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

Submitted by on Tue, 09/20/2005 - 18:56
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here is something i found i wanted to share about Osi collection services inc:

OSI Collection Services, a company owned and operated by Outsourcing Solutions Inc (OSI Collections) that just emerged from Chapter 11 bankrupcy but doesnt act like it because they continue to threaten wage garnishment from innocent people in order to get money.
September 20, 2004 -- Have you recently been harassed by Osi collection services Collection agency?



Over the past decade OSI Collection Services Inc, an Outsourcing Solutions Inc company has been violating the Fair Debt collection practice act by threatening the people they call with wage garnishments, they also have been threatening to take legal actions against them if they do not pay what OSI claims they owe. OSI collection services also has been accusing innocent people of owing debts they can't verify and they know are debts actually false.



A Former OSI collection services employee "JON" was fedup of being harassed and threatened over a debt OSI could not verify. OSI collection services claimed he owed a bill for under $110.00 to a hospital for services rendered to him in 2000. Jon also use to work for OSI in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and in Jacksonville, Florida but was forced to resign because of not being trained correctly for 3rd party collections.



Dustin, can't even get a loan for a home due to a �unverified bill� with OSI collection services. "The amount they say I owe is 118.00 for a medical bill. All medical bills I have or had have been paid" to make sure Dustin had no outstanding bills he contacted all the hospitals he visited to only find out they were all paid.. Another person received a threatening letter from OSI claiming that Capital One services was considering taking more actions against him if OSI collection servicesdoes not receive the money that is owed to Capital One.

[color=red][size=2][Links made inactive as per forum rules-Vikas][/size][/color]


[quote]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.

This is a student loan right?? If so, this is right on line with settlements. They generally do not settle off on principal or interest, just collection costs.
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! [/quote]

Again with student loans, you are talking a whole different ball game. She verified your employment, right? You could end up seeiing a garnishment notice shortly...student loans can do admin wage garnishment without taking you to court. Plus it can be collected out of disability and social security payments.


Submitted by SOAPLADY on Wed, 10/17/2007 - 06:11

SOAPLADY

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A few days ago I called and spoke with chaz from OSI. I found that I had another account and wanted to be put on a payment plan. After expressing a number of times that I would not have the money now, but would have it in the 15 and authorized payment on that date. .. Osi decided it was ok to take it out now instead of when I said they could. I don't have a problem paying my bill, BUT i do have a problem with some steeling from me. :evil: Oh! and amazingly there was no supervisor around to speak to. -another lesson learned-


Submitted by on Thu, 11/01/2007 - 18:12

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I'm looking for opinions on what I should do about a letter I received in the mail today from OSI. They claim I owe money to UPS.

About 2 months ago I made an online transaction with a vendor. Later that vendor was hacked and my credit card information was stolen from the vendor. I was notified a couple of days later by UPS that an account was opened in my name. I assured them the account was not opened by me and I told them the story about my stolen credit card number. UPS said they would note it as a fraudlent account and would close it out. I even talked to their fraud department and they assured me the account was closed.

Now, today, I receive this collection letter from OSI.

I've never dealt with a collection agency before, because I pay my bills. I know I'm in the right, but I wonder if I should seek legal counsel to deal with OSI.

Looking for suggestions from others who might have been in my same predicament.

Thanks


Submitted by on Sat, 11/10/2007 - 18:05

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Ok so I have student loans and Dept of Education tells me that OSI has them as the collection account I was given the number 888-230-8774. Is it in my best interest to contact them to make payment arrangements? Or is there any other way I can do this?


Submitted by on Fri, 11/16/2007 - 09:54

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anyone??


Submitted by on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 06:52

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Student loans are something to be careful with. If DOE has verified OSI has your loan for collection,I would start with a letter of validation to them certified return receipt mail. Make sure to keep communications open when dealing with student loans as they can do admin wage garnishments pretty quickly. Look for Soaplady on our board as she is the guru for this type of loan.


