If you’ve come across this blog after searching for “Afni Collections” or “Afni Collections, Inc.” because you think that you’re being scammed after receiving a collections notice for a telecommunications company such as Verizon, you’ve come to the right Website. Before I explain the purpose of this site, however, I have to say something to you immediately:
Do not pay a single cent to Afni Collections, Inc.
Located in Bloomington, Illinois, Afni Collections, Inc. has been sending fake collection notices to people all over the United States—possibly even to Canada—hoping that someone is willing to take the bait and give them money that isn’t actually owed. In some cases the bill had been a legitimate one many years ago but has since been paid off; in other cases—myself included—Afni sent collection notices for Verizon bills that simply never existed in the first place.
If you do a Google search for Afni, you find yourself reading the following words: rip-off; scam; fraud; bogus; illegal. A recent consumer advice column in the Miami Herald contained the following question and answer:
• Q: I received a bill from Afni Inc., a collection agency, for $475.56 I ostensibly owe to Verizon Select Services. I haven’t used Verizon since 1998.
Since I have never left anything unpaid, I wanted to know where such information was coming from. After attempting to figure things out, Afni sent me a new bill for $240.45.
Because I was afraid to have my credit ruined, I paid it.
Is this a scam? Can Action Line tell me what I should have done?
Gerardo Martinez,
Hialeah
• A: You shouldn’t have paid that bill. With no documentation that you owed anything, Afni was just hoping you would fall for the trick.
On June 21, the Federal Trade Commission issued a press release to warn consumers about extortion schemes such as this. It focused on an English-language instruction course—Inglés con Ritmo—that was in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by falsely claiming that debts were owed. The scheme was targeting Hispanics.
“Lying to consumers about debts they don’t owe and harassing and threatening them when they don’t pay are illegal business practices, period,” Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said on the FTC website. “We will aggressively pursue companies that use these tactics to extort money from consumers.”
At ripoffreport.com, Afni is well known. We found about 255 reports from consumers throughout the country who have been in situations similar to yours. Afni asks them to pay bills dating back to the 1990s from different Verizon companies. Many of the consumers said that when they protested, the collection agency backed off.
“We sue [Afni] all the time for failing to abide by the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt and Collection Practices Act,” Miami consumer lawyer Samira Ghazal said.
Beyond that, Bob Elek, a Verizon spokesman, said company records didn’t reflect the account numbers you provided.
Verizon Select Services is no longer an active company. Any outstanding bills were purchased by a collection agency long ago, but, to the best of Elek’s knowledge, Afni wasn’t one of them.
“They [the outstanding bills] may have been resold, but, short of that, I don’t know how it ended up with that information,” he said.
As an update to this Q-and-A, a search for “Afni” on ripoffreport.com yielded 263 complaints—up from the 255 only a few days earlier.
The Website complaintsboard.com has dozens upon dozens of similar stories (210 complaints, to be exact). In some cases people have attempted to contact Afni via telephone, hoping to clear things up. My advice to you is to avoid telephone contact with them whenever possible; utilize the U.S. Postal Service to retain documentation of everything that they send you and everything that you send them.
Return to Sender
I’m not an attorney, but it’s crucial that you send Afni Collections, Inc. a letter within 30 days of your receiving the fraudulent notice to dispute the validity of the debt that they’re telling you to pay. Be sure to tell them that you’re requesting the validation in its entirety pursuant to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Be sure to tell them that your letter is not a request for address validation. Be sure to request that all communications be in the form of paper documentation that is sent via the United States Postal Service, and that you will not do business—and I use that term loosely in Afni’s case—with them via telephone, e-mail, etc. Be sure to clearly state your dispute with the bill; tell them why you’re disputing its validity. Be sure to request a complete, itemized bill for your alleged debt (including proof that you ever entered into an agreement with any company for which they claim to be collecting). If you’re someone who recognizes the alleged debt as one that you’ve paid off many years ago, be sure to inform Afni of your state’s statute of limitations concerning debt and remind them that their notice is far beyond that time period (this time period differs from state to state). Finally, be sure to send the letter by certified mail, return-receipt requested (this should probably end up costing you around $5.60 in postage—sorry).
Just as a reminder, if Afni Collections, Inc. didn’t contact you by phone, there’s a good chance that they don’t have your phone number. Don’t give it to them; if you do (and this includes any attempts to contact them by phone), there’s a good chance that they’ll harass you over the telephone from that point forward. It’s also worth avoiding the telephone because three things have been mentioned several times on many of the complaint Websites: (1) the Afni phone is busy or simply is not answered; (2) the operators are obnoxious and will threaten you; and (3) they tell you that they can “help” you by assisting you in paying the debt over the phone—the same debt that you never owed in the first place.
Another piece of advice is just as important as sending Afni a letter disputing the validity of your alleged debt: sending as many officials notification of this fraud as possible. Contact the Illinois Attorney General; contact your state attorney general if you’re in another state (which many of us are); contact the attorney general of the state in which the phony phone number is located if this happens to be your situation; contact your state and federal representatives; contact your state bureau of consumer protection (or similar agency); and be sure to fill out a mail fraud report with the United States Postal Inspection Service.
To make it easier, here is the exact text from the letter which I had to use on not one but two occasions (remember to use your alleged balance, the alleged phone number, and your own account number where I've used Xs and 5s):
Spin City
Don’t be intimidated by anyone who suggests that all collections agencies are honest and that if you get a collections notice from them, you must owe them because they say so. This is a tactic that has become commonplace among Afni employees and their family members (Afni is putting bread on their table, after all). It’s obviously not to the same degree of severity, but it reminds me of the blind support that Adolf Hitler received from his Nazi storm-troopers who really thought that they were doing a good deed by trying to exterminate an entire religion during the 1930s and 1940s.
A few weeks ago, an Illinois newspaper covered the story of a malicious letter that was sent to Afni’s headquarters. The mailing was deemed a biohazard and it was suggested that a disgruntled recipient of an Afni notice decided to send them his hemorrhoid (I’m not making this up—I swear). Anyway, comments that were left at the bottom of the story were back-and-forth banter between people who pointed out the scam that Afni is pulling and Afni loyalists. (The page has unfortunately been taken down, but a similar story can be found here.)
While some of the pro-Afni comments were from folks who were single moms, trying to make ends meet, or people with limited skills trying to break into the work force (ethics be damned), some of the comments that were left were not only belligerent but downright sad.
One person who signed their name as “Current employee” wrote: “Those who bash Afni probably had a bad experience, most likely due to their own actions.” Yes, I had a bad experience with Afni, but if you think that getting a bogus collections notice in the mail is because of something that I’ve done, it’s pretty safe to say that you’re not going to be moving up the ladder unless you plan on sleeping with the boss.
Another comment was left by a man using the name “afni employees father”: “for those afni [sic] ‘bashers’ i [sic] say this[:] would you rather our young people deal drugs or participate in gangs to make money, or make an honest living working for every dollar they make? My son works hard for AFNI and in return is provided a decent workplace and a paycheck. I’m sure most of these bashers are losers who have been contacted to pay a debt that get all upset about people actually expecting to be paid for services rendered……imagine that!”
This comment was my favorite for a multitude of reasons (and no, the fact that it appears to have been authored by a second grader isn’t one of them): (1) there’s nothing “honest” about sending out fake collections notices; (2) if those of us who are “bashers” are losers because we’re standing up to crime, so be it—I’ll happily wear the title of “loser”; (3) we’re standing up to this crime because in some cases the debts were already paid and in other cases the debts never existed in the first place; and (4) if your son’s only options in life are down to drug dealing, gangs, or working at Afni, you might have more serious problems on your hands than you realize.
Resources
I’m going to attempt to make a list here of sites that might be of service to you if you’re standing up against the Afni Collections scam. If there are any that you think should be added, let me know.
• Federal Trade Commission
The Website complaintsboard.com has dozens upon dozens of similar stories (210 complaints, to be exact). In some cases people have attempted to contact Afni via telephone, hoping to clear things up. My advice to you is to avoid telephone contact with them whenever possible; utilize the U.S. Postal Service to retain documentation of everything that they send you and everything that you send them.
Return to Sender
I’m not an attorney, but it’s crucial that you send Afni Collections, Inc. a letter within 30 days of your receiving the fraudulent notice to dispute the validity of the debt that they’re telling you to pay. Be sure to tell them that you’re requesting the validation in its entirety pursuant to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Be sure to tell them that your letter is not a request for address validation. Be sure to request that all communications be in the form of paper documentation that is sent via the United States Postal Service, and that you will not do business—and I use that term loosely in Afni’s case—with them via telephone, e-mail, etc. Be sure to clearly state your dispute with the bill; tell them why you’re disputing its validity. Be sure to request a complete, itemized bill for your alleged debt (including proof that you ever entered into an agreement with any company for which they claim to be collecting). If you’re someone who recognizes the alleged debt as one that you’ve paid off many years ago, be sure to inform Afni of your state’s statute of limitations concerning debt and remind them that their notice is far beyond that time period (this time period differs from state to state). Finally, be sure to send the letter by certified mail, return-receipt requested (this should probably end up costing you around $5.60 in postage—sorry).
Just as a reminder, if Afni Collections, Inc. didn’t contact you by phone, there’s a good chance that they don’t have your phone number. Don’t give it to them; if you do (and this includes any attempts to contact them by phone), there’s a good chance that they’ll harass you over the telephone from that point forward. It’s also worth avoiding the telephone because three things have been mentioned several times on many of the complaint Websites: (1) the Afni phone is busy or simply is not answered; (2) the operators are obnoxious and will threaten you; and (3) they tell you that they can “help” you by assisting you in paying the debt over the phone—the same debt that you never owed in the first place.
Another piece of advice is just as important as sending Afni a letter disputing the validity of your alleged debt: sending as many officials notification of this fraud as possible. Contact the Illinois Attorney General; contact your state attorney general if you’re in another state (which many of us are); contact the attorney general of the state in which the phony phone number is located if this happens to be your situation; contact your state and federal representatives; contact your state bureau of consumer protection (or similar agency); and be sure to fill out a mail fraud report with the United States Postal Inspection Service.
To make it easier, here is the exact text from the letter which I had to use on not one but two occasions (remember to use your alleged balance, the alleged phone number, and your own account number where I've used Xs and 5s):
Afni Collections, Inc.If your dispute was different than mine, remember to change your letter to Afni appropriately.
P.O. Box 3427
Bloomington, IL 61702-3427
To whom it may concern:
This letter is being sent to formally dispute the validity of an alleged debt, in its entirety, of $XX from a creditor known as “[insert name of creditor here]” for an alleged disconnected telephone number of “(555)-555-5555” (Afni Collections account number XXXXXXXXX-XX). Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I am formally requesting validation—in full—of the alleged debt on which you are attempting to collect.
Be aware that this letter is not a request for address validation; this letter is to formally dispute the validity of the alleged debt that is listed on the collection notice and demand that the debt validation is provided to me, by you, in its entirety in accordance with both federal and [your state name here] laws.
All communications and correspondence pertaining to this matter are to be carried out via the United States Postal Service at the mailing address found below and not by way of telephone, e-mail, or any form of electronic communication. Furthermore, all forms of correspondence pertaining to this matter received at and sent from said mailing address have and will be photocopied and retained for any and all future legal proceedings if necessary.
My specific dispute with the Afni Collections, Inc. alleged debt is based on the fact that I have never held any type of account with [creditor name here] at any time. Moreover, I have never had an account with [creditor name here] in any way, shape, or form at any given time, nor have I ever resided in the city of [city name here] in which the alleged disconnected telephone number listed on the Afni Collections, Inc. collection notice is located. As such, I dispute the validity of this debt and formally request evidence of validation in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I am requesting that the following information be supplied by your agency: a detailed description of the product and/or service for which this alleged debt is owed; an itemized description of how the alleged debt was calculated; and copies of all documents showing that I agreed to purchase any product and/or service in addition to paying for a product and/or service from a creditor known as “[creditor name here].”
Be advised that the hardcopy and photocopies of the Afni Collections, Inc. collection notice and all future documentation pertaining to this matter have and will be retained and/or photocopied for use by my attorney and each agency that I am contacting regarding this situation.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
NAME
ADDRESS
Spin City
Don’t be intimidated by anyone who suggests that all collections agencies are honest and that if you get a collections notice from them, you must owe them because they say so. This is a tactic that has become commonplace among Afni employees and their family members (Afni is putting bread on their table, after all). It’s obviously not to the same degree of severity, but it reminds me of the blind support that Adolf Hitler received from his Nazi storm-troopers who really thought that they were doing a good deed by trying to exterminate an entire religion during the 1930s and 1940s.
A few weeks ago, an Illinois newspaper covered the story of a malicious letter that was sent to Afni’s headquarters. The mailing was deemed a biohazard and it was suggested that a disgruntled recipient of an Afni notice decided to send them his hemorrhoid (I’m not making this up—I swear). Anyway, comments that were left at the bottom of the story were back-and-forth banter between people who pointed out the scam that Afni is pulling and Afni loyalists. (The page has unfortunately been taken down, but a similar story can be found here.)
While some of the pro-Afni comments were from folks who were single moms, trying to make ends meet, or people with limited skills trying to break into the work force (ethics be damned), some of the comments that were left were not only belligerent but downright sad.
One person who signed their name as “Current employee” wrote: “Those who bash Afni probably had a bad experience, most likely due to their own actions.” Yes, I had a bad experience with Afni, but if you think that getting a bogus collections notice in the mail is because of something that I’ve done, it’s pretty safe to say that you’re not going to be moving up the ladder unless you plan on sleeping with the boss.
Another comment was left by a man using the name “afni employees father”: “for those afni [sic] ‘bashers’ i [sic] say this[:] would you rather our young people deal drugs or participate in gangs to make money, or make an honest living working for every dollar they make? My son works hard for AFNI and in return is provided a decent workplace and a paycheck. I’m sure most of these bashers are losers who have been contacted to pay a debt that get all upset about people actually expecting to be paid for services rendered……imagine that!”
This comment was my favorite for a multitude of reasons (and no, the fact that it appears to have been authored by a second grader isn’t one of them): (1) there’s nothing “honest” about sending out fake collections notices; (2) if those of us who are “bashers” are losers because we’re standing up to crime, so be it—I’ll happily wear the title of “loser”; (3) we’re standing up to this crime because in some cases the debts were already paid and in other cases the debts never existed in the first place; and (4) if your son’s only options in life are down to drug dealing, gangs, or working at Afni, you might have more serious problems on your hands than you realize.
Resources
I’m going to attempt to make a list here of sites that might be of service to you if you’re standing up against the Afni Collections scam. If there are any that you think should be added, let me know.
• Federal Trade Commission
• United States Postal Inspection Service mail fraud report: Online or PDF
Spread the Word
Don’t sit back and hope that someone else will take care of the problem. Yes, many of us have contacted the authorities and even our lawyers, but taking the time to communicate with the higher-ups and make them aware that hundreds—if not thousands—of people are being hit with the scam is important. Even more important is to talk about it by word-of-mouth. Tell your relatives; tell your friends; tell your neighbors; hell, even tell your enemies.
Your Turn
Do you have a similar Afni story and want to get it off your chest? Do you have a horror story that’s worse than mine? Are you an Afni employee who is offended that we’re standing up to your company’s unethical, immoral, and illegal tactics? Are you a relative of an Afni employee who is outraged that I’ve used words that are too big for you to understand?
I’m leaving comments open on this blog and I’m leaving it set so that you can use pseudonyms to protect your identity if you fear retaliation. I’m planning on making this the only post for this blog, but I’ll check it periodically and respond to comments if I get the chance.
I reserve the right to remove any comments that are irrelevant to the topic, are spam, or are threatening in nature (other than threatening in a legal sense).
Spread the Word
Don’t sit back and hope that someone else will take care of the problem. Yes, many of us have contacted the authorities and even our lawyers, but taking the time to communicate with the higher-ups and make them aware that hundreds—if not thousands—of people are being hit with the scam is important. Even more important is to talk about it by word-of-mouth. Tell your relatives; tell your friends; tell your neighbors; hell, even tell your enemies.
Your Turn
Do you have a similar Afni story and want to get it off your chest? Do you have a horror story that’s worse than mine? Are you an Afni employee who is offended that we’re standing up to your company’s unethical, immoral, and illegal tactics? Are you a relative of an Afni employee who is outraged that I’ve used words that are too big for you to understand?
I’m leaving comments open on this blog and I’m leaving it set so that you can use pseudonyms to protect your identity if you fear retaliation. I’m planning on making this the only post for this blog, but I’ll check it periodically and respond to comments if I get the chance.
I reserve the right to remove any comments that are irrelevant to the topic, are spam, or are threatening in nature (other than threatening in a legal sense).
408 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 408 Newer› Newest»Additional evidence that AFNI posts erroneous accounts to credit reports based ONLY on name, with no attempt to confirm other identifying information.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/
debt/afni.html
"
Jamie of Lubbock TX (04/15/09)
I pulled my credit report last week to start working on improving my credit score. I knew I had some deliquent accounts since my husbands injury at work, but I had no idea it looked like it did. AFNI, inc has me oweing ALLTEL for 4 different accounts. I cannot see a company giving out an account after one is deliquent. I tried to dispute the claims; however, the investigation came back as valid. There is no way I have had 4 Alltel accounts and each of them over $500. This is a joke!
I have been unable to purchase a home due to all the deliquent accounts.
"
AFNI may be sending out predated letters in an attempt to deceive consumers into believing their validation rights have expired.
http://www.laborlawtalk.com/
showthread.php?p=1039277
"Just Got Collection Letter Dated 1/31/09 From AFNI Wisconsin
I received a collection letter from AFNI on 3/28/09. When i opened it the top of the letter had 1/31/09 as the date? I sent them a validation letter immediately. It has been almost 30 days since the they received the letter and I have not had a response from them. 2 things;
1- Does the day on the letter affect any action i can take?
2- What is my next step if they do not respond?
Thank you all!"
The major area of FDCPA problems with AFNI has occurred when they have billed the wrong party and then refused to provide validation, either by claiming they have no obligation to do so, or by demanding that the consumer provide proof the debt is not owed instead.
In other cases, their "validation" when finally sent has consisted of a printout they have apparently generated themselves with little information other than the creditor name, amount, and alleged debtor's name. This leaves no way for consumers to ensure that the alleged verification was ever actually determined by the original creditor to be accurate, nor does it assist wrongly billed consumers in expeditiously correcting the error.
These tactics have led many falsely billed consumers to conclude AFNI is engaging in fraud.
