Complaint Review: Allied Interstate - Amhearst New York

Collections attempts have absolutely nothing to do with debt collections. Something does not have to be on your credit report for someone to start collection. Yes, you have to respond to them and just dispute the debt, as they can get a default judgement if you fail to respond. They count on this, and rarely go to court. They count on a certain number of default judgements. Just like the song says, "money for nothing"! look at other posts in the debt collectors /collection agencies category. There is a consumer advocate who has been doing this stuff for 30 years and has a radio show. I cannot keep giving his name here as the editor has already chewed me out. File the FTC complaint for the attempt to collect a time barred debt. Good luck

Roy, Don't confuse the 7 year credit reporting rule with Statute of Limitations. They are totally different. I have 3 different sources in front of me that verify my information. Statute of Limitations in regards to debt collections is the amount of time that someone can actually sue you and obtain a judgement for garnishment or property siezure. The 7 year rule for reporting delinquent credit is Federal, not just TX. You can get this from the FCRA. Anyway, good luck, and you are welcome!

Steve, FYI, the time in Texas on removal of debt is 7 years now. Janine, very useful and helpful information as well. I really appreciate it. One question; If the debt is never listed on your credit report, can a third party attempt collection? Suddenly, Allied Interstate is not calling me at all. I am trying to figure out that one. Also note, the letter they sent was sent to the company name, and not my name. I already know the original creditor has to take the officers of the corporation to court to prove negligence on their part in handling the fuidiciary (sp?) responsibilites of the corporation before I could be held liable (sp?) for said debts. We were very dilligient in dealing with the corporations debts. Like I said, we worked it out with all the creditors, save one, who chose not to respond at all. I may need to get an attorney, as I am not sure if I should respond at all to them. If I do, even to dispute this debt, would it be something they could use to get it on my personal record? I am proceeding with filing complaints with the FTC and Texas State Attorney General's office though.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. And, I'm not defensive at all. And, I am fully aware of the variation of the SOL by state. I gave him the SOL for TX that applied to his situation. I was mainly correcting Janines post in my prior post. As far as my debts went. I made myself absolutely invisible until all accounts were charged off and sold. I never even spoke to 1 original creditor after I walked away! I was invisible actually for about 2+years paying cash for everything and putting nothing in my name ans working under the table for cash. I moved 6 times. If they cannot serve you, they cannot sue you. I monitored my credit report and used an old address where a friend of mine now lived for the report. Everything else my friend marked through and returned to sender as undeliverable. I played every angle as I was determined to beat them at their own game. And almost 3.5 years later, I have. Now Im just dealing with 4th and 5th agency debt buyers. They couldn't prove the debt if their life depended on it!

Why? I'm just trying to help Roy out by sharing my knowledge and experience, just like you are. I also stated that I work in this field, so I do have knowledge about it. Your qualification for giving advice is that you walked away from 23 credit cardswith a value of $170k". If that's true, congratulations, and I really hope it doesn't backfire in the future - but it won't work for everyone. The statutes of limitation vary by state and some federal debts have no SOL at all. And BTW: --Sometimes CAs just handle collections, they don't have to purchase the account to collect on it. --Some debts allow offsets of SS and disability income, federal and state benefits, and income tax refunds. --Judgment creditors can *collectively* garnish up to a certain total % of income depending on the state (not expendable income). (And states that don't allow garn have an exception for child support, alimony, tax, and federal student loan debts -- I've seen people with federal tax debt left with just dollars each week.) Yes, you can appeal garn but they don't have to stop just because you appeal; you had the chance to pay voluntarily before it got to this point. --Some people whose wages are garnished don't make too little to pay their bills they just don't want to pay their bills. --Quitting to avoid garn just makes you look irresponsible to other employers. They see the judgment on your credit (they can require you to sign an authorization), see your employment dates, and know that if they invest in training you, one day they're going to receive a garn order and you're going to just quit like you have in the past. --It's easy to find these crafty debt dodgers. When the new employer submits the federally mandated new hire registry forms (or when he pays taxes against your SSN), you're found. --Scavenger debt buyers try to collect on old debts that were already settled or are no longer valid due to SOL. Admitting to the debt, making payments, or negotiating with them can reinstate the debt and restart the SOL. (I'm not sure why you thought this was relevant to the original poster's situation. Allied is a legitimate CA.) I don't understand why none of your 23 creditors was able to prove that you owe(d) these debts, but I am interested in it. They couldn't provide your credit card applications or proof of your transactions (either of these show your agreement to repay when you signed them)? I've never dealt with a creditor/CA who can't provide this documentation to me, let alone to a court. Can you name some of these banks/lenders? Because if they're making it this easy for people to get out of their debts, others may be interested too. I frequently read reports about CAs to stay abreast of my client's issues. I'm not sure why you get so defensive in most of your posts, but I think that anyone who is willing to offer advice or comments on this website deserves the respect of others without being attacked. If we all pool our information we may be able to help someone else. That's how I look at it, anyway. I hope I haven't said anything here that could offend you, because that's not my intention. I just thought that I'd like to share some of my experience like everyone else does. And Roy: If Allied's first letter dated 1/10, it should advise you that you have 30 days to dispute this debt. And Texas does not allow wage garnishment, except for child support, alimony, taxes, and federal student loans. But if you work out of state, a judgment can be domesticated in that state and then you can be garnished (see fair-debt-collection dot com). I would still suggest that you speak to an attorney about this situation since it is not consumer credit debt and you may not be responsible for it. But please don't follow advice that's meant to apply to a personal credit card, it's a completely different type of debt. I really hope you're able to find out more about it and that it works out in your favor!

