Complaint Review: CCS Credit Collection Services

At the start of February we received a dunning letter from this company for a columbia house dvd account with my wife's name spelled incorrectly. Since we already had a columbia house account in good standing we called and were told the account was taken out in 2005(later changed to 2002 but they had no further information. We disputed the debt and thought that was the end of it. A full month later this company placed the tradeline on my wife's credit report which is illegal if the debt was reported after a dispute.

This company then duplicated the account and put it on twice with another account #. I placed a call to columbia house and they had a record of selling CCS ONE account from 2002 and how convenient it was that they purged all information on the account. The second debt was fabricated.

I put the accounts in dispute and talked to CCS many times and they stated they would delete the accounts but only deleted the duplicated account. They verified the first account and opened themselves up to FCRA violations. I have also seen many people on different credit forums come out stating this company is ruining their credit or fake columbia house accounts. Not only that, they are collecting in Florida and are not even licensed to do business. This was confirmed with the state of Florida.

Lastly, if you are being collected from they may list the credit as capital assistance group. This is the same company as CCS. Since both are registered out of Delaware you can sue for double damages against not only CCS but CAG. This company also does business under the name CCS Financial Services. Same scam, same officers, different names.

I filed complaints with the BBB, Florida attorney general, Massachussetts attorney general, Florida Finance Office which regulates licensing, and the Federal Trade Commission. I have also retained counsel and am in the process of filing suit. Finally, I will be filing criminal charges of fraud against this company and their officers next week. Here is some information you can use.

CCS Financial Services, inc. dba Credit Collection Services
Two Wells Ave
Newton, MA 02459
phone: 617-965-2000
fax: 617-964-5988
president: Steven Sands ext 2105
vice president: David Sands dsands@ccsusa.com

registered agent:
CT Corporation System
101 Federal Street
Suite 700
Boston, MA 02110

The creditor 'Capital Assistance Group, LLC' has the exact address of CCS. the Managers are also Steven and David Sands
registered agent:
Steven Sands
Two Wells Ave
Newton, MA 02459

Remember that if a collection agency and creditor are partners and incorporated in Delaware the creditor is also liable under the FDCPA for the collection agency's violations. This means you can sue both of them and collect damages from both.

ELIZABETH PETER, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
GC SERVICES L.P.; DLS ENTERPRISES, INC.; and GC FINANCIAL
CORPORATION,
Defendants-Appellees.
No. 01-21027
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
October 18, 2002
Appeal from the United States District Court For the Southern District of Texas

The final issue raised on appeal is whether defendants GC Financial and DLS Enterprises can be held liable for the FDCPA violations of GC Services, a Delaware partnership in which they are general partners. The district court, concluding that GC Services had in no way violated the FDCPA, dismissed all complaints
against the general partners. It had no occasion to address whether those corporations could be held liable if GC Services were found to be in violation of the FDCPA. GC Financial and DLS Enterprises argue they cannot be held liable for the FDCPA violations of GC Services because they are not debt collectors as defined in 15 U.S.C. s 1692(a)(6). This argument ignores a basic principle of partnership law. Under Delaware law general partners are liable for all obligations of the partnership.
6 Del C. s 15-306(a) (2001) ("... all partners are liable
jointly and severally for all obligations of the partnership unless otherwise agreed by the claimant or provided by law."). Nothing in the FDCPA limits this basic provision of the applicable state law.
Miller v. McCalla, Raymer, Padrick, Cobb, Nichols & Clark,
214 F.3d 872, 876 (7th Cir.2000) (holding that general partners are liable for FDCPA violations of partnership). Thus, GC Financial and DLS Enterprises are jointly and severally liable for GC Services' infractions, and are not entitled to a dismissal of
this action.

scott
akron, Ohio
U.S.A.

STOP! ..before you think about using the Better Business Bureau (BBB)... CLICK HERE to see how other consumers were victimized by the BBB's false or misleading information. Don't be fooled! It has been reported, when there are thousands of complaints and other investigations underway by authorities, the BBB has no choice but to finally give an UNsatisfactory rating to a BBB member business that is paying the BBB big membership fees every year. When a business is reported that is NOT a BBB member, BBB files WILL more likely show an UNsatisfactory rating, then reportedly shake down that company to become a member of the BBB. One positive thing about the BBB is, either way, if a business has an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB, you can be sure, the business is bad. But what about all those BBB member businesses that had complaints filed against them? Consumers never get to hear about them. What about the BBB advertising to the public? Is this a false and misleading perception they are giving about consumer confidence when dealing with a business? Click here to understand more of what consumers and business alike are saying about the BBB. You decide. ..Remember. The BBB membership is not earned, it's paid for!