Companies threatening to sue us - Riscuity, Inc

You know Vikas, this makes me think. In the Creditors and Collectors Data Base, could we possibly provide an area where consumers could contact people such as Mr. Cervelli in a professional and dignified manner when they just can't get anywhere with the front line people? Would Mr. Cervelli like to volunteer to have his direct office number or email posted in that section?

Afterthought:

the one thing I will agree with Mr. Cervelli on is that the posting of employees or company officials private phone numbers, addresses, etc is in appropriate. While I feel this forum should continue to be open, we should consider adding private identifiable information to the list of things that can't be posted. We don't allow non governmental web addresses to be posted without prior authorization, or email addresses, why should private phone numbers and residential addresses be any different?

Clay, great idea...
As I read the email a second time, I can't help but chuckle.. what are "slenderness" comments. Okay so I know what he meant to say.. but it strikes me that most COO's especialli those with firms who are sophisticated enough to have corporate counsel.. would spell correctly in a letter of such magnitude... Next question... have these emails been reviewed by the site's sponsor's counsel? I wouild be interested in kowing their opinion.

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From Riscuity's Web Site:
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I have not read the thread. If its true that personal information was posted then its up to the modd to remove it.

We do not like to be harrased and thus should not cross the line and harass someone else either.

I had to laugh at Bob's letter about revealing personal information about the CEO...he revealed in his letter that the CEO's wife is pregnant...was that information necessary to accomplish his goal...no, he just gave out personal info about the CEO too!

I also think that the forum is not responsible for the ex-employees of the company, and maybe Riscuity should have them sign some kind of privacy notice when they get hired, then they have legal grounds to go after ex-employees who reveal secret company info...otherwise, that is a risk the company takes. They are probably not the only company that has problems with ex-employees bad-mouthing them, that is a normal thing really...especially if you treat your employees badly. Who knows how Riscuity treats their employees, but these people are not the responsibility of the forum.

It seems to me that if a company is operating in a legal way, then they wouldn't need to send such a letter to defend themselves. We have a right to learn about such companies in an open forum like this. For years, I was in the dark and gave in to threats over various companies. I have not dealth with this company in particular but it's nice to know these things if I every do have to deal with them. We come here to share our knowledge and learn. There must be a reason the ex-employees are coming here to tell their stories. I see ex-employees of Sonic and Cash Today who have also shared their experiences with us. It has been helpful to me when I have dealt with Sonic and they have broken several laws in my case. I agree that this needs to be an open forum.

The letter I am talking about is to not release personal or proprietory information...I worked for General Motors, and we signed something like that. It does not mean you cannot give out their name and address, and comment on their company...it just means you cannot disclose info that is not already made public, etc..or personal info about employees. We were already allowed to give out their name, address, president and CEO names, etc..that is not considered proprietory info, so that would also be ok to put on this forum. Anyone should be able to state their opinion about the company, and their experiences.

The conversation with Riscuity is still going on. This is the letter we sent to them in response to their first correspondence-

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We have received two more mails from them after sending this reply.

Mail received on Feb 13, 2006

[quote=Riscuity]Hi Vikas,

Thank you for your response. What we have found is then when we go on the board to rebut some of these statements, it just fires up more untrue comments and rumors from ex-employees. So we have tried that approach. Secondly, broadcasting where we live or our personal home addresses is our major concern and would like all that removed.

I am a single parent with a teenage daughter at home. Because of the hours I keep she is home by herself. Having where I live deluged on the internet is not safe for my family or me. Edward Chen has a pregnant wife who is home on her own most of the day. Again not smart to have his telephone number and address broadcast on internet.

If you can not remove the entire thread, I am asking that you remove the rumors of the COO being fired, The personal attacks on the management of this company by Ex-employees. The personal information divulged on the website. You can leave everything else. Again, businessman to businessman, I am making this request. Please do not force us to move towards a court order by taking the legal route. It does you and I no good to spend unnecessary money doing this.

Just remove all comments and posts from ex-employees. These posts have nothing to do with anything other than to voice their grievances with Riscuity and vendetta for why they were fired in the first place. These are the bad apples that we removed from our organization in the first place.