Submitted by cajunbulldog on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 07:01

cajunbulldog

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Personally I would avoid validation as the CA's see it as a stall on student loans. Requests for validation consist of a copy of the prom note and a payment record from the current holder which in most cases is not for the life of the loan but from the point that the holder paid the claim. That can be easily ordered over the phone. When validation is requested, a no contact order goes on the account until the prom note comes in. However while waiting for the notes, the collector will order a credit report and seek out the employer or will cross reference the DOE files for IRS information. The prom notes come in in 2-3weeks and are mailed. Meanwhile the account is now ready for garnishment. The collector will make a couple of call attempts after the prom note is sent out. If no contact or no response, the garnishment process will start.


Submitted by SOAPLADY on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 07:24

SOAPLADY

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I'm going through financial trouble right now. I barely make enough money to pay my rent and keep my utilities on. However Christine Lamp believes I'm hiding my sources of income and doesn't believe I live off of $800/mo.

On 11/15, I called Ms. Lamp (I assume Miss, because I do not believe a horrible woman like herself could find a partner of the opposite ****) and told the man sitting at her desk, 'Rafael' at ext. 5117, that I would like automatic calling of my house that occurs 4 times a day halted. Rafael said it would be taken care of.

11/20 I left another message for Christine Lamp during normal business hours (I wonder what she does at her job all day besides harassing me all day) and told her that I was still receiving phone calls after initially talking to 'Rafael' at ext 5117. Still no reply.

This morning, 11/30, I received a phone call from 614-791-4590 by a woman who refused to identify herself. Usually, I ignore these unsolicited calls. However this morning I decided to answer. This unprofessional sounding young Black female, who smacks when she talks, started to harass me on the phone about how I haven't been making payments. I told her my financial situation, my troubles paying bills, etc. She told me to 'get over it' and 'you deserve our phone calls because you owe us money'.

Normally I am professional, polite and courteous on the phone dealing with people I hate, but I snapped. I verbally assaulted the poor girl on the phone and demanded she give me her name, her supervisor's name, and her extension. She refused, but what she doesn't realize is I can dig up all these numbers off of my VoIP provider's website. I can pull up each phone call I have ever received from 614-792-4590 and 614-791-4590, which are from OSI Collections.

I recommend to anyone to record the phone calls (of course, abiding by state laws) of their conversations with OSI employees because I believe eventually they'll forget about the Fair Debt Collection Act (I think that's the name) and the rules they'll abide by. Ms. Lamp told me that they do not keep voicemails on file or keep them for later on, so knowing that, it would be in your best interest to record phone calls.

I have seen recent lawsuits such as Miller v. OSI Collection Services Inc. et al which was filed May 14th 2007 in Alaska and Zwillinger v. OSI Collection Services, Inc. which was filed September 20th, 2007 in Arizona. If anyone has PACER or court record access, could they look up these cases and see if the plaintiffs actually won their case against OSI?

Everyone who has been harassed by OSI just need to come together to confront this evil company as a huge group, rather than a few individuals.

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


Submitted by on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 15:00

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Student loan debt. I don't have an account here so I'll keep posting as Himmler+random number. I've posted a few pages back.

I totally expect the next communication next month to be a garnishment notice also, however I told her simply that I would quit my job and go to an all cash job, which would be useless for her but a benefit for me. The job I work at has good benefits, but low pay. All cash jobs around here are 0 benefits and better pay. I would have about $400 more in my pocket a month if I did so.

Just my plan is to catch them violating the FDCA like I mentioned earlier since many of their employees are abusive. Like I previously mentioned, I see 2 lawsuits against OSI in Alaska and Arizona. I talked to a friend who works at a legal office and I'm willing to repost what is going on with that case. PACER research costs $0.08/page to view.

I hope if the cases are won by the plaintiffs bringing the suit against OSI, the PACER info would expose how these plaintiffs won their cases against this evil collections agency.

My idea about recording conversations wouldn't be admissible in court according to my legal friend unless the other party agrees to me recording. However I think if I get her in the routine of talking for about 30 minutes or so on a routine basis, I might get her to slip up that shes being recorded.

