topic Re: I AM FREAKING OUT! in Rebuilding Your Credit

I AM FREAKING OUT!

FairCredBen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:24:32 GMT

Back to the grind, i received this email just a little bit ago.....(Pay close attention to the email....)

On Wed, Mar 14, 2012 at 9:42 AM, ACS Incorporation <incorpacs.collection@gmail.com> wrote:

This is in reference to your Account number ***-** with ACS in order to notify you that after making several calls to you on your phone number, we were not able to get hold of you. So the legal department of ACS has decided to mark this case as a flat refusal and press charges against you.

Your account with ACS is in Final Collections. According to our records, your outstanding balance is $1050.78.

Do revert back if you want to get rid of these legal consequences and make a payment arrangement within the next 48 hours or else the case will be downloaded against you.

As we have shared with you in previous letters, read your loan agreement; the next step is clearly defined. It could cost us both a great deal of time and money; you can avoid this by taking care of this now.

The opportunity to take care of this voluntary is quickly coming to an end. We would hate for you to lose the option of resolving this before it goes to the next step which is a Lawsuit against you, but to do so you must take immediate action.

It is quick and easy:
Grab your debit card and call us or e-mail us right now in order to make a payment and freeze down this case.

Contact us on 1-954-603-7700

If you do not take immediate action:

We will be forced to download this case against you and once it is downloaded the creditor has entire rights to inform your employer and your references regarding this issue and the law suit will be the next step which will be amounting to $4789.87 and will be totally levied upon you and that would be excluding your attorney charges and the due amount pending on your name $1050.78.

Thanks for being our customer,
ACS Legal Department
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Confidentiality Statement & Notice: This email is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521 and intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed. Any review, retransmission, dissemination to unauthorized persons or other use of the original message and any attachments is strictly prohibited. If you received this electronic transmission in error, please reply to the above-referenced sender about the error and permanently delete this message. Thank you for your cooperation.

I called this company they asked for the account number and my email.....

They pulled up this account and they read me off my old bank account as well as my SSN!!!!

(i have had my bank info stolen like 6 times....)

Every loan that i have gotten, i have paid for.....

i am freaking out right now.... please help....

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

Comet21 — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:38:20 GMT

Usually ACS processes Student Loans. Did they mention what kind of loan this was? I don't know what state you are located in, but in Texas there are only a few entities that can do wage garnishment and student loans is one with IRS & Child Support being the others. I would be trying to get as much information as possible and if that does not work then you need to try to obtain a good attorney.

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

FairCredBen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:42:00 GMT

They refused to tell me what this loan was for, and i only had 2 loans... one through UofP which is paid off, and one through Sallie Mae which i still pay and is up to date.

There are alot of emails out there that are almost virbatem as mine..... I live in minnesota.....

I try calling now and it instantly says that this person you are trying to reach is unavailable....

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

RW771 — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:45:01 GMT

Comet21 wrote:
Usually ACS processes Student Loans. Did they mention what kind of loan this was? I don't know what state you are located in, but in Texas there are only a few entities that can do wage garnishment and student loans is one with IRS & Child Support being the others. I would be trying to get as much information as possible and if that does not work then you need to try to obtain a good attorney.

+1.

Plus I think in the FDCPA somewhere I 'think' it states somewhere about how they legally cannot contact your employer about the debt. Please don't quote me on this, Robert or one of the other more knowledgeable members might know a little more about that.

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

RW771 — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:46:46 GMT

BadCredBen wrote:
They refused to tell me what this loan was for, and i only had 2 loans... one through UofP which is paid off, and one through Sallie Mae which i still pay and is up to date.

There are alot of emails out there that are almost virbatem as mine..... I live in minnesota.....

I try calling now and it instantly says that this person you are trying to reach is unavailable....

This also makes me wonder if it's some kind of scam. Maybe call your state attorney general's office and speak to comeone in the cosumer protection dept about this and see what they say?

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

GregB — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:48:22 GMT

Based upon the grammer and method of this communication, I think it is a scam.

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

FairCredBen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:52:15 GMT

I mean what should i do? just ignore it?!?! They have my SSN and know where i work!

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

Adalen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:58:33 GMT

I'd probably contact the actual company, if you can, and ask them about its legitimacy. It sounds like a scam and the fact that it is from a gmail address is questionable. Any agency that can garnish your wages should not be using gmail to correspond with you. (Or email in general, I would think?)

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

Datx — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:00:17 GMT

GregB wrote:
Based upon the grammer and method of this communication, I think it is a scam.

Agreed. And most scam emails are coming from gmail accounts from what I noticed. If it was me, I would ignore it. If they mail a letter to you or call you, then try and record the call and get a lawyer involved.

Google their phone number: Linky

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

RW771 — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:59:42 GMT

BadCredBen wrote:
I mean what should i do? just ignore it?!?! They have my SSN and know where i work!

