OSI collection services - have you recently been harassed by this company?

Guest,that is some sage advice there and I agree with you completely. Until you have proof of a debt,you could just as soon flush your money down the toilet.

One thing I've learned from working at OSI for over a year now, is that there are a LOT of foolish people, who owe a LOT of money. Here's some knowledge for you...

1.) If you owe a debt, quit pointing fingers, and pay it. You are not special. The situation you're going through, doesn't make you special. We all have problems in our lives, and we still have to pay our bills.

2.) If as many people as I call to collect on actually had the terminal cancer they claim to have, the human race would down out in two generations. Debtors are the biggest liars in the world. Some debtor says to me, "Oh, my Mom has cancer, so all our money is going towards that. There's no way I can pay this debt." Then I check their credit report,(which, before you even say it... YES, WE ARE AUTHORIZED TO LOOK AT YOUR CREDIT REPORT!), and the guy has over $20,000 in other credit cards, and has a home he can refinance EASILY, to pay off his debts. THAT'S when I will ABSOLUTELY light someone up on the phone. You think you can take money from my client, go buy your big screen plasma T.V., and then tell my client, (even though you have the assests to pay it all off), that they don't get their money back? No, pal. You're not special. We all have to pay our bills, and so do you. It's because of you, that I have to pay higher interest rates on my card, because you stiff my client, after they were there for you when you needed their money.

3.) Has any of the debt skippers in here, ever heard of a "contract" before? Trust me, there is no, "We're not making as much money now, so we're only going to give you $50.00 a month on a $10,000 debt, and you have to take it," clause in the contract you signed. If a debt collector tells you that your debt can go legal, it's not just a line. It's true. We don't sue you, the people you took money from, and then stiffed, will sue you, and they will win EVERYTIME! A judge will look at the contract ONE time, then look at you, then drop his gavel in favor of the company you owe money to. Then you get to pay lawyer fees, court fees, fines, late fees, interest, all on top of the principle debt, now.
And if you still don't pay, then you'll be held in contempt of court, and face even more action. If you would have just gone out, raised the money to pay off your debt you KNOW you owe, you'd be done.
(Also, I find it amazing how many "broke" people threaten me everday, with, "I'm going to go get a lawyer!" First of all, I DON'T CARE. You think that really shakes my boots? You will LOSE. Secondly, I don't care, because I have hundreds of people I have to call, everyday. You wanna stay in debt and face the consequences, I DON'T CARE. You wanna file bankruptcy? I DON'T CARE. You want be a cheat, and not do everything in your power to pay back the people who gave you money when you needed it, that's on your conscience, and I DON'T CARE. Third, if you're so broke, how can you afford a lawyer? You think any lawyer is going to take on a case, from a guy who doesn't pay his bills?

Bottom line, quit trying to weasel out of your bills. Once again, you are NOT special, and neither is your situation. I have to pay my bills, so do you. And if you put yourself in a situation where you might not be able to pay all your bills, should you run into finacial trouble, that is noone else's fault but YOURS. Do the right thing, just like everybody else in the world has to do. Get another job. Sell property/possessions. Get a loan. Borrow money. It's your job to worry about your debt, not mine. Pay your bills, like you said you would, come Hell or high water, and you won't have to worry about a debt collector calling you, and explaining to a grown adult (YOU), that you have to pay your bills.

"Due to a series of unfortunate events we had our leased car repossessed. OSI now has the account. Do they negotiate at all? We are on the verge of declaring bankruptcy but if they were to accept 50% we may be able to pay it off in full (with a loan from a family member). Does anyone have any suggestions how I should approach this?"

It really depends on the product you owe for. The companies I collect for are the ones that dictate settlements, if I'm even aloud to, at all. As a collector, if I can get you a settlement, I probably will. If I see you have the assests, (loan possibilites, selling property, refinance), hell no I won't give you a settlement. You owe the FULL AMOUNT. I don't order a $25.00 steak, and then tell the waiter, "Well, I can give you $12.50, and you should take it, because it's better than nothing." What?! I love how, when I talk to people in debt, they suddenly think they're in some sort position of power to negotiate. This isn't "Let's Make a Deal". If I see a settlement is the best route to get money for my client, my company, myself, and to get you out of debt, I'll do it. But if I see you can pay it in full, but won't, I'll let your debt fester in my office and YOUR credit report, until it either goes to our legal department, or goes back to my client, at which point, you're not going to be treated as kindly as OSI treated you. And I don't care if you believe me or not, I see it happen everyday. People calling me, and saying, "I want to settle for that amount we talked about 3 months ago!" I usually end up saying something like, "Oh, you mean the settlment offer that's been dead for 3 months? The one that I offered you, and then you cussed at me and talked trash about my family, and then hung up on me? You want that settlement, again? I don't think so."

The company that is owed money to, and the collection agency they hired, hold ALL the cards, not people in thousands of dollars in debt.

Wow, such tough talk from these collectors,lol. They can only get the money they are asking for when the debtor doesn't know all the laws and rules and believe the lies the collectors tell them and let the collectors intimidate them. They love to flaunt the "contract" that was signed by conveniently forget to follow the laws on collecting. That's why the government is forced to make laws for you people to try and obey.You buy the debts from creditors and think that entitles you to be jerks. Well it doesn't work with everyone junior.