Here is a recent post from an alleged AFNI employee claiming that "starting this year" they will actually "send a bill copy or proof from the cell companys records" with their validation.
If their prior "validation" tactics were so legally compliant, why would they now be changing validation policy to be more in line with what is normally considered FDCPA validation, at least sending a copy of a bill from the original creditor?
This policy shift both acknowledges that their prior policy was to NOT sent an original bill copy (if they are changing it "STARTING THIS YEAR"), and implies that they are under some pressure to improve compliance with their validation obligations.
It does NOT, however, address the main unfair business practice of billing people for debts with no good faith reason to believe they owe them.
Likely sources of pressure:
1) FTC (they are at the top of the list in generating "id theft" complaints.)
2) Illinois Attorney General (they have been reported to have been on Madigan's radar for some time, and have a record of responding to IL AG complaints like a hot potato).
3) Minnesota AG Swanson (Her suit has been hanging over them for 9 months, and since the complaint involves allegations similar to the many consumer complaints, "discovery" might expose them to increased likelyhood of class action suits).
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/afni-c191083.html
"...
people say we dont vaildate date that is so far from wrong its crazy... our company will vaildate an account at any time just ask, if we cannot the account WILL be closed. We do go back to what ever company it is make sure it is still owing and also starting this year on cell, landline we also send a bill copy or proof from the cell companys records..."
This company has been known for evading consumer attempts at validation in any way and with any excuse they can. They are famous for responding to validation requests with replies demanding that consumers provide proof before they will "investigate".
They must know many of their letters go to the wrong person, or they wouldn't be evading validation. Even this employee is aware that failing to validate is one of the major complaints against them.
"...
people say we dont vaildate date that is so far from wrong its crazy... our company will vaildate an account at any time just ask, if we cannot the account WILL be closed. ..."
AFNI statistics update:
Ripoffreport.com shows the following complaint thread counts in 2008-2009:
14 Jan. 2008
27 Feb.
18 March
8 April
3 May
16 June
21 July
13 Aug.
8 Sept.
8 Oct.
13 Nov.
4 Dec.
7 Jan. 2009
10 Feb.
11 March
0 April (2 threads listed under April were due to replies.)
If AFNI is engaging in debt collection, including pulling credit reports, intentionally pursuing falsely identified alleged debtors (as alleged in the Minnesota AG's lawsuit), and this becomes apparent to the credit reporting agency, perhaps through high levels of id theft disputes involving AFNI tradelines, the credit reporting agency might have an obligation under FCRA to challenge AFNI's blanket certification of compliance, or become liable to the consumer under FCRA if they fail to do so.
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/
opinions/view_subpage.php?
pk_id=0000009531
"...
A credit reporting agency may be liable for its subscriber’s violation when the agency fails to comply with the statutory obligations imposed by 15 U.S.C. § 1681e. See Guimond v. Trans Union Credit Info. Co., 45 F.3d 1329, 1333 (9th Cir. 1995). Experian argues that because PCA gave it a “blanket certification” — a written promise to use Experian’s credit reports only for permissible purposes — the agency satisfied its statutory obligations under § 1681e. We disagree.
[8] Section 1681e requires more from a credit reporting agency than merely obtaining a subscriber’s general promise to obey the law. After prospective subscribers “certify the purposes for which [credit] information is sought, and certify that the information will be used for no other purpose,” the reporting agency must make “a reasonable effort” to verify the certifications and may not furnish reports if “reasonable grounds” exist to believe that reports will be used impermissibly. 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(a). Under the plain terms of § 1681e(a), a subscriber’s certification cannot absolve the reporting agency of its independent obligation to verify the certification and determine that no reasonable grounds exist for suspecting impermissible use.3 Blanket certification cannot eliminate all genuine issues of material fact with regard to
Experian’s liability.
..."
Reports of AFNI "validation" leaving off critical identification, such as address information, that might have clarified misidentification.
There are many reports of AFNI responding to validation requests with only original creditor, amount, and maybe some account number, sometimes unverifiable, often not with an actual copy of an original bill.
Since there are also many reports claiming they are collecting from the wrong person, systematically withholding adequate identification information on the account is consistent with intentionally attempting to collect from wrongly identified consumers.
Leaving out information is equivalent to deceptively implying the burden of proof is on the consumer. It misrepresents that the debt collector has no obligation to ensure they are billing the correct person.
"Validation" lacking in key identification information that would normally be present in business billing statements and account records, such as original account number, phone number, statement date, and address, is inherently deceptive, a lie of omission.
Leaving off such information for the purpose of extracting unowed money from "misidentified" consumers is fraudulent.
Recent examples of misidentification with continued collection:
T-Mobile verified not such account. AFNI caved.
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/
collection-agencies/afni-verification.html
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/afni-collections-c183398.html
If correctly identified, then illegal threat and deceptive collection.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/afni-inc-c184120.html
Withholding billing date.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/afni-inc-c191181.html
False identification and credit reporting.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/afni-collections-c196966.html
Probable misidentification based on name+city, wrong address, with a common name, on an alleged account from 1985.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/fairpoint-c197298.html
Refused to provide any information on account, illegal reporting of 10 year old alleged debt, original creditor verifies nothing owed. Illegal threats, illegal reporting, and deceptive collection,
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/afni-collections-c21803/page/1.html#c277883
"I asked for an acct. #, date of bill or any other information they had on this since I have not had phone service from Cingular in over 10 years. They could not provide any information and said it was my responsibility to provide paperwork to prove I didn't owe this bill. Then she threatened to report it on my Credit Report. I hung up on her... but she did put it on my credit reportwhich I am now disputing. Cingular has verified that I had service from 3/1996 to 9/1999 and no outstanding balance was due. "
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/afni-inc-c13637/page/5.html#c279019
"...bill from AFNI today has well. It says I owe 1377.12, but if I pay today I can settle the account for 344.12... I did not have or ever lived in California where this account is, plus I also check my credit often and nothing appears... I talked to verizon and this is NOT in there system.. THis is a FRAUD..."
Usual AFNI shakedown attempt, "id theft" gambit played on a kid. Parent steps in and they back off. Old MCI pre-Verizon account. this is from the end of 2007, their peak year for collections on their purchased Verizon debt.
Note the admission by AFNI that they have access to and obtain SSNs on ALL of the residents of an address, including one who would have been 8 to 10 at the time. Such SSN information would not have been part of the original account information. There would not even be phone company database fields to hold it. The SSNs must have been obtained recently, by AFNI, as 8 to 10 year olds would have no cause to have their SSNs in databases.
Complaint is by the parent, who states that phone was NOT in child's name at that address, if that phone number was even theirs.
This appears to be "skip-tracing" based on address, then using resulting names found to "reconstruct" other "account information" including name and SSN.
Might actually be a bill owed by a later resident, "erroneously" dunned to the kid based only on address and approximate date, similar to a number of other complaints.
Not "id theft" except by AFNI. Yet AFNI still attempts to explain it away as that, including the "file fraud charges so that THEY could help her go after the person who made this bill." This is normally their play to coerce payment from the "id theft victim" if they can't accuse someone, won't file a fraud complaint, etc. All ridiculous on an 11 year old "account", past SOL, that no DA would be interested in.
Consistent with other sources indicating high consumer "id theft" complaint levels associated with AFNI's debt collection practices.
http://www.consumercomplaints.in/
complaints/afni-inc-c25160.html
"Afni, Inc.
Posted: 2007-12-23 by O. W. Petcoff Send email
definetely a fraud going on!
I am glad that others have written in, too. My daughter just went through the same thing. Like most of the Commentors, her letter is dated January 16, 2007. This bill would have originated in 1994, Afni tells us, and my daughter is only 21 now!! That means that she would have been between 8 and 10 years old! Yes, we DID have an MCI phone back then, but I didn't put the phone in her name. We don't know HOW they got her information! Also, I think I remember paying the phone off, but, again, that was sooooo long ago!
What scared us was that, once we finally got Afni on the phone (they put you on hold forever, and, sometimes you only get a busy signal for hours on end), they told us that they had information on EVERYONE in our household at that time, including Social Security numbers! This was weird to me because I don't think you have to give the Social Security number of EVERYONE in the household.
...
We mentioned the words ATTORNEY and CLASS ACTION suit and, voila, we were told that this "COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE PUT ON THE CREDIT REPORT" because the statute of limitations had run out. My daughter had never been told this before when she talked to them.
...
they, reiterated, this would NOT go on her credit report. But, this was ONLY after I mentioned an attorney to them. They also told her to file fraud charges so that THEY could help her go after the person who made this bill. She said that she did not make the bill and did not care if they got any money or not, if there is, in fact, a bill.
..."
FTC releases Red Flags Rule required by FACTA ammendments to FCRA. This requires that various businesses (generally including creditors, which includes both telecom companies and debt collectors) implement programs to assess risk of identity theft in relation to their business operations, in terms of its impact on their operation, including risk to customers whether consumers or other businesses. It also requires that they implement an on-going program to assess and implement policies to detect, mitigate, and properly handle identity theft, based on their particular risk assessment.
FACTA, and the Red Flag Rule, places a responsibility on business to both assess the risk and consequences to their business and others should they come across id theft, and implement policies to properly handle it.
Currently, much id theft is washed off the books of companies by just selling it off as bad debts. The result is that fraudulent accounts circulate in the bad debt marketplace resulting in repeated revictimization of the persons or businesses whose identity was stolen. The businesses that may have allowed fraudulent activity to occur have had little accountability for their damaging actions even when they know the account is fraudulent. One result has been the high level of id theft accepted by the telecom industry, and resulting damage to consumers caused by collection activity on fraudulent accounts.
Relevance to Verizon/AFNI debt collection is that a number of the AFNI complaints have involved fraudulent Verizon accounts reported by consumers as having been noted by Verizon as fraudulent yet still showing up at AFNI as just "delinquent" accounts.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/
business/idtheft/bus23.pdf
"...
When you spot a red flag, be prepared to respond appropriately. Your response will depend upon the degree of risk posed. It may need to accommodate other legal obligations – for example, laws for medical providers or utility companies regarding the provision and termination of service. The Guidelines in the Red Flags Rule off er examples of some appropriate responses, including:
monitoring a covered account for evidence of identity theft contacting the customer
changing passwords, security codes, or other ways to access a covered account
closing an existing account
reopening an account with a new account number not opening a new account not trying to collect on an account or not selling an account to a debt collector
notifying law enforcement etermining that no response is warranted under the particular circumstances
..."
Resent Forbes article on problems with the debt collection industry mentions both the Swanson lawsuit and the "deadbeat dog" incident.
Swanson's suit has still not been settled, yet Hess claims AFNI has "had an extremely productive working relationship with the state of Minnesota". Then why hasn't a settlement been reached?
http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/15/
debt-collector-rights-personal-finance-debt.html
"...
Last year Minnesota's attorney general sued an Illinois debt collections agency, AFNI, for similar overreaching. AFNI allegedly kept trying to collect debts without adequately verifying whether they were actually owed and in the meantime reported the suspect debts to credit bureaus. In a separate incident in Sacramento, AFNI reportedly tried to collect $142 from a dog.
"We have had an extremely productive working relationship with the state of Minnesota," says James Hess, AFNI's vice president of operations for receivables management. He says in the case of the dog, the money was actually owed by the dog's owner, who had set up a credit card account in the dog's name.
From Hess' point of view, such tactics among consumers are all too common. Many people ANFI deals with owe delinquent debt that they can afford to pay back but that they "just don't take responsibility for things." Responsible consumers should be outraged by such behavior as much as they are by abusive collections practices, he argues.
..."
Strange spin on the Sacramento dog story as well. Original story had the AU card issued in the dog's name under the owner's Amex account, but that would NOT result in an ACCOUNT in the dog's name.
From the original story:
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/07/10/
Verizon-bill-addressed-to-family-dog/
UPI-20341215735930/
"Verizon said the bill was meant for a man named Andy Fanelli who lives on the other side of the country....Verizon Online said it canceled the debt. "
The dog's owner, Steve Fanelli, claims he never had a Verizon account, Verizon agrees, claims it was owed by someone on the East Coast and cancels it.
Now according to Hess the money was owed by the dog's owner. So how does AFNI send a bill to the dog in the dog's name, not the owner's name, particularly when both the owner and Verizon agree he never had a Verizon account?
Hess spins the whole embarassing incident by practically suggesting that they are collecting on a credit card account fraudulently opened in the dog's name, linking this incident to a general comment that many debtors could pay but are being irresponsible, and therefore implying that the dog's owner is a deadbeat trying to get out of paying, without literally saying so.
Yet AFNI was collecting on a VERIZON account, NOT a credit card account.
This is a similar spin tactic used in the consumeraffairs.com article: implying the debts generating complaints against AFNI are legitimate, that consumers are "confused", that disputing debts is a "tactic", that AFNI doesn't make mistakes or collect from the wrong person, etc, despite evidence to the contrary.
The original conclusion makes more
sense: AFNI sent letters to the dog "Andi Fanelli" based on the database or credit report existance created by the Amex AU account. Since Verizon agrees that the owner does not have a delinquent Verizon account, the only connection between the account they are collecting on and either the dog or its owner is a common name. AFNI has sent another collection letter based on name alone.
AFNI's purchase of old Verizon accounts and subsequent collection activity may have produced a large increase in consumer complaints alleging erroneous or fraudulent collection, but the same collection tactics are visible long before the Jan. 2007 upsurge in consumer complaints.
The upsurge in old Verizon collections in 2007 just produced a flood of complaints similar to past complaints, indicating that the complaints of erroneous collection are due to AFNI's tactics, not to the underlying quality of Verizon account data.
Two early reports of AFNI's signature "erroneous identification" collection tactics, both involving old accounts, not legally reportable, probable misidentification, deceptive collection, and evasion of validation.
The first one is literally a summary of AFNI's illegal collection tactics: sending collection letters based on sloppy "skip-tracing", then evading validation by refusing to send any information while threatening to revoke their "discount" offer if the consumer insists on their FDCPA validation rights, falsely claiming letters had been sent for years to imply consumer had no right to dispute now, illegally threatening to report negative information past the 7 years allowed by FCRA, garbled debtor information possibly indicating "skip-tracing" the account by phone number and address, then attempting to "fix" the account data to appear credible.
Phone number and date are inconsistent, name and SSN are inconsistent, garbling is consistent with an attempt to reconstruct based on address reverse search lacking in accurate residence date. NOT consistent with true "id theft", or "error".
Consistent with trying to appear to know what they should know from original account information, yet they haven't actually obtained what they allege from that source.
Tactics designed for extracting payments on questionable "debts".
http://chat.lawinfo.com/
collections_afni_sprint-t6584/
index.html?t=6584&highlight=afni
"02-03-2004, 08:37 AM
EricaR
Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1
Collections - AFNI Sprint Long Distance Phone Card
Here is my problem. I got a letter from a company call AFNI Anderson Finance Network Inc. They said I had an outstanding debt from a unpaid bill to Sprint Long Distance for 9/93 and they I had to pay it to avoid damage to my credit report. However they can't send me any information concerning this "debt". When I ask for documentation they threaten to forfeit their offer of accepting 25% of the total payment. Besides not giving me any information in writing other things don't pan out. First while the phone number they have is mine they have my brother ssn. My brother was out of the country in 1993 serving his country. Next I don't ever recall using Sprint as a long distance carrier. Third I don't think I had the phone number in question turned on until Fall/95. Last they said bills have been coming ( unanswered) to that address for years. My mother has lived in the house for 21 years she would not let that go unnoticed. I call the AFNI and they are just plain nasty. Offering nothing. They won't fax and for some reason the information I want to see would take 30-45 days to get...but they say it won't help me. I don't want anyone's credit report damaged but this is not fair. I have never been deliquent on a bill. Thanks E.R. "
Second one is from 2002. This was ultimately removed through dispuring through credit reporting agencies (verified) then to AFNI management, but due to the age of the consumer it is clear any connection with this consumer was entirely AFNI's assumption.
The pattern of complaints from consumers who were underage when alleged accounts were opened is more indicative of erroneous identification than AFNI's often claimed "id theft".
Note that normal account information that might be expected to quickly resolve misidentification (date account opened) was withheld from the credit reporting agency, who implied that if AFNI had supplied the date proving contract was invalid, they would have removed.
"Deception and denial" targetted at unsophisticated consumers.
http://consumers.creditnet.com/Discussions/
credit-talk/t-im-soooo-f-ing-pissed-23553.html
"04.10.2002, 10:57
lbowman
Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 338
Some CA called Afni, Inc is reporting a collection account from Sprint Long Distance in the amount of $27 on my credit report. I was 17 at the time. I contacted the CRA to dispute, they won't take it off (The account shows last activity 4/98 but no open date; I told them I was underage and sent them a copy of my birth certificate). They verified the account saying the company didn't supply the open date so they can't delete.
I called the CA. They're very rude and unhelpful. I've since sent a letter offering full payment for deletion. They have until 4/18 to respond.
I called Sprint Long Distance. They are even more unhelpful. I've been hung up on, transferred and told to call Afni Inc.
Correct me if I'm wrong, even if this were my account, which it's not, would they be able to report if I was 17 when it was established?
I getting VERY PO'ed and would like to know what I should do from here.
TIA.
ps. Should I try contacting Sprint via PFB?
"
Cease and Desist Order by State of Nevada Department of Business and Industry Financial Institutions Divison against American Agencies
http://fid.state.nv.us/Notices/2009/
2009-04-10_EA_AmericanAgencies_OremUT.pdf
Basis of complaint:
3) Dissolved corporation
...
6, 7) Unlicensed in Nevada
...
11) AA continued collection of a debt from a Nevada resident after being informed that it was the result of identity theft and that original creditor had discharged the bill for that reason.
12) Complaints regarding validation of debt on www.ripoffreport.com
...
14) Engaged in debt collection in Nevada without a license.