Bob Cervelli[/quote]


Mail received on Feb 21, 2006

[quote=Riscuity]Vikas,

I am making one final request to remove the slenderness comments and bashing from ex-employees on your website about Riscuity. This has now become a free-for-all.

We are in the process of lining this company up for major venture funding and possible sale. Not to mention that again, these people are not posting in accordance to YOUR OWN RULES of Terms of use.

With that said, I await your reply. Failure to help remedy this matter will force us to proceed with legal action. This is what I have been trying to avoid with these emails.

We feel this matter is falling on deaf ears as I get no response from anyone associated from your website.

Our corporate counsel is carbon copied on this email for record purposes.

Bob Cervelli[/quote]

Hmmm, again I would say.. let them sue, as litigation opens them up to scrutiny in open court. However, I do agree that any member who violates the terms of service should be sanction.. interestingly though in his letter he himself divulges personal information.. and he still cannot spell slanderous.

If they're on the up and up and don't have anything to hide and are doing everything by the books, then what are they worried about???I think they're afraid of drawing too much attention to what they're doing, and since its apparently not good, from what I've read---they're worried. Last I checked, this was a free country and we have freedom of speech. What are they going to do, put a gag order on all of their clients and tell them they can't talk about them to anyone? get real! JMO shirley

Vikas,

Well Crafted Answer

I did email the letter I posted on the first page of this thread to Mr. Cervelli today (with a few minor grammatical corrections). If I receive a reply from Mr. Cervelli, I will paste it to this forum.

I missed one email.

mail sent on February 21, 2006
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Bob replied on February 21, 2006
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Vikas replied on 23 feb 2006
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Bob replied on 24 feb 2006
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Another mail from Bob on 24 feb 2006
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Vikas replied on 24 feb 2006

[quote]Hi Bob,

We survive as a community and our TOS clearly says that we will have to make the conversations public. If you are asking Vikas then you are asking the community representative. And as a community representative I can not take a decision without the community approval. We have reviewed the posts and none of our members feel that there is something to remove.

I will again talk with the community members with the doc that you have sent. We are here to help everyone. We request your co-operation for the Truth and we do not want to harm anyone good. I request you to directly interact with the community if possible.

Do let me know if you have more queries.

Thanks,
Vikas
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Vikas,

After reviewing the posts I would say that I entirely support your positon except for the couple of posts that appear to give out home address and possibly home phone numbers.. From those posts I would delete said information. Secondly, I would post in the TOS and in the Riscuity thread a cautionary statement that woudl have 2 goals 1) lets keep the trash talking/flaming out of the thread and 2) ask people not to divulge personal info irrelevant to the topic at hand.

I am curious as to what the site's consel has to say. I would think that they have really no legal leg to stand on as it is very tough to prevent ex-employees from talking even with a confidentiality agreement, let alone trying to regulate who they talk to..

thanks for reading my input

Hi JJ,

This site removes all those information if they appear personal. You might have noticed Vikas or Mike attaching a note at the end of the posts in red color.

In the posts regarding Riscuity, their ex - employees have given company information, they were not shown as personal information. If you review the posts once again, the phone numbers have been removed.

All I can say that this forum was doing nothing illegal or against the policies. The company (Riscuity) sent the mails in business terms, not in personal terms. So, business mails can be placed in the business sites. It was nothing wrong anywhere. JMO

Regards
Roxette

I would agree on the later. Regrading the former , I thought I read one with an address divulged, but I do believe it was an incomplete address anyway. so not really much harm anyway

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Yes perhaps he realized that we are an informed and sophisticated community that is not afraid of threats to litigate and instead he hopefully chosen to pursue those ex/current employees who are causing the problems...

Thanks Stanley. I will endeavor to do my best, Hopefully they will go somewhere else.

whoops, I am sorry Thanks david. Thats what i get for skimming it fast

I find Mr Cervelli missing the point, this site on Riscuity started because of misconduct of HIS employees, it seems the information over the last months are his current employees, his statement the company cleaned problem employees 1.5 yr ago is a slander to the old managment team led by one of the best, respected CEO's in the collection world,a man that employed him as a matter of fact, gave him a start(oh and he still is a top CEO) those removed had nothing to do with collections, or the type of things listed on these sites, it had to do with the direction of Riscuity, the vision of the then CEO and his team and the board. there was no dog eat dog dirt such as in these sites. He should not speak ill of the past manangemnt team as he came on board almost 6 month later. He is repeating hear say, not fact. also Please check the web site of Riscuity, Mr Chens information as well as most of his management team is posted. No one should be putting slander on sites. I would be glad to help those in need. I will visit often and if I can answer questions that relate to collection tactics, or ways to resolve debt I will give input, I hope all others out there will do the same.
There is no reason to defend a good company, you are what you do. Huuuu rrrrr aaahhhhh