We're human. We make mistakes. Hopefully she'll mistake in my favor.


Submitted by on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 21:12

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So you are simply going to go underground?? Smart move. This debt will haunt you for the rest of your life as there is no SOL. Interest will continue to accrue. Someday you will want something like a house, or FEMA or an SBA loan and this will be there to haunt you. They will even garnish your social security check. Also telling a collector that you will quit a take a cash job is not a good idea. They will document that for the DOE. DOE could end up informing the IRS. It happens.

A better move would be to apply to the Direct Loan program for a consolidation loan. Because you are in default, you will automatically be assinged to the income contingent repayment plan with a payment plan that is affordable. Link to the DL program is in the sticky section.

Catching them breaking fdcpa might net you $1000.


Submitted by SOAPLADY on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 22:01

SOAPLADY

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OSI has been calling my cell phone about my husband's debt, which he had before we got married. I don't know where they got my cell number, but today they called my Mom's house leaving messages threating my husband and left there number and ext. I called the number to ask them not to use my Mom's number for a contact and to give them our house and his cell number. Instead of speaking to a professional, like I thought I would be..the woman told me; " Don't call here to dictate my business, don't you be antagonizing me. You don't tell me what number I can contact and what I can't!" I heard two other women laughing the entire time. I tried to explain that I was only trying to give her a number for contacting him so that he could resolve this issue. Then she started yelling at me, threating to hang up, and then started screaming, "what is the number then, what, what?" When I tried to tell her, she accused me of yelling at her then said she was going to hang up again. When I finally got the number to her, she hung up and started calling it immediately. I'd hate to hear what she's left on Mom's machine now! You would think that if they need their money that they would want a contact number...I guess that's not so with little "ms. Thompson"


Submitted by on Wed, 12/05/2007 - 16:29

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you dont know what the cercumstances may be with each debt you are trying to collect. i paid a bill from a hospital visit to OSI collection agency in 2004 and now out of the clear blue sky 4 years later i get a call from PORTFOLIO INC. trying to collect on the same bill!! so you should realize not all people you haras are dead beats. The shady practices collection agencies use are morally alot worse than being late paying a bill.


Submitted by on Tue, 12/18/2007 - 09:55

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OSI just sent me a bill that I was previously making payments on to the original creditor, which is the government. I make monthly payments and they take my tax returns which are never very much. Anyway On my last statement I owed a little under $2k and on this OSI statement I now owe over $4k for interests and penalties. Can the do that I mean I can't take this anymore, I have a family to feed and they are trying to bleed me dry.


Submitted by on Thu, 01/17/2008 - 17:53

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Quote:

OSI just sent me a bill that I was previously making payments on to the original creditor, which is the government. I make monthly payments and they take my tax returns which are never very much. Anyway On my last statement I owed a little under $2k and on this OSI statement I now owe over $4k for interests and penalties. Can the do that I mean I can't take this anymore, I have a family to feed and they are trying to bleed me dry.


Sounds like student loans. OSI's computers do not do any of the interest calculations...that is done by the guarantor. The guarantor occasionaly will update OSI's system with interest. It is also possible that your collection fees were not previously applied....they are approximately 18-25% depending on the guarantor. Depending on your actual balance, your monthly payment may not be covering your interest and your balance could be going up each month instead of down.


Submitted by SOAPLADY on Thu, 01/17/2008 - 18:15

SOAPLADY

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Hats off to any and every one who makes an attempt to deal with collection agencies. Im old school - you get what you give; conduct yourself professionally when speaking/writing to me; you'll get the same in return.
Try some of the under handed tactics that are mentioned above, ignore my 'stop call' letter and here's what you get: a nifty little number I like to call 'You're my number 1' This requires my index finger, left or right, to press & hold down the number 1 key on my tele. It works wonders.

Remember - your phone; home or work or cell; is for YOUR use not for the collection people to use to ABUSE you. Hang Up !!!


