HannaH8R
Georgia,#2Consumer Comment
Sun, February 20, 2011
The Georgia Supreme Court says Hanna is a "law firm," so you have to submit a bar complaint vs. them (and not a consumer complaint with the state OCA or federal FCC -- but fine if you do that too anyway). You may submit a bar complaint vs. Fred Hanna (the owner of the "firm") and any atty. that may have contacted you that also violated bar rules for atty.s:(Call and ask for a bar complaint, and if they have them online):
State Bar of Georgia
www.gabar.org
104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
(404) 527-8700
(800) 334-6865
FAX: (404) 527-8717
See below for info. on where to look for sample do-not-call letters vs. Hanna, and how to fight Hanna lawsuits and WIN (feel free to post on here too for more info.):
Info. for fighting Hanna lawsuits: http://www.beatdebtcollectors.com/ Hanna consumer complaints and blogs: http://nextlevelunlimited.net/blog/fredrick-j-hanna-collection-debt-or-hanna-barbera-crook-or-cartoon/ http://www.ripoffreport.com/Search/Frederick-J_-Hanna.aspx Submit a Georgia bar complaint vs. Fred Hanna and other Hanna attorneys: http://gabar.org/contact_the_bar/
Tim
Grand Haven,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, October 10, 2009
I believe this IS a law firm. This does not mean, and in fact it is very unlikely, that the person you speak with on the phone is an attorney. They probably have a handful, at most attorneys in the office, and an army of collection agents.
The OP stated "I know my best bet is settlement with a good payment plan."
This is NOT necessarily correct. Your BEST bet is to arrive at a settlement, reduced to writing, expressly stating that it neither constitutes an admission as to your liability on the debt nor does it "re-age" the debt.
As regards another remark by the OP: he stated that the firm said that they were a "law firm," not a "collection agency," so they didn't have to follow the debt validation procedures outlined in the FDCPA.
This is NOT true. The FDCPA doesn't give a s**t about whether you call yourself a law firm, a collection agency, or what have you. If you are not the original creditor, you are under the jurisdiction of the FDCPA and are required to follow the laws contained therein.
On another note, just in case this is what happened, it is a violation of the FDCPA for a third party collector to threaten a lawsuit, or state that a lawsuit is in the works, if they do not actually and currently intend to file a legal claim against you.
My closing general advice: with the exception of a statement to follow, NEVER enter into payment arrangements with collection agencies. I can not stress this enough. It is NEVER in your best interest. Once they start pushing the payment arrangement angle, hang up the phone.
However, here is a little trick: let's say you have an outstanding debt for $800. You have $500 available. It IS in your best interest to contact the collection agency and see if they will settle the account for such an immediate payment.
Best regards!
anachancesare
Nokesville,#4Consumer Comment
Fri, October 09, 2009
Hello
You seemed very upset when you wrote this in May 09, I am going through a similar situation with them, I just posted my ripoff report under ANA. Anyway, I hope everything is working out, and hopefully my report can help you a little bit, or if you have something that you could suggest from what you learned, please let me know. Thank you...ANA