Many of you collectors are not any better than the so called slime ball debtors you hate, probably worse actually.

Wow, such tough talk from these collectors,lol. They can only get the money they are asking for when the debtor doesn't know all the laws and rules and believe the lies the collectors tell them and let the collectors intimidate them. They love to flaunt the "contract" that was signed by conveniently forget to follow the laws on collecting. That's why the government is forced to make laws for you people to try and obey.You buy the debts from creditors and think that entitles you to be jerks. Well it doesn't work with everyone junior.

Many of you collectors are not any better than the so called slime ball debtors you hate, probably worse actually.

See. That's your problem. You make it a personal issue. You call names, instead of leaving it a business issue, and if you spent half the energy you spend trying to tell me how to do my job, on getting your bills paid, you wouldn't be in debt, in the first place. If you think a debt collector is a jerk, do you think it gets any easier when it gets escalated? I don't hate debtors, at all. I keep it business. You're the ones that throw tantrums on the phone, not me. I just go onto one of the other hundreds of accounts I collect. You stay in debt. Boy, you sure got me! Please. :roll:

It only becomes personal when you collectors make it personal and use illegal tactics when collecting which is quite common in the collections field. That's why it becomes personal. And if you followed the laws instead of trying to intimidate people you might get more money out of people.

Speaking for me, I'm no longer in debt, paid my debts and I am here to help people who are having collectors use illegal tactics against them. So yeah, take your stay in debt speech somewhere else. And before you try and lump all debtors in the same box you need to realize there are legitimate reasons sometimes why people get into trouble. Just like there are businesses that have problems beyond their control and need to file bankruptcy or reach a compromise with a creditor on payment arrangements.

hey, getyourcheckbook, let's review the facts you conveniently tried to ignore here...

1--YOU ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO PROVE THAT THE DEBTOR OWES THE DEBT. This is simple. If you refuse to take this step, or if you cannot do so, then GUESS WHAT?? You dont have any business thinking you are entitled to money from that person. Perhaps, if OSI woudl actually honor such requests instead of ignoring them, like you have for me previously, then you would have a point. But OSI doesnt, so you have no point. The very minute you receive that letter, you are OBLIGATED UNDER THE LAW TO OBEY IT. If you dont, you just paid me $1000. On second thought, keep screwing up, youre just gonna fatten up my bank account!!

2--You have the right to view people's credit reports?? Tell you what, go ahead and view mine, without validating a debt, and see how quickly you get sued for it. You only have the right to do so on a debt that has been validated--if the debt is not real, you just looked at an innocent person's confidential information. Congratulations, genius...that sure did get you far, huh?? Wow, it must give you such a rush to break the law....

3--Pay our bills?? I DO pay my bills. That didnt stop your pissant company from contacting me about a debt that was proven to not even be mine! It also didnt stop your fresh-out-of-bankruptcy-court company from breaking federal law about a dozen times in the process. I OWED YOU NO MONEY. NOT ONE PENNY. And I had to deal with you morons for nearly a year because the collectors and higher-ups at OSI are too ignorant to even know the law that pertains to their very business. If smarts were sparks, you people at OSI couldnt light a match.

4--at no time will you ever see me or most others on this site advocating to someone not to pay their legitimate debts. That's not what this place is about. If you read around a bit you would have seen plenty of proof of that. Then again, you and your coworkers cant even read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, so I guess reading isnt high up on your resume after all. I fully agree that people need to shut up and pay their legitimate debts. BUT--if youre going to be so quick to break the law, then you dont deserve squat from them. Think about it--imagine the friggin irony of you, representing a company full of ignorance and illegal behavior, telling someone else to handle their moral obligations!! When you learn how to tell the truth and follow the law to the letter, then you will have a reason to expect people to pay you money. Until then, you dont have a right to jack. break the law when youre calling MY house again, I hope you personally are the one on the phone too. That way, when I sue OSI, I can also name you as a defendant and sue you too.

5--"pay your bills, and you wont have to worry about a debt collector calling you...."

Wow you are ignorant. how many lawsuits occur against debt collectors or CA's each year because you rocket scientists of the autodialer have the wrong person?? how many more would take place if more people knew their rights under the law?? in short, youre an idiot for believing that. As we speak, I have on my credit bureau an entry from a CA in Tennessee. They claim that in 2006, I had a house taken away from me in TN. They claim that I owe them FORTH THOUSAND DOLLARS. Here's a hint for you--I never lived in that state, and that state is where this foreclosure supposedly took place! The ORIGINAL CREDITOR THEMSELF removed this from my credit file months ago, admitting that they made a mistake, and now this new DEBT COLLECTOR reported to my credit file barely a month later!! But hey--all we need to do is PAY OUR BILLS and you numbnuts wont have a reason to contact us, right?? Wow, you sure did have an extra helping of stoopid this morning, didntcha??

6--you just told people who are not capable of paying their bills to GO TAKE OUT ANOTHER LOAN. WOW, this shows even more ignorance from you. This is a common problem with debt collectors--you only care about getting that money from that person for that entry on your screen. What kind of idiot tells someone who is in debt to their eyeballs already to go take out another loan?? Glad that all of us "debtors" have you shining pillars of idiocy to look to in such times!! The person you talk to on the phone already cant pay the bills he has, so you tell him to GO GET MORE BILLS? hmm....spoken like a true debt collector, with no clue for either the obvious or for the person.

