Complaint Review: ECMC - St. Paul Minnesota

Between January 26 and February 8th, including during a visit (stress related in part) to the ER at Baylor with gallstones, I have continued to receive flat-out harrassing, insulting calls from ECMC. I've spoke to an Eric, a Josh. Upon losing my voice from bronchitis (been having a battle lately) I called back after being yelled at by a rep who said "the goverment can come for your belongings" and "if you don't pay, that the new health care law will prevent the kind of visit you are making" - that being said to me in the ER after I was well enough to have my phone back to get ready to leave (threw up bile). This whole 2 week long affair completely stressd me out. The reps will not let you talk. I was told that I shouldn't be self-employed (actually, doing well post recession) since I am not responsible enough to pay a loan. They refused to check the Federal Website and suggested that I do that (which I did, and it shows my only loans in active repayment with Sallie Mae).

Here's the deal - everything was fine until 2006, when our business almost closed. My mother almost lost her house. I had a $55,000 elbow replacement due to a fall at work (I am a GC and property manager). So, choices were made and a bankruptcy was filed. I made several payments to ECMC - but also ACSI and Van Ru - all on the same loans, since they all sent paperwork certifying that they alone had access to my laons for repayment. I still have no idea where that money went, but it didn't get applied to the principal balances, that's for sure. The Fed is completely useless when I call - its like calling the "NPR quiet game hour" and I am convinced that I've called the public libary during nap time, and nobody can say or do anything to follow up.

Anyway, Van Ru was the only company that treated me like a human and understood the flexibility I needed due to irregular income at that time. I completed the rehab plan and have been in repayment with Sallie Mae. My credit improved and I just purchase a new car last year and obtained a credit card this year. So, out of the blue, people calling to yell at me (after telling me that they are recording the calls!) was a total shock. I have two loans, and they are being paid on time. Sallie Mae told me to have an attorney write a cease and desist letter, and that they'd had these complaints before about ECMC.

The FGSL people, or the cult of student loans, refuse to help, even though I recently received an "Oops, we lost all of your personal information" letter without so much as a gift certificate for a free pizza in it. So, I refused to give any more information to these people, because for all I know, the 651 and 617 area codes are a reef somewhere in the South Pacific and I am being fished. I insisted that all communication come in writing from ECMC. I haven't gotten anything since that request, but yet I am still pissed about the calls. I was told that "I had the competence of a 12 year old" and Eric went on an on about how good he was at his job. Why do I need to hear from a possibly fraudulent debt collector that he thinks so highly of himself, and that repeatedly? How can that be legal and good customer service? This is plain, old fashioned harrassment going on, and I would like to report it. I would like those calls played back to Congress to let them know that they've employed a company like this to collect money - that is already being repaid - a second time - and in this offensive fashion. I was called stupid.

I never yelled, I never swore, so play the calls. I would be happy to sit in a room with all parties and play those back because I never did anything except express complete and total lack of comprehension as to the way I was being spoken to and that I needed to pay a debt twice or faces all of those threatened consequences. (Refusal of medical care, my furniture and car being repossessed, they would call my family and tell them I was in default). Really? This can't be possible, but yet it happened to me. I did get a breif call from a "Jeff" who said he had updated information for me. I saved the voicemail but haven't called back yet. The times I called back, it took as many as 10 tries for the receptionist to transfer a call without hanging up.

These people have our personal information???