I would still contact my state attorney general's office and ask their advice. Maybe they can verify if this is a legit company or not. Has this account showed up on your CR? Did you dispute it then?

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

FairCredBen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:01:46 GMT

I called them and finally got in again -

Adcanced Cash Services -

They have my old address -

They have my SSN -

They say that this was a payday loan for the amount of 300$

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

Datx — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:03:32 GMT

So it went from 1050.78 in their email, now to $300 when you called? The scammers seems kinda desperate to me. Did you ever have a payday loan in the past?

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

FairCredBen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:04:56 GMT

I had a payday loan for 50$ with a small town Oklahoma deal, that I paid back to them the next day when I got paid (needed gas)

I know their number is on a lot of scam sites.... Also I have found a lot of emails that are almost verbatim

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

FairCredBen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:06:07 GMT

Should i be worried that they have my SSN though?? I am in the middle of the pre-approval home loan stuff...

Once again NOTHING is on my CR for them!

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

raggamuffin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:47:53 GMT

BadCredBen.

This is a long response, but I would be very hesitant to pay anything to them. I had the same problem once I finally finished paying everything off, rebuilding for my credit, and getting my student loans out of default mid-2011.

Last November I was just about to apply for a credit card when a bogus collection agency called Northern Resolution posted a $500 tradeline on my TU report. Of course, there was no contact information except for an address. I did a lot of internet research and found no website, etc. But there were random online forums where people complained that the agency had ALL of their personal information and threatened to file court papers if they didn't receive debit card info immediately. They also said that the collection agency frequently changed addresses and the name of the company after investigations by state/federal agencies. Some said that they never got a payday loan or had actually paid it off well in the past. I was finally able to find a number for the company so I called them and was hesitant to give them my SSN. Out of frustration I called back and gave them my SSN and they said I owed for a payday loan in 2006. I asked them to send me something in writing about the alleged debt. In 2006 I did get a payday loan, but quickly paid it. I called the payday loan place and got mixed answers; one rep said it was paid but another branch of the company said it was unpaid. Makes no sense to me...wouldn't the same info be available throughout the company?

I finally decided to just dispute it TU. I then called Northern Resolution and they knew that I disputed with TU. Later that week I received the written bill I requested for the collection agency. It was a notarized letter, but my address was handwritten on the front and the return address was hand-stamped. The stamp wasn't even level, so it looked unprofessional. Soon after, I got an alert from TU that the bogus debt was reduced to 300 bucks. Not sure why. Then at the conclusion of the investigation, TU removed the whole tradeline and I haven't heard anyting else from Northern Resolution. I guess they couldn't validate the debt.

Since then I've gotten an 8k credit card and one for 3k. Both have zero balances. This week I got alerts from this website that my TU rose to 700 and my EQ is now at 665.

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

FairCredBen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:51:14 GMT

300$ from 50$ though?

Im going to call my AG shortly.

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

raggamuffin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:02:10 GMT

Yeah, I'm not sure. I'm guessing they are casting a wide net to see who they can snag. Fortunately, they didn't post anything on your credit report. I thought the bureaus had set standards for companies before they were allowed to post anything on someone's credit report. TU let Northern Res post the tradeline and then only took it off after I disputed. I was also freaking out that it would remain on my report. It's crazy how these jokers have all your personal info.

I would definitely check with your AG and dispute with the bureau if anything gets posted. Good luck.

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

FairCredBen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:31:02 GMT

Spoke with my AG and the guy said that they have gotten at least 5 calls already today about this company - they are currently being investigated by the FBI

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

llecs — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:38:34 GMT

Ben, I'm sorry, but I had an awesome post ready to post and it was deleted (stupid backspace button). :(

In a nutshell, assume it is valid. Send a DV ASAP. Assume the $1000 sum is valid, but calculate interest to see if you come up with that. Check out your state's usury laws too. Also check to see if you did indeed do business with that lender. While waiting for the DV results, ready $$$ just in case. I can see how $50 can turn into a thousand overtime at shark loan rates. It might be legal.

But also know that on the surface, I found at least 4 FDCPA violations in that letter. I'm all about leverage. I lost a great post, but IIRC, look up the FDCPA. Particularly, their mention of "press charges against you" is a violation (see Sect 807). Mentioning of a judgment is a no-no unless they do indeed plan to follow through. Calling your employer is not a violation, and they didn't say they would, however, making an implication that the creditor would might be a violation in 807(6). And misrepresenting the balance is illegal under the FDCPA, especially claiming $3600 in collection costs (See Sect 808), not to mention attorney fees. Also, it strikes me as odd the keystroke pattern is not random.....4 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 8 - 7. I think they made it up. That's a violation.

But I would wait for their response before telling them any of this.

Re: I AM FREAKING OUT!

FairCredBen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:47:16 GMT

Llecs, if i hadnt paid it, then maybe i can see it ... but i paid it lol....

and yeah the amounts are outrageous....