Finally, lets remember one thing here. The fdcpa exists because those who came before you made things so incredibly pathetic that their actions were usually illegal without a special law being in place. It is time for you to get the hell over yourself and come to the reality that is your job. Debt collectors have a bad reputation for a reason, and that reason isnt because all these people dont pay their bills. It is because of the methods you try to use on people. The average collector doesnt have one shred of a clue about the law that governs his entire career. That's even sadder than a person running into financial difficulty, my friend.

Class dismissed. you are free to go back to the CA cesspool and report your findings to the group about all of us evil debtors...

1--YOU ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO PROVE THAT THE DEBTOR OWES THE DEBT. This is simple. If you refuse to take this step, or if you cannot do so, then GUESS WHAT?? You dont have any business thinking you are entitled to money from that person. Perhaps, if OSI woudl actually honor such requests instead of ignoring them, like you have for me previously, then you would have a point. But OSI doesnt, so you have no point. The very minute you receive that letter, you are OBLIGATED UNDER THE LAW TO OBEY IT. If you dont, you just paid me $1000. On second thought, keep screwing up, youre just gonna fatten up my bank account!!
I have no problem sending people payment demand letters. I don't have to prove why you owe this debt. You owe my client, not me. Stall all you want, with your "letter demands." When you go legal, and the final payoff comes in involuntarily from you, for thousands of dollars more than if you would have just worked with me in the beginning, you'll be lining my pockets bigtime, sir.

2--You have the right to view people's credit reports??
Absolutely. When my client hires my company to collect on your debt, we then become a part of that clients employees, and therefore, since you gave them permission to run your credit when you got money from them, we get to run it now, too.


3--Pay our bills?? I DO pay my bills. That didnt stop your pissant company from contacting me about a debt that was proven to not even be mine!
I'm happy you pay your bills. So should you, because if you didn't, you'd be getting a call from me. 8)

4--at no time will you ever see me or most others on this site advocating to someone not to pay their legitimate debts. That's not what this place is about. If you read around a bit you would have seen plenty of proof of that.
Baloney. I've already seen plenty of people on here, complaining that their bill has doubled since the account has gone into collections, and they're asking how they can get out of it.

5--"pay your bills, and you wont have to worry about a debt collector calling you...."

Wow you are ignorant. how many lawsuits occur against debt collectors or CA's each year because you rocket scientists of the autodialer have the wrong person?? how many more would take place if more people knew their rights under the law?? in short, youre an idiot for believing that. As we speak, I have on my credit bureau an entry from a CA in Tennessee. They claim that in 2006, I had a house taken away from me in TN. They claim that I owe them FORTH THOUSAND DOLLARS. Here's a hint for you--I never lived in that state, and that state is where this foreclosure supposedly took place! The ORIGINAL CREDITOR THEMSELF removed this from my credit file months ago, admitting that they made a mistake, and now this new DEBT COLLECTOR reported to my credit file barely a month later!! But hey--all we need to do is PAY OUR BILLS and you numbnuts wont have a reason to contact us, right?? Wow, you sure did have an extra helping of stoopid this morning, didntcha??
Then what are you worried about, if it's not your debt? Put your number on notice, and you'll be fine. Not much to really comment on here. You're just throwing a tantrum, now. I'll move onto your next point.


6--you just told people who are not capable of paying their bills to GO TAKE OUT ANOTHER LOAN. WOW, this shows even more ignorance from you. This is a common problem with debt collectors--you only care about getting that money from that person for that entry on your screen. What kind of idiot tells someone who is in debt to their eyeballs already to go take out another loan?? Glad that all of us "debtors" have you shining pillars of idiocy to look to in such times!! The person you talk to on the phone already cant pay the bills he has, so you tell him to GO GET MORE BILLS? hmm....spoken like a true debt collector, with no clue for either the obvious or for the person.
That's right. Get a loan from friends and family. Get a title loan. Get a refinance. All you need is a credit score of 500+, and you can refinance just about any freestanding home out there. You just have to actually put some effort in, and you can pay minimal payments on a good standing loan that you got to pay off a debt in collections.

Finally, lets remember one thing here. The fdcpa exists because those who came before you made things so incredibly pathetic that their actions were usually illegal without a special law being in place. It is time for you to get the hell over yourself and come to the reality that is your job. Debt collectors have a bad reputation for a reason, and that reason isnt because all these people dont pay their bills. It is because of the methods you try to use on people. The average collector doesnt have one shred of a clue about the law that governs his entire career. That's even sadder than a person running into financial difficulty, my friend.
Let's also remember that contracts were invented, because of people that think they can just say, "Oh, I'm having a tough time finacially, so you don't get the money back that you loaned me." I can't speak for the collecting methods of other employees. Every... EVERY business, including YOURS, has immoral and idiotic workers. I keep things very business like in my phone calls, but sometimes debtors lash out, because they're embarrassed or frustrated or scared about they're debt, they take it out on me, and feel good about themselves for about 10 minutes. Then they realize that their situation is getting worse everyday, they probably just killed their last chance to set up a payment plan volutarily with me, and I've moved onto one of the other hundreds of people I call and help. No skin off my nose.

Double post. Sorry!

wow, you needed to post that three times?? Hope it made you feel good about yourself, skippy....now, on to your mess here.

