- Report: #501734
Complaint Review: Asset Recovery Associates - ARA - Schaumburg Illinois
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Asset Recovery Associates - ARA
P.O. Box 4009 Schaumburg, 60168-4009 Illinois, United States of America
Phone:
8883101550
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Asset Recovery Associates - ARA Fictional Credit Card, Made Up Debt, and Lies to Scam Me Out of Money Schaumburg, Illinois
Asset Recovery Associates (ARA) of Schaumburg, Illinois, while alleging to be a collection agency, used deceptive business practices and outright lies to try to intimidate and scam me into paying off a non-existent debt. They sent me a letter alleging that I had a debt of over $3200 on a Montgomery Ward Visa card. This is completely false as I have never had a Montgomery Ward account of any type and Montgomery Ward Visas don't exist.
When I called ARA, they claimed that the credit card was opened under my social security number, but it never has never been on my credit report. ARA used bullying and intimidation techniques to try to force me to pay. They claimed I missed a court date and threatened to sue if I didn't pay. They tried to coerce me into paying by claiming that this would go on my credit report and hurt my credit rating. I spoke to a Miss King, a Kyle Clark who was a floor manager, and an unidentified woman who claimed to be a lawyer.
Then I called Visa to get information about the account number ARA gave me. Visa has no record of this number because it was fabricated by ARA. Visa also has no records of any Montgomery Ward Visas because they said they don't exist.
I called Montgomery Ward, who is still in business despite ARA's (Miss King) lie that it went out of business, and spoke to their credit card department who told me that Montgomery Ward issues its own unique credit cards, not Visas or Mastercards. Montgomery Ward also confirmed that the account number ARA gave me is bogus and they have no record of any such account either.
ARA is a fraudulent company using lies and threats to try to steal money from people.
Liars and Thieves: Miss King (first name possibly Lindsey), Kyle Clark, and an unidentified woman claiming to be a lawyer
2 Updates & Rebuttals
irishpat77
westport,Massachusetts,
United States of America
They need to be licensed as debt collectors in MA
#2Consumer Comment
Fri, January 22, 2010
I did a little searching and ARA/Asset Recovery Associates is not licensed to collect in Massachusetts. Hopefully you still have the letter they sent you. If you are in MA, fax or mail a detailed description of what happened along with a copy of the collection letter to the division of banks:
Consumer Assistance Office
Massachusetts Division of Banks
One South Station
Boston, MA 02110
Fax: (617) 956-1599
You should get a quick response and if they are not licensed, an order to cease and desist will be issued against them. Once that complaint is verified that they are not licensed with massachusetts, file a complaint with the FTC.gov......once that is done, you should then contact a consumer attorney to see if you have a case to sue them in federal court.
Sola.N
United States of AmericaThe SAME thing happened to me.
#3Consumer Comment
Sat, December 19, 2009
I got a letter in the mail and called them. One of the weirdest, bar none, phone conversations of my life. They said if I didn't pay they'd have me crying by the end of the month. The broke the law at least 4 different ways in that conversation.
I called the original creditor about my so-called two-decades-old account, and it never existed. They said the account number wasn't one they would have issued, and they had no trace of my SSN anywhere in their records.
Be sure to pull your credit report and look for any inquiries by ARA or Financial Credit Service. If you see anything like that, follow the applicable credit bureau's rules for disputing the inquiry. The bogus entry on my report was removed in about a day, which is unusual since they said it would probably be 4-6 weeks. I'm guessing ARA didn't have a correct date of birth for me (and I have other indications this is the case), and when they had to provide an initial validation back to the dispute from the credit bureau, they fell flat on their faces.
It's important to check your reports because hard inquiries, which is the kind ARA pulls, can affect your credit score. Soft inquiries -- pre-employment credit checks, audits from current creditors, checking your own score -- do not. I didn't want to have this skeevy-looking inquiry sitting out there on my credit report for my legitimate creditors to see. Be sure to go straight to the three credit bureaus' official sites for your reports because you may need the tracking number from your report in order to file a dispute.
There are at least two federal lawsuits against them right now, one in Arizona and another in Massachusetts. I think the plaintiff in Massachusetts is pursuing class certification.
