Complaint Review: Capitol Acquisitions Management Aka CAMCO

Is CA a state that is targeted - why did they continue to pursue this 18 year old debt after being threatened/????

Thank you Scott,

I appreciate your response. But you must understand that we have a wonderful difference of opinion, and it doesn't mean either one of us is wrong. I was in the court room before and perhaps there were ignorant judges. But I'm sorry, but I don't believe what ANY CAMCO big wig says in any magazine that they don't do anything in court anymore. They are scum. Scum lies. If they don't chase debts in court or re-age debts after someone makes regular payments anymore, great. I know that they used to! And I can assure you, when I have been in the courtroom in NY, the judges, several of them I might add, have recognized a regular payment plan has a binding agreement. And the kicker was that the case that I mentioned before, the woman was making payments through a debt consolidation company and had to SIGN a agreement with them. Because of all that, she was liable for a debt that was more than 10 years old.

Perhaps NY is different. I have said many times before that each state is different. I am only passing along actual information learned from actual events. I DO NOT MAKE THIS UP. NY has set presedents many times in this arena. And I have seen with my own eyes how difficult it is to prove in court that a debtor deserves his/her $1000, even though I heard violations with my own ears every day.

Scott again I applaud your efforts. But just because I have a difference in opinion doesn't mean I am wrong. I merely was worried that CAMCO would make an example out of someone like this poor woman. They definitely wouldn't take her to court because its too costly. But marking her credit report? In my opinion? A possibility.

And even if they are wrong, who wants to go through all the hassle? I have seen collectors find out that an acct they marked with a payment plan was disputed with a cease and dessit letter and then simply grabbed a copy of their credit report twice a week to ruin their credit rating another way. And then to take these scumbags to court over harrassment is costly for the debtor, and in NY, you cannot guarantee you will win. It is a pain in the a*s and cannot guarantee that it will help. The acct will still be sold to someone else and the process starts all over again.

Keep up the awesome work Scott and remember that each state is different and we are working together. A difference of opinion can still help the masses.

Ok I recognize you now, Sorry did not before. My problem is your advice is still wrong. Most states specifically state the agreement must be in writing. Sure you will get an ignorant judge here and there but in most states a simple payment does not reage the legal SOL on the debt and certain not the reporting SOL. I am not sure what you are saying about the fine either. A collector can reasonably call to collect on any debt except wisconsin for time barred debts. However, a simple cease and desist letter can be sent and then even on a valid debt they cannot contact you again unless they wish to tell you of a specific response i.e. a lawsuit. Another dunning letter would break the law and you can sue irregardless of the debt. The FDCPA covers many facets and you need to read all of them. I wish to say this also. IF camco called and threatened you and then you make a payment that payment was made under duress and would not count anyway. Out of the now over 1500 emails I have received maybe 100 of those were from people who were already paying camco. They sent the cease and desist, made any legitimate complaints, and camco went away. A few months ago Jeff Garrington, their compliance manager(although compliance and camco do not go together), was in an article reiterating the fact that camco does not sue or report anymore. They used to but the FTC started to breathe down their back and if I found a single consumer out there who was sued by camco I will personally call an attorney I know and help them sue the pants off camco. There are also a few things I know about camco that I have not revealed because I am waiting for them to move against me. I realize you are trying to help but posting misinformation especially about the Fdcpa does nobody any good.

Doug,

I wish to applaud you for your dilligence in helping erase the virus that is CAMCO. I hope you did not misunderstand me when I responded to your comments and I thank you for your clarification on a point that I obviously misunderstood your meaning.

The greatest thing about this forum is you can have a difference in opinion with someone else and still be right. I hope everyone reading takes all opinions into consideration before making a move with this scum. I also applaud your response to me without using attacks on my character. I love the fact that you can have rousing debates here with some of the smartest people in the world, like yourself. Everyone keep fighting! Getting information out there is half the battle!

Doug,

I wish to applaud you for your dilligence in helping erase the virus that is CAMCO. I hope you did not misunderstand me when I responded to your comments and I thank you for your clarification on a point that I obviously misunderstood your meaning.

The greatest thing about this forum is you can have a difference in opinion with someone else and still be right. I hope everyone reading takes all opinions into consideration before making a move with this scum. I also applaud your response to me without using attacks on my character. I love the fact that you can have rousing debates here with some of the smartest people in the world, like yourself. Everyone keep fighting! Getting information out there is half the battle!

Doug,

I wish to applaud you for your dilligence in helping erase the virus that is CAMCO. I hope you did not misunderstand me when I responded to your comments and I thank you for your clarification on a point that I obviously misunderstood your meaning.