1--it sure didnt take you long to contradict yourself with this latest attempt to explain how life works, did it?? Let's see here....first you say:

Quote:

Tell you what--since youre here trying to sell everyone on just how great OSI really is, explain to me what happened with the state of New Jersey. Why dont you tell everyone here what happened when OSI bought out Payco General American Credit Corp in 1996? What happened when OSI was found to be bribing NJ government officials in two major divisions with all kinds of lavish gifts, alcohol, parties, and entertainment? What happened to OSI's books during this time?

For those who do not know, OSI bought a CA in 96. That CA had a contract in place to aid the state of NJ in collecting debts owed to the state. OSI was caught padding the books like MAD. Hundreds of thousands of dollars each year were added to the fees charged to the state of NJ.....more than a million dollars between 2000 and 2004 alone, though it happened for a longer period of time than that. TONS of money. OSI cant even be honest or legal with its CLIENTS--how in the world can anyone expect them to follow the law with DEBTORS?? Is THIS why they had to file Chapter 11? HMMM.....

If that is not enough, then feel free to go to this link--it is just one of the lawsuits I mentioned earlier. Dont forget to put the www. before it

ltclg.com/CM/CurrentandPastCases/SneadvOSI.pdf

This is a scanned copy of the exact documentation. It lists the individuals at OSI that were involved, one of which is supposedly a supervisor. It lists the specific violations. It even lists the exact statute that pertains to each violation. That should make it really convenient, Mr. checkbook, for you to look up those parts of the law and see for yourself. One specific part comes to mind--when you claim that you do not have to validate anything for a debtor. Notice how this debtor requested some validation information, and the SUPERVISOR told her that she wont get any of that until they sue her.

Tell us all again just how good OSI really is. It MUST be those friggin debtors that are the problem. You need to think long and hard about what you have said here and what you do every day--your beliefs about what you do and do not need to do in the course of your career fall dead against the law. This lawsuit further proves it. You have two options--

--fix it now, before you end up on a suit like this
--ignore it, and hope to God you dont ever end up calling my house....

Thanks for the info skydivr. Its amazing how these collectors think the law does not apply to them. Gotta love their hypocritical attitude.

I also noticed how he mentioned about contempt of court for not paying a judgment. Sorry that will not happen, now you can be held in contempt for not submitting your financial information sheet after a judgment. However it is the responsibility of the complainant to collect the debt, not the court. The judgment holder has the option of garnishment, lien or taking property. Contempt of court for not paying your judgment though, nah. The more he opens his mouth the more I realize he is just the typical collector trying to harass, intimidate and think they are above the law. He has no knowledge of the fdcpa or the law in general.

yeah, if you give a liar enough rope, he will eventually hang himself.

Finally, lets compare checkbook's claims to the actual text of the law:



Section 809 of the FDCPA:


Federal law, checkbook, just told you that as soon as a debtor demands verification, you are REQUIRED to cease all collection activity until you obtain the necessary validation and provide it to the customer. Notice how it says "mailed to the consumer BY THE DEBT COLLECTOR", and not "mailed to the consumer by the ORIGINAL CREDITOR"? Perhaps you can explain why the law clearly states "THE DEBT COLLECTOR shall cease collection until the DEBT COLLECTOR obtains verification of the debt"??

For the year or so youve been a collector at OSI, you have been in direct violation of federal law. I have proven this multiple ways. What is your defense now? Keep in mind, according to the law, ignorance of a law is no valid excuse.....

Down & Out made a great point. I think I would send the outstanding debt to the original debtor, instead of the collection agency. 8)

You guys are so hung up on this "validation" thing. When somebody asks for validation, then fine, I'll fax it, or send it in the mail. That's all I have to do. I'm not going to bring it to your house, take it out, read it to you twice, and ask if you agree with it. When I speak to a debtor on the phone, I tell them I'm calling from OSI Collection Services, in regards to their debt with *******. 99.99% of the time, they acknowledge it, and that means the debt is VALIDATED. That's it, end of story. So the people that start whining about, "I want this statement! I want that statement! Do this! Do that!", I grow very bored with, very easily. You are wasting my time, and your money. Please, actually read this statement thoroughly... I am NOT talking about the people who are being pursued wrongfully! That rarely EVER happens. I am talking about the people who know they owe the debt, acknowledge they owe the debt, but want me to run around and gather paperwork for them, just so they can stall on the account, which is the vast majority of the time. Sure, I'll request another statement be sent to you, and that's it. I'm then moving onto to someone who wants to get help getting their debt paid, not play games. By the way, just because it says in the fdcpa, that I have to mail the verification of debt, that does NOT mean I'm the one doing the verifying. That is the client. There's a difference.

Down & Out made a great point. I think I would send the outstanding debt to the original debtor, instead of the collection agency.

And, uh, where do you that payment then gets sent to, and who do you think gets credit for it? 8)

Also, pointing out a few illegal acts by OSI means nothing. NOTHING. If you think a few isolated incidents that OSI did in the past, means you are free and clear to take money from companies and not pay them back, then fine. If that's how you want to handle your finances, and wreck your credit, I don't care. If you spent half the energy you spend trying to manipulate your way out of paying back a debt you know you owe, into actually paying your debt, you would never again be in collections.