Note Nevada's response to AA failing to validate, attempting to collect on a debt resulting from id theft, and unlicensed debt collection. AA remains unlicensed in Nevada.
http://fid.state.nv.us/
New_Qry_ForeignCollection.asp
http://fid.state.nv.us/
New_Qry_CollectionAgency.asp
Note that AFNI does not appear in the June 1, 2009 searches above, yet Google shows AFNI on a cached page dated May 1, 2009. They may have let their Nevada license expire.
http://74.125.155.132/
search?q=cache:BzUiodl5hoIJ:www.fid.state.nv.us/
New_Qry_ForeignCollection.asp+
ACA+afni+investigation&cd=44&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Recent actions by NY Attorney General Cuomo against debt collectors:
http://www.nydebtreform.com/
enforcement_actions.html
"The Attorney General’s Enforcement Actions
On April 14, 2009 Attorney General Cuomo announced criminal charges against Long Island-based American Legal Process (“ALP”) and its CEO and President William Singler for a fraudulent business scheme in which the company allegedly failed to provide proper legal notification to thousands of New Yorkers facing debt-related lawsuits, causing them unknowingly to default and have costly judgments entered against them without the chance to respond or defend themselves. In addition, Cuomo announced his intent to sue one of ALP’s largest customers, the law firm of Forster & Garbus, for violations of New York State’s consumer protection laws. According to Cuomo, Forster & Garbus used ALP to serve over 28,000 summons and complaints across the state, but failed to supervise the company and relied on legal papers from ALP that it knew or should have known were false."
More:
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/
media_center/2009/may/
may27a_09.html
"May 27th
ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO LAUNCHES INQUIRY INTO DEBT COLLECTORS ACROSS NEW YORK STATE
Cuomo Shuts Down NY Collection Agencies That Threatened and Intimidated Consumers Into Paying Debts They Didn’t Owe
Sends Subpoenas to Nearly 20 Debt Collectors Statewide
NEW YORK, NY (May 27, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office has launched a statewide inquiry into debt collection companies. As part of the inquiry, the Attorney General’s Office obtained a court order against Lamont Cooper and his two debt collection companies, Emanee Development, Inc. and Dial Tech LLC, under which the companies will shut down and Cooper will be forced to pay restitution to consumers statewide.
According to Cuomo’s Office, Cooper’s companies unlawfully lied to consumers, threatened to arrest them, and intimidated them into paying debts that they sometimes did not even owe. They would often call third parties like neighbors or employers to further embarrass and harass consumers. The Attorney General also announced that his Office has subpoenaed nearly 20 other debt collectors across the state in his ongoing investigation into various facets of the debt industry.
“At a time when New York families are already struggling with unprecedented levels of debt, unscrupulous collection agencies add salt to an open wound,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “Using fear and intimidation to take advantage of individuals facing debt is a shameful and illegal scare tactic. This judgment is the first step in this Office’s expanding investigation into debt collectors that violate the rights of consumers and operate outside of the law.”
According to the Attorney General's Office, Cooper operated Emanee and Dial Tech, which did business under the names of various shell companies and fictitious law firms across the state, including: Claims Process Services, Claims America, CMC Recovery Services, Lomax & Barnes and Murray, Bradshaw & Associates. Collectors at the companies used illegal and fraudulent tactics to collect debts. Emanee and Dial Tech collectors:
Falsely accused consumers of criminal activity and told them that they had committed criminal fraud;
Falsely informed consumers that they would be arrested within 24 hours if they failed to pay the alleged debt;
Threatened consumers with law suits even though the collectors were not lawyers
Sought collection of debts beyond the six year statute of limitations;
Illegally discussed debts with third parties like employers and neighbors to embarrass and harass consumers; and
Failed to provide legally required written notices to consumers about their rights to dispute the validity of the alleged debt.
Some consumers, intimidated by these unlawful practices, then paid debts that they did not even owe. The tactics used by Emanee and Dial Tech are prohibited by both the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the New York State debt collection and consumer protection laws.
..."
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/
media_center/2009/june/
june2a_09.html
"June 2nd
ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO ANNOUNCES REFORM DEAL WITH THREE NY DEBT COLLECTION COMPANIES OVER DECEPTIVE TECHNIQUES
Companies to pay $245,000 to state for violating state and federal debt collection laws, must provide easily accessible consumer complaint forms through company Web sites
~
Latest action in Cuomo’s ongoing probe into unlawful debt collection and settlement practices
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 2, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office has reached an agreement with three New York debt collection companies that failed to adequately supervise employees who engaged in deceptive and fraudulent methods to collect debts.
The three companies, Creditors Interchange Receivable Management, LLC, Capital Management Services, LP and Tri-Financial, LLC, have agreed to substantially reform their business practices in order to be in full compliance with the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and New York’s Debt Collection Procedures Act. The companies, which are based in Western New York but do business across the country, are also paying $245,000 to the state in penalties and costs.
..."
All three have complaints of using threats and harassment to attempt to collect money consumers claim they don't owe on accounts they never had.
Creditors Interchange Receivable Management, LLC
http://www.ripoffreport.com/
reports/0/208/RipOff0208844.htm
Capital Management Services, LP
http://www.ripoffreport.com/
reports/0/285/RipOff0285480.htm
Tri-Financial, LLC
http://ripoffreport.com/
reports/0/390/RipOff0390547.htm
Both ChoicePoint and Accurint are part of Lexis-Nexis, owned by Reed-Elsevier.
Abusive and fraudulent debt collection.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090623-711824.html
"JUNE 23, 2009, 2:47 P.M. ET UPDATE: NY AG Shuts Down Buffalo Debt Collection Operation
...
By Chad Bray
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday his office has obtained a court order to shut down a Buffalo-area debt collection operation that allegedly used improper tactics, including posing as members of law enforcement, to collect debts.
At a press conference in Buffalo, Cuomo said a New York State Supreme Court judge issued a restraining order to force Buffalo resident Tobias Boyland to temporarily shut down all of his operations in the Buffalo area, including at least nine debt collection company. The press conference also was broadcast by telephone.
Cuomo has filed a civil action against Boyland and three others.
"Just because you're behind on credit cards doesn't mean you forfeit all rights," Cuomo said. "These tactics are meant to extort payment."
Calling it one of the more egregious cases he's seen, Cuomo said employees from Boyland's companies violated state and federal law by routinely posing as law enforcement officials and threatening to arrest consumers and throw them in jail unless they made arrangements to pay the company immediately.
During the press conference, Cuomo played audio from three telephone calls he alleges were made by employees of Boyland's operations, including two in which they posed as law enforcement.
""Hello, this is Investigator Brook Carlson from the Warrant Division. This is the last time I am going to attempt to contact you," the caller said in one message. "We have left this message numerous times, and it seems that you are disregarding all means of contacting us back. So, therefore, you are going to be picked up at Hillcrest Hospital. You'll come in, then the warrant is actually going to be formalized in McLennan County. Make sure you have somewhere for your kids to go, lock up your house, get some clean clothes because you're not coming home anytime soon."
Boyland, a convicted felon, was separately arrested on a illegal gun possession charge Tuesday, Cuomo said.
He was taken into custody by Erie County Sheriff's officers after investigators from Cuomo's office found a loaded, .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol on his person while serving a search warrant at his residence related to the civil case, Cuomo said.
...
Cuomo said hundreds of consumer complaints have been filed with law enforcement agencies across the country regarding the tactics of Boyland's operations.
The debt collection agencies operated under several names including: Central Resource Management, Final Claims Asset Locators, Final Control Asset Locators, Interchange Payment Solutions, Next Step Services, Portfolio Asset Assurance, Silverbay Services and Teleport.
Boyland's employees also falsely informed consumers that they were being sued in civil court, Cuomo said.
Cuomo said a probe by his office revealed collectors regularly demanded payment for non-existent debts, demanded payments for debts that had already passed the statute of limitations or substantially inflated the amount owed on an actual debt.
The attorney general said the federal Fair Debt Collections Act and New York state debt collection and consumer protection laws prohibit debt collectors from posing as an attorney or threatening lawsuits or other legal action.
Cuomo has subpoenaed 20 New York debt collection companies and law firms as part of a broader probe into the industry. He's also obtained court orders shutting down two other debt collection companies.
..."
Both residents at an address get a bill from AFNI for an alleged Verizon debt on the same day. Neither has had a Verizon account. Probable billing based on address alone. (i.e. mail fraud)
http://www.ripoffreport.com/
reports/0/465/RipOff0465808.htm
"...
Got a Letter From This Company on the same day as my Roommate, thought it was odd, since Neither one of us ever had a Verizon Account. Checked online and found out we weren't the only ones. We contacted Verizon directly and the said they are looking into it.
..."
Colorado Attorney General’s office of Consumer Protection is aware of AFNI's activities.
http://www.davisms.net/
index_files/Page325.htm
"...referred me to the Colorado Attorney General’s office of Consumer Protection - collection fraud. My initial announcement of the company name “afni” brought an immediate awareness and response of procedure to take. I followed his advice; wrote a letter stating the statute of limitations had expired on the issue and to not call or write me again; and, mailed the letter certified return-receipt.
..."
Plaintiffs' attorneys in Seeger, et.al. v. AFNI
http://www.ripoffreport.com/
reports/0/231/RipOff0231626.htm
"...
Seeger, et.al. v. AFNI, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55709. Here are the attorneys who are representing the Plaintiffs: John D Blythin , Robert K O'Reilly, and J Scott Schnurer of Ademi & O'Reilly LLP in Cudahy, WI. Here is their contact information: 3620 E. Layton Ave., Cudahy, WI 53110, (414) 482-8000. ..."
Ongoing DishNetwork/AFNI "not-mine" dispute, starting in August 2008.
First AFNI attempts to pass off their own printed "verification" as validation. Complaints filed with IL AG, TX AG, BBB.
AFNI reply to BBB complaint claimed consumer had to get validation through Dish, supposedly logging into an on-line account with Dish when this wasn't even this consumer's account.
Account reported by Dish and AFNI to be closed, zero balance, removed from credit reports.
Unpaid account reappears on credit reports 5 months later. Another round of complaints in progress. AFNI reply to BBB claims they don't have to follow Texas law.
Consistent with reports of others having problems with AFNI over "not-mine" disputes. ("Not-mine" disputes probably account for most of the FTC AFNI "id theft" complaints.)
Note attempt to pass off their own document as "validation", other attempts to evade validation or claim burden of proof is on consumer, not them, reinsertion months after removal, misleading statements to BBB, etc.
Also note IL AG's request for copies of all documents related to the dispute. As reported earlier by others, they appear to take complaints by out-of-state consumers seriously. To date, IL AG remains the most effective AFNI complaint channel short of suing.
http://www.collectorsexposed.com/
forum2/index.php?topic=101.0;wap2
AFNI has 2 call centers in San Antonio, Texas.
http://www.afniupsourcing.com/
about_us/locations.htm
The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), which allows for treble damages, may be invoked through tie-in statutes such as Texas Debt Collection Act.
http://www.jtexconsumerlaw.com/
V8N2pdf/V8N2deceptive.pdf
Note that although penalty is a fine, an offense is a misdemeanor. Both criminal and civil remedies are available. Criminal penalty is per violation, not per action. Injunctive relief is available.
http://www.occc.state.tx.us/pages/
Legal/Laws/fcode/2005/ch391.html
"Title 5. Protection of Consumers of Financial Services
Chapter 391. Furnishing False Credit Information
§391.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "credit reporting bureau" means a person who engages in the practice of assembling or reporting credit information about individuals for the purpose of furnishing the information to a third party.
§391.002. FURNISHING FALSE INFORMATION; PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly furnishes false information about another person's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity to a credit reporting bureau.
(b) A credit reporting bureau commits an offense if the credit reporting bureau knowingly furnishes false information about a person's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity to a third party.
(c) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $200. (V.A.C.S. Art. 9016, Secs. 2, 3.)"
http://www.occc.state.tx.us/pages/
Legal/Laws/fcode/2005/ch392.html#a
"Subchapter E. Defense, Criminal Penalty, and Civil Remedies.
§392.401. BONA FIDE ERROR. A person does not violate this chapter if the action complained of resulted from a bona fide error that occurred notwithstanding the use of reasonable procedures adopted to avoid the error.
§392.402. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if the person violates this chapter.
(b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 for each violation.
(c) A misdemeanor charge under this section must be filed not later than the first anniversary of the date of the alleged violation.
§392.403. CIVIL REMEDIES. (a) A person may sue for:
(1) injunctive relief to prevent or restrain a violation of this chapter; and
(2) actual damages sustained as a result of a violation of this chapter.
(b) A person who successfully maintains an action under Subsection (a) is entitled to attorney's fees reasonably related to the amount of work performed and costs.
(c) On a finding by a court that an action under this section was brought in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award the defendant attorney's fees reasonably related to the work performed and costs.
(d) If the attorney general reasonably believes that a person is violating or is about to violate this chapter, the attorney general may bring an action in the name of this state against the person to restrain or enjoin the person from violating this chapter.
(e) A person who successfully maintains an action under this section for violation of Section 392.101, 392.202, or 392.301(a)(3) is entitled to not less than $100 for each violation of this chapter.
§392.404. REMEDIES UNDER OTHER LAW. (a) A violation of this chapter is a deceptive trade practice under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code, and is actionable under that subchapter.
(b) This chapter does not affect or alter a remedy at law or in equity otherwise available to a debtor, creditor, governmental entity, or other legal entity. "
http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/
PressRelease/090714NationalArbitration.asp
"July 14, 2009
ATTORNEY GENERAL SWANSON SUES NATIONAL ARBITRATION COMPANY FOR DECEPTIVE PRACTICES Minnesota
Company Is Listed In Millions of Fine Print Consumer Contracts Nationwide
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson today filed a lawsuit against the National Arbitration Forum of Minnesota--the largest arbitration company in the country for consumer credit disputes--alleging that it misrepresented its independence and hid from consumers and the public its extensive ties to the collection industry.
“This is a classic case of the little guy getting stepped on by fine print contracts,” said Attorney General Swanson.
Swanson said that credit card companies, banks, retail lenders, and cell phone companies increasingly place—in the fine print of their consumer agreements—what are known as “mandatory predispute arbitration clauses.” Through mandatory arbitration clauses, the consumers waives, in advance, their right to have their day in court if a dispute arises. Instead, the consumer agrees—usually without knowing it—that any dispute will be resolved by an arbitrator selected by the credit card company or other creditor. Credit card companies are among the most prolific users of mandatory arbitration clauses. Just by keeping a credit card, the consumer agrees to the terms and conditions of the card, even if the arbitration provision was sent to the consumer after the card was issued. As a result of mandatory arbitration clauses, which appear in millions of consumer agreements, hundreds of thousands of consumer disputes are resolved each year not by a judge or jury, but by a private arbitration system.
The Attorney General’s suit alleges that the National Arbitration Forum represented to consumers and the public that it is independent and neutral, operates like an impartial court system, and is not affiliated with and does not take sides between the parties.
“The company tells consumers, the public, courts, and the government that it is independent and operates like an impartial court system. In fact, it has extensive ties to the collection industry—ties that it hides from the public,” said Attorney General Swanson.
The lawsuit alleges that the National Arbitration Forum, while holding itself out as impartial, works behind the scenes—alongside creditors and against the interests of ordinary consumers—to convince credit card companies and other creditors to insert arbitration provisions in their customer agreements and then appointing the Forum to decide the disputes. The lawsuit alleges that the Forum pays commissions to executives whose job it is to convince creditors to put mandatory arbitration clauses in their customer agreements. The suit alleges that the Forum does this to generate arbitration filings in the Forum—and hence, revenue—for itself.
..."
"...
The lawsuit alleges that, despite telling consumers and the public that it is not affiliated or aligned with the collection industry, the Forum in fact has financial ties to the collection industry. The lawsuit alleges that, beginning in 2006 and through 2007, Accretive—a family of New York private equity funds—engineered two transactions. In the first transaction, Accretive formed several equity funds under the name “Agora” (meaning “Forum” in Greek), which invested $42 million in the Forum. In the second transaction, three of the country’s largest debt collection law firms—Mann Bracken of Georgia, Wolpoff & Abramson of Maryland, and Eskanos & Adler of California—merged into one large national law firm called Mann Bracken. Accretive then acquired the majority interest in a debt collection agency called Axiant, which acquired the collections operations of Mann Bracken. Through these transactions, Accretive took control of one of the country’s largest debt collection enterprises and became affiliated with the Forum, the country’s largest consumer collection arbitration company. The lawsuit alleges that Accretive principals remain actively involved with the Forum.
The lawsuit states that, in 2006, the Forum processed just over 214,000 consumer collection arbitration claims, of which 125,000, or nearly 60 percent, were filed by the above law firms.
Swanson said that the Forum was aware of the affiliation problem in 2006 when it negotiated its relationship with Accretive. She pointed to an email from an officer of the Forum to the hedge fund stating: “…we should certainly plan for unwinding any deal in the event shared ownership becomes an acute issue.”
Swanson was joined at the announcement of the suit by Richard Neely, retired Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Upon retirement, Justice Neely was appointed as an arbitrator by the Forum but stopped receiving cases after he refused to award attorneys’ fees to creditors that he did not believe were allowed under West Virginia law. Neely praised Swanson’s lawsuit, saying, “I am happy that a government official has stepped in to try and address this problem. This company tilts the playing field toward creditors and makes a mockery of our legal system,” he said.
..."
BusnessWeek article on NAF, June 5, 2008.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/
content/08_24/b4088072611398.htm
Earlier lawsuit by City of San Francisco against NAF.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/
article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/08/
BU2S101CV2.DTL
"S.F. sues credit card service, alleging bias
Sam Zuckerman, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The city of San Francisco is suing a leading credit card dispute resolution service, accusing it of favoring industry and stacking the system against consumers in debt collection cases.
The suit, filed by the office of City Attorney Dennis Herrera late last month in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that National Arbitration Forum, one of the nation's biggest dispute resolution companies, is biased in favor of debt collectors. It says the forum "is actually in the business of operating an arbitration mill, churning out arbitration awards in favor of debt collectors and against California consumers."
Herrera's office is asking the court to prohibit unfair business practices in arbitrations and to make defendants pay court costs and undetermined civil penalties.
The forum, which is based in Minneapolis, said it is independent and neutral, and that its practices "constitute a system that satisfies or exceeds objective standards of fairness." The results of its arbitration cases closely parallel the outcomes of litigation in the courts, but at a much lower cost, it added.
The San Francisco complaint also names the credit card unit of Bank of America and a collection company as defendants. A Bank of America spokeswoman declined to comment.
The complaint cites forum statistics showing that of 18,075 cases brought before one of its arbitrators from January 2003 to March 2007, a total of 30 resulted in victories for consumers.
..."
http://capwiz.com/nacanet/attachments/
MN_Complaint_Against_NAF.pdf
AFNI statistics update:
Ripoffreport.com shows the following complaint thread counts in 2008-2009:
14 Jan. 2008
27 Feb.
18 March
8 April
3 May
16 June
21 July
13 Aug.
8 Sept.
8 Oct.
13 Nov.
4 Dec.
7 Jan. 2009
10 Feb.
11 March
1 April
4 May
9 June
Nothing reported under July as yet.
