Law Office Of Curtis O'Barnes/Washington Mutual Debt Collection Anaheim California
I had a credit card with Washington Mutual, which I defaulted on due to hard times. The Law Office of Curtis O. Barnes contacts me in an attempt to collect payment for the balance of 2,600. I tell them I do not have that much money, but that I can pay 175 in a few days, which they take from my account. I then tell them I can ask around if anyone may be able to loan me the money to pay off the balance. After making a couple of phone calls to my family, I call LOCOB and inform them I cannot receive outside assistance. They then tell me they will sue me and the woman I was speaking with transferred me to a Senior Auditor who gave me the information of their lawyer here in Ohio. The conversation ends and then I get a call a couple of weeks later and it is basically a repeat of the previous conversation. This time they tell me it was an attempt before they move forward. When I tell them I am still not able to pay the balance in full, they tell me they will move forward (even after I offer to make a payment). Today I get a call from the "pre-legal" department in one last attempt to collect this debt. I turn my tape recorder on. I once again tell them I am not able to pay the full balance, but will make small payments and then proceed to larger ones once my smaller debts are all paid off. Mr. VanDyne told me that is not acceptable and he will sign off on the recommendation to take me to court. I ask him if I can make a payment arrangement for December and he does the dodge and even hangs up on me after saying the payment will not keep him from signing the recommendation. I call him back, tape recorder still going, and ask him if I can set up a payment arrangement. He does the dodge until I finally get an address from him. He said I should have received that information in the correspondence they sent to my address, but I have never received any sort of tangible media from this collection agency.
I guess, I am worried if I can still be taken to court if I am making payments. Even if I am making payments, albeit small ones, can they still sue me?
Worriedone
Columbus, Ohio
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
fedup2
Milford,Ohio,
Horrendous
#5Consumer Comment
Thu, April 04, 2013
Dealing with these people now. Spoke with Walter then someone named Steve Blair earlier. I told them I would be contacting their Columbus office and Walter said..They don't have a columbus number and said, "you just think you know everything don't you". He was so rude telling me over and over that I would be sued by their lawyer in Ohio Keisha Kinsey. I tried to make payment arrangement but they would not accept and told me they would put me in for refusal to pay. It was infuriating! If anyone else has any advice for me I would be happy to move forward with getting this resolved but can't pay the full amount nor pay two payment to equal the full amount. Thank You
Samson
MURRAY,Utah,
United States of America
People need to report them for there violations
#5Consumer Suggestion
Tue, March 12, 2013
I'm reading these comments dating back to 2007 and here it is 2013 and this company is STILL getting away with abusive treatment. They need an undercover investigation.
Thetruth2
Westerville,Ohio,
U.S.A.
LOCOB LOCATIONS
#5UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, December 14, 2007
Just so you are aware LOCOB does practice law in Ohio, they have one ditzy lady lawyer working the Ohio cases.
TIP : when you call their phone number 8664778222 you can get either office the california or ohio. If you call 9AM eastern time your sure to get the Ohio office. If your account is in one office you can always call when that office is closed to get the other office. The California office is the most likely to violate (if you were to record the call) since they are Curtis's favorites lol. The main violater in California is easy to find... he is a MANAGER! lol his name is Angel Marty ask for him and record the call!!
They try to hide their physical locations
if you ask for an address they will try to give you the PO Box
lol a po box for an attorney what a joke!
if you really want to piss them off ask for the address and give them grief over them giving you the PO box. After you work them up a while let them know you'll just find it yourself. Then give them the Ohio or Cali address and give them directions to their office. I'm SURE they will do a double take lol They think no one can find them in Cali or Ohio... well now they can!
The Law Office of Curtis O. Barnes
Curtis Barnes Law Office
maps.google.com
OHIO-------
2323 Lake Club Dr
Columbus, OH 43232
(614) 367-2870
Get directions
it says columbus but they are really located right in reynoldsburg
from 270 on the east side
1. Head east on I-70 E 0.1 mi
2. Take exit 110B to merge onto Brice Rd N toward Reynoldsburg 0.8 mi
2 mins
3. Turn left at Channingway Blvd 0.1 mi
4. Turn left at Lake Club Dr 0.2 mi
1 min
To: 2323 Lake Club Dr, Columbus, OH 43232
Change address or drag marker
CALIFORNIA----
390 W CERRITOS AVENUE
ANAHEIM, CA 92805
Thetruth2
Westerville,Ohio,
U.S.A.
What to do
#5UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, December 14, 2007
If you are making DECENT regular monthly payments on your account it is highly unlikely that you will be sued. Technically they can sue you at anypoint if you are paying anything less than the balance (30 days after you receive your dispute letter if you haven't disputed it)
Pretty much all the collectors there are jerks because Curtis Barnes pays about $10/hr. So these guys do what they do to survive (not saying it's right by any means) (I sat by Mr. VanDyne and knew him personally)
The one violation that The Law Office of Curtis O Barnes employees make EVERY DAY is the fact by law they can only ask a Third Party (anyone except the consumer or their spouse) for LOCATION INFORMATION. They can only ask for your addresses and phone numbers (yes home and work).
WHAT THEY DO IS CALL YOUR RELATIVES AND ASK IF THEY CAN LEAVE A MESSAGE. THIS IS ILLEGAL THIS IS NOT LOCATION INFORMATION. THIS IS PERSONALLY ENCOURAGED BY CURTIS O BARNES.
There is basically a set of laws they tell you to follow in the training room, then out on the floor they tell you what to really do. I'm sure if any of these collectors got sued curtis would not represent them unless it would save the company money.
on a side not about curtis o barnes
by the way curtis o barnes is a joke his wife makes more money working in Nasa than he does. he probably has all sorts of inferiority complexes due to the fact he's a lawyer and doesn't wear the pants in the family. It's also obvious he is upset daily because he has a gay son (robbie) I don't think anything is wrong with that but it's obvious curtis does.
VIOLATIONS I HAVE WITNESSED PERSONALLY (IF THESE WERE RECORDED THE PEOPLE WOULD BE PAID!)
3rd party disclosure - people say verbally they have a power of attorney and the collector talks to them about the debt (must be received in writing anyone can say anything)
Harassment - Calling the same person more than one time AFTER ALREADY TALKED TO SAID PERSON THAT DAY (can call many times if no answer or no message left --- NOT ILLEGAL)
Foreshadowing - They can't give you a deadline to pay the debt if it's within the first 30 days. you by law have 30 days to dispute, if they say you must pay sometime before that 30 days is up it violates your right to dispute and is illegal
3rd party MESSAGES - as described previously, it is ILLEGAL for a collector to leave a message UNLESS the person is OFFERING to take the message (and not being qued to offer it.
there are many more let me know if interested or you have a specific problem with them