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Risk Management Alternatives Is it a scam? ripoff Las Vegas Nevada
This is such a long, stressfull story, I'll try to sum it up.
I (actually in my husband's name) owe Providian Visa $3300.00. I don't dispute this amount. I haven't paid it in months. All of this is my fault. I got my husband to call Providian today to pay $1000.00, then to continue with regular monthly plans.
Providian informed my husband that the debt had been sold to a company called Sherman. So, this man from RMA (Tom Valento) has called my house twice. We figured it was about the credit debt.
He told my husband that we had to pay 3 payments of $902.00. That would pay off the debt and also give us a discount. Fair enough. It is my debt, that is not how I would choose to pay it, but at this point I DO owe them this money.
Well, that is where all the easy stuff ends. Mr. Valento then demanded SEVERAL times that we give him our checking account number and routing number. I told him no, that i do not give that information to anyone especially over the phone. I told him that i do not know him or his company.
We explained to him that we could western union the money, send a money order, etc. He said that would be fine, however he HAD TO HAVE my account information. He said if i didn't give him my account information that he would bring the debt back to $3300.00, plus charge us $1675.00 in lawyers fees. And garnish my husbands wages, just for not giving him my account information.
Is this right, can he do this. I don't know what to do, if I give him the info, he could wipe me out. If I don't give him the info, it could cost me thousands more, and they will garnish our wages.
We called Providian again to try to settle the debt with them, they told us that they sold it to Sherman, contact them. Sherman told us that RMA collects their debts for them.
When I found this website, i couldn't believe what I was reading. So many other people have this same complaint.
This does sound like a complete rip-off.
Krista
Denham Springs, Louisiana
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Michael
House Springs,Missouri,
U.S.A.
All Depends On What Information You Have, You're Information is Wrong
#5UPDATE Employee
Sun, February 06, 2005
Look, I'm going to try and sum this up and not take too long, I am a bill collector, i work for risk management alternatives. I want to tell you, and you need to believe it, we are not all bastards, granted some of us are, some of us have a way of going about our duties in a rude and arrogant way. But believe it or not, you are the customer.
Did you hear that? Customer. Most debt collection agencies across this country will only refer to you as a Debtor. And lets face it, if you do (or did) owe the money, you are a debtor. But you also are a human being, and at RMA we are supposed to treat you like one.
If you got treated like SH#$, Im sorry, you got a bad collector on the phone, who probably had to deal with some low life from south carolina who says "I'm not gonna pay any of that money ever, and theres never gonna be any thing you can do about it!!" This is a hard job, and you MUST be firm with people on the phone, and that included you.
Moving on to the check by phone procedure, you also need to know that literally thousands of check routing and account numbers are sent over the phone lines every HOUR and your bank information is VERY important to us, once you give it to us it is then placed into an encrypted database, no one can get to it, ever.
Doing check by phones are totally legal in every state, And no we cannot under no circumstance ever take out more than you tell us to, we cannot overdraft you're account nor can we set up other days for payment without YOUR authorization.
These are not only facts, these are laws, set forth in the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collections Practices Act) I suggest that you do a google search on the FDCPA right now, read it know you're rights, and post me a message back on this website I welcome any and all messages and critizisms. thanks for reading
Shawn
Palmdale,California,
U.S.A.
Agree with others, don't give them your account info
#5Consumer Suggestion
Wed, February 02, 2005
I used to be a bill collector, and let me tell you something. Unless you have assets to go after, like a home, they will NEVER go to court. They will show it as a Profit & Loss Writeoff on your credit report, and that will be the end of it.
If you do have property, and you give them enough information to track down your assets, they might try going to court. The more assets they can find, the more likely they will be to pursue the debt, especially if they think they have a good chance to collect.
Along with the suggestions offered by the other rebuttals, if the bill collector continues threatening you, threaten him back. Let him know that you fully intend to file for bankruptcy unless they work with you. Since the collector knows they will get nothing if you file BK, he will more than likely work with you (smaller payments, lower total amount owed). The collection agency generally makes money even if they collect only a few cents on the dollar.
Also, do not pay by check. The check has your bank information, account info and routing number. With this information, they can call the bank and verify your balance. The bank might not give them an exact amount, but it would be easy to get an idea of how much you have by making multiple calls and asking the bank if a check for $2500 would clear, $3000, $4000, etc.
You are not required to give them any information, and if you choose to continue talking with them, keep closed lip about any financial information. Since it is tax time, they might try to get information about your tax return. Don't give them anything that gives them leverage. You might even lie and tell them that the IRS is after you for $50,000 and they can wait in line behind the IRS unless they work with you. Bill collectors will lie to you any chance they get, so don't feel bad if you need to do the same.
Nancy
Steilacoom,Washington,
U.S.A.
YES it is a ripoff
#5Consumer Comment
Wed, February 02, 2005
DO NOT under any circumstances give them your account number. They can NOT just guaranchee your wages or bank account without notifying you and going to court to do so. ALL those collectors try to intimidate or scare people into paying right then and there. Also do NOT send a western union. Tell them you will send them a payment for whatever you can afford by money order or cashiers check (if you pay by personal check then they will have your account number). Keep trak of when they call and how many tiems theyc all and if it gets too much tell them to NOT call you again. they have tos top. They might threaten you with wrecvking your credit rating, but taht is scare tactics too. Also, if you can, thell them that you will be recording your conversations (even if you don't they don't know that). good luck
Lee
Sydney,Australia,
Australia
Don't give them your account info!!!
#5Consumer Comment
Wed, February 02, 2005
The minute you give them your bank acocunt info they will try and draw the ENTIRE amount due, thats a fact. All that nonsense about garnishing wages is a farce, they cannot garnish without a judgement, that means going to court. Each state has different laws and some states don't allow garnishment at all. Since the account has been sold to a third party just advise them you dont' want to be contacted by telephone AT ALL as allowed by the Credit Collections Act and that any contact should be by US mail, sometimes you may have to send a certified letter to achieve this peace of mind, if they continue to call you you may be eligible for a judgement against them yourself!! Depending on how old the account is you may not want to pay it at all, it will be on your credit report as a negative entry for years whether you pay it or not. Don't feel guilty about not paying them, they are scum who obviously are lying to you and trying to scare you into divulging your personal bank info, I'm sure you didn't charge $3300 worth of stuff, the majority of that charge is surely their imaginative and LUCRATIVE fees. F*ck em, I don't know about you but I don't respond well to strongarm tactics and lies.