NAF just caved, in less than a week. Looks like Swanson found a real "smoking gun".
It will be interesting to see what effect deceptive representations of impartiality have on already decided arbitration cases once various state AGs and trial lawyers get through with them.
http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/
PressRelease/
090720NationalArbitrationAgremnt.asp
"July 20, 2009
National Arbitration Forum Barred From Credit Card And Consumer Arbitrations Under Agreement With Attorney General Swanson
Swanson Also Wants Congress to Ban “Fine Print” Forced Arbitration Clauses
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson and the National Arbitration Forum—the country’s largest administrator of credit card and consumer collections arbitrations—have reached an agreement that the company would get out of the business of arbitrating credit card and other consumer collection disputes.
“I am very pleased with the settlement. To consumers, the company said it was impartial, but behind the scenes, it worked alongside credit card companies to get them to put unfair arbitration clauses in the fine print of their contracts and to appoint the Forum as the arbitrator. Now the company is out of this business,” said Swanson.
Swanson sued the National Arbitration Forum on Tuesday, alleging that the company--which is named as the arbitrator of consumer disputes in tens of millions of credit card agreements--hid from the public its extensive ties to the collection industry. The lawsuit alleged that the Forum told consumers and the public that it is independent and neutral, operates like an impartial court system, and is not affiliated with and does not take sides between the parties. The lawsuit alleged that the Forum worked behind the scenes, however, to convince credit card companies and other creditors to insert arbitration provisions in their customer agreements and then appoint the Forum to decide the disputes. The suit also alleged that the Forum has financial ties to the collection industry. The suit alleged that the company arbitrated 214,000 consumer arbitration claims in 2006, nearly 60 percent of which were filed by laws firms with which the Forum is linked through ties to a New York hedge fund.
Under the settlement, the National Arbitration Forum will, by the end of the week, stop accepting any new consumer arbitrations or in any manner participate in the processing or administering of new consumer arbitrations. The company will permanently stop administering arbitrations involving consumer debt, including credit cards, consumer loans, telecommunications, utilities, health care, and consumer leases.
...
Swanson noted that the City of San Francisco is in litigation with the Forum and that other state Attorneys General have contacted her about these issues since the announcement of the lawsuit. “I am very pleased with the results of our lawsuit. It is good for consumers that this company will no longer be able to administer credit card and consumer debt collection arbitrations. I hope other jurisdictions will use whatever authority they have to look at other possible remedial relief in this area,” said Swanson.
The settlement allows the Company to continue to arbitrate internet domain name disputes (which the company handles under an appointment from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)), personal injury protection claims (which the company performs under appointment and supervision under the New Jersey state government), and cargo disputes (which the company performs under rules established by the U.S. Department of Transportation). These areas were not part of the lawsuit, and the company performs the work under the supervision of government or non-government organizations (NGOs). Accordingly, the settlement does not affect this very limited activity.
"
Access to Lexis-Nexis/Accurint by mafia crime family allowed id theft, fabricating forged corporate checks, and investigation of individuals with suspected law enforcement connections.
http://www.cuinfosecurity.com/
articles.php?art_id=1632&rf=071709eb
"Lexis-Nexis Breach Linked to Crime Family
Analyst: 'Days of Amateurs Committing Breaches are Well Behind Us'
July 17, 2009 - Linda McGlasson, Managing Editor
Lexis-Nexis made public notification of a data breach that federal authorities say is tied to a New York mafia crime family. The New York-based company has sent more than 13,000 letters to former customers whose personal data may be at risk. The 13,000 customers may have been targeted for extortion and identity theft.
Earlier in May, the U.S. Attorney General's office in Southern District of Florida handed down an indictment charging 11 men with racketeering conspiracy. The 11 had ties to the Bonnano organized crime family.
"The former Seisint customer involved in this matter should have provided notice to potentially affected individuals," says a Lexis-Nexis representative (Seisint is a company owned by Lexis-Nexis). "However, because the customer is no longer in business, we provided the notice."
The alleged suspect, Lee Klein, one of the 11 charged in the indictment, "was an employee of a former Seisint customer who misused his employer's Accurint access.
...
According to the indictment, Klein worked for the criminal "crew" of Thomas Fiore, an associate of the Bonanno organized crime family.
The indictment alleges that Klein illegally used "information obtained from computer databases in order to acquire identification information regarding potential victims of extortion" and people suspected by Fiore's criminal organization of being involved with law enforcement.
Klein allegedly provided Fiore with "corporation names, addresses and account numbers to facilitate the manufacture and negotiation of counterfeit checks."
In addition, the indictment alleges that members of the criminal crew used threats of force and violence, including conspiracy to commit murder, to advance the objectives of the enterprise.
..."
http://www.businessweek.com/investing/
wall_street_news_blog/archives/2009/
07/big_arbitration.html
"Big Arbitration Firm Pulls Out of Credit Card Business
Posted by: Dan Beucke on July 19
By Robert Berner
After coming under increasing fire for bias towards major credit-card companies, the nation’s largest arbitration firm involved in adjudicating delinquent credit-card debt has agreed to pull out of the business, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson disclosed on Sunday, July 19.
The settlement with the National Arbitration Forum comes after the Minnesota AG sued the firm on July 14 for consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, and false advertising. The civil suit, filed in state district court in Minneapolis, alleged conflicting ties between the NAF and debt-collection law firms that represented major credit-card companies. The suit also alleged that New York hedge fund Accretive LLC owned stakes in such collection law firms and the NAF, sending arbitration business between the two.
...
In a prepared statement, NAF acknowledged that it is exiting the consumer arbitration business. “The National Arbitration Forum remains committed to consumer arbitration as the best and most affordable option for consumers to resolve disputes quickly and efficiently,” said Michael Kelly, CEO of Forthright, an NAF affiliate. “However, the Forum lacks the necessary resources to defend against increasing challenges to arbitration on all fronts, including from state Attorneys General and the class action trial bar.”
...
In an interview with BusinessWeek, Swanson says that showing the alleged cross ownership between the collection law firms, the NAF, and Accretive gave her the leverage to force NAF out of consumer arbitration. The AG says she uncovered such additional allegations as that the NAF would help creditors write cases. Swanson says she and her staff negotiated with NAF founder Edward Anderson and Forthright’s Kelly and NAF’s lawyers late into Friday night over the terms of the consent decree.
..."
The majority of complaints against AFNI are essentially "not-mine" complaints, whether diverted to "id theft" complaints with FTC, or reported on consumer sites as "I never had this number, I never had Verizon, I never lived at this address, or even in this state, what the hell is this bill for?".
AFNI is a member of ACA International, subject to its code of conduct.
Here is ACA-Intl's own interpretation to its members of the FDCPA requirements for validation, essentially undermining AFNI's often claimed position that consumers who dispute alleged debts have to provide proof of what they are disputing or AFNI has no obligation to validate, or that AFNI doesn't have to provide validation to continue collection of disputed debts.
Also note that ACA's interpretation of FTC's position on validation is that a dispute, however expressed, IS a request for validation.
AFNI has often responded to validation requests either with a reply letter indicating that the consumer must provide documentation of their "dispute" before they will "investigate" (no mention of receiving a validation request), or with their own letter simply listing the original creditor and amount allegedly owed, with no traceable information on the alleged account or indication that it has been verified with the original creditor.
http://www.acainternational.org/
files.aspx?p=/images/209/
consumerversionvalidationrightsfdcpafcra.pdf
"...
Thus, the general requirement is that the debt collector obtain verification from the creditor that the amount demanded is the amount owed by the consumer from whom the collector is attempting to collect. If a consumer disputes a certain portion of the debt, or if multiple debts are involved, an itemization may be required.11 Verification requires more than simply resending the same collection letter the consumer already received; the collector should contact the creditor to verify the debt.12 The collector need not keep detailed files of the alleged debts, but should look to an outside source to verify the debt.
..."
Why, then, does AFNI routinely fail to comply, when their own compliance director has a background in compliance training both within AFNI, and in ACA-sponsored courses?
It does not appear that NAF settled merely because it was being unfairly picked on but "lacked resources" to defend itself, as it was deliberately set up to have limited resources. The Minnesota case had hardly begun, let alone cost resources. Its viabliity depended wholely on its image as impartial, since the acceptance and enforcement of its "product", its arbitration decisions, by the courts, depends on that image of impartiality.
But once an image reaches the tipping point, it often flips.
AFNI's success also has been built on image, including their ability to maintain their BBB compliance.
AG Swanson's lawsuit against AFNI has been hanging over them for a little over a year. Minnesota's recent settlement with NAF, in only 1 week, has attracted congressional interest.
Congress is interested in both arbitration and the debt collection industry, as part of their investigation of the financial industry. The rapid settlement with NAF may also draw attention to lawsuits brought by the Minnesota AG from other state AGs that might have similar complaints in those other states.
They are all finding themselves dealing with increased levels of consumer fraud, mortgage rescue fraud, lending fraud, neighborhood blight from unoccupied forclosed homes, etc, and the costs to their state budgets are rising.
Perhaps AFNI may now have an incentive to seek a quick settlement before they end up in the spotlight.
House subcommittee hearing on arbitration. Witnesses include Lori Swanson (MN AG), and Michael Kelly (COO of NAF which just agreed to exit consumer arbitration business to settle Swanson's lawsuit).
http://domesticpolicy.oversight.house.gov/
story.asp?ID=2542
"Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on The Misuse of Arbitration to Collect Consumer Debt
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Nathan White (202)225-5871
Hearing: “Arbitration or ‘Arbitrary’: The Misuse of Arbitration to Collect Consumer Debts”
Date: July 22, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
Location: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2154
On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Domestic Policy Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled, “Arbitration or ‘Arbitrary’: The Misuse of Arbitration to Collect Consumer Debts.”
The purpose of this hearing is to evaluate contractually-mandated arbitration of disputes between businesses and consumers in the context in which the vast majority of those disputes occur—the collection of debts from consumers. The hearing will evaluate whether consumer debt collection arbitration, as currently administered, produces results that are fair and legitimate.
Experts invited to testify:
Mr. Michael Kelly, Chief Operating Officer, National Arbitration Forum
`
Mr. Richard W. Naimark, Senior Vice-President, International Centre for Dispute Resolution, a division of the American Arbitration Association
Mr. F. Paul Bland, Staff Attorney, Public Justice
Professor Christopher R. Drahozal, John M. Rounds Professor of Law, University of Kansas
The Honorable Lori Swanson, Attorney General, State of Minnesota.
..."
http://minnlawyerblog.com/2009/07/22/
minnesota-ag-to-testify-in-d-c-
today-aaa-puts-moratorium-on-
consumer-debt-cases/
"
Minnesota AG to testify in D.C. today; AAA puts moratorium on consumer debt cases
July 22, 2009 by Mark Cohen
At 1:00 p.m. Central time, the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding a hearing on the following topic: “Arbitration or ‘Arbitrary’: The Misuse of Arbitration to Collect Consumer Debt.” Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, whose recent lawsuit led to the National Arbitration Forum pulling completely out of the consumer debt arbitration business, is one of five scheduled speakers. (Click here for her prepared statement.) Interesting, another speaker is Michael Kelly, CEO of the National Arbitartion Forum. Judging by the title of the hearing, this won’t be a lovefest for him.
Also testifying will be the head of the American Arbitration Association, Richard Naimark. According to Naimark, the AAA stopped administering consumer-debt arbitrations in June.
According to a statement provided to Minnesota Lawyer, Naimark will testify that “a series of important fairness and due process concerns must be addressed and resolved before [the AAA] will proceed with the administration of any consumer debt collection arbitrations. Until such time, the AAA has placed a moratorium on the administration of any consumer debt collection arbitrations. Further, we suggest that to the extent that the program improvements offered here are implemented, that they are done so not just within the AAA but as a part of a broader debt collection arbitration reform.” (Click here for the full AAA statement.)
In its written report released yesterday, the subcommittee paints a scathing picture of the consumer debt arbitrations done by teh NAF.
“Mass production collection of consumer debts through arbitration is not “arbitration.” It is debt collection made simpler for the benefit of the creditor and to the detriment of consumers,” the report says. (Click here for the full text of the report.)
You can watch the hearing webcast live here.
..."
"...
UPDATE 1:33 p.m.:
Subcommittee Chair Dennis Kucinich hails Swanson’s settlement with NAF as a “landmark” and calls the NAF’s speedy decision to exit the consumer debt arbitration business so soon after Swanson’s lawsuit “remarkable.”
Swanson is now testifying.
1:39 p.m.: Now Michael Kelly, CEO of the NAF, is testifying. Kelly quotes from a Boston Globe article stating that the small claims courts are stacked against the consumer. Yet, these cases will now be channeled to thos courts. Kelly says unlike a default judgment, NAF arbitration results had to be based on law supporting the result. “Consumer arbitartion will not and should not be eliminated.”
1:44 p.m.: AAA’s Naimark is now testifying. Most consumers do not choose small claims, he says. In fact, most consumers default. Properly conducted consumer arbitration can work well, he adds.
1:53 p.m.: F. Paul Bland of the advocacy group Public Citizen says it’s an insult to small claims judges to compare them to the NAF arbitration process. Cases funneled to arbitrators who decided in favor of the creditor, regardless of the size of the NAF’s roster of nuetrals, he says.
1:55 p.m.: Professor Christopher R. Drahozal, John M. Rounds Professor of Law, University of Kansas, said this world (i.e. consumer debt arbitration) has changed in last week. Looking at how courts handled consumer-debt cases, 99 percent in study group went against consumer; 96-97 percent were default judgements). Statistics don’t tell the whole tale, he noted. Court or arbitration, the results were similar. He said this makes him question if consumers are better off in court. “Results suggest to me it’s not the venue that matters, it’s the type of claim that matters,” he said.
Chairman Kucinich in direct questioning to Kelly asks him about the NAF’s marketing materials geared to businesses, which appear to describe a process intimidating to consumer that gives businesses “control of the process.”
Kelly said he wasn’t there when this marketing document went out. He acknowledges it was “inartfully drafted.”
Kelly acknowledges consumer debt arbitration was “majority” of business.
2:19 p.m.: Subcommittee member Aaron Schock: Not sure ready to throw away the arbitration process. Even federal government uses arbitration in student loan context.
2:35 p.m.: Subcommittee recesses for one hour. Will return after that for a “brisk” round of questions.
"
http://www.nydebthelp.com/
ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO SUES TO THROW OUT OVER 100,000 FAULTY JUDGMENTS ENTERED AGAINST NEW YORK CONSUMERS IN NEXT STAGE OF DEBT COLLECTION INVESTIGATION
37 Law Firms and Collectors Named in Lawsuit for Failing to Properly Notify New Yorkers Being Sued for Owing Debt
Cuomo Seeks to Vacate Over 100,000 Faulty Judgments Statewide and Provide Restitution to Victims
New York, NY (July 22, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced his office has sued 35 law firms and two debt collectors in New York State in order to throw out an estimated 100,000 default judgments improperly obtained against New York consumers. This is the latest action in Cuomo’s ongoing investigation into unlawful debt collection practices.
According to the lawsuit filed yesterday in New York State Supreme Court, Erie County, the companies relied on a Long Island company, American Legal Process (ALP), to notify New York consumers that they faced debt-related lawsuits. ALP, however, failed to properly serve consumers across the state with legal papers, causing thousands to unknowingly default and have costly judgments entered against them without the chance to respond or defend themselves. In April of this year, Cuomo’s Office announced criminal and civil cases against ALP and its owner, William Singler, for this fraudulent business scheme.
..."
"...
ALP, however, allegedly engaged in “sewer service,” where process servers take advantage of individuals facing lawsuits by failing to properly alert them and denying them the chance to respond. As a result, tens of thousands of judgments were obtained against unsuspecting New Yorkers, many of whom first learned they were being sued when they found their bank accounts frozen or their wages garnished. ALP covered up the fraud by falsifying sworn affidavits of service in courts across New York.
...
The law firms and debt collectors sued today then used these false affidavits to obtain default judgments against NY consumers. Between January 2007 and October 2008, these law firms and debt collectors filed more than 100,000 lawsuits in every county in New York State, with the vast majority of the suits being debt collection actions. In a large percentage of the cases sampled and analyzed, the defendants never answered the lawsuit and the law firms sought and obtained default judgments from the courts. In seeking the default judgments, the firms made use of ALP’s fraudulent affidavits that claimed that the individual defendants had been given proper legal notice of the suits.
...
The law firms and debt collectors named in today’s suit are: Forster & Garbus; Sharinn and Lipshie; Kirschenbaum & Phillips, P.C.; Solomon and Solomon, P.C; Goldman & Warshaw, P.C.; Eltman Eltman and Cooper; Eric M. Berman, P.C.; Stephen Einstein & Associates, P.C.; Fabiano and Associates; Jones Jones Larkin O’Connell; Panteris & Panteris, LLP; Zwicker and Associates; Relin, Goldstein & Crane; Woods Oviatt Gilman; Leschack & Grodesnky; Hayt Hayt & Landau; Pressler & Pressler; Jaffe & Asher; Mullen & Iannarone; Arnold A. Arpino & Associates; Houslanger & Associates; Mann Bracken, LLC; Smith Carroad Levy & Finkel; McNamee, Lochner Titus & Williams; Thomas Law Office; Fleck, Fleck & Fleck; Eric Ostrager; Cohen & Slamowitz, LLP; Cullen and Dykman LLP; Winston & Winston, P.C.; Cooper Erving & Savage, LLP; Robert P. Rothman, P.C; Gerald D. DeSantis; Greater Niagara Holdings, LLC; Rodney A. Giove; Advanced Litigation Services, LLC; and Jason L. Cafarella.
Attorney General Cuomo also announced that as part of his ongoing investigation into fraudulent process servers and debt collectors, his Office is determining which other law firms statewide relied on ALP to serve legal process on New Yorkers facing lawsuits. More than 20 such firms have been identified to date and his Office is notifying those firms of its intent to seek to vacate any default judgments those firms have obtained based on ALP affidavits of service.
..."
Note that one of the firms named in the suit is Mann Bracken, also connected to the NAF scandal.
Edelman & Combs class action lawsuit against Mann Bracken filed in federal court in Illinois, based on Minnesota AG's lawsuit against NAF which alleged common ownership between NAF and Mann Bracken and misrepresentations by NAF.
http://www.courthousenews.com/
2009/07/16/ArbitrateIllionis.pdf
Note that this lawsuit is against Mann Bracken, LLP, and FIA Card Service, N.A., formerly MBNA America Bank, N.A.
