wouldn't matter if you did anwser the phone and talk to them they would still continue to call i talked to them 4 times yesterday and even setup payment arangements and they have called me 5 more times today and I have talked to them twice.

Rule of thumb when dealing with collection agencies.
1. Always request validation, make sure they are the ones legally entitled to collect on the debt.
2. Always send them modified cease communications letter to limit their contact with you to mail only so you have everything in writting.

ENCORE is not breaking the law because Capitol One enlists Encore employees as theres so they are first party. You can not tell a Cap One employee that they can not collect on a past due amount. It is against the law to tape record any conversation where permission is not granted. You are breaking the law, not them.

Bullpucky,they may collect for Cap1 but they are not their employees.

1. ENCORE is not breaking the law because Capitol One enlists Encore employees as theres so they are first party~

Unless Encore is a DBA of Chase (meaning that Encore is owned by Chase) they are not first party as it would have to be a collection department owned by the entity in question. Encore is not owned by Chase, therefore they are deemed third party in the eyes of the law, thusly bound by fdcpa.


2. You can not tell a Cap One employee that they can not collect on a past due amount.~

See response to 1.

3. It is against the law to tape record any conversation where permission is not granted.~

Only in two party states, which you can still tape by either using audible tones to signify a recording (where granted by state law) or by simply informing the other party that the call is being recorded, by continuing the call they are consenting, at which point they may release the call or continue and thus give consent. In one party states it only requires the consent of one party involved in the conversation, the other party need not even be aware of the recording in this circumstance.

4. You are breaking the law, not them.~

In light of this information; how so?

your screen name is "truth", yet not one word of what you just said is truth.

1--"ENCORE is not breaking the law because Capitol One enlists Encore employees as theres so they are first party."

The law disagrees with you 100%. See for yourself, this is from the fdcpa in section 803--


In other words, ERMI collectors identify themselves as from Encore, which means they are most definitely NOT first-party. They would have to identify themselves as Cap One collectors to be 1st party. Also, in (B) above, it is clear that ERMI would have to be in business to collect ONLY FROM THAT ONE CREDITOR in order for this law to not apply to their actions. But they collect for a ton of others, not just cap one. You are wrong, big time.

2--"You can not tell a Cap One employee that they can not collect on a past due amount."

The law shows that ERMI is NOT "a cap one employee". Case closed.

3--"It is against the law to tape record any conversation where permission is not granted."

In 12 states, you would be correct. In the other 38 states and in D.C., however, you are wrong again. Most states are called "one-party" states. This means that the call can be legally recorded(and admissable in court) as long as one party that participates in that call gives their permission for the call to be recorded. The other people on the phone, according to law, dont even have to be advised that the call is being taped!

But hey, dont take my word for it, go to the law itself. Federal law allows "one-party" recording of phone calls. Those 38 states have enacted laws that mirror the federal law.

Truth, by your answers it is obvious to me that you either work in collections or you used to. This is because the exact same BS answers you just tried to pass off as fact are told to people over the phone by collectors every day. You people really need to start coming up with some new lies, the old ones are absolutely worn out by now.