The greatest thing about this forum is you can have a difference in opinion with someone else and still be right. I hope everyone reading takes all opinions into consideration before making a move with this scum. I also applaud your response to me without using attacks on my character. I love the fact that you can have rousing debates here with some of the smartest people in the world, like yourself. Everyone keep fighting! Getting information out there is half the battle!

Doug,

I wish to applaud you for your dilligence in helping erase the virus that is CAMCO. I hope you did not misunderstand me when I responded to your comments and I thank you for your clarification on a point that I obviously misunderstood your meaning.

The greatest thing about this forum is you can have a difference in opinion with someone else and still be right. I hope everyone reading takes all opinions into consideration before making a move with this scum. I also applaud your response to me without using attacks on my character. I love the fact that you can have rousing debates here with some of the smartest people in the world, like yourself. Everyone keep fighting! Getting information out there is half the battle!

My advice to sue the collection agency is based on whether or not they contact you again after you tell them not to. This is law and it does not matter whether the debt is valid or not. In fact you can sue a collection agency that is still working on behalf of the original creditor if they keep contacting you after you tell them not to. The same certainly applies to bad debt buyers. The only problem is that most people either don't know this or don't follow through when a violation occurs.

Scott,

If you go through the posts again for Camco you will find that I have supported you many times. I do not and never have worked for CAMCO! I am a "troll" who has worked for a shady collection agency before JUST LIKE YOU.

I am trying to give constructive advice because I was there and I learned a lot! You outta watch what you post before reading more carefully! I said every state is different but CAMCO can re-age the debt if they choose to. So can JBC! Especially in New York. I was merely stating that since this unfortunate woman had been paying regularly, they may try to use her as an example for their "credibility." I worked in New York for a company that was eated up by NCO.

Trust me, a payment plan is an agreement between the two parties to pay! Therefore, CAMCO has grounds to re-age the debt! By making payments it has validated the debt. I am not here to belittle you, like you are with me. I think you do a wonderful service. With most cases you can simply send in your cease and dessist letter and be done with it. But I worried about this woman because she is in New York and she had been paying for a good long while.

I will say again, that CAMCO may or may not re-age the debt or put marks on a credit report. This is very political now, and it may depend on each situation and each state. But the chose is there!

I have been in court as an assistant in a case where a woman was taken to court for failure to finish paying off a debt. She had been paying through a debt consolidation company which unfortunately usually makes the situation worse. This debt was 10 years old, but because the payment plan was not being adhered to and payments were not coming in on time, the company I worked for chose to take them to court. The person was local to the company, which makes it ten times easier for them to sue the party. (Normally it is too costly to go after debtors in court across state lines). She showed up and the judge rules her liable because of her payments! The agreement was binding.

Bottom line, Scott, is that I am here to help, like you. If you look up CAMCO you will find that they do not have an office in Upstate New York. I hate CAMCO and only wish to give constructive advice. It is very hard to prove that a company like CAMCO broke the FDCA laws without a recording. You obviously need to keep a copy of your cease and dessist letter on hand, but if you have been paying and you stop, you cannot, especially in New York, get your $1000 fine. You as the debtor proved a relationship to the company and a reason for them to "harrass" you. It is also the "loophole" in the federal and state telemarketing laws. If you have established a relationship, even if it is a fleeting one, a telemarketing company can call or send you mail even if you are on the federal no-call list. It is a terrible cycle.

The one way out that this poor woman may have is if she contacts the original owner of the debt, if it is possible to find or if she already knows it. If she makes arrangements with them to pay them, or gets it in writing that this debt is not valid, she may have a chance with a judge. Then CAMCO would have to prove that they have legal standing to collect.

I have seen re-aging of debt with my own eyes. The only question is whether CAMCO will actually do it with this woman or decide that it is not worth their time.

Good Luck!

His information is to erroneus I am not sure if I should laugh or cry. Camco DOES NOT report to the credit bureaus. They are fully aware the FTC is looking their way. IF there is a debt on your credit report from camco and it is over 7 years old you have a legitimate lawsuit against them. Hmm what else did the above ridiculous post say. Ahh yes, making a payment on the debt DOES NOT reage the debt. Some states allow it to be reaged IF there is a signed written agreement between both parties. However, this does not reage the negative information and it still comes off in 7 years from your credit report from the date you first missed your payment. This joker is trying to say a payment will keep it on forever and forever. Ludicrous. Sure camco can report if they want to. I can also take a gun and go shoot someone. Both are highly illegal and camco would be in serious trouble if they tried it. If you are paying them and have no signed agreement then stop. It is as simple as that. Find one of my posts for help. Send a cease and desist letter and be done with them. they will not do anything. they have no power. NONE. Now let us get to the most ridiculous part of the above guys post. The FDCPA is set up to protect the consumer IRREGARDLESS of the validity of the debt. If they threaten a lawsuit they cannot or will not do, threaten your credit on a debt over 7 years, ect you can sue them and it does not matter if the debt is yours or not. This guy either works for camco or has never seen the fdcpa in his life. If I handed out his post to the 100 or so NACA attorneys I know they would probably spend the entire day laughing themselves to tears. Go away CA troll from Camco.