More class action lawsuits on the way. It appears that the banks will be the deep pockets, since NAF has been constructed to have no pocket.
http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/
digestTAL.jsp?id=1202432624943
&Minnesota_Plaintiffs_Lawyer_Files
_Three_RICO_Class_Actions_Against
_National_Arbitration_Forum
"Minnesota Plaintiffs Lawyer Files Three RICO Class Actions Against National Arbitration Forum
By Drew Combs
July 29, 2009
In a settlement that The Wall Street Journal said helped throw the consumer debt arbitration business into disarray, the National Arbitration Forum--which arbitrated disputes between customers and their credit card and cell phone companies--agreed to stop taking new cases as of last Friday, after the Minnesota state attorney general sued the company for, among other things, claiming impartiality in arbitrating disputes while secretly colluding with credit card companies.
But a Minnesota plaintiffs lawyer appears willing to pick up where the state left off. On the same day that NAF pulled out of the consumer debt business, Daniel Gustafson of Gustafson Gluek slapped the company with a 40-page class action complaint in federal district court in Minnesota. He quickly followed that filing with two other class action complaints this week. [Hat tip to Courthouse News.]
All of the suits cite RICO and antitrust causes of action, and name a raft of credit card companies, as well as NAF, as defendants. Gustafson's complaints allege that NAF, which is a for-profit company, is not a neutral and fair arbitrator, but colludes with credit card companies, creditors, and debt collectors to the disadvantage of the consumers whose cases it used to hear. One California study he cites in the complaints found that NAF sided against consumers in 94 percent of the cases it heard between January 2003 and March 2007.
..."
Another class action law firm looking into NAF.
http://www.girardgibbs.com/naf.asp?
_kk=naf%20lawsuit&_kt=
c34a967e-8a01-4d52-898f-b8e1a4b3b497&gclid=
CI7Ni5-2ipwCFRZCagodDzEFXg
"National Arbitration Forum Class Action InvestigationHave you participated in an arbitration to resolve credit card or cell phone disputes?
Girard Gibbs LLP is currently conducting an investigation involving complaints against the National Arbitration Forum. Many Americans own credit cards or cell phones whose contract contains a fine print requiring them to settle any disputes through an arbitration process. Although the arbitration is presented as unbiased and fair, recent investigations have revealed a potential conflict of interest with creditors behind the scenes.
A recent lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Attorney General suggests that, while presenting itself as impartial, the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) may engage in consumer fraud by working alongside creditors to tip the balance away from the consumer during the arbitration process.
The suit also accuses NAF of deceptive trade practices and financial affiliation with a hedge fund group that owns one of the country’s major dept collection enterprises, further disadvantaging the consumer during an arbitration.
If you have participated in an arbitration for a dispute relating to a credit card or cell phone agreement through the National Arbitration Forum, or if you would like more information about our investigation, please fill out the form on the right for a confidential consultation with an attorney.
"
AFNI's RI license.
Note that they have a call center in St. Charles MO, home of a number of infamous "auto warranty" scam call centers.
http://www.dbr.state.ri.us/documents/
divisions/banking/program_operations/
List_of_Licensees.pdf
"...
LICENSE # 20082360DC LICENSE STATUS: VALID STATUS DATE:
PRINCIPAL: Ronald L. Greene
MANAGER: Lisa Anderson
01 VALID
Phone:() -
3731 Mueller Rd. 6/26/2008
St. Charles, MO 63301
..."
Two more lawsuits by a state attorney general against debt collectors for collecting on unowed debts.
http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/
othercities/stlouis/stories/
2009/08/17/daily18.html?
s=industry&i=bankruptcies
"Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 12:58pm
Modified: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 2:29pm
Suit: Debt collectors scam residents
Two debt collection companies operate scams to collect debts from people who don’t owe money, according to lawsuits filed Tuesday by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.
Koster sued Portfolio Recovery Associates, of Norfolk, Va., and Professional Debt Management, of Kansas City.
Portfolio buys old and bankruptcy-discharged debt, often from another bad debt buyer, and then tries to collect, sometimes through court action and sometimes tries to collect from the wrong consumer or for the wrong amounts, Koster said.
A request for comment from Portfolio Recovery Associates was not immediately returned.
Professional Debt Management uses scare tactics, leaving messages on consumers’ phones that there is an emergency, Koster said.
Like Portfolio, Professional Debt Management tries to collect on accounts already paid or from the wrong party, he said.
Professional Debt Management referred questions to its lawyer, Jeffrey Zimmerman, who declined to comment because he hadn't seen the lawsuit yet.
Koster is asking the court to fine the companies and require them to pay all court costs.
..."
NY AG lawsuit to shut down Buffalo debt collector accused of extortionate collection of unowed debts.
http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/
othercities/buffalo/stories/2009/08/17/
daily19.html?s=industry&i=insurance
"Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 12:41pm EDT
Modified: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 2:10pm
AG wants to shut Buffalo collection co.
Business First of Buffalo - by Matt Chandler
credit-collector crackdown continues with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announcing that his office has filed a lawsuit against a Buffalo-based agency.
Investigators said city residents Omar Smith, Narvell Benning and Keith Marshall collectively ran 13 debt collection companies under the banner, the Benning Smith Group. The attorney general’s office received over 850 complaints from consumers who faced physical and sexual threats as well as intimidating and sexually harassing tactics in an attempt to collect debts that in many cases, the victims did not owe.
In the statement announcing the lawsuit, Cuomo outlined the charges against the company, charges that appear on the surface even more severe that those companies Cuomo previously cited in his ongoing investigation into credit collection agencies.
“This company made lies, threats and abuse their calling cards in their efforts to manipulate and take advantage of consumers already facing tough economic times,” Cuomo said. “They did everything they could to demean and humiliate their targets, stooping so low as to sexually harass and verbally abuse individuals nationwide.” The lawsuit, filed this morning in State Supreme Court, seeks to shut down all 13 businesses operating under The Benning Smith Group.
Cuomo says the groups actions violated state and federal laws including posing as law enforcement officials and threatening to jail consumers who didn’t pay their debt immediately.
The release cited over 1,000 instances the AG’s office has identified where Benning-Smith breached state and federal statues.
Cuomo’s investigation revealed that collectors regularly demanded payment for non-existent debts or substantially inflated the amount owed on an actual debt. Using their false law enforcement identities, collectors coerced consumers into agreeing to make payments. Fearful of facing arrest and public humiliation, consumers authorized withdrawals from their checking accounts and sent Western Union money grams or money orders.
According to the AG’s office, in one instance, a Benning-Smith collector kept repeating the name of a consumer’s daughter, describing various sexual things he would do to her unless the debt was paid. Another collector told a female consumer that if both she and her husband would engage in sexual acts with him, he would pay their debt himself. The complaints allege that collectors routinely called consumers drunks, scumbags and deadbeats.
The collection companies that the trio ran operated under the following names: Abrams, Burke & Associates; Benning and Smith Acquisitions, Inc.; Brady and Caruso, LLC; DebtPayments.com; DebtPayments.com, LLC; Fredericks, Goldstein & Zoe; Graham, Noble & Associates Bookkeeping; Graham, Noble & Associates LLC; Graham, Beagle & Associates LLC; Kingman, Cole and Associates, LCC; Marshall and Ziolkowski Enterprise, LLC; Marshall Ziolkowski Acquisitions, LLC; Lansky, Goldstein, Zoe; OLS Payment Services; and University Debt Collection.
The telephone was disconnected at Benning and Smith Acquisitions Inc., and a phone message left at the offices of Abrams, Burke & Associates seeking comment was not returned.
Tuesday’s action is part of a larger investigation by Cuomo’s office looking into unlawful debt collection practices. In June, Cuomo obtained a court order shutting down the fraudulent activities of another Buffalo-based collection racket and initiated criminal charges against the owner of that operation. His office previously shut down two other collectors for threatening and intimidating consumers into paying debts that they did not owe.
..."
Unsupported allegation that id theft must have been by a relative, debt collection tactic used to squeeze payment from people claiming an alleged debt was due to fraud.
http://bnfcounsel.com/images/
confessions_of_debt_collector_pdf.pdf
"Confessions of a Debt Collector
Fred Williams, a reporter for the Buffalo News, worked for three months at a debt-collection
agency to see how one operates. Here is his report.
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, November 2008
"Ethel, you did this!" Joe barks into the phone, his voice booming through the divider between
our desks. Joe is trying to collect a credit-card bill, but Ethel is unaware of the card's existence --
or claims to be. "Stop making excuses!" Joe tells her.
...
In this world, identity theft isn't an epidemic. It's an excuse used by weaseling debtors -- like job
loss, illness or even the death of a spouse. In the notes we make after each call, these excuses are
summed up with the code HLS -- hard-luck story.
Joe tells Ethel that he's looking at her credit report and it doesn't support her innocence. "This
card was paid every month for two years," he says. "Identity thieves don't do that!" Maybe he's
right and she's trying to skip a legitimate bill. Or maybe he's making it up.
...
Even people like Ethel, who claim to be fraud victims, can be squeezed for cash. We say it was
probably their child or someone else in their household who abused the card, and if they don't
call the police, we will.
..."
Following the Minnesota AG's lawsuit against AFNI last July, BBB had been including in their report disclosure of the MN AG's pending action, including allegations from the complaint, while dropping their rating to "B+".
The MN lawsuit is still on-going, yet now the BBB report does not even mention it, now rating them "A+", as if it never happened.
http://www.bbb.org/central-illinois/business-reviews/collection-agencies/afni-in-bloomington-il-9000349
"Government Actions
BBB has no information regarding government actions at this time."
Other BBB reports for AFNI just direct consumers to the Peoria report. Amazing.
Forged notarized affidavits produced by WAMU to substantiate alleged Providian debts. Only problem was they were signed in the name of a woman who died in 1995, and who was never a WAMU employee.
http://www.billingsgazette.com/email/top-headlines/
article_f5228e88-8a2a-11de-80bc-001cc4c03286.html
"...
Great Falls case alleges racketeering
A third case, filed in Great Falls, is class-action complaint that accuses debt collectors of civil racketeering by filing fraudulent affidavits against consumers. The Great Falls case could affect thousands of consumers nationwide.
The Great Falls case accuses the Johnson firm, CACV and Portfolio, along with the now-bankrupt Washington Mutual Bank and two individuals, of violating civil racketeering and debt-collection laws. Racketeering claims against the two individuals were dismissed recently.
The complaint alleges that the defendants engaged in an illegal enterprise by using fraudulent affidavits in legal proceedings against consumers to collect debts.
The defendants' conduct is "a complete affront to the legal system'' as well as to the "tens of thousands of individuals who suffered adverse consequences,'' the complaint said.
After two days of mediation in April, Portfolio, which denies liability, agreed to settle the case for nearly $1 million. The agreement calls for Portfolio to pay from $25 to $200 to an estimated 14,710 members in the class. One of the plaintiffs, Hill County resident Jeanie Cole, would get $2,000.
Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong put on hold the proposed settlement along with other pending motions to give all parties an opportunity to reach a settlement.
Missoula attorney Nick Pagnotta, who represents CACV, said earlier that the company is defending itself. "CACV believes once the case is decided on the merits, it will be found to have acted lawfully to collect valid indebtedness,'' he said.
Attorneys for the other defendants declined to comment.
The lawsuit, Heenan said, grew from a state case in which he represented Cole. Portfolio, through the Johnson firm, sued Cole, alleging that she owed a debt on a Providian National Bank credit card.
Portfolio tried to prove the debt by filing a notarized affidavit provided by a Martha Kunkle, who purported to be Providian's agent.
"We made an effort to meet Martha Kunkle and verify what she said. It all kind of snowballed from there. They never made her available,'' Heenan said.
The state judge ruled in Cole's favor and sanctioned Portfolio with a $6,000 penalty for disregarding his order to make Martha Kunkle and the notary public available for depositions.
Further investigation found that "Martha Kunkle'' was actually her daughter, Lorraine Kunkle, a Washington Mutual employee in Texas, court records said. Lorraine Kunkle authorized other employees to sign the name "Martha Kunkle'' on thousands of affidavits, the complaint said. Martha Kunkle died in 1995 and never worked for Washington Mutual or Providian, court records said.
The Cole case alleges that Portfolio and CACV bought charged-off debt from Washington Mutual and that the bank operated "a false affidavit factory.''
Any time one of the companies met resistance to their collection attempts, they would prepare "false and misleading affidavits like the Kunkle affidavit'' for Washington Mutual employees to sign and return for use in court cases, the complaint said. "(Portfolio) and CACV took the false and misleading affidavits and utilized them to secure judgments against hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of alleged debtors.''
..."
BBB got sued by the court-appointed receiver of several companies involved in oil and gas lease scams, for its role in suppressing consumer complaints in connection with the scam. A former south Florida BBB president was convicted of federal conspiracy charges.
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/01/business/
telemarketing-fraud-case-is-tentatively-settled.html
"Telemarketing Fraud Case Is Tentatively Settled
By BARRY MEIER
Published: Wednesday, May 1, 1991
The Federal Trade Commission said yesterday that it had tentatively settled its largest telemarketing fraud case ever, one that is expected to return $47 million to 8,230 consumers who bought phony oil and gas leases in the early 1980's.
The F.T.C.'s case was tied to a related civil suit in United States District Court in Miami, which was filed against lawyers, accountants, bankers and the Better Business Bureau.
The professional firms and the consumer group were accused of helping three telemarketing companies commit the fraud. The firms include Alexander & Alexander Inc., a leading insurance broker based in New York, the Better Business Bureau of South Florida, in Miami, and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, a national organization based in Arlington, Va.
Jurisdictional Problem
The F.T.C. has no jurisdiction over lawyers, accountants and consumer groups, but they were sued by a Florida lawyer who acted as the court-appointed receiver for the U.S. Oil and Gas Corporation, the Eagle Oil and Gas Corporation and the Stratford Companies, the three companies that had committed the oil and gas lease schemes. Consumers bilked in the complex scheme will recoup about 90 percent of their investments of $5,000 to $10,000, once the proposed settlement is made final as expected this fall.
In 1985, Henry Scott Harris, a one-time president of the Better Business Bureau of South Florida in Miami, and several employees of the telemarketing companies, were convicted of Federal conspiracy charges stemming from the scheme. Mr. Harris's role was to suppress consumer complaints made to his organization.
..."
When consumer disputes alleged debt that they have already verified through Verizon is not owed, AFNI threatens to damage credit, playing up how long it will take to produce validation as reason to pay it without validating.
1) AFNI has access to Verizon account information on accounts Verizon considers to be closed with no balance due.
2) "Legal BS" talk-off. BS claim that NY has some special law as the excuse for why Verizon considers customer in good standing but "debt" is still owed. Deceptive collection.
3) Attempt to evade validation and collect on unowed "debt" through threatening to damage credit. Overshadowing FDCPA dispute and validation disclosure.
Same pattern as many other AFNI complaints.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/
afni-collections-c3894.html?sort=datea&page=20
"...
we also got a letter from Afni in August 2009 that we owe for a Verizon account. The only thing that its true is that we HAD a Verizon account 2 years ago. They even referred to the our old Phone number so we were not alert at first. After calling Verizon they said us that we do NOT owe anything to Verizon and are welcome as their customers again at any time. Our credit is fine. Then we called Afni again. We got the most ridiculous answer we got from there when we said that we can open a account with Verizon any time. The lady Answered "Oh yes but you are still in debt-the only state in Usa is in New York where Verizon can give you an account even though you owe them money. Wow! Next step was to ask for the statement from Afni that we REALLY are in debt. The lady said. Oh, but its going to take 30 days to send that paper-are you not afraid that you will lose your credit? We can make a payment plan right now" The amount was approx.200 dollars.
..."
Upcoming FTC roundtable discussion on debt collection arbitration and litigation.
Note the effect of recent cases such as the NY AG "sewer service" cases, and the MN AG lawsuit and settlement against NAF.
Although the language is polite and neutral, the common focus is unmistakable. It is the issue of fraud in debt collection and related arbitration and litigation: fraud on the consumer, fraud on the court, fraud on or by the arbitrator or arbitration organization.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/
debtcollectround/agenda.pdf
"Protecting Consumers in Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration:
A Roundtable Discussion
San Francisco, California
September 29-30, 2009
...
Should there be changes in the law or industry practices with respect to notifying consumers about arbitration? Should there be any other changes with respect to initiating proceedings or consumer participation?
...
Should there be changes in the law or industry practice with respect to ties between collectors and arbitration providers? Which, if any, of these ties create bias or perceived bias? Should such ties be prohibited or disclosed to consumers?
...
How frequently are default judgment entered in debt collection litigation? What evidence is there of a possible relationship between default judgments and service of process?
...
Should there be changes in the law or industry practice with respect to service of process or default judgments?
...
How frequently do debt collectors seek to collect on debt that is beyond the statute of limitations? Are debt collectors more likely to collect on debt that is beyond the statute of limitations with certain types of debt, or on behalf of certain types of owners of debts?
...
What role do the courts have in addressing statute of limitations issues in debt collection? What substantiation, if any, regarding the statute of limitations should
be required of collectors?
...
Should collectors be required to affirmatively disclose to consumers that they have no legal obligation to pay a debt that is beyond the statute of limitations?
Should there be other changes in the law or industry practice with respect to statute of limitations issues?
...
What substantiation of indebtedness is typically provided along with the complaints filed in debt collection litigation? Is sufficient substantiating evidence
typically provided over the course of debt collection litigation?\
..."
Complaints against AFNI on ripoffreport.com have been relatively thin from July to the present (only 2 showing under "AFNI"), although consumeraffairs.com has more than made up for it (9 in August, 6 in July), so it is unlikely they have curtailed their usual activities.
This shows up on ripoffreport under "Anderson Financial", another bogus "misidentification", Dish confirms no amount is owed, credit damaged, AFNI ignores dispute.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Satellite-Companies/
Anderson-Financial/anderson-financial-delinquency-4e476.htm
"...Ripoff Report Verified Safe
I was going through my credit report and found this company had put a file on there saying i owe 220. to Dish Network, I talked to Dish Network and they don't have an account for me. I have not had any communication from this business saying what I owed or who I owed to. I have written to them with nothing back in return. ..."
Another reason you cannot trust unsubstantiated claims you owe an alleged debt, if you needed one.
This has been going on for over a year, but the scammers appear to have access not only to old payday loan data, but probably credit report or skip-trace databases, so they can fabricate phony claims using identity information.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/
stories/2009/09/07/yrb_546864.shtml
"...
