Complaint Review: CAMCO - Capital Acquisitions & Management Company - Rockford Illinois

I received a letter in March of 2004 stating that I owed money to the Midland Corp. I called the number indicated on the letter to let them know there was a mistake, as I had never heard of the company.

I was put on hold and then transfered to a supervisor who rattled off my social security number and told me that I needed to pay this debt or it would effect my credit rating.

I inquired as to the basis of his allegation, and was told the debt was owed for a credit card account in 1983. And that the interest accrued brought my balance up to $1,832.00 (the original written off debt being $435.00.)

I was stunned and shaken because I didn't remember having this debt, but the more I questioned it and asked for proof, the more irate and abusive the supervisor became. And when I say "irate and abusive", I mean "IRATE and ABUSIVE."

I told him I was going to contact the original debtor to find out what was going on. When he said, "you can call them all the hell you want but it's not gonna change the fact that you owe this money and we're going to get it from you," that's when I was no longer interested in chatting. I requested that he "F*#k off," and directly hung up.

I received a call the next day, on the phone line that I had made the outgoing call on. (I mention this to make you aware that this company does track phone numbers and will use the information to harrass you in any way they can.)

This call was from a different, yet equally as caustic individual, who threw a few threats and feeble attempts at character assassination across the line until I requested documentation of this alleged debt. I was told it would be sent that day and that I "would be hearing from (them) again."

The next day I received a second notice in the mail with roughly the same information on it as the first letter I received. It was at this time that I entered their company name in a search engine and found this web site.

I am inexpressibly grateful to everyone who shared their stories about CAMCO online. It was because of the invaluable information on here that I was able to counter attack and eventually win this battle.

Two days after receiving the second notice, I was called again. This time I was armed with information about this company, it's employees and their tactics.

I informed the person calling that I was tape recording the conversation and was documenting it for future reference. I asked to have the spelling of her name and her title. I requested not to be contacted by phone again and told her that if CAMCO had any documentation that would prove this debt, that they could mail it to me at the address they had on file, but that if they contacted me by phone again, they would be in direct violation of the law.

It was fairly quickly after I stated the rules of engagement, that she rather unceremoniously hung up.

The next step I took was to reiterate what I had said on the phone, in a Cease & Desist letter that I sent by Certified Mail to CAMCO. I sent it to a P.O. Box because that was the only address I had and was a little worried that it wouldn't be received and signed for, but it was.

After that, I filed a detailed complaint with the Better Business Bureau, the FTC, Experion and the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Illinois. I shot one off to the California Attorney General's office as well, just for kicks.

It's been six weeks since CAMCO sauntered into my life and today I received a letter from the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Illinois. This is what it says:

Dear Mr. XXXXXX:

This office has been advised that your complaint has been settled to your satisfaction.

Sincerely,

Attorney General

State of Illinois

Carol Brooks

Citizen's Advocate

Consumer Protection Division

Attached was this letter from CAMCO:

Dear Ms. Brooks,

In response to the complaint filed by XXXXX XXXXXXXX on Capital Acquisitions & Management Co. (here-in referred to as CAMCO) account # XXXXXX.

We are receipt of Mr. XXXXXX's cease and desist notice on 03/24/04; therefore, we have closed and ceased all collection activity on the above referenced account. Mr. XXXXXX will not receive any communication from CAMCO regarding the above referenced debt. In addition, CAMCO does not report to any credit reporting service.

Respectfully,

CAMCO

Complaince Officer

I an attempt to level the playing field I am enclosing the STREET address and PHONE NUMBERS listed on the letterhead that was sent by CAMCO to the Illinois AG's office.

Have at it.

CAMCO

303 North Main Street

Rockford, Illinois 61101

815-968-1599

818-968-1595 FAX

My profound gratitude to the Rip-Off Report and all you good people who have written here.

R.W.

Richard

Los Angeles, California
U.S.A.

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