Any one being contacted by a collection agency has rights, always make sure you put them in writing, send certf mail, (someone signing is a big plus). Tell the agency you dispute the debt and demand proof, also request no contact by phone to any or all family, jobs neighbors, home, cells, at any time, request all information be done by mail, no calls. Until the proof of debt is mailed to you they can not by law do a thing. But once you do get the proof make sure you start paying on it or pay it. sent in a reasonable payment, (money order, never you cking) and continue until the bill is paid. This deed should stop them, of course they will send you a notice saying its not enought but continue to mail it each and every month on time, do not give them the right to take action against you.
Also notify your Credit reporting agency, you can make a statement such as I was not aware this bill was not paid, now that I know it is due I am paying each and every month.

Guest, Thank you for an intelligent post. Please consider joining and becoming an active member of our community.

I myself was in this field 26 years, I worked with the best and I can tell others there are ways to avoid these type of issues with debts. First if you do owe a bill don't hang up or scream at the collector, all that does is start the ball rolling in the wrong direction. ask for an address and write you letter, always request copies of checks or other agreements and make sure you do owe it. then either pay it in full or pay a reasonable amount each month, you don't have to deal with the collector, write an agreement on paper, mail it with a money order and make sure you do so each and every month till paid. No court is going to process you if you are paying a reasonable payment each month on time, Don't misunderstand, sending a 1.00 will not do it. if you owe large amounts then I suggest you get help, CCC or someone that can deal with them for you. Collectors have budgets, they also are paid commisions so they are going to TRY to get the most they can. Also ask for a settlement, offer them a lesser amount 50-60% of the bill and be prepared to pay it they okay it, BUT get it in writing frist, do not pay a sif until you have a signed letter showing agreed amount. Like I said start the conversation off on your end pleasant. Keep it buinsess, when you slam the phone or curse and believe me it happens you only bring hardship on yourself in resolving the bill. No one can just garnish you, they have to go to court and if you are in a state that does no permit garnishment really you have no worry. but how you act will generate the reaction of the collector.

Your points are well said... and i agree whole heartedly that you get more flies with honey than vinegar.. as my grandma used to say...

Guest, some of the big problems people encounter is dealing with aggressive collectors who break the law, fail to properly post payments, add fees.interest not permitted by contract...While it is easy to deal with such issues legally, for some hiring an attorney is not an option, what suggestions might you have on how to best approach these.

and again thank you for your input

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First no one has to sit and be violated, most collectors are going to be agressive, to survive in this business you must be forward. I can only say if you can just get the address out of the collector that is step one. as for needing an atty, no,, the fdcpa is public law, you can process complaints if needed thru many goverment agencies, I will try and obtain those address for you. If you do a cease communication until the proof is rec then you are a step ahead. if they violate that call your congressmen,complain complain complain, no business likes to answer complaints, believe me one of the worst complaints I had to deal with as management was congressional complaints. the law in each state is diff, if you live in FL, Tx, PA for example you can not garnish unless it is child support or federal debt, what you need to do is get a list of the states that permit garnishment and those that don't, and remember we are talking wages, of the person on the bill, joint watch both incomes or single, then make sure the person does not give them a checking account number, change you banking information so you are not the main person on the account (ss number) you can protect youself. not beat paying a bill but protect yourself from attachment. be smart. always do everything in writing, sent your request to the CEO, the board memebers. send you complaints to them if dealing with the agency people does not work. If it is 3rd party paper, call the creditor that ownes the paper, and ask to deal with them, if it is purchased paper you are stuck dealing with the agency. You can always sign for someone else to deal with them for you, it does no have to be an atty, you can write and tell them JJ of --- is handling all my past due bills, please contact him or her at ---.
also check for the SOL, that also diff in each state, if the SOL is out, that means the time they can file legal action has expired, all they can do now is report it to the credit, and that also has SOL, the time frame to report is 7 yrs from the last action or payment date. so if you are past 7 yrs they can't report it either. So check you laws in your state. Most of all if you try to pay, they will talk the talk but really they will not process it further, so long as you pay each month.