Phony debt collectors raise fear of national data breach
Your Money
By Kelvin Collins| Special Columnist
Monday, September 07, 20093
The Better Business Bureau is issuing a national alert about phony debt collectors who are calling consumers and saying they have defaulted on a payday loan and will be arrested if they don't pay immediately.
Claiming to be lawyers, the scammers say they are with the "Financial Accountability Association" or the "Federal Legislation of Unsecured Loans." They have a disconcerting amount of personal information on the people they call.
The BBB is concerned that this may be the result of a data breach. Thousands of people may have had their personal information compromised, and given the scammers' tactics, it appears that those who have previously used payday loan services could be particularly at risk.
According to reports received by the BBB and posted online, the scammers accuse the victim of defaulting on a payday loan and claim they are being sued. The phony debt collector threatens that, if the victim doesn't pay as much as $1,000 immediately via wire or by providing bank account or credit card numbers, he or she will be arrested and extradited to California within the hour to stand trial.
The scammers often have the victim's Social Security, bank account or driver's license numbers, as well as home addresses, employer information and even the names of friends and professional references.
..."
Interesting little con game by a debt collector.
As a side note, it is common for banks to issue credit cards to many college students with credit limits not justified by current income, knowing there is a good chance their parents will pay off the account should the student default.
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-bar-tender/2009/09/
family-sues-collection-agency-for-duress.html
This appears to be an entirely unrelated, but similar complaint against NES.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/national-enterprise-systems-c66376.html
Similar illegal and abusive threats, against the wrong person.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070504135947AA0UUIT
"...Finally, I got fed up and called and found out that they were NES. I got a bully on the other end talking about garnishing wages and attaching bank accounts and he wouldn't let me even ask what the charge was that I supposedly had defaulted on. Then he finally blurts out something about my address being in NC and I said, "Hey buddy, you got my phone number up on your screen? It's in NH. You got the wrong guy!" And he hung up. Real professional outfit this bunch. Don't believe a word they say!!!
..."
Confirmation of illegal tactics by ex-employee of NES. In particular, note use of abuse, illegal threats, and other duress to force immediate payment by parents, allegations of collecting on post-dated phone check authorizations ahead of allowed date, obtaining account balances by pretexting in violation of GLB, etc.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Corrupt-Companies/National-Enterprise/
national-enterprise-systems-in-3j52d.htm
"...
They Falsely Represent Themselves as Federal Agents, Attorneys, State Officials, etc.
I recently worked at this horrible place. National Enterprise Systems is the collection agency from hell. It's the devil's worst nightmare. Employees are trained to collect according to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act but once on the floor in their respective departments collectors are told to forget everything they learned.
... This idiot would identify himself to callers as a federal agent, an NES attorney, etc., anything to try to scare the debtor into paying. He would actually tell debtors and their spouses that a lawsuit had been filed and if the account is not paid by postdated check by a certain time that day a deputy of the court was coming to serve the debtor on his job. I witness this on a daily basis all day long. B. Howard is neither a federal agent, attorney nor any of the other things he claims to be and NES don't sue debtors. All are clear violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
Debtors are talked to as if they're inhuman. Even when the debtor is not home the person taking the message is treated like dirt. I will never forgot my supervisor shouting at an 81 year old African-American woman for not getting a pen and paper to take the message. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE 81 YEARS OLD HE SCREAMED AT THE WOMAN." I've witness collectors hollering at kids "GO GET YOUR FATHER."
... The more a collector screams at a debtor the more they like it. People actually clap and cheer when a collector goes off on a debtor. All that concerns these greedy money grabbers is how much money they are collecting at any given time.
Payments are demanded in full although they do offer settlements that are too demanded in full. Money orders and mail-in payments are not accepted, only postdated checks over-the-phone or Western Union Transfers for Citi Bank accounts. Some other creditors do allow NES to also take payment by credit card. For the postdated checks debtors are asked to give their accounting and routing numbers. NES, the scumbags they are, attempts to take the money out before the postdate. Nice company huh!
Collectors and supervisors once provided with bank info by the debtor call banks automated customer service numbers to obtain how much money they have in their accounts. We have their social security numbers so getting info this way is like taking candy from a baby. Some banks have safeguards against this and required you talk to a live person. They also work this wickedness on debtors' credit card accounts or the credit card accounts of the debtors' spouse, mother, father, etc. I remember one collector on the phone with a debtor saying "Your Mother Has $7,000 On Her Card She Can Use; She Can Pay This Debt For You!"
..."
Not only illegal disclosure in violation of FDCPA, but attempt to extort parents into paying debt they did not owe.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/
scam-and-cheating-c138823.html
"...
Also, at the beginning of the month he had initially contacted my parents at their house rying to get in touch with me. How he got their number I can only imagine. After this contact, my parents told me they wanted to have nothing to do with it and I told him explicitly not to contact them regarding the matter since I am 26 years old and the responsiblity is mine. Here comes the BIG ONE...
After not answering the incessant phone calls for about a week, because I was drafting my debt validation letter to them and had heard NOT to talk to them on the phone, He called my parents again. Mr. Johnson told my parents that I had a debt of 5900 dollars that could be settled right now for 1500 dollars. Mr. Johnson told my mother that I had asked him to call them to take care of the balance, which I NEVER DID!
After speaking with my mother and almost getting her credit card number, my father took the phone to try to see what was going on. They told him that the account could be settled right now for an overnighted payment of 3600 dollars. With that my father tore into him and told him outright that he was breaking the law.
..."
Unauthorized charges, confirming ex-employee allegations.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/
unauthorized-billing-c101768.html
"...
Do not give this company any banking information. I agree to make two payments in the amount of $300 one in July and another in August. I have had no more correspondence with them but on 9/15/08 they took another $300 from my bank account and then again on 9/22/08 they did the same without my authorization. The bank says the only way I can stop them is to close out the account and open a new one. Seems ridiculous to me but no not give them any banking information or you will be scammed also."
The damage to the financial system caused by fraudulent bogus debt collection is similar to that caused by fraudulent "mortgage rescue" scams, with the difference that while the former is more likely to tip a consumer toward forclosure by blocking refinancing that could avert a reset, at least the latter requires that the homeowning consumer be suckered into making payments to scammers after already heading toward forclosure. Debt collection scammers choose their victims.
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/
2009_09/Anti-Fraud%20Briefing_Release_09_17_09.pdf
"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2009
Contact: Treasury Public Affairs (202) 622-2960
FEDERAL, STATE PARTNERS CONVENE TO DISCUSS ONGOING ANTI-FRAUD EFFORTS IN HOUSING MARKETS
WASHINGTON – This morning, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner hosted Attorney General Eric Holder, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Jim Freis and attorneys general from 12 states to discuss emerging trends and proactive strategies to combat fraud against consumers in the housing markets as well as best practices to bolster coordination across state and federal agencies. This meeting follows up on an announcement by the Obama Administration in April of a multi-agency crackdown on foreclosure rescue scams and loan modification fraud designed to protect homeowners from predatory financial practices.
“A clear lesson of this financial crisis is that American consumers need better protection against fraud,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “And while we will prosecute anyone who violated the law, going forward we will not wait for problems to peak before we respond. The Obama Administration is acting preemptively, across federal agencies and alongside state governments, to stop consumer fraud.”
Treasury, FinCEN, and DOJ, HUD, and FTC have committed to taking proactive measures to curb abuse by coordinating information and resources across agencies to maximize targeting and efficiency in fraud investigations. This includes alerting financial institutions to emerging schemes, stepping up enforcement actions and educating consumers to help those in financial trouble avoid becoming the victims of a loan modification or foreclosure rescue scam.
...
Participating in today’s meeting were attorneys general Dustin McDaniel, Arkansas; Terry Goddard, Arizona; Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut; Lisa Madigan, Illinois; Tom Miller, Iowa; Doug Gansler, Maryland; Chris Koster, Missouri; Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada; Roy Cooper, North Carolina; Richard Cordray, Ohio (by phone); Patrick Lynch, Rhode Island; Rob McKenna, Washington (by phone). Collectively, these offices have taken action on scores of fraud cases in the housing markets and opened hundreds of investigations to date.
..."
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
http://fincen.gov/
Their name is already being used by scammers in bogus "debt collection" scams.
"Alert - Recent Reports of Fraudulent Phone Calls
December 15, 2008 - The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is reminding the public to be alert to ongoing financial scams that attempt to solicit funds from unsuspecting victims.
FinCEN has been receiving recent calls and reports of financial scam attempts conducted via telephone. In this scam the caller represents himself/herself as an employee of FinCEN and asks for the victim by name, usually at the victim's home telephone number. The caller will identify an outstanding debt; this debt may be actual or bogus. The caller will provide the victim with the victim's account, social security or other similar number and demand that immediate payment must be made. The caller's knowledge of the victim's name, telephone number, account description and personal information serve to legitimize the caller.
Recipients of these calls, letters or emails should not respond to such messages, and should not send money or provide any personal or confidential information. Those who believe that they are or have been a victim of a financial scam, should report this information to local, state, or federal law enforcement authorities.
FinCEN does not send unsolicited requests and does not seek personal or financial information from members of the public. FinCEN does not have authority to freeze assets or block funds transfers. In addition, fraudulent correspondence may purport to be from an overseas office of FinCEN. FinCEN does not have any offices outside of the United States.
..."
Note mention of lawsuit against NES.
http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Briefing-Room/
News-Releases/August-2009/
Cordray--Debt-Collection-Complaints-on-the-Rise-in
"News Releases
Cordray: Debt Collection Complaints on the Rise in Ohio
8/31/2009
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray today announced that debt collection complaints in Ohio are on the rise. The announcement comes in conjunction with the release of a National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) study naming debt collection as the top consumer complaint in 2008.
"In Ohio, we have received 2,067 complaints about debt collection in 2009 year-to-date, which is on pace to be almost double the number of complaints we received just three years ago," Cordray said. "It's a clear reflection of today's economic stress. Ohioans' tolerance of illegal debt collection tactics along with credit and home loan scams has reached its limit."
In 2008, the Ohio Attorney General's Office received 2,446 debt collection complaints; 2,123 were received in 2007, and 1,699 were received in 2006. Earlier this year, Cordray filed a lawsuit against National Enterprise Systems, Inc., a collection agency based in Solon, Ohio, for routinely harassing consumers and using illegal practices to collect debts.
"A line must be drawn to keep debt collection from crossing over into harassment," Cordray said. "Consumers have the right to be treated with respect and dignity. Overly aggressive tactics, such as making threats and repeated phone calls, are not allowed. Ohioans have enough financial worries without the added stress of harassing collection practices."
..."
National Association of Attorneys General
http://www.naag.org/
http://www.naag.org/
top-10-list-of-consumer-complaints-for-2008-aug.-31-2009.php
"...
The National Top 10 Consumer Complaints List for 2008 is:
1. Debt Collection
2. Auto Sales
3. Home Repair/Construction
4. Credit Cards (tie)
5. Internet Goods and Services (tie)
6. Predatory Lending/Mortgages
7. Telemarketing/Do-Not-Call
8. Auto Repair
9. Auto Warranties (tie)
7. Telecom/Slamming/Cramming (tie)
..."
In case you thought "skip-tracing" to erroneously contact a dog was insane, try this.
http://www.stopthecallsfast.com/blog/
frederick-goldstein-zoe/comment-page-1/#comment-73
"...
I received a call from my 70+ year old mother, who has just completed a course of treatment for Breast Cancer. She was upset after receiving a harassing phone call from FG&Z for a person who’s name she didn’t recognize, but who shared my former married name. Turns out the person was MY ex-husband’s brother’s ex-wife. I can’t even imagine how they got her contact info! ..."
Comment from "Afni Manager in Bloomington, IL: (Current Employee)" on Feb 24, 2009.
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/
Afni-Reviews-E193892.htm
http://www.jobvent.com/
companyBrowse.php?CompanyID=5546
Another class action suit filed against NAF and related companies, in California.
http://milberg.biz/NAFfiledcomplaint.pdf
I know this is ancient, but I just had this very experience. Fortunately I started keeping EVERYTHING a few years ago after I got scammed by one collection agency.
To keep on topic, I had payed this over two years ago, so to my surprise a week ago I received a letter from AFNI.
I called verizon, they said my debt was settled, but they referred me to the actual collection agency the debt had went to and after calling them, confirmed it had been paid over two years ago.
I had called and asked if they had confirmed it through verizon, which he said it had. I told them I had just called them and they didn't agree. Not only that, but that they weren't the creditor. He told me to send in proof of the payment. Now I can see they are a scam and will be forwarding my information to their attorney general. Has anyone pursued a class action with this company?
I will be filling a
This thread isn't so old that it is only a historical record. Violations continue unabated.
Also file complaints with FTC, the Illinois Attorney General, and the Minnesota Attorney General, outlining the details of how Verizon has checked and verified that nothing is owed, while AFNI claims they have checked with Verison and still claims it is owed.
Ignoring Verizon's information, while demanding that you either send proof of payment or pay it again is also one of their common tactics. Many of the bills they are collecting on are years old, even decades old, and most people don't keep records much beyond when they receive the next statement showing the payment was credited.
There are reports indicating that AFNI has the highest levels of complaints of any debt collector with FTC under the category of "id theft", which they apparently use as an excuse with consumers disputing debts they know nothing about.
Illinois Attorney General has been reported as one of the most effective channels for complaints against AFNI, with several reports over the years that they are investigating them.
Minnesota Attorney General filed suit against AFNI for attempts to collect unowed debts and failing to validate.
BBB is virtually worthless. All local BBBs just forward you to BBB Peoria and won't take AFNI complaints themselves anymore. BBB Peorea rates them an "A+", claims they are "accredited", and recently even removed their earlier disclosure of the Minnesota AG's suit. They appear to be acting primarily to assist AFNI in handling problem consumers before Attorney General complaints are filed, helping them maintain their facade of respectability.
Since you have just received their first collection letter, you must immediately put your dispute and validation request INTO WRITING, SENT CERTIFIED RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED so you have proof they got it and that it was sent within 30 days of receiving their letter. If you send a timely validation request (within 30 days) they are prohibited by FDCPA from taking any further collection action until they send you proof you owe it obtained from the original creditor.
Keep all communications with AFNI in writing, sent CRRR, and maintain records of everything, for forwarding to FTC or AGs, or use in court.
Since they are reported to often fail or refuse to validate and continue to demand payment (claiming you have to prove you don't owe it, itself a violation of FDCPA as deceptive collection), that is the basis on which you make complaints to your AG, and on which you can sue them.
http://consumerist.com/5365192/
bally-sends-fake-past-due-bills-to-ex+members-to-get-them-to-rejoin
Fraudulent health club "membership renewal offer".
Attempt to use bogus "debt collection" letter, to force ex-members who have no remaining contractual obligation, to renew snyway by threatening to damage credit.
The alleged "solicitation" is entirely missing the notification that it is only a solicitation with no obligation to respond, required by U.S. postal regulations. Mail fraud.
Argument that the "debt collection" language only applies to other people who still have a contract is not a defense. The letter was sent to an ex-member with no outstanding obligation, deceptively represented that the consumer owed the monthly payment (it is marked "past due"), and used coercive language to attempt to extort payments that are not owed, which would have then re-obligated them under contract (text referring to "past due" notice also refers to "this is an attempt to collect a debt", the standard language legally required of debt collectors, and to "adverse credit reports").
It also appears that the health club, by writing the letter in the form of a collection notice with the legal language usually required of debt collectors, may also have stepped into the legal obligations of debt collectors under FDCPA, under the court standard of "least sophisticated consumer". As such, the absence of language regarding disputing a debt may also be illegal.
Article by Chris Hoofnagle. One key point is that most id theft related credit card losses are actually due to synthetic id theft.
There are also indications of high rates of synthetic id theft among fraudulent telecom accounts, due to the low verification standards employed by telecom companies in approving new accounts.
The implications for AFNI's collection tactics is that they may be mapping entirely synthetic id theft activity, probably widespread among fraudulent telecom accounts, onto real identities. Contrary to the claims of various articles on synthetic id theft, including this one, when the collection activity is targeted at real people while evading validation, the losses from such collection activity are financial, not just "emotional".
http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/articles/
pdf/v21/21HarvJLTech097.pdf
"...
An important subset of new account fraud is synthetic identity theft. While common new account fraud involves use of the victim’s true name, in the case of synthetic identity theft, an impostor uses the victim’s SSN with a fake name, thus creating a new, “synthetic” identity. 14 Alternatively, an impostor can create an identity from scratch, using entirely fabricated information.15 A synthetic identity — sometimes supplemented with artfully created credit histories — can then be used to apply for credit. While it may sound improbable, this approach to opening new lines of credit is generally successful for two reasons. First, some lenders will give accounts to individuals with no credit history.16 A synthetic identity simply has a “thinner” credit file — a characteristic consistent with a legitimate new customer who is just entering the credit market.17 Second, the use of a real SSN may allow impostors to satisfy a lender’s security measures; there is mounting evidence that credit issuers use the SSN for both identification and authentication, that is, to locate the applicant’s credit file and to prove that the credit file belongs to the applicant.18
Not enough is known about synthetic identity theft, but initial indications suggest that it is a growing problem. According to Mike Cook of ID Analytics, a company that specializes in the reduction of fraud risk to businesses, synthetic identity theft “is a larger problemthan [common new account fraud] and is growing at a faster rate.”19 While there are no reliable figures documenting losses from synthetic identity theft, some experts estimate that “synthetic schemes constitute at least 20% of credit charge-offs and 80% of losses from creditcard
fraud.” 20
..."
Finally, you can actually be arrested on criminal charges, and not just slapped on the wrist and fined, for such illegal debt collection practices as impersonating an officer threatening immediate arrest, and getting money from people as a result.
http://www.buffalonews.com/home/
story/811556.html?imw=Y
"Collectors busted by Cuomo worked for man arrested on gun charges
By Jonathan D. Epstein
News Business Reporter
Updated: September 29, 2009, 5:17 PM
Eleven individual debt collectors who worked for a Buffalo firm that was shut down by the state in June were arrested and charged with grand larceny Tuesday, while a 12th man is being sought by police and state investigators.
The individuals, who are accused of extortion, allegedly participated in improper and illegal debt-collection practices, posing as law enforcement officials and threatening to have consumers thrown in jail unless they immediately paid off debts they supposedly owed, state Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced.