By the way, I forgot to tell you that you cannot get your $1000 fine from CAMCO if the debt was proven to be valid. If you paid any of the debt, you proved it to be valid.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Doug, as much as your comments are well appreciated and extremely useful, I must say that the debt in question CAN be re-aged! The laws are interpreted a certain way be many different groups but what you were reading unfortunately were many opinions on that website, not necessarily fact.

I worked for a debt collection agency (not CAMCO or ALLIED or JBC). We occasionally had outdated debts. If someone made a payment, the company I worked for in New York re-aged the debt! Even if someone had a regular payment agreement that had payments taken out of a checking acct automatically, if the whole sum was not paid in full a mark went on their credit report. Of course, all states are different. And some choose not to follow these "rules" because of various reasons. CAMCO may not put anything on her credit report. But in most states that they are still allowed to collect in (everyone, check your Atty General website to see if your state was one that they were barred from) they are allowed to re-age a debt! The law allows that if a debt is not paid in full in the allotted time, whether an agreement was in use or not, a collection agency is allowed to take appropriate action. If they do a payment plan it is for your convenience and they do not have to by law. It sucks I know. That's why I don't do it anymore.

CAMCO may report, or they may not. the point is, THEY CAN IF THEY WANT TO. They may not because of the various state and federal lawsuits pending against them. but just because they didn't report one debt doesn't mean they won't the next debt for someone else! I have spoken with people that have marks against their credit from CAMCO! This is becoming a political issue and it may depend on which state you live in for things to get reported. They need to lend credibility to their company, and trust me they will use who they can to do this!

I'm sorry that anyone got involved or scammed by these piranas, but I stand by my last suggestion to keep paying something if you have already been paying. I have been in the trenches, and I know that if CAMCo chooses to use their "power" they will.

If your fear is that CAMCO or any other bad debt buyer can "re-age" your debt you don't have to worry. Opinion letters on the FTC's website state, in fact, that debts cannot be re-aged even if you pay on them or promise to pay. These are opinions based on the FCRA. Under the FCRA the reporting time is 7 years+ 180 days for delinquencies and starts at the time the debt is 30 days late. If you catch up and fall behind again then a second 30,60,90 etc late entry would be made but the first one would not be re-aged. In effect it would show you were late twice and each would have a different drop off date.

When a bad debt buyer buys a debt before the 7 years is up I believe they can report it as delinquent but they must adhere to the same time limits as the original creditor. I think it is rare that a debt would be sold before the 7 years because credit reporting is used as a form of persuation by the creditor until the very end at which time they sell it to CAMCO or some other scavanger for pennies.

The only way CAMCO could report it for another 7 years would be to say that you actually agreed to a NEW debt when you made a payment, therfore a new 7 years would start 30 days after you didn't live up to the terms of this agreement. This is really flimsy though.

My suggestion for anyone dealing with CAMCO is this: Don't pay them. If you are paying them, stop. Send them a certified letter in which you tell them you won't pay and order them to stop contacting you. A bad debt buyer is considered a collection agency under the FDCPA and must stop or you can sue them for a $1000.00 plus actual damages, if any, for each offense.

I was ripped off by these people to. Olny with me I owed and paid in full but they never sent the money to whom it was owed. Now I have to pay again. I suggest you call the company you had the bill with first and take care of it with them.

I worked for Camco and developed health problems due to the stress of that job. They are a fraudgelent company and all their money filters through their Jamaica office, they get a grant for every person they hire . Each person has to collect so many thousands of dollars a month to meet a quota. If they dont meet their quota they get fired so the managers can meet their quota, thats where the big dollars are at. They train you for a week on the FDCPA laws. After training your told in order to collect money you have to break the laws. If you dont you go to what they call a b***h meeting where you get cussed at and treated like an animal.



They will go as far as changing ss#'s on accounts to get people who were vulnerable the first time to pay again.



There is absolutely nothing Camco can do to harm anyone's credit, thats just a scare tactic.