1--you clearly are not in touch with your chosen profession very well. "very very rarely", huh? Well, from my personal experience, your very own employer has done that to me, and it took a whole lot more than simply telling them "I dispute this account, it is not mine" to fix it. And their response throughout the whole process was anything but what you describe here. So, again, you arent fooling anyone, least of all me. OSI has demonstrated first-hand to me just how they handle such an error....

2--as for "very very rarely", you need to do better than pulling such thoughts out of your back side as you go. Identity theft is a major cause of false accounts, and that crime is rising perhaps faster than any other crime, currently. It just so happens that the FTC has received 40% more reports of ID theft in 2004 than they did in 2002. ID theft complaints now make up nearly half of all complaints the FTC receives from consumers. And that trend is far from slowing down--it is still increasing in record numbers! This is one of the reasons that validation is required, Mr. Wizard.....I dont care what name and SSN is on your screen, validation serves the purpose of proving just how it got there in the first place. For example, show me a document with my signature on it, claiming agreement to the terms and ownership of the debt. In ID theft cases, you could have plenty of info, but you wont have my signature. That is because the account is not mine. Now, stop with the silliness already--no one suggested that you go through the phone book looking for people to call. Why dont you simply address the facts and issues presented instead of looking for ways to sidestep the questions and facts presented to you? Arent YOU the one who came in here and posted this thread for people to ask you questions? Why even bother, if you arent even going to address them honestly?

3--time is of the essence in your business....is that why there is a very dramatic rise in the number of CA's in your business that are now buying junk debts? Why are so many companies choosing to buy up debts outside the SOL and waste their time trying to scare people into paying, if time is of the essence? Time is not of the essence in your business---FOLLOWING THE LAW should be. It is simple--you basically will only have an account in your hands for so long, and then the client will either pull it back, go to court, or sell it to someone else. Then the process begins all over again. So, dont tell me about time being of the essence....if time was of the essence then so many things that happen daily in your industry would never take place. The only way I see time being of the essence is this--if a collector can scare someone into immediately paying up over the phone with illegal threats, then that consumer has no chance to find out what the law says, or what their rights are. By the time they do, its too late because you already got their money.



Since you are the one that refuses to validate anything, you are most definitely not in a position to offer up such a statistic. You dont validate, you claim you are not bound by law to do so, so in other words, you honestly have no clue as to the real number--that makes your claim useless. Likewise, I can only speak for myself as well, but in my case, your company has already pursued me for a debt that was not mine. AND, they handled it very poorly and quite illegally. I see that no matter how many times I mention that, your only answer is to proclaim how much you guys at OSI dont break laws, etc etc...



1--here's another thing youre doing wrong. The law does not provide any reasoning for you to make any assumption about anything. Even the 30 day rule is not an assumption--it is clearly stated in the fdcpa that, if a consumer does not choose to dispute the debt within the 30 days, that the assumption of guilt cannot be made because of it. Assumptions like yours are pointless. Sticking to facts usually works better. Now, I agree with you on one thing--if the person claims ID theft, they have no reason to wait around about it. But assuming automatic guilt is ridiculous.

2--your job as laid out in the FDCPA is not to assume---it is to provide validation each and every time it is asked for by the consumer. period. You have repeatedly admitted that you do not do this. You arent doing your job the way the law requires. Period.

3--I used that same concept when I told OSI that I had no clue what account they were talking about. I informed them that I never lived in the place they claimed. I have had no less than three accounts this way--a house in TN, a utility bill on CO, and a car co-signed for in CT after I no longer lived there. All three presented similar problems....not one of the collectors in any of these was as willing as you claim OSI is. And OSI was one of the collectors I dealt with. On the car loan, I filed a police report, and signed a piece of paper ten times, in front of a notary, sent that with a copy of my DL with signature on it, the CA admitted that it didnt match what they had, and STILL it took nearly a year before anyone was willing to remove it from my bureau report. So again, you cant fool me with the garpage youre telling people. Answer questions, that would be appreciated....but only if you are going to tell us proper information!



1--while I agree that throwing a tantrum is counterproductive, you have no legal right to base your actions on that. Regardless of how the consumer acts on the phone, you are LEGALLY BOUND AND OBLIGATED to honor ALL requests for validation. I dont care if someone insults you, your shirt, your dog, or your momma--the law makes no exception for that. Sure, the person who does that is acting like an idiot, but in the end, the law does not allow you to decide not to validate just because the person called your momma a bad word, etc etc etc.


2--"unless you absolutely must"....validation of each and every account where the request has been made is part of what you absolutely must, according to federal law. Go on, keep making excuses for not doing it--those excuses will not help you once you are a named defendant in a lawsuit.



You assume the person owes the debt....since you refuse to validate, you wont ever know for certain. And while I do believe that most of those people do owe the debts, a fair number do not. It is your obligation, not anyone else's, to ensure that you are in contact with the proper person, and that you follow all applicable laws in the course of your business. Stop trying to spin it around onto someone else with assumptions--the law does not make the assumption at all. That is precisely why you are not legally allowed to, either.



Not always. Sometimes, it means that your identity was attached to an account fraudulently, or simply by mistake. But again, like I keep telling you, you assume otherwise. That is your screwup, not the debtor's, or mine. Try simply owning up to it like a man already--the exact wording of the law clearly proves you wrong. Why not display some character and simply admit it?