The arrests are part of Cuomo's ongoing investigation into overly aggressive and unlawful tactics by debt collectors in violation of state and federal laws to protect consumers.
And they are the first … but not necessarily the last … instance of employees being arrested and charged with a crime for their personal part in aggressive collection tactics that allegedly crossed the line, the state's top cop said during a press conference at Hilbert College.
"These tactics are illegal. If you do this, we will find it, and we will find you," Cuomo said. "It is not a defense to say I was just the employee."
...
Following through on an earlier promise to go after the workers and not just the executives or owners of firms, Cuomo's office obtained arrest warrants for the 12 employees, and worked with Erie County Sheriff's deputies to execute search warrants and take them into custody. Two surrendered to authorities, eight were arrested at their homes, and one was arrested near his home.
The employees, who actually made collection telephone calls for Boyland's firms, were arraigned Tuesday in Cheektowaga Town Court on multiple counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, which is a class E felony that carries a maximum sentence of four yeras in prison for each count. One individual remains at large.
jepstein@buffnews.com
..."
Allegation that fraudulent/bogus Verizon/AFNI charges originated from fraudulent charges crammed onto consumer phone bills by "USBI, One Call Comm., Opticcom, ... and Privasafe."
The above billing aggregators are known to be connected to past fraudulent cramming schemes, and may be subject to state settlement agreements for assisting cramming.
Since there are already numerous reports of Verizon selling off write-offs originating from correcting billing errors as "bad debts", correcting crammed charges would also result in such a write-off of a bogus charge that Verizon may have improperly sold off.
The difference may be that in some cases Verizon or its predecessors may be under court orders from settlement agreements to reverse the crammed charges. See, for example, settlements between Verizon and the Florida AG.
AFNI's liability may still arise from their failure to validate with the original creditor.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Telephone-Companies/
VERIZON-INC-USBI-ANF/verizon-inc-usbi-anfi-ander-a5745.htm
Privasafe consent decree.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/
news04/2007/06/wa_surfsafe.html
Settlement agreement with USBI for crammed charges originating from "modem redialing" long distance billing fraud.
http://www.oca.state.pa.us/cinfo/Settlements/
USBI%20-%20Settlement%20Agreement%2012.23.05.pdf
FCC settlement with One Call Omm/Opticom over "fat fingered dialing" billing scam.
http://projects.publicintegrity.org/
telecom/report.aspx?aid=329
Recent Florida AG cramming settlement with Verizon and other telecoms.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/
news04/2009/06/wireless_cramming.html
2005 Verizon cramming settlement with NY.
http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/
buffalo/stories/2005/04/04/daily10.html
Which will happen faster? Cuomo will arrest debt collectors on criminal charges, or debt collectors will "find religion"?
Here's a clue: Mann-Bracken, of NAF fiasco fame, recently joined ACA.
"The Collector's Pledge".
"12 step" for wayward debt collectors?
http://www.acainternational.org/files.aspx?p=/
images/12004/09collectorspledge.pdf
A second "Bronze Plaque" version differs by adding the bracketted language.
http://www.digital-collector.com/collectormagazine/200906/?pg=27
"Collector’s Pledge
I believe every person has worth as an individual.
I believe every person should be
treated with dignity and respect.
I will make it my [personal] responsibility to help
consumers find ways to pay their [just] debts.
I will be professional and ethical.
I will commit to honoring this pledge."
So which is it?
A "personal" responsibility?
Only to collect "just" debts?
Or not?
Were the words added, or removed?
And what discussion about how to present the industry to lawmakers surrounded this wording?
Is collection of debts, discharged in bankruptcy, "just"?
Is collection of debts, on old telecom accounts never opened by 9 year olds, "just"?
Is collection of debts, that the original creditor claims do not exist, "just"?
Is the collection of debts, "validated" by a scrap of paper you make yourself, "just"?
Is telling a consumer the debt must be from "id theft", when you know it's your own sloppy skip- tracing, "just"?
Is telling a consumer they have to prove they don't owe a debt they never heard of "just"?
And what is "personal responsibility" anyway, when you are hiding behind a phone alias?
Maybe it's this:
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2009/sep/sep29b_09.html
BBB now shows only the link to the Peoria BBB report on AFNI.
Up until now, several other AFNI addresses had entries, but with referals back to Peoria BBB.
Those have now been removed, leaving only the one report, rated "A+", and still missing any mention of the "governmental action" by the Minnesota Attorney General, the pending lawsuit.
http://www.bbb.org/central-illinois/business-reviews/
collection-agencies/afni-in-bloomington-il-9000349
Ohio Attorney General complaint search site. Allows tracking of complaint rates since 2003, including the 2007 AFNI "bulge".
http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/SpeakOutOhio/
Search-Consumer-Complaints
Another pair of AFNI fabricated "debts". Verizon shows nothing under the person's name and SSN. Recent opening dates are probably AFNI's own opending date, not the original creditor opening date.
Also an example of how the credit reporting agencies' common practice of hiding original delinquency dates, required to be reported by all data furnishers under FCRA, perpetuates fraud.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Collection-Agency-s/AFNI-BLOOM/
afni-bloom-verizon-can-t-find-24758.htm
"...When I called AFNI-BLOOM they said they were willing to settle over the phone whatever amount I wanted to settle the debt. ..."
What is this? A "voluntary" contribution to the AFNI owners' retirement fund? Fraud is OK as long as it's "voluntary"?
FTC roundtables on debt collection.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/09/debtcollect3.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/
debtcollectround/index.shtm
Transcripts of earlier roundtables in Illinois. Service of process and statute of limitations problems. Dirty tricks and what to look for to catch them.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/debtcollectround/
090805-CHIL/transcript-90805.pdf
"...
MR. EDELMAN: ...I think it is very common among the debt buyers, in part because there's more economic incentive for filing than holding debts; they're cheaper. In Illinois we've recently had a series of decisions, both in the State court and the FDCPA, involving whether the ordinary credit card is subject to 5-year statute or the 10-year. I think the law is very clear for 30 years that it isn't, but it was necessary to litigate that. We've had a number of cases involving the two-year statute of limitations for federally regulated telcom debt, which was, as of a few years ago, being discarded by people that bought this stuff in bulk for pennies on the dollar and just filing on it. The most recent trend that I've been seeing is filing cases which have a purported date of last payment issued, which under most states' laws extends the statute of limitations. That involves a small payment just in the nick of time to avoid a time bar, and in many cases it's my belief that the claim is bogus. In some cases I think -- and these are debt-buyer cases. In some cases I think that they may be putting down money received for the sale of a debt at one time or another. In other cases it appears to be just totally fictitious.
...
In other cases -- in Illinois there's a requirement that the creditors' notations, a note or record by itself of a small payment are not enough to prove the payment. Either the defendant has to admit it or you have to have a signature or a picture of a check and they never have it, but they file a suit anyway. Then if somebody calls them on it, well, it's a good faith error. ..."
Federal judge rules that affidavits signed by debt collector employees claiming to have "personal knowledge" of the debt were false.
Note that this is one of the areas noted in the recent FTC workshops where "evidence" submitted in arbitration, or as part of lawsuits resulting in default judgements, fails to meet basic rules of admissibility.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20091004/BUSINESS07/910039966/0/COLUMNIST03
"...
Article published October 04, 2009
Debt collection under cloud: Sandusky woman's case raises questions nationwide
By LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
SANDUSKY — Andrea Schwarzentraub is no muscle-bound warrior, but the slight 32-year-old from Erie County has dented the nation's massive debt-collection dragon.
U.S. District Court Judge David Katz ruled that the commonly used affidavit submitted by one of the nation's biggest debt collectors to collect $4,100 from Mrs. Schwarzentraub — and the debts of many others — was not legal.
Judge Katz issued an injunction against the company, throwing into question thousands of collection lawsuits across the nation that used the affidavits to collect outstanding debts.
In a tersely worded rebuke of Midland Funding LLC and Midland Credit Management Inc. — subsidiaries of Encore Capital Group Inc. of San Diego — Judge Katz found that clerks at Midland Credit had, as a practice, signed affidavits stating that the individual clerk had “personal knowledge” of the debt being collected when they did not possess such knowledge, and that who signed the affidavit, upon which the company's collection lawsuits are based, was “an entirely random act” based solely on when the affidavit came off the company's printer.
Because the affidavits were false, the judge ruled that the company's collection process was not legal.
“It is unclear to this court why such a patently false affidavit would be the standard form used at a business that specialized in the legal ramifications of debt collection,” Judge Katz wrote as he issued an injunction against the debt collection agency's practices in August. He reaffirmed the decision Sept. 23.
He left open for trial the underlying question of Mrs. Schwarzentraub's original alleged debt.
..."
"Personal knowledge" affidavits in debt collection.
Midland Funding LLC v. Andrea L. Brent
According to deposition, affidavits are sent by internal mail to notary. They are thus NOT signed in front of notary, and no oath could have been administered.
http://creditfactors.com/pro/course/images/
8-11-09-opinion-midland-false-affidavit-pub.pdf
"...
Ivan Jimenez, one of Midland's ten "specialists" in the department that supports law firms, personally signs between 200 and 400 of such affidavits per day. (Ivan Jimenez Dep., Doc 35, Ex. E at 15). He finds the stack on a printer, signs them, and sents them by internal mail to the notary. (Id. at 16-17 ("Q: Where do your affidavits come from? A: As far as what I deal with, they just come from the printer as far as where we get them")). Mr. Jimenez has the ability to check the accuracy of the information on the affidavit via the computer system and he does, but the percentage of those that are checked for accuracy is "very few and far between." (Id. at 24).
...
If this is not enough, the affidavit is improperly sworn, as evidenced by the deposition:
Q You mentioned earlier, when I asked you about that, you signed these affidavits and had them notarized. Was the notary present in the room when you were signing all the affidavits, or do you sign them and give them to the notary?
A I sign them and give them to the notary.
..."
Articles regarding indictment and conviction of Henry Scott Harris, ex-president of Miami area BBB, for conspiracy in connection with helpimg to cover up a large oil- and gas-lease swindle in the 1980s.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=
Um8RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PeIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6548%2C4206863
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=
O5ETAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KgYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7081%2C398109
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=
mSEVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NAYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7239%2C8794372
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/04/news/
lawyer-wins-one-so-do-the-people.html
"...
Among the most visible targets were the Better Business Bureau of South Florida in Miami and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the national organization, whose headquarters are in Arlington, Va.
In 1985 Henry Scott Harris, who was the president of the South Florida bureau from 1980 to 1983, was convicted on a Federal charge of conspiracy in the scheme. According to testimony, he regularly took bribes from Mr. Wolfson and in return told bureau employees to gloss over hundreds of consumer complaints about Mr. Wolfson's companies.
Mr. Wald said in court papers that the Council of Better Business Bureaus was warned of troubles at the Florida operation but did not investigate until after Mr. Harris's arrest. "There was even a South Florida employee who traveled to Washington to warn the council about what was going on," said Janet Humphreys, a Miami lawyer who worked on the case with Mr. Wald.
James H. McIlhenny, president of the council, said in a telephone interview this week that he knew of no complaints about the Florida operation and termed Mr. Harris's actions an aberration. "Mr. Harris was determined to be a criminal," he said.
But Mr. McIlhenny added that partly as a result of Mr. Harris's conviction, the council began in 1988 to audit the 150 local Better Business Bureaus. He said that about half the bureaus had been checked so far and that significant problems had been found at four. He would not elaborate, other than to say that problems at three bureaus had been resolved and that none of those involved information supplied to consumers.
..."
BBB "grading" scale. Paying to be "accredited" apparently buys a higher grade.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/21/
business/fi-lazarus21
More AFNI fabrications. Debt collectors claiming multiple "bad debts" supposedly with the same alleged creditor is consistent with "misidentification", not legitimately owed debts.
If this consumer actually had earlier unpaid accounts, as AFNI claims, why would AT&T then open additional accounts, whether they checked credit reports, or their own internal records?
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/debt/afni.html
"...
Luis of Hammonton, NJ October 26, 2009
the reason that im having a problem is that thiz company afni from at&t mobility has been sending me bills for years now, but the thing is i never ever in my hole intire life had at&t and i think someone took my information some how and it appears that supposably i have 3 different account for at&t but i never got at&t.i would like to see if you guyz can some how talk to the company so they can stop sending me all this stuff that i never even applied and erase this account form my credit buirror. thanks for your time have a greta day.
..."
Federal FDCPA class action lawsuit against AFNI over their validation "talk-off" letter. ("We have received your dispute but we are unable to investigate at this time. You have provided insufficient information to substantiate your claim. ...").
http://www.edcombs.com/
http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/
trial-procedure-judges/13324729-1.html
"Judge OKs class in debt collection suit
By PATRICIA MANSON
Publication: Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
Date: Tuesday, October 27 2009
A federal judge has cleared the way for people in three states to jointly pursue a claim that a debt collector falsely suggested it was up to them to prove they did not owe any money. In an opinion made available Monday, U.S. District Judge David H. Coar certified a class of plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against Afni Inc. under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Coar held that the class of consumers in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin proposed by plaintiff Bouke Hale met the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. In the suit, Hale claimed that consumers who wrote to Afni without including full payment of their alleged debt received the same form letter in response.
The letter stated that Afni could not investigate the situation because the consumer had not provided enough information to substantiate the claim that he or she did not owe the alleged debt, according to Hale. Hale claimed the letter violated section 1692g of the FDCPA because it allegedly was Afni's first communication with a consumer and did not include -- and was not followed within five days with a separate letter including -- disclosures required by the statute. Hale also alleged that the letter contained false statements in violation of section 1692e. Afni's statement that it could not investigate whether the letter's recipients owed any money was false because its possession of the recipients' names and addresses was all of the information it needed to conduct such inquiries, Hale alleged. Hale alleged that the letter's implication that the recipients were required to prove they did not owe Afni any money also constituted a false statement.
...
Coar certified a class of plaintiffs that included all individuals with Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin addresses who at any time from July 10, 2007, through July 30, 2008, were sent the same form letter that Afni sent to Hale. Coar issued his ruling in Bouke Hale v. Afni Inc., No. 08 C 3918. The lead attorney for Hale is Daniel A. Edelman of Edelman, Combs, Latturner & Goodwin LLC in Chicago. Afni is represented by Chicago attorneys David M. Schultz, Jennifer W. Weller and Justin M. Penn, all of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLC.
..."
This class action suit would have been filed shortly after the lawsuit by the Minnesota Attorney General.
FDCPA 1 year SOL would extend back to include a chunk of the AFNI/Verizon junk debt complaints that started in Jan. 2007. State laws might extend this back further.
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ilndce/
case_no-1:2008cv03918/case_id-221638/
"...
Hale et al v. AFNI, Inc.
...
Plaintiff: Bouke Hale
Defendant: AFNI, Inc.
...
Case Number: 1:2008cv03918
Filed: July 10, 2008
..."
Looks like the class is defined by the FDCPA 1 year SOL. AFNI gets out of 6 months of responsibility for old "Verizon" debt collection.
FCRA would have a longer SOL, but may be harder to prove damages or certify a class. FDCPA is strict liability.
"Coar certified a class of plaintiffs that included all individuals with Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin addresses who at any time from July 10, 2007, through July 30, 2008, were sent the same form letter that Afni sent to Hale. "
Debt collector sues wrong person, "identified" by nothing more than looking up name on AnyWho.com, ATT's on-line phone book.
Victim's SSN and DOB actually differed, yet they proceeded with their lawsuit anyway.
This arrogant negligence, for which debt collectors are seldom held to account, is the root of the problem.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/nyregion/29about.html
"...
"Hello, Collections? The Worm Has Turned
By JIM DWYER
Published: November 27, 2009
The phone rang. A woman from a law firm representing a collection agency wanted to know if Mark Hoyte was Mark Hoyte, and he said he was. They were calling to collect $919 on a Sears-Citi card.
Mr. Hoyte said he never had that credit card.
Then the woman wanted to know if his Social Security number ended in 92, and Mr. Hoyte said no, it ended in 33.
“She says to me, ‘Your date of birth is in 1972,’ ” Mr. Hoyte, 46, recalled in an interview.
Clearly, they had the wrong Mark Hoyte. But that did not stop the lawyers at Pressler & Pressler from suing him. They swore out a complaint and sent a summons to Mr. Hoyte, ordering him to be in court last Monday.
Then things took a rare turn.
Every day of the year, 1,000 cases on average are added to the civil court dockets in New York City over credit card debt — a high-volume, low-accuracy moment of reckoning. The suits are usually brought by collection companies that purchase the debt for pennies on the dollar from card issuers and then work with a cadre of law firms that specialize in collection work.
Conducting a digital dragnet, they troll through commercial databases searching for debtors. Because of the vast sloppiness and fraud involved, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has shut down two of the collection firms and is suing 35 law firms tied to the business.
...
After trying to settle the case in the hallway — the 11th floor of 141 Livingston Street is an open bazaar of haggling — the collections lawyer realized he had the wrong man. He got Mr. Hoyte to sign an agreement that would end the case against him, but not against the Mark Hoyte who actually owed the $919.
In front of the judge, the lawyer, T. Andy Wang, announced that the parties had reached a stipulation dismissing this Mr. Hoyte from the suit.
Not so fast, said the judge, Noach Dear.
“Why didn’t you check these things out before you take out a summons and a complaint?” Judge Dear asked. “Why don’t you check out who you’re going after?”
Mr. Wang said that Pressler & Pressler used an online database called AnyWho to hunt for debtors.
“So you just shoot in the dark against names; if there’s 16 Mark Hoytes, you go after without exactly knowing who, what, when and where?” Judge Dear asked.
Mr. Wang replied, “That’s why the plaintiff is making an application to discontinue.”
The judge turned to Mr. Hoyte, who works as a building superintendent, and asked him how much a day of lost pay would cost. Mr. Hoyte said $115.
...
Under questioning by the judge, Mr. Hoyte recounted being called about the debt, providing his Social Security number and date of birth, and being summoned to court anyhow.
The collections lawyer then began to interrogate Mr. Hoyte.
“You claim you told Pressler & Pressler it wasn’t you,” Mr. Wang said to Mr. Hoyte. “Did you send them proof, as in a copy of your Social Security number with only the last four digits visible?”
“No,” Mr. Hoyte said. “They didn’t ask for it.”
“But you didn’t send any written proof of the claim that it was not you?” Mr. Wang said.
“I told them on the phone it’s not me,” Mr. Hoyte said.
Mr. Wang appeared outraged.