If your smart you'll tape record them breaking the law's, because they do on every call.

I have so much scum on this company im not going to waste any more of my time on this company.

If you signed an agreement to pay $566.00, you did reset the SOL and create yourself a new debt. But you've paid it now so don't pay any more. CAMCO probably can't produce a copy of anything you signed anyway. They don't seem too big on paperwork up there. Maybe they don't want to have our friendly jack-booted thugs hauling boxes of papers off to the Attorney General. Also you should file a complaint with the Illinois AG about this.



Stop paying. They are like sharks, if they smell money trailing after you they aren't going to leave you alone no matter what you do. You need to find Scott from Akron and follow his advice. It may work best to fight them the same way as if you hadn't paid anything. They are crooks and everyone knows it. If you just stop being a source of money for them and become a source of trouble, they know better than to keep up the charade.

stacy, unfortunately as the other reply stated the minute you sent in a payment you acknowledged the debt and camco can now report it to the credit bureau and it will be a derogatory mark on your report if you are late or do not pay. they have done the same thing to me in the past. i would suggest you get a copy of your credit report and if they have put an entry on there then try to send a dispute form to the three credit bureaus saying that camco has strong armed you into believing that you owed a debt and you believe that you do not owe it. the credit bureau will investigate and request documentation. if camco does not respond it is req'd by law that the credit bureau remove the entry from your report. obviously, i am not saying you should not pay a debt you owe but the original creditor (montgomery wards i believe) has already written off your debt and sold the account to camco for pennies on the dollar so they are trying to see how much they can scare you into paying. they cannot take you to court or do anything other then scare you into paying.

good luck

The earlier response unfortunately is correct. You have "re-aged' or "revived" your debt. By doing so, they now have a new statute of Limitations that started when you started to pay on the debt. My advice now? KEEP PAYING WHAT YOU CAN. They can now report it to your credit report if you fail to pay! If they choose to, they can also report it if the balance isn't paid in full. Unfortunately, this is legal, especially in New York. Any collection agency can try to collect on a debt no matter how old it is, they are just guided by the FCDA Act which guides their conduct and rules to go by. If you had chose NOT to pay, you would have been ok, because they cannot report it to ANYONE then.



Well, since you have already started the aging process again, I would immediately notify the Atty General of NY and file a complaint. Trust me, they have HUNDREDS of them already, and may have already started to bring a state lawsuit against CAMCO. If a lawsuit is in the works, you must keep paying until the lawsuit is settled or your credit is in serious jeopardy.



You are honest. You admitted the debt was valid. But the problem is that CAMCO is not as honest as you are. They tricked you, lied to you and threatened you with non-existent threats that they could never follow through with. They also promised you a settlement, but the truth is, they are just applying your payments to the growing interest and will eventually sell the balance owed to another collection agency, probably a subsiderary, which will in turn try to collect from you. Tell the Atty General all of this. After a lawsuit is done, you may be able to collect damages and get your money back.



Keep all correspondence from them and check to see if New York is a state you can legally tape someone over the phone. This will be ammunition in the future. CAMCO cannot collect in roughly 13 states now because of their tactics, and New York may be next.



I'm sorry you got scammed, but I highly suggest that you keep paying for the time being. Because they are getting sued left and right, they may not bother reporting to credit bureaus AS LONG AS YOU PAY SOMETHING. They will think that they already HAD you and concentrate on other things. But I guarantee you, if you stop paying, they will report you. They are dying to make their business seem legitimate and will use you as an example. So many people have sent in their cease and desist letters denying CAMCo access into their lives and they can't even collect in many states. So you are the perfect person to use for their "hey, she started paying . She knew the debt was valid. We aren't crooks" person. They are bastards and will be taken down soon with your help.



I never worked for Camco, but I used to work for a different shady collection agency that used similar tactics. It took me one week to quit. They didn't try to collect on outdated debt, but used every trick in the book to collect anything. It was disgusting. There was even a credit card that management admitted was a scam, but we still had to try to collect on it.



Please use every avenue to report the crooks, but be aware that your credit is in jeopardy!



Good Luck!

I'm not 100% sure of the law, but, I believe with an old debt that has passed the statue of limitations date, (I think it is seven years from your last payment); if a "collection agency" like CAMCO contacts you and IF you acknowledge the debt and agree and you begin to send them "payment installments", if you send them "one cent" of what they say you owe, you "revieve" the entire old debt and owe the whole amount.



If you read ALL the reports on CAMCO, I'm sure you will find one of them that reports what the law states.... but I think they REALLY GOT YOU!