The law says:



You just admitted that your action in such a case is to intentionally "shame" the person on the phone. This can easily fit into the text I highlighted. Which can easily make it illegal. But here's the thing--the perception that matters is not yours--it is the perception of the person you are "shaming". If they feel harassed by comments you make, they have the right to sue you over it. If they can produce evidence of you discussing anything other than the debt itself, that can easily be considered harassment. If they can show you talking down to them, they can often sway a judge or jury in their favor. That's a mighty big gamble youre taking if you happen to call my house....wanna stake your future on it? hmmmm....

Based on the liberal use of terms from you in here like "deadbeat", "liar", I can only imagine how you "shame" people. And if you use any of those to "shame" people, congratulations, you just broke federal law. But hey, you are apparently used ot doing that, so it probably isnt a big deal to you, is it? One more thing--you are so high on "show me respect", yet you shame people. Where respect is earned, respect is given. Dont think that you deserve any respect the way you talk to people, because you dont.

As for harassment, the law, once again, contradicts your claim. Calling for ANY reason is not the point---the way you go about it is what is covered in the law. You could have a legitimate debt on the screen, if you call that person five times in two hours, that is excessive. Period. YOu could have the debtor, confirmed, on the phone, and call them a lying deadbeat--that is illegal. Period. Stop trying to justify your violation of federal law by sidestepping things--by now you should realize it isnt working.



WOW, your knowledge simply astounds me. Tell us all then, why are there so many crooked collectors out there, still in business, with crooked CA's? Why are the number of FDCPA lawsuits on the RISE? Why are companies changing their names every other week to hide from the reputation that their current collection practices earns them? I can name companies simply off the top of my head that are KNOWN for absolutely horrible business practices, like NCO, Bass & Associates...should we list them all for you? Yet, not a single one of these companies is "not making money" and not a single one of them us "out of the business". The numbers are staggering, and contradictory to your claim in a major way. Look around you--you are posting this garbage on a forum populated by a lot of people that know the law and that know many CA's and their tactics personally! WHO DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU ARE GOING TO FOOL HERE?

Everyone who is buying "checkbook"'s rendition of the collection industry, speak up now....

(chirp chirp....)


The law you speak of has 18 different sections, and as a debt collector, you are obligated to follow all of them, not just some part that is only half-true. Again, I posted in the other thread the exact wording. Did you even read it? It says that YOU, as the DC, are required to honor the request for validation. It also says that YOU, the DC, are the one responsible for obtaining the proof of the debt, and YOU are the one who is supposed to send that proof through the mail to the consumer. The law says what the law says--the more you keep making excuses and going against the law, the more your chance of getting sued increases. Good luck with that....

in the situation youre talking about, you have more than just that responsibility. You need to prove that the required communications took place. You need to show that YOUR COMPANY also made the required disclosures. You also need to prove that the debt is substantiated. You also need to prove that you have the legal right to collect on it. Simply showing that "your client" sent a letter is not even close to what the FDCPA requires of you. You, as a third party collector, are required to do quite a bit by this law--in fact, the law doesnt even require anything of original creditors, also known as "your clients", at all. It is geared precisely towards third party collectors ONLY.

For someone who claims to know the law, and who claims to work for a company that stresses this law so strongly, you are looking quite clueless about it...

Quote:

Actually pointing out more than just a few illegal acts by OSI means a lot. You know getyourcheckbook you like to harp on honoring your contract and paying your bills and saying people are being fraudulent, even though you can't prove that. Yet you work for a company that practices fraud and does not honor its contracts and does not pay its debts also and had to file bankruptcy. You are part of a fraudulent, non-contract honoring, can't pay their bills company. Working for that company you have no business coming in here trying to tell people to pay their bills and honor your contracts. Tell you what, tell your company to pay their bills and honor their contracts and to quit their fraudulent activities first then people may listen to you.

Checkbook, I will give you credit for the following: having the guts to register and step up to show that you can take the heat and yes there has been heat for you here.
However, reading the posts in this thread, it comes to this: it's a two-way street here. You and your colleagues can act holier-than-thou on the phone and automatically assume that the person on the other end of the phone owes the debt you are calling on--even if there is a valid question that they don't. The burden of proof should be on the collector to prove it, not the creditor.
And based on what I have read here, it seems that there have been several instances, not just one as you claim re Skydiver, that this hasn't been the case with OSI. And forgive me, my opinion is that even one instance is one too many!
I have also asked you about the collections practices that too many of us here are familiar with in the PDL industry and asked you to justify those. How do you justify more than one questionable practice by your company, showing that clearly your ducks are all not in a row at OSI. Now, how would YOU feel if you were that person who did not owe the debt that you are calling on and would have to go through this nightmare with a collector who didn't care whether his or her tactics were legal or not? Think about it...

Lets not forget that North Shore Agency, a subsidiary of OSI is also under lawsuit for illegal collection activies.

It's also interesting reading the actual bankruptcy filing your compnany and their 20+ subsidiaries made. The company that was loaning your company money refused to make any more loans. OSI's portfolio business had to be shut down because of this. Also accounting "irregularities", 15 million in accounting misreporting. Merrill Lynch then looked into providing financing for OSI's portfolio business but declined due to many reasons, gee I wonder why.