Submitted by hvn_sent on Thu, 01/17/2008 - 19:10

hvn_sent

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Quote:

Sounds like student loans. OSI's computers do not do any of the interest calculations...that is done by the guarantor. The guarantor occasionaly will update OSI's system with interest. It is also possible that your collection fees were not previously applied....they are approximately 18-25% depending on the guarantor. Depending on your actual balance, your monthly payment may not be covering your interest and your balance could be going up each month instead of down.


Its not student loans, its money that the government decided I owe them from when I was in the Army. I tried to call them to get more info but I kept getting passed around from phone to phone because no one would talk to me. When I ask what the debt is actually for the original creditor says, "It doesn't matter, we are the government and we say you owe us money so you do. If you don't pay we will garnish your wages."


Submitted by on Fri, 01/18/2008 - 04:16

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DOD has a CONTRACT with OSI. Like student loans and most other contingency collections, the CA get paid no matter where you send money. Most OSI contracts contain dates meaning that from this date to that date, the CA has authority on the account and cannot be pulled back just because a debtor doesnt want to work with the CA.

On the collection fees...DOD like student loans, charge the collection fees, not the CA. The DOD might be charging 50% in collection costs but the CA only gets a portion of that...the rest goes to the DOD as administrative costs for their collection department so they dont have to report a loss.


Submitted by SOAPLADY on Sat, 01/19/2008 - 06:41

SOAPLADY

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I have dealt with OSI in the past. I couldnt STAND them! I had my account purchased by Portfolio Recovery....they are awesome. There is even an online access where you can adjust the payment if neccessary. You should try them if you ever need something like that again.


Submitted by on Fri, 03/21/2008 - 07:20

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I have the 'pleasure' of dealing with OSI since around July. I had owe my State (Maryland) some back money which I receive that apparently didn't deservie so they wanted me to pay it back, long story made short in 2006 about a year later it went into collection with the state's collection agency (CCU) which captured (took) my 2006 and 2007 State Refunds to pay towards this debit (was around $900 as of 2006) plus they hired OSI to also try to collet at which time I started to make $50/month payments. From the very beginning they claimed they have no record of the state capturing my refund (then only the 2006 one) but they seemed to belive me anyway. In Dec (07) I got a call from OSI to setup for what I had hope was my last payments on this Debt. I set up for Dec, Jan, and Feb with the assumption that if I did not have enough from my state refund for 2007 I would make up the difference. Dec and Jan was made after which time I got my W2's and did my taxes in Late Jan. I shortly afterwards got the letter from the State saying again my refund was captured but I was going to get $23 from it, as I found out later in another letter OSI told the state I was paid with my debt which is why I was recieving the $23 refund to me. I misplaced the letter, I sent an E-mail (which they allow) to CCU (the State) asking for another copy of that letter. About 5 days ago I got a letter from OSI which I had expected said a similar thing that I was paid off on my Debt but instead it was a letter telling me I still owed $550+ still and they will be expecting a payment within the next 10 days. Like what in the world they told the state I am paid off and they are asking me for more money? Its bad enough from the amount they said I still owed , which seems like they still haven't counted any of the refund captures, but if you do subtract those I actually didn't need to pay for Feb at all I was paid off in Jan after the refund was captured. I told the state this in the email I wrote asking for another copy of the letter they sent me.


Submitted by allogagan on Fri, 03/21/2008 - 15:38

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I would suggest requesting validation of this debt, at least a breakdown of the amount owed, I would also suggest you contact your state tax department to and see what they say. Sounds like the CA who is collection for a CA is not on the same page as their contractor.


Submitted by JCEMT on Fri, 03/21/2008 - 16:10

JCEMT

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what the hell?

these people say i owe indiana state taxes from 2004. here it is 2008.
but the kicker is i never been to indiana and yet they have my personal info, so that makes it ok for them to say i owe money, i think not. they can ********** (OBSCENE LANGUAGE DELETED - PLEASE KEEP IT CLEAN. - MOD.)


