Vickie
Little River,#2Consumer Suggestion
Thu, July 06, 2006
By all means, file a complaint on this company at FTC.gov. Also file a complaint with your states attorney general. There is probably an online form to do that also. I would also send a complaint to the attorney general's office in Pennsylvania. They have already gotten a big judgement against NCO. I believe strength in numbers. IF enough people compain, the authorities have to do something about these thugs.
Steve
Bradenton,#3Consumer Suggestion
Thu, July 06, 2006
Mary, This is all too common with NCO! However, by making a payment you have legally affirmed your debt to them, and you have restarted the 7 year negative reporting and the statute of limitations for legal collection of the debt. Now if you stop paying they will sue you and they will win and get a judgement. Prior to this you could have sent a debt validation request and they may not have been able to prove the debt, or it may have been past the legal SOL for them to sue you. Rules for dealing with a debt collector: 1. NEVER speak to any collector on the phone 2. Never send any payment to any 3rd party collector. Always make them sue you. Most won't. 3. NEVER give any collector a post dated check! 4. When dealing with collectors always demand everything be in writing, and send all communications by certified mail, return reciept requested. Put the certified# on the letter itself. At this point, all you can do is dispute the amount. Demand an account history, and an itemization of charges. It is illegal for them to add any additional fees to the amount of the original debt. legal fees must be awarded by the court. The good news is that you are in TX where there is no such thing as wage garnishment on civil lawsuits. So you may be able to just walk away. You can also file ftc complaints online at ftc.gov for the FDCPA violations they engaged in. You can read/print the FDCPA at the FTC website. Good luck!