480 million in debt to creditors, failure to comply with the financial covenants of the existing credit agreement, failure to pay interest and principal according to the credit agreement. You know, not honoring its contract as you like to say. Losing customers, having to lay off employees, a chance that payroll could not be paid if bankruptcy is not filed.

New business was hard to obtain because companies knew OSI was in default of its loans. So why again can't OSI honor its contracts sir. OSI could not pay off its 480 million debt, Standards & Poor would not give a good rating to the bankruptcy reorganization and would not give it a SSR Select Servicer Rating which is their stamp of approval for a business restructure. The restructered company could only carry around $175 million in debt. A compromise with the creditors forgave 300 million in debt. Good thing those creditors didn't demand full payment for a contract like you love to say.

So before coming in here and telling people to pay in full and honor their contracts you should tell your company to pay its debts in full and honor its contracts and stop its fraudulent activities. Your work for a hypocritical company. You must be proud to work for a company that took 300 million dollars and decided it wasn't going to pay it back. And you have the gall to tell someone they should be ashamed to not pay a few thousand dollar debt, oh my.

You see, just like OSI, people have reasons for not paying debts. Some valid, some not valid maybe but they still have the right to make a compromise with the crditor. Just like your wonderful company does.

Wow,
After reading that last post, here is what comes to mind: before you go throwing stones and blasting someone on the phone, make sure your own ducks are in a row and your company is smelling like a rose, OK? And from what I can see, that's not the case!
In a court of law, you are innocent until proven guilty, which is not the case in the American collection industry. Even if you don't owe the debt, have never been to or lived in the state it happened in, ala Skydiver, he's automatically guilty in your eyes, right? Wow...what happened to innocent until proven guilty??

today i received a bil from OSI..and i never heard of them before..they stated i owed columbia house music and dvd club 77.00 .i have NOT beena member of columbia house for yearsssss.and i mean years as in over 25 years!! i have emailed this company and told them waht i think and also to get this removed from my credit history..they also just said i owed the 77.00 to columbia house and nothign listed as to what for.. dang this company and how do they continue to get by with this?? anyone know???? thanks..sissy

Sissy,
You have the right to make a validation request for this debt--which means that you are asking OSI to prove in writing that this debt is yours. I would send them a letter asking for this and if they don't comply, then tell them that you are disputing the debt since it's not validated.

Too bad Mr. getyourcheckbook is not here to tell us how outstanding OSI is and how they never collect on old debts.

debt collectors can not make derogatory remarks or insult you and if you feel that they are harassing you, then raise this matter with the original creditor. Next time if they call you, record the content of the calls. You can report to your state Attorney General????????s office and the Federal Trade Commission.

Sample debt validation letter. Do not pay a collection agency any money without first sending this letter. If you have any questions, please contact Anthony.

Quote:

Here are just a few laws in which they are violating:



http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.shtm

Yes, Mr. GetYourCheckbook sure beat feet pretty quickly, didn't he?? Guess OSI isn't the stellar business he says!!

They would not give me their address, repeatedly harrassed me and tried to get my place of work and also my bank account info. Told me if they didn't get it they didn't trust me, that I would write a bad check.

Does anyone know a good phone number for OSI? I owed WTU retail energy $250 back in 2004(when I was letting my ex-wife handle the bills). I was notified of this in 2006 when I checked my credit report, and I promptly paid my debt to them. It's now late July 2007, and despite my request 6 months ago that OSI report my paid off balance to the credit bureaus, they still haven't. Today I have called no less than 7 separate phone numbers (!) between WTU and OSI to get this resolved, and the last phone number which WTU gave me for OSI is not in service! This is ridiculous!

Then file a dispute with the credit bureau, explaining your contact attempts going no where, and let them investigate it.

does anyone know how to call them if I want to pay and resolve a debt? they have a debt of mine, but have never called me---weird, huh? i want to pay it off, can anyone help?

does anyone have contact information for this company? i looked at my credit report and they say i owed $356 and i have NOOOOO clue what that is for and i tried a number in jacksonville and the girl coudlnt find me in the system.. any help?

To Guest and skydivr7673, thank you sooo much for speaking the honest truth! I am debt free today, but it took a long time to get here. I remember calling a CA to make arrangements to pay a debt. The collector talked to me like I had four legs and a tail. I couldn't believe it! I finally had to go, "WAIT A MINUTE!! I called YOU to make arrangements! Why are you talking crazy to ME??!" It was so unnecessary. I couldn't/wouldn't have their job for anything in the world. Again, thank you both for "telling like it is"!

debt collectors lack the professional skills to find real jobs.

If you have not had an account with these people for 25 years as you stated , i would asume the sol is long past

OSI also calls folks Mistakenly, then won't STOP calling! Even after calling them asking nicely for them to stop calling, they continue the calls. The party that they are looking for, does not reside at my home (nor do I know who they are), but they keep on calling.


This prompted another complaint to DoNotCall.gov.

OSI is a pain!

I guess my student loan people, EDFUND sold my case to OSI to collect the balance. Do they have right to garnish my paycheck? I heard they have to take me to the court first before garnishment. OSI's been called my work a few time to warned me that they will process the garnishment if i don't pay. I would rather deal with EDFUND than these people from OSI.

Pete-What state are you in? Also, have you called Edfund to try to deal with them directly?

hey volleyballmom, I am in CA. No I haven't contacted EDFUND yet. I am afraid they'll redirect me to OSI.

