Response from AG Office

[guiness56]

This is the response I got from the AG office concerning a complaint I filed with them:

We realize you may disagree with the firm's position, but our office does not
have the authority under the law to force a resolution on the parties. We
regret that we are unable to provide further assistance to you in this
situation.

We do not have the authority to represent individuals as their attorney, nor may
we act as a judge or arbiter in individual disputes. You may want to contact an
attorney if you wish to pursue this matter. If you do not have an attorney,
there are seven county bar associations that will provide lawyer referral
services.

So, what is the point in filing a complaint if they can not do anything. The CA answered my complaint with a bunch of bs and the AG closed the case. I am guessing in some cases CA are not intimidated by the AG.

[Anonymous]

My experience is the other party will lie like a rug to the AG. It angered me even more to read what they claimed. The last party even said in the 'light of compromise' they were sending me a check. I'm still waiting....

[guiness56]

My point exactly. I actually believed the AG had the power/authority to make a CA, or any business for that matter, abide by the laws of the state. Not only did the CA slander me, the AG completely ignored my complaint and closed the case based on the CAs response. It looks like my next step is an attorney. CAs get under my skin and I do not want these people to get away with it.

[Anonymous]

AG's do not file over a single complaint. They wait until they have enough complaints that they believe they could make a case out of it.

[hdporter]

A key problem indicated in their response is that it would appear that they view you as having failed to raise any valid violation of state law but, instead, merely looked for them to intercede in a situation in which you disagreed with the CA's position regarding the debt. ("... our office does not have the authority under the law to force a resolution on the parties." )

Re the effectiveness of contacting an AG re CA behavior: Four years ago I contacted the PA AG after a CA was unwilling to review an attempted collection for inaccuracy in the charges, nor make appropriate referral back to the OC (instead, repeatedly harassed me when I called). I made a phone call and forwarded cursory documentation to the AG. It's my impression that the AG made a simple inquiry, but I never heard back from either the AG or the CA -- however, the CA discontinued collection entirely on a $6K balance that wasn't beyond SOL. I'm stunned to this day.

Message Edited by hdporter on 03-25-2008 10:12 PM

Message Edited by hdporter on 03-25-2008 10:12 PM

[guiness56]

It may appear that way in the response. However, in the initial complaint I made it clear that the CA re-aged an account and reversed the account number on my CR. I also told them I sent a DV to the CA, which they signed for, but never responded too. I also made it clear I had the signed green card, my old CR and the new one with the re-aged account. The CA responded about 2 other accounts they have in my name from 11 years ago and commented this (the complaint) was the first they ever heard of a complaint on my part going on to say "maybe Ms. XXXX can not keep up with all the collection agencies on her CR and would rather complain than pay". As I said earlier, the AG took what the CA said and closed the case. Did not matter that I have proof or that the CA violated the FCRA. Again, what is the point if they will not do anything. You can not have more proof than what I have.

I also filed a complaint with the BBB. This CA is not a member so the BBB can do nothing. However, when I log into their website the CA is listed in the top 5 violators in my state.

[Anonymous]

In order for the AG to do anything  the CA must violate STATE law. So far what I see is all a violation of federal law. This falls to the FTC.

If your state law say that they must be licensed & they are not   then the AG can act.

If I missed something here & you feel that the CA did violate state law   send another complaint to the AG  and be very clear what  state law that you think that they violated.

The letter that you received from the AG makes no sense to me....its almost like it belong to someone else that wanted to settle with them and the CA disagreed.

[Anonymous]

guiness56, what state AG did you file your complaint with?