Submitted by on Fri, 03/28/2008 - 08:12

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I really take offense at your analysis of "debt skippers" as you call them (Hmmm is that not name calling???) Most of us DO pay their bills. However, ANYONE at ANYTIME can have something occur to throw you off balance and hamper your ability to pay your bills-EVEN YOU are not immune to that.

But did you ever stop to think that YOUR CLIENTS cause a lot of these problems? Raising interest rates from 10% to 30% without explaination or just cause? That's because they're greedy. And their greed only grows with the collapse of our economy. It's companies like yours and your clients that are causing this downward spiral - making it almost impossible for normal human beings to catch up and keep up with their payments.

I don't care what you think of me either. If push comes to shove, what do you think I will pay first? My mortgage and electric and put food on the table? Or your clients over inflated credit cards?


Submitted by on Thu, 04/10/2008 - 11:47

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i have a collection account that i noticed when i ordered a credit report from july of 2005 from osi. i don't know what it is from it is only for 175.00. i emailed their customer service line and have had no responses. how else do i go about aquiring the info. i need to resolve this debt. :?:


Submitted by on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 19:19

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You could send them a debt validation letter (you can find a good template via my signature link, be sure to send the enclosure with it) send it certified mail, return receipt requested. That should give you all the information you need on the account in question.


Submitted by JCEMT on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 19:29

JCEMT

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thank you very much for the info.


Submitted by on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 19:44

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My daughter has to pay off fines from tickets that she had incurred years ago. She did not know that she had to go through this company to set up a payment plan. I took her to the Clerk of Courts office to set up a deferred payment plan in order to get back on track and pay off her tickets. She then found out that all of these were sent to OSI, and that she would have to call them to set up a payment plan. Well, she attempted to set up a plan with them. It was explained to them that she does not make very much money, and is supporting her 2 children all on her own, and barely making 250.00 a week, and is not on any government assistance. Her rent alone takes up a big chunk of her money. They would not set up a hardship plan with her, as she would have to agree to payment of 45.00 a month and give them checks in advance from a banking account for them to deposit each week. She said that she could pay 25.00 a week, but she does not have a bank account. So they said that they could not set a plan with her, and if she sent money , but of course that they would accept it, but they could not set up a plan and have it faxed showing that it has been set up for her to show the judge her efforts of trying to pay off these debts, and that she is trying with what money that she can spare to do this. I am just so upset that those people who do attempt to try to pay off their debts, as best they can are punished for those who blow off any attempt to set up a plan. This company never contacted my daughter, so she made the first contact to them to set this up. She can not get her license back until this debt is paid. So she will be only benefiting herself by paying off this company for 1043.00 .


Submitted by on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 16:33

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I got harassed by OSI for a bill I did not owe. The hospital did not bill for 6 months, the insurance co told them that was too late to bill. Then the hospital said the insurance co paid me. We kept up constant dialog with the billing company for the hospital but they turned it over to osi. The billing co finally sent the insurance co a proper bill and the insurance co agreed to consider the late billing and paid it. I work for the hospital and am garanteed these benifits 90% insurance coverage and a 30% employee discount on top of that. There is no way I would owe. Yet even though the insurance co finally pain the still put a negative entryr on my credit score.


Submitted by on Tue, 08/19/2008 - 11:31

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So OSI has had a collection against me since I was in college for a medical bill that never should have been my responsibility, the hospital "forgot" to bill my insurance, and when my insurance then wouldn't pay them three months after the visit they went after me (smells a little ILLEGAL!). I have never paid a dime to them, because I am 24 and holding out for the Statute of Limitations (I have till 2012). But I am shocked the federal government has not shut them down. They continued to harass me until I threatened them with the name of my lawyer (who is my best friends dad, and very well known among them...) and several times i received threatening calls for other people's debts. I am definitely not Melinda Jiminez (nor do I know one), and no I don't owe money on a car...I don't even know how to drive! (Its a good thing this is not on my credit report, but you never know they may decide to blame it on me).

I can't wait for the calls to resume about Melinda, or samantha, or whomever else...I must have had an amazing love life I never knew about!


Submitted by on Sat, 01/10/2009 - 10:32

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