Complaint Review: Afni - Bloomington Illinois

Federal law makes your Social Security benefits exempt from levy, garnishment, and assignment. 42 USC 407(a) states: "In general the right of any person to any future payment under this subchapter shall not be transferable or assignable . . . and none of the moneys paid or payable or rights existing under this subchapter shall be subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law." This means that even if a creditor or a collection agency has a judgment against you, they cannot garnish your Social Security payments, nor can they take the money from you after it has been paid to you; for example, the portion of your bank account that is attributable to your social security benefits is exempt from levy or attachment If your income is exempt from garnishment, then you may wish to put the collection agency on notice to that fact. You could provide this information to the collection agency in writing, keeping a copy of the letter. For example, if your only income is Social Security, which is exempt from garnishment by federal law, then you might write the following: My income consists only of Social Security, which is exempt from garnishment by federal law. You could also include this information with any of your other written correspondence to the agency, e.g., if you sent a cease communication letter. While this is not a defense to the underlying claim, it does provide the collection agency with knowledge that your only income is exempt from garnishment. If the collection agency successfully sues you and then garnishes your bank account containing exempt funds, then you may have a cause of action against the collection agency Corporate Headquarters 404 Brock Drive Bloomington, IL 61702-3097 800.767-2364 Afni, Inc. 404 Brock Drive Bloomington, IL 61702 USA Contact: Jim Hess, Director, Business Development Phone: 800-767-2364, ext. 3321 Fax: 309-820-2632 Email: [email protected] Afni, Inc. IL 309-663-4510 Jim Hess Website: afninet.com President and COO: RONALD L GREENE 404 BROCK DRIVE BLOOMINGTON 61701 Secretary: GREGORY J DONOVAN same address Bruce F. Griffin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ronald L. Greene President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Donovan, CPA Vice President of Employee Services Stenia Dziadiw Vice President of Sales & Business Development Michael D. Garner Vice President of Call Center Services John Mobley, Jr. Vice President, Information Technology Services and Chief Information Officer John O'Donnell Vice President of Credit & Collections Services Organization Number 0491821 Name AFNI, INC. Profit or Non-Profit P - Profit Company Type FCO - Foreign Corporation ***** Status A - Active Standing G - Good State IL File Date 3/27/2000 Authority Date 3/27/2000 Last Annual Report 5/1/2006 Principal Office 404 BROCK DRIVE BLOOMINGTON, IL 61701 Registered Agent C T CORPORATION SYSTEM KENTUCKY HOME LIFE BLDG LOUISVILLE, KY 40202 Current Officers President Ronald L. Greene Vice President Gregory J. Donovan Secretary Gregory J. Donovan Treasurer V. Curtis Oyer Director Bruce F. Griffin Director Ronald L. Greene This organization has no assumed names Previous Names previous company names: 06/24/1986 - CREDIT CHECK INC. 06/29/2000 - ANDERSON FINANCIAL NETWORK, INC. For collection-related inquiries, contact our Recovery Team at 1.800.371.3645, by mail at Afni, Inc. PO Box 3517, Bloomington, IL 61701 or email at: [email protected]. To handle your collections account on the internet, visit the collections website at AfniCollections.com Important Note Regarding Collection-Related Inquiries: If you choose to communicate via email, please remember that no matter how many measures Afni takes to ensure the confidentiality of your email, the Internet may be a non-secure medium for communication. If you choose to communicate your collection-related inquiry via email, Afni cannot be responsible for any possible disclosure of an account to a third party COLLECTIONS PORTION OF THE COMPANY URL APPEARS TO BE AFNINET.COM Anderson Financial Network, Inc. 404 Brock Drive Bloomington, IL 61701 Administrative Contact: Girard, Chris [email protected] Afni 404 Brock Dr Bloomington, IL 61701 (309) 828-5226 fax: (309) 820-2610 Technical Contact: Anderson Financial Network, Inc. [email protected] 404 BROCK DR BLOOMINGTON, IL 61701-2654 US 309.828.5226 fax: 123 123 1234 GENERAL INFORMATION FROM VARIOUS SITES ON DEALING WITH COLLECTION AGENCY'S Tell them to validate by . What the money you say I owe is for; Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe; Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe; Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable; Identify the original creditor; Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent 1. NEVER talk to a collection agency on the phone. Period. 2. Keep good records. This can be the difference between a good and bad settlement. Don't expect them to remember you or what you agreed upon. 3. Send all correspondence via registered mail, receipt requested and put the registered mail number ON THE LETTER. DO NOT SIGN THE LETTER TYPE YOUR NAME 4. Keep a copy of every letter you send. 5. Penalties and extra interest are typically fictious amounts of money added on by the collection agency to pad their profits. Sometimes as much as to 50% of the debt or more claimed to be owed by a collection agency consisting of interest and fees. This is illegal, every state has usery laws (which dictate the maximum interests allowed to be charged. That is except North Dakota. There are no such laws which is why most credit card companies incorporate there.) Junk debt buyer pay anywhere from 1 cent to 7 cents on the dollar, there is no way there is this much interest. 6. Time is on your side. As time passes, the creditors will likely stop calling and the debt will be filed away for future attention or until the SOL runs out ..