Federal Trades Commision
Complaint Division
Washington, DC 20580

this is an address any problems dealing with all the things you are saying this company does in violation of the fdcpa. Even it you are unsure what was said is legal file a complaint, or question if what was said or done was within the law. This address will respond and with the correct laws via your state. They also keep records of complaints, when they have more than one with the same area of complaint they take it very serious, they will demand a response from the collection agency. Also write the BBB in your area, they also will do the same and demand a response. As hard as collectors are on you, reverse the table, get names, get the address and write down what was said and then find out if its valid, if not after a while any company will end up being investigated, it also can damange their right to collect in a state, write the complaint board for C of A's or licences for the state you live in

Guest,

Good to see you here in this forum. The problem is most of the consumers are not aware of their rights and that is where collection agencies catch them.

This is an open forum and anyone who wants to participate can post their comments here. Collectors and creditors have used this platform several times. Surprisingly most of the collection reps believe that it is not mandatory for them sending debt validation letters to consumers. I wonder how they are doing business.

JJ, you have said it right. Our knowledge is our power and unity is our weapon.

fdcpa says you must send notification within 5 days of the contact to pay with notice of 1 who you are
2 who you ower
3 what amount you owe
they must also give the mini miranda,MM if 3rd party
they also must remove the debt from the cbr if you dispute it within the first 30 days, and keep it off until resolution. if after 30 days they must report it as a dispute to the cbr, until resolution or proof of debt sent to them. Key little things a good agency will do without a debtor asking.
its the same if you call someone you must ID who you are, why you are calling, who who represent and who they owe, and the amt. that must be done in the first few min of the conversation. A good agency will have no problem with this site, a run of the mill office will. I am an operations manager for 4 small offices in the south. we pride ourself in keeping withing the law, we are successful, our agents have the normal spats but all in all we run a clean healthy shop. My collectors have 7-8 yrs with me and no intent to leave. I checked and found NOTHING on my offices in any complaint site. but we do have our few debtors that no matter what we say or do the bottom to them is we are a collection agency so we are dirt in their eyes. you take the good with the bad

Question about that mini-miranda..I have been reading that in a lot of posts, yet I have NEVER had a collector EVER read that to me. I have gotten lots of collection calls, and they usually state their own name, sometimes the company name, and then start their spew about me giving them a check by phone, etc. So, can they really get in trouble for not saying the little mini-miranda? If so, I have lots of cases.

IF....the debt is 3rd party, meaning the person calling does not own the debt they must on the frist conversation,(in some states all conversations)give you the MM, "This is an attempt by a debt collector,to collect a debt all information obtain will be used for that purpuse" check you state, like I said if it is 3rd party but owners of the paper do not have to. Just like any letter you get must have the note at the bottom or in the letter that states the communication is from a debt collector, this is an attempt to collect a debt. In many states there are disclaimers that must be put on the back of the letter. In Calf a debtor MUST be notified in writing saying the debt is going to be put on their credit. what you need in this site is for the person to ID the state they are living in, then go on line and get the laws of that state. fdcpa is every-state, but if the state they live in has more strick laws then state will oversee Federal, it just can not be less then Federal law. federal laws + the stricker State apply

From what I read no one gave anyones street address only the city, and the only phone number was Mr Chens, Mr chen was listed in the phone book,no unlisted phone numbers, the company web pages also give most or more information about each of them, more info then the site does. To openly tell you he is a single father and his daughter is home alone, WHY would you ever tell someone on a public board such as this that you leave your daughter home alone, or that Mr Chen's wife is home alone, Am I in space or what. I find he has fully ignored the facts you ask, his company and how they handle calls, the way the company is running checks and harrassing people, plus most of the back and forth seems to be people on his current staff, if you read things, it has to be a current employee, plus how many has he fired, why not vent his letters to ways he or the company can help improve their image, help with information how to clear the debts, not demand peoples feeling be removed, we do have freedom of speach. Give help to those finding it hard to deal with his employees.

