Complaint Review: ARA Inc.

I almost got caught by ARA inc. In 2004 I filed bankruptcy and after several moves I could not find my original paperwork. Bad move. When I recieved what looked a professional collection notice and speaking to someone at their number who sounded very professional I was worried. After they kindly offered to lower the debt owed from over $14,000 to a little under $5000 I almost paid them on the spot with a credit card but do to the economic plunge in 2008 the credit card company declined the request. Then I follishly gave the kind lady my checking account number to HOLD that number.

By the end of the day I had discovered the real truth. I had located a copy of my bankruptcy records and found that I did not owe for the account number they had claimed I also found fraud reports all over the net about ARA Inc. I closed my checking account and started making some calls. FTC, Illinois Attorney General all of whom were very happy to recieve a call. Another mistake, not filing a complaint then and there.

Foward to March 19, 2013 another letter. $17,726.38 to be paid now or further "remedies" their words will be sought to collect said debt. Speaking to "Mark" was not a pleasurable experience. He was extremely demeaning and after trying to get there physical address in order to give to the FTC I got a dial tone. This time I followed through.It is an eay process to fill out a complaint form both to the FTC and Illinois Attorney General. Do not deal with ATA. If you make a payment you are agreeing to the terms so STOP if you have started. Hope this helps some of you in dealing with ATA inc.