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Global Bureau of Recovery GBR, GB Recovery GBR, Scammers, Complaint, FRAUD, Global Bureau of Recovery Murrietta , California
SCAM ALERT!!! DON'T PAY THEM ANYTHING! Save your self the aggravation and read this summation of my encounter with this company.
I was recently contacted by GBR in an attempt to collect on a charged-off account that had gone unseen for over 4 years. After doing a little research and contacting some people I know I have uncovered what can only be described as the biggest scammer scheme I have ever heard! This place is NOT legit and you should NEVER give them any information or pay them a DIME. Read this story and you'll see the similarities here.
A person named James Turner from the "Process Service Verification Office" had contacted my father, brother, and Ex-father-in-law stating that they had a summons for me to appear in court. I contacted James Turner and he told me that I had to call 888-517-0244 and he gave me a case number. I asked him "What is the name of your company?" his reply was, "i'm with the process service office" I asked what city or agency he was affiliated with and he refused to reply telling me to contact the people at the number.
1. Whenever you are issued a summons to go to court, they don't call you warn you and certainly don't belong with any city or state agency. For matters of debt collection, if you are required to go to court, this is a civil matter and thus no law agency or Sheriff's will be making contact with you or serving you papers.
So I called the number and spoke with a receptionist who answered "Corporate offices" to which I replied "What is this the corporate office of?" She didn't answer and asked from my case number. Thinking she must not have heard me I asked again to which she still didn't reply. So I gave her my "case" number and she put me in touch with a man named "Mr. Reed Allen" who promptly asked for my "case" number again. He quickly started the conversation stating that his client is suing me unless I pay $1804.00 by the end of the day. Of course I was shocked to hear this and quickly asked what was this for. Feeling a bit nervous I eagerly awaited his response. He told me that I had to pay a debt from an unpaid account with US Bank, in Cincinnati, Ohio. I told him that I haven't had an account with them for over 4 years. He told me they have been looking for me and are suing me. Thinking that this didn't mesh up I asked for some basic information, the name of his company, their address, etc. He refused to answer the questions. I asked again and still he stalled stating that it didn't matter what the name of the company is and where they are located. I said, well i need to contact US Bank and get this matter resolved so I'm going to need some information so I can check this out and verify his statements. He reluctantly told me the name of the company is "GBR". Asking aging for the address he refused and said "what, do you want to look us up online or something... and screamed at me to pay the amount of $1800.00.
2. Anyone... ANYONE asking for you pay them money over the phone and won't provide you with the most basic of information should be immediately flagged as a scammer. DON'T PAY THEM ANYTHING, don't tell them where you live, and CERTAINLY don't give them any credit card info. NEVER for any reason, give a collector your credit card or bank account information. They will charge you for the full amount and then you'll be screwed!
3. WHO is GBR? GBR is Global Bureau of Recovery
I told him I would call him back after I verified the information. He got irate and told me "YOU MUST PAY THIS NOW, YOU DON'T NEED TO VERIFY ANYTHING!" I said nope and he hung up the phone.
4. If a person is aggressive with you in matters like this, hang up the phone, grab a recording device and start recording. Most computers and smart phones, like the iphone, have recorders that you can use to document calls and conversations. I recorded ever call with them from this point forward.
So I called up US Bank and I did indeed have an account that was over drafted and closed. I don't know how you can close a bank account that has been over drafted but my ex wife did and never told me about it. (that's another topic totally) needless to say I didn't know about the account and quickly offered to pay the full amount to settle the debt. The very nice representative told me that the account was charged-off and sold to another company, and she provided me with their information. She couldn't tell me what the account total was but said that they other company, United Credit Recovery, could.
5. Charge-Off Accounts: are defined as an debt that cannot be collected by a company so they "sell" the debt to another company, usually for PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR. $.06 - $.07 for every one dollar. So if you owed $1000 to a credit card and they "charged-off" the account to another company chances are they only paid $70.00 for the account. NEGOTIATE!!! you could pay $200 for a $1000 debt! Please don't avoid paying your debt, if you owe, pay! Don't be a bad egg like my ex wife!
Next I contacted the "Junk Debt Buyer" to settle the debt. Much to my surprise, GBR as not associated with this company. United Credit Recovery also sold the account to another company though, they provided me with contact information and were very nice about it. ( Again, no one from any company had called me in 4 years in an attempt to recover this money. ) So called the new company called "PMG or Everest Assets, and talked with a very nice many who indeed had my account. He said that I had to pay $300 to settle the debt. I asked him if he was affiliated with a company named GBR and he said no. WOW!!! GBR is wanting $1804 for a $300 debt! And this is the exact same account!!! So what gives?
6. Debt Validation: Whenever a company is stating that you owe them money, and they are not the company that you secured your cc or loan through, ask for a "Debt Validation Letter." This letter will provide proof to you that they indeed legally own the debt and will accept payment to settle the debt. Only a legit company will have this letter and you should NEVER EVER EVER pay anyone who doesn't provide this to you. It's the LAW!
I received the debt validation letter from them and settled the debt. But I didn't stop there. I called GBR back and tried to get some information from them. Mr. Reed Smith put me in touch with "The Attorney." Her name is Cynthia Brewer. I promptly asked her to provide me with her Bar number or License number to which she didn't respond. I asked "you are the attorney for John F Edwards at GBR?" Again, she glossed over my question and didn't even reply. She told me that I "had to pay $1800 or we would see me in court."
I told her that I couldn't afford to pay that and wanted to negotiate. She said "we accept payments, just give me your credit card and we'll process it." I said, I could only afford to settle the debt for $200. She said that the could reduce it to $1100.00.
7. Skip Tracing: Through some research I was able to determine that GBR is NOT a collections company. They are a SCAM! Plain and simple. They go to actual collection agencies and get a list of their uncollected debts and go after those accounts more aggressively. Because they are not an actual collection agent, they think they don't have to adhered to the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act). This is not true. Here is how they work. Now remember, in my case this is only a $300 debt with the actual collector. GBR eventually came down and said they would accept $600 to settle the debt. This means that they would give $300 to the actual collection agency and keep $300 profit for themselves. SCAMMERS!!! Click this link to learn all about it - http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/debt_validation.shtml
I asked Cynthia and Mr. Reed Allen to provide me with the Debt Validation Letter. Both said, get this, "It's going to take 6 weeks to get that letter and I MUST pay the debt today to avoid going to court." I told her that there was no way I was going to pay them and that I was on to their game. I let them know that if they couldn't provide me with a Debt Validation Letter then they had no legal right to collect on the debt. Guess what... I haven't heard from them for the past 7 days. And If I do, i'll tell them to bring the summons by and I will gladly sign for it! What a joke.
In closing, DON'T TRUST THESE PEOPLE! They tried to SCAM ME and I almost fell for it. Do yourself a favor and do your research. If you owe money, contact your credit card and get the contact information for the real collector, then call them and negotiate your settlement. Good luck and remember, don't shirk your responsibilities. If you owe, pay... just make sure you are paying the right people!
Thanks for reading
OVERVIEW
Global Bureau Of Recovery, INC / AKA: GBR / AKA: John F. Edwards Attorney
41663 DATE ST. SUITE 201
MURRIETTA, CA 92562
(888) 517-0244 (951) 751-1900 ?
Names of Contacts:
Cynthia Brewer/ Cynthia Adkins
Mr. Reed Allen
James Turner