Just looked at the notes, I do not see Riscuity responding anymore. Do I conclude they are not working with people, cleaning up their act. I don't have a bill with them but I read other sites that people are having very harsh problems dealing with them

Just a note to let all you know Riscuity has made changes, the staff is now fully managed by a different person, a man who believes in respect, fair treatment and things are looking up, "no one has been fired", but RIscuity noted the need for change, let us all hope this change will be positive to all and give more satifaction to those trying to clear their names and debts. I know the re-depositing will go on, as per contracts but the changes in management positions should show in the way people are treated when they call. I hope this shows Riscuity does care, sometimes we go down paths and have to go backwards and take other paths before we get to the place we need to be, if one can not get satifation with the collector ask for Mr Ragsdale, he is a man that cares and will see your concerns are viewed fairly.

I'm hoping to get some direction in dealing with something odd that happened. I had an ACH debit/withdrawl made directly from my checking account and the only thing the bank could provide was the following: Riscuity-CkNCash;DES=8006704924;ID=14164823 EFF DATE: 051205;INDN. Problem is, I still have an ex on my account whom I cannot get ahold of. I tried to call numbers for Riscuity that I got from this site but they provided little information. I do not know what this debit was for, where it originated from, who had the information to make the debit from my account-nothing. The person I did speak with at Riscuity could only tell me it "looked" like a check cashing place, then he took my number but never called me back. Since that day I have not been able to reach anyone else who can help me. Please give me suggestions of what I can do, I have never been notified that I owed this money to anyone. Thanks.

770-919-2700 and hit 0 that is the main number to Riscuity in GA, Ask for Mr Ragsdale, she should be able to assist you. I hope you disputed this at your bank and they reversed the charges. I know for fact Riscuity is NOT sending letters letting people know they are going to debit their accounts. If they did they would loose big money and this is the end of a business quarter so they have to deposit and re-deposit these cks to meet the company goals, jsut dispute it ,and don't let the get away with it..IF you owe it then deal with it. but no one should just zap your account wiht no notice. one wrong does not make another right

As a veteran Riscuity victim, I can sympathesize with other unfortunate souls who have had the misfortune of having their phone number listed in Riscuity's Manila call center.
These people will continuously violate federal & state statutes. There is no limit to the harassment and illegal scare tactics. Please note the following:

Messages left on phone machine from "Detective &^%$#"
threatening arrest and imprisonment.
That one was particularly aggravating as my kids heard the message. (Tape in the mail to AG's office).

Constant phone calls at work threatening garnishment.
(Signed affidavit from employer in mail to AG)

Unlawful credit reporting.
(Copy in mail to AG)

Calls to relatives threatening arrest.
(Affidavit in mail to AG) This is another major one as my Mom is 80 years old and was very upset.

Actually this list is endless. The point is despite what I read about this company, they have no scruples
or legal basis for these kind of activities. Any claim contrary is just another lie.

I'll keep you all posted on the upcoming lawsuit to be filed after the AG's office is through with them.

DO NOT GIVE IN TO THEIR ILLEGAL SCARE TACTICS. AND BUY A PHONE RECORDER AT RADIO SHACK!

I am amazed at a company that can be so negative and then ask for nothing but good from previous clients that got nothing but bad service??!!

After calls, unreal nasty people I hired an atty, only because the person who owed was not me, someone with the same name in the same area owed a bill, I was thinking it was the Manila office then I found after we wrote to the Philippine Goverment, and the US compaints division, the BBB, every office we could find, it was found the office does NOT call on bad checks,that is all done in the US offices, Manila office is an inbound call center, serviced I think BellSouth bills, and other inbound calls, detective Santos and Atty Kelly both worked in the Kennasaw GA office, (oh both are AKA's both frauds). I settled for a small amount of funds due to the fact they almost got me fired, my HR lady (a friend recorded a Mr White and a women)as well as the Santos and Kelly fraud they all got called out on it. The ss number was wrong, they still continued to harrass the HR people because they wanted my SS number. Bottom was it pays to record, it also pays either way to hire an atty when possible to stop these people. I wish I could say more but under the terms of our agreement I am bound to keep my information closed