You should contact EdFund directly...they also have in house collections but the do batch off some of the portfolio.

If they can help you, they also save on commisssion $$ they have to pay to OSI.

I hope this works out!! :)

Quote:

I ordered a copy of my credit report recently and I saw that I STILL owe OSI $48 when Carl, thats the agents name, Carl said when I pay the balance of $685 in full, the account will close and the debt will not go against you, it will say paid off. Well, 5 years later Im looking at my credit report, and it says revolving. Talk about shocked. It also says derogatory, which is FALSE, I paid every last cent off. I too had a similar experience with 2 callers when I was trying to lower my monthly payment when I told them I just got a divorce and my husband took all the money and credit cards and I had nothing to pay my debt off. I had trouble finding a job because I had a baby, and no family so I had to take my child to interviews with me and when the employer would see that, I was not hired, obviously. OSI never understood and the two were laughing at me and one woman agent who you'd think would be more sympathetic said "Dina get over it, we all have problems, mortgages, etc that we have to pay off, we dont whine about it" If I had the gall, I would..............I just would. The anger is substantial what they did to me then, and now that I look at my credit report even after I paid my debt in full. **** is what I can think of

[color=Red]****Adult term removed - Jason[/color]

I have read 90% of what everyone has posted on here and if you want valuable advice, please read carefully and think befoe you leap. There is a solution to everything. Dont wait for something like this to happen, contact the people you have debt with quick so that they get a feel you are serious about paying them back. If that doesnt work, call a consolidator and have them work with you to pay off the debt, thats what they're there for. If all else fails, try to set up a payment plan, 9 out of 10 debt collectors, will accept that. Everyone but OSI baceuse theyre jsut assholes

I hear what you're saying soaplady...in all seriousness, I am very, very close to the Edfund/OSI process and very familiar with the contract terms between the parties. I'll leave it at that...

I initially owed $2500 and after forgetting about the debt due to personal troubles in three years, I dealt with a company called DCS (Diversified Collection Services) based out of Livermore California. My account was transfered to OSI after I legally threatened a hypothetical situation to the collections lady on the phone and described the building she was in to her thanks to Google Maps. I now owe $2800 due to interest.

I dealt with Christine Lamp, extension 4655, of OSI. Christine is very rude and speaks down to you if you're younger than her. She tells me that I shouldn't complain about OSI harassing me because of the financial choices I made in the past. She doesn't know my situation and personally its not her business.
Christine is rude because she is a supervisor and I cannot understand how a supervisor would handle cases rather than a normal employee.

Christine has routinely lied to me about OSI not accepting payment via money order even though when I called her extension one afternoon and caught someone named Darla at her desk. Darla told me this was untrue and gave me the address of OSI Education Service. PO Box 88063. Milwaulkee, Wisconsin. 53288-0063.

I got a $50 money order to please Christine and she avoided my messages on her voice mail telling her to call me back to verify the information so I can send the money and finally start paying off this debt. Christine seems more interesting in garnishing my wages or some sort of automatic payment because I don't have a bank account.

I called her the other night and left a message on her voicemail calling her unprofessional and I was about to talk to her supervisor for how she has avoided my phone calls to intentionally get my wages garnished.

Guess what happened the next day?

She called my employer to verify I worked there. I didn't have the 800 number I usually use (1-888-230-8774) and people I called to ask to look it up online could not find the number either. My friend found the number 1-800-962-5191 and I told the woman that I would like to talk to a supervisor about a collections agent's unprofessional behavior.

I was told to call 1-800-236-3100 and talk to ext. 4647 "Keisha Prince". Keisha was very rude and spoke fast, often interrupting what I told her. When I told her that people who were trying to find her company's number on Google were bringing up negative comments about OSI's business practices, she got angry on the phone and was insulting to me.

Keisha Prince told me that she was a supervisor and that Christine Lamp was a supervisor also, so 'there was nothing I could do'. I quickly corrected her by asking for her boss' name and extension so I could talk to him about both Keisha and Christine. She told me it was ext. 4616 Dan Reigland and he would be in Monday for me to make my complaint.

However I have a plan coming up for OSI and I will keep this forum notified about what happens. I will not expose what I am about to do, but it might be in the interest of people on here.

Christine Lamp avoided my phone calls and didn't respond to my messages on her answering machine for 2 weeks. When I made the threat to call her supervisor is when I got her attention.

I think I forgot to mention that.

Oh goodie!! I love hearing about plots against OSI,especially when it EdFund is concerned!! EdFund/CSAC was my baby when I was collecting. Before Edfund bought out the company I worked for, our agency was #1 for Edfund for many years. And of course, OSI stole it away to one of their other offices and totally messed it up. Keep posting!!!

Out of close to $3000, they'll settle for $2733. I was expecting they would settle for $1200-1800. They won't take a loss, lol. I'm going to pay back interest and fees which comes out to about $700 to enroll in their payment program.

To get Christine Lamp's attention, mention money or you're going to pay her. She'll call you 20 minutes before she's even supposed to be at work.

OSI can't do shit if you work a cash job and you do not have a bank account. The woman from DCS and both people from OSI are confused that I don't have an account. I don't have one so you can't steal my money through sneaky legal ways! Keep cash and pay bills with money orders!