I was not totally accurate, after reading my prior post. The types of income I stated that are exempt from garnishment, should have been worded, in most cases are exempt from garnishment. You can have up to 15% of your SS income garnished if you meet some standards, and it is for Taxes or Child Support, etc. There are exceptions to most rules. A competent attorney is usually the best advice.

That debt was uncollectable, as the last activity was 2001, and the statute of limitations in TX is 4 years! They violated your rights under federal law by putting you in collections for a time barred debt. I would pursue this with an attorney who practices in federal court and is familiar with the FDCPA. Time for a nice lawsuit! Payday is here.

BTW...They don't "file a judgement" as you stated. They file a lawsuit, prove their case in court, and IF they win, then they get a judgement. Then they take that judgement back to court and file for a garnishment order. Then IF it is approved, the debtor STILL has a right to appeal it,AND there are limits as a part of the debtor's EXPENDABLE income that can be garnished. Usually a wage garnishment for consumer debt is a waste of time due to the fact that if someone is making so little they cannot pay bills, there is little left for garnishment. That's how it works in the real world. And, disability income, VA pension, unemployment and SS are NOT subject to garnishment under federal law. And what most crafty debt dodgers do as soon as a garnishment is implemented, they simply quit that job. Then they must be tracked down once again, another garnishment order requested for that job must be obtained, and the cycle starts all over again. It is simply not worth it in most cases. I laugh at threats of garnishment.

The original loan was an unsecured line of credit for the company. I did not personally gaurantee the loan, but did sign the paperwork as an officer of the C-Corp. The original debtor was sent three certified letters as an attempt to arrange to close the debt. They were notified about the company liquidating its assets and closing its doors. They did not respond. All other creditors did respond and arrangements for closing the debts was made. This all happened in 2001. The debt is not, nor has never been, listed on my personal credit reports. I checked the three reporting agencies last night (1/16/2006) and Allied Interstate had requested a credit report on 1/16/2006. Still, the debt is not on my personal credit report. Allied Interstate first contacted me, by letter, on 1/10/2006. The above calls all took place 1/16/2006.

And in response to Janine.... Since the "debt" has been purchased by Allied Interstate, the ORIGINAL creditor is no longer in the picture at all. Now, you send a dispute of debt by certified mail/RRR and state that you need to see a copy of the contract you signed WITH THEM. If they purchased the debt they have to PROVE IT if it goes to court. You are entitled to see proof of purchase. Their word simply will not do in court, and a photocopy of a computer generated copy of a statement from the OLD creditor will NOT be acceptable either. I walked away from 23 credit cards in 10/2002 with a value of $170k. As of today no one has collected a dime, and evry lawsuit filed against me was either dismissed or withdrawn when I stood my ground requesting ACCEPTABLE proof. The courts do not like scavenger debt buyers. You have an automatic advantage as soon as you get to court. I had spotless credit for 14 years and a 735 credit score when I walked away. I did this because every creditor got greedy and raised my rates so high I couldn't get anywhere even paying double the minimums. A take it or leave it attitude sounded like two choices to me! The statute of limitations will soon be running out and I will be off the hook. My tactics in dealing with these idiots are proven again and again, and that is why I am offering this info to others. I do not advocate walking away from legitimate debt, however I do not agree with predatory and irresponsible lending either, or a "take it or leave it" attitude.

Even if you send a "Cease Communication" letter as Steve suggests, if you refuse to communicate with the collection agency at all they will likely file a judgment against you, which will allow them to garnish your wages and/or bank account(s). Since you admit that it's a valid debt, you may want to consider a final phone call or written communications to set up payment arrangements or settlement of the debt. Or if you haven't told Allied that you agree the debt is valid you can dispute it and request documentation from Allied to prove that you owe the money. Could this possibly be a debt that was actually paid off following the liquidation of your company's assets? If you personally guaranteed loans for your company and you didn't seek any legal resolution of the company's debts, but just closed the company and walked away from its debts, there could be serious repercussions such as judgments, liens, or garnishments. Depending on the type of incorporation your company had (Corporation, Limited Liability, Sole Proprietorship, etc.) you may not be personally responsible for the debt at all. You may be able to find information about this online or if an attorney helped you with the liquidation you should contact that attorney for advice. I've worked in consumer and commercial debt counseling and I've seen a lot of situations where people were so frustrated/scared/upset that they thought if they just ignored the collection agency the debt would "go away". I'm not saying you're doing this; all I know about your situation is what you've posted and it doesn't sound like you are trying to ignore it, but that you honestly forgot it/lost track of it in the aftermath of liquidating your company. But I have had clients who do this and it never works, it just makes it more difficult in the end for you - or in my line of work, me :) - to work something out with them.

Don't believe these jerks! Even in TX they cannot garnish your wages without a court order and they know it. File an FTC complaint online for each violation of the FDCPA. A separate complaint for each. The letter you want to send is a "Cease Communications" letter, not a cease and desist as some people state. A very big difference, as you must comply with the FDCPA for it to be valid. Allied Interstate is one of the biggest FDCPA violators in the nation. Do an internet search. They are listed on many different sites, all negative. Be sure that anything you mail is sent via certified mail, return reciept requested, and put the certified# on the letter itself and keep a copy for yourself of what you mailed. Once you send the cease communication letter, most likely you will not hear from them again. Good luck!