“So without any written proof that it’s not you, you would expect someone just, you know, to go on say-so?” he demanded. “Is that correct?”
...
E-mail: dwyer@nytimes.com
..."
My partner has been receiving letters from this "company" for two years, claiming a debt to T-Mobile. My partner has never used T-Mobile so we knew it was wrong. We've been throwing the letters away, thinking they would eventually go away.
When yet another letter arrived today, I decided to search information on the company and found myself here, confirming what I believed all along - this was a scam.
So now what can we do? if it is confirmed that this "company" is actually reporting to people's credit report about these bogus debts, how does one make it go away?
Send them a letter, certified return receipt requested, indicating that you dispute the debt, that you have never had a T-Mobile account, and demanding that they send proof that you owe it obtained from the original creditor.
After confirming that they have received your letter, check all your credit reports, and if you find any information on this erroneous account on them, send written disputes to the particular credit reporting agencies.
Contact T-Mobile directly to check whether ANY account is under your name or SSN.
If AFNI "verifies" the erroneous information, or if they contact you again attempting to collect the erroneous debt, file a complaint with FTC, and contact your state Attorney Geneeral, and the Illinois Attorney General for assistance.
If T-Mobile indicates there is no account under your name or SSN, include that in your complaints to regulatory authorities, and file a mail fraud complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspector.
Afni has reported to my credit agency (Equifax) that I owe Fairpoint Telecommunications a debt. I disputed it with Equifax that told me that the debt was "substantiated"! I have never dealt with Verizon nor with Fairpoint! I call Fairpoint and they can't find any record of any dealings I had with them and same for Verizon. I call Afni and I complain. I then find out though this supposed account is under my SSN #, it is not even under my name! They tell me the way to settle this is to fill out a dispute form and they will mail it to me if I give them my current address. Like an idiot, I do. Instead of sending me a dispute form, I get a bill! Flabbergasted, I call them and I am told by the rep I was speaking to that is not how they dispute things. He tells me someone told me something wrong and the way to dispute this is to send 1. a copy of my license, a copy of my SSN #, and a utility bill that proves I am who I say I am and then they will remove it from my record. I am know suspicious. I definitely do not want to send them my SSN #.
They have "verified" their erroneous collection account on your credit report, and now they have admitted to altering the name from the original account to your name.
You can't even trust that your SSN is even on the original account as AFNI claims, although both Verizon and Fairpoint have verified that your name isn't in their system.
They have been reported to "match" old Verizon accounts with either similar names, or even by address alone, and "fix" the rest of the information to match whoever they find, possibly using credit reports to get the correct SSN.
Call both Verizon and Fairpoint one more time, and have them check by SSN. You may find they don't even have your SSN in their systems, in which case AFNI's claim that you have any connection with this "debt" is a pure fabrication.
They are reported to routinely bill anyone who "might" owe some questionable debt, to routinely ignore disputes, to routinely "verify" their reporting errors and refuse to correct them, and to routinely "fix" their accounts to make them look right. You got to experience all of these.
The Minnesota Attorney General has sued them over similar tactics.
You could go round and round with them over what is or is not the way to dispute this error on their part.
Fact is, you DID dispute the account as not yours, yet they continued to attempt to collect it from you.
Fact is, they had the chance to correct their error when you disputed through Equifax. If they had actually checked, they would have seen that your name was not on the account, and if they were competent or honest they would have removed it. There are numerous complaints that they routinely "verify" their erroneously attributed "debts".
They are now liable under FCRA for any damages that may result from their erroneously verified negative information, such as denied credit, jacked credit card rates, reduced credit lines, etc. Disputing through the CRA, with their incorrect "verification", is the key step required by FCRA to allow you to sue them under its provisions.
File a complaint with FTC for their fraudulent debt collection tactics just to put it on the record, but don't expect FTC to do anything, as they have been ineffective at dealing with AFNI's activities even though AFNI generates the highest rates of "id theft" complaints to FTC of any debt collector.
Then file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney Gneeral, outlining that they have verified the account with Equifax even though they have admitted your name is not on it.
If you have further problems, contact an attorney with experience in FDCPA and FCRA litigation. You already have a cause of action.
You might try www.naca.net, or possibly contact www.edcombs.com, which has sued them a number of times already, and is working through a class action lawsuit against them. They may be able to put you in contact with an attorney in your state.
Thank you very much to the above person. Your response was very much appreciated.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/01/sci.shtm
"For Your Information: 01/05/2010
...
FTC Orders Buyers of Consumer Debt to Submit Information for Study of Debt Buying Industry
The Federal Trade Commission has ordered the nation’s largest consumer debt buyers to turn over information about their practices in buying and collecting consumer debt, which the FTC intends to use for a study of the debt-buying industry. Consumers have reported that debt collectors frequently try to collect from the wrong consumers or the wrong amounts, or both. The FTC is seeking information to determine whether buyers of consumer debt are contributing to these problems.
The FTC sent the orders to nine companies that are in the business of buying consumer debts and then trying to collect on those debts, either on their own or by hiring debt collection firms. These nine companies collectively purchase about 75 percent of the debt sold in the United States.
...
Over the past decade, debt buyers have become a significant part of the debt collection system. In February 2009, the FTC issued a report based on an agency Debt Collection Workshop in which it found major problems in the flow of information among creditors, debt buyers, and collectors. Information the FTC gathers from the orders will allow it to determine how shortcomings in the flow of information affect debt buyers, debt collectors, and consumers. The agency has authority to issue the orders under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act.
..."
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/reuters/
MTFH80547_2010-01-05_18-39-25_N0565238.htm
"...
The FTC did not identify the nine companies surveyed in the release and did not immediately respond to queries about them.
Major companies involved in the industry include Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc, Asset Acceptance Capital Corp and Encore Capital Group Inc. Those companies were not immediately available to comment on whether they had received a letter from the FTC.
..."
Additional FTC Roundtables on debt collection and consumers.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/
debtcollectround/index.shtm
Aug. 5, 6, 2009 Chicago
Sep. 29, 30, 2009 San Francisco
Dec. 4, 2009 Washington DC
One of the public comments to the San Francisco roundtable, from DC 37 MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES LEGAL SERVICES, a legal services organization serving public employee union members in NYC.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/comments/
debtcollectroundtable2/
544507-00018.pdf
http://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/news/
get_story_text.cfm?id=100008037&SessionID=598252614096641
January 27, 2010
Vol.156, Issue 18
Judge grants summary judgment to consumers who received form letter
By Patricia Manson
Law Bulletin staff writer
A debt collector violated federal law by routinely sending a "gibberish" form letter to consumers claiming it lacked the information to investigate any dispute that might exist over an alleged debt, a federal judge has held.
U.S. District Judge David H. Coar on Tuesday granted summary judgment in favor of consumers from three states in a lawsuit filed against AFNI Inc.
Coar held that AFNI violated a provision of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that prohibits debt collectors from using false, deceptive or misleading statements or methods to collect an alleged debt.
Coar held that AFNI had not shown that the violation was a bona fide error that shielded it from liability.
He did not address the issue of a remedy in his opinion.
The judge issued the opinion in a class-action suit that was filed by named plaintiff Bouke Hale.
Last year, Coar certified a class of plaintiffs that included all individuals with an Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin address who at any time from July 10, 2007, through July 30, 2008, were sent the same form letter that AFNI sent to Hale.
In his opinion, Coar said AFNI responded to letters from consumers who did not include full payment of their alleged debt with their communication with a form letter.
The form letter claimed that the recipient had not provided sufficient information in his communication with AFNI to substantiate his or her claim, Coar said.
Coar said the form letter went on to demand information that often had already been provided by the recipient, including the specific debt disputed, the basis of any challenge to the debt, and any supporting documentation.
AFNI sent the form letter to people who included an attorney who had stated in his letter to AFNI that the debt had been discharged in bankruptcy, and to writers who had said the debtor was deceased, Coar said.
Coar said other recipients included a writer who had attached a credit report to his or her initial communication with AFNI and another who claimed to be a victim of identity theft and who had provided 12 pages of documentation to support that claim.
..."
"...
Still other recipients were consumers who did not dispute that they owed a debt, Coar said.
Coar said Hale received the form letter in response to his request for information about an alleged debt on his credit report that he did not recognize.
AFNI claimed Hale had provided insufficient information for an investigation even though Hale had accurately identified the account he was disputing, Coar said.
Coar said it later was revealed that AFNI had in fact begun investigating Hale's dispute before sending the form letter to him.
But AFNI did not ask credit-reporting agencies to remove the alleged debt from Hale's reports until Hale filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Illinois attorney general's office and inquiries by those entities showed that he did not owe the debt, Coar said.
Coar held that AFNI's form letter was false and deceptive in violation of section 1692e.
Citing Wahl v. Midland Credit Management, 556 F.3d 643 (7th Cir. 2009), Coar conceded that false statements do not by themselves violate the FDCPA.
To violate the statute, false statements also must be confusing or misleading and they must be "material," Coar said.
Coar said the statements in AFNI's form letter met these standards.
In fact, Coar said, AFNI's explanation of the statements "not only fails to establish their veracity; it rings with insincerity."
...
Coar said the letter's demand for information would confuse consumers who had already provided information about the alleged debt.
"Consumers' confusion on this front is particularly problematic given the likelihood that many will conclude that the cost of pursuing their challenge outweighs the cost of simply forking over their money to pay the disputed debt," Coar wrote.
Coar said the false statements in the form letter were material because they "both impair the consumer's ability to challenge the debt at issue and influence his or her decision to pay the debt."
The case is Bouke Hale v. AFNI Inc., No. 08 C 3918.
The lead attorney for Hale and the class of plaintiffs is Daniel A. Edelman of Edelman, Combs, Latturner & Goodwin LLC.
AFNI is represented in the case by Chicago attorneys David M. Schultz, Jennifer W. Weller and Justin M. Penn, all of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLC.
On Wednesday, Schultz said AFNI had not decided its next move.
...
pmanson@lbpc.com
..."
Federal class action lawsuit over AFNI's "insufficient information to investigate" letter.
"...
To violate the statute, false statements also must be confusing or misleading and they must be "material," Coar said.
Coar said the statements in AFNI's form letter met these standards.
In fact, Coar said, AFNI's explanation of the statements "not only fails to establish their veracity; it rings with insincerity."
..."
So glad I found this blog! I was seconds away from calling AFNI and paying a "debt" that I recall paying a long time ago. I've been rummaging through my documents for days searching for proof that I've paid Verizon and almost gave in.
I found it suspicious that it's not reported on my credit report that I owe Verizon and decide to actually research AFNI and saw so many scams and rip-off reports. Unbelievable!
To best protect your rights, send a certified letter disputing the debt and demanding that they send proof obtained from the original creditor.
Send this letter within 30 days of initially receiving their first letter, to activate the provisions of FDCPA that prohibit debt collectors from any additional collection activity until they send proof.
Keep copies of your letter, the certified receipt, and the USPS website confirmation of delivery, in case you have to sue.
Help! I received a letter from Afni collections stating that I owed 302.35 to Charter Cable, but would take a settlement of $151.18. Because I did just relocate and was waiting on my outstanding bill, I called and paid it. Not 4 hours later I received a call from Charter reminding me about my outstanding bill. I just started researching the company and realized I got ripped off. What do I do?? Is there a way to stop payment? Is there a way to get my money back? I need help and these people need to be stopped. In this economy, with so many people unemployed and funds so tight this is absolutely insane. I don't have an extra $150 to throw down the drain. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.
AFNI acts as collection agent for Charter on assigned accounts, as well as collecting on purchased debts.
Was the amount you paid AFNI for the same account you have with Charter, or did AFNI swindle you into paying someone else's account, by deceptively claiming it was your account when you knew some amount was owed to Charter?
They are a scam IMHO, they refused validation on my account for months now and refuse to remove the account from my credit report
That is what they are commonly reported to do, even though it violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. They play chicken, hoping you will give up and pay. or maybe get stuck trying to close on a home loan.
Add some consequences to their actions.
Your next step is to dispute their erroneous reporting through each credit reporting agency through which they are reporting. Dispute IN WRITING, send certified, referencing the credit file number on which you found the error.
If they "verify" the error to the credit reporting agencies, then you have them both for FCRA violations for the erroneous reporting, and for FDCPA violation for continued collection without sending validation, assuming you disputed within 30 days of receiving their first letter.
Fail to dispute through the CRAs, and they can get off scot-free.
If they do "verify" their error, try applying for credit and see if you get turned down, to show damages. Be sure to keep track of any notices from other creditors who may cut your credit limits or close your account due to credit report information. Be sure to get an Adverse Action Notice and pull your credit report(s) if you do.
Hale v. AFNI
Class certification:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?
case=18394292568415132604&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr
"...
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs' motion for class certification is GRANTED for the following class:
All individuals, with addresses in Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin, to whom AFNI sent a letter in the form represented by the letter Plaintiff received (Compl., Ex. B), on or after July 10, 2007, and on or before July 30, 2008.
..."
Summary judgement:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?
case=2852511896331963407&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr
"...
The Court finds that AFNI's statements in its form letter are "false, misleading, or deceptive" in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1692e, and AFNI is not entitled to assert the bona fide error defense under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(c). Accordingly, Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability under § 1692e of the FDCPA is GRANTED and Defendant's motion for summary judgment is DENIED.
..."
AFNI's settlement with the Wisconsin AG was apparently very hushed up. You will find nothing on the WI AG site, nor on AFNI's BBB report. Only indicator was about a year ago when BBB's mention of the WI lawsuit just dissappeared from AFNI's report, sending their rating to "A+".
Apparently they used the same deceptive tactics on a batch of Qwest junk after they got done with the Verizon junk.
Note the size of the "portfolio": 100,000 in Wisconsin alone. Complaints of AFNI collection of bogus Qwest "debt" started appearing about 2 years ago, about the time Verizon related complaints started to taper off.
The breakdown isn't just in the "accuracy of the data". You can find posted consumer complaints of consumers verifying with Qwest or Verizon that they owe no money, and even 3-way conference calling with AFNI to resolve the "error", with an AFNI employee reported to be shouting over the telecom CSR insisting the money is owed regardless of the original creditor claiming otherwise.
The "data" is made up, specifically the claim that they actually know the person they are mailing collection letters to is the "debtor". Their other actions, including allegations of "id theft", or deceptive letters used to deflect validation requests, are constructed to block refutation of made-up claims.
http://www.startribune.com/investigators/
92589329.html?elr=KArks:DCiU6:5DiaPQEacyiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUs
"A collection agency has been hounding Minnesotans, trying to collect old debts on behalf of Qwest.
By LORA PABST, Star Tribune
Last update: May 2, 2010 - 8:47 AM
Travis Welk is fighting a bill that just won't die.
Eight years after Welk was told he didn't owe anything, an old phone bill has come back to haunt him. Welk has found himself in the world of "zombie debt," in which collection agencies try to get people to cough up money for bills that the original creditor has long ago written off.
On Friday, Afni, Inc., the Illinois collection agency that demanded $122 from Welk in March, said it has suspended its effort to collect an estimated 100,000 old Qwest debts in Minnesota, after Welk and others took their complaints to Attorney General Lori Swanson. It was the company's second run-in with Swanson in two years.
In 2008, Swanson sued Afni after consumers complained the company had harassed them and improperly reported debts to credit bureaus. Afni settled the case by agreeing to stop collection efforts once the company determined it had the wrong person.
Afni's recent efforts to collect on the Qwest debts have unleashed a "significant number" of new complaints, according to the attorney general's office. Swanson sent letters last month to Qwest and Afni asking that they stop collection efforts on the Minnesota accounts until the companies straighten out their records.
"There's clearly a breakdown in the accuracy of the data these companies are operating off of," said Ben Wogsland, spokesman for the attorney general's office. "These kind of collection practices are troubling. It's extremely frustrating to consumers who don't even owe the debt to get hounded."
Afni's compliance director Debra Ciskey said the company is researching at least 12 customer complaints. "Absolutely, we are complying" with Swanson's request, Ciskey said. She said she could not comment on Welk's case.
"It's concerning to us as well," she said, of the complaints. "But it's not unusual to think there could be problems with a few accounts."
Qwest verifies no account under name or SSN, actual alleged account was under a different name.
Evidence of AFNI fraudulently "fixing" account information to match erroneous skip-trace, yet Qwest "policy" is to assist them in this fraud by refusing to provide even a letter documenting that there is no account owed by this person.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/debt/afni.html
"...
So I called QWEST and Kelley from QWEST looked up my SSN and could find no record of me ever having an account with them, ever. In fact in April of 2002 when Afni Inc. said I opened the account/phone number, someone else had that number and that person did not have my name. Kelley, the employee at QWEST said her records went back to the year 2000 and my NAME along with my SSN were not in QWEST's records. Kelley told me she felt I was a victim of fraud. I asked Kelley if she could give me a letter stating the truth, that I had never had an account with QWEST and that in April of 2002 the account/phone number, belonged to someone else, she said "no". It was against QWEST's policy.
..."
Correction: AFNI settlement was with the Minnesota AG.
MN Attorney General Swanson appears to have caught on to the deceptive tactic (con game) where both debt collector and original creditor deny responsibility for making any "errors", even as they work together to deny the consumer access to information that might prove one is lying.
The AG's letters were addressed to both.
"Swanson sent letters last month to Qwest and Afni asking that they stop collection efforts on the Minnesota accounts until the companies straighten out their records."
Analysis of the psychology of influence and persuasion as applied to frauds and scams.
Although much of the data analyzed was collected during the period 1995-2005, and the analysis is somewhat focussed on investment fraud, a number of the ideas presented are apparent in common fraudulent telemarketing schemes, including fraudulent debt collection schemes.
In particular, note the use of persuasive concepts and tactics such as: profiling, commitment, comparison, landscaping, authority role, and reciprocity, which show up in both manipulative sales tactics and deceptive debt collection.
In addition, note the high incidence of underreporting of fraud.
http://taos.publishpath.com/Websites/taos/
Images/ProgramsTaosTilburgDissertations/
Pak.ShadelDissertationFINAL.pdf
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CONSUMER FRAUD
...
Douglas Philip Shadel
Corruption and fraud in the debt collection industry.
http://www.startribune.com/
investigators/97231649.html?page=1&c=y
FTC Issues Report on Reforming Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/07/debtcollect.shtm
"For Release: 07/12/2010
FTC Issues Report on Reforming Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration; Recommends Steps to Protect Consumers and Repair a Broken System
..."
The report is here.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2010/07/debtcollectionreport.pdf
AFNI's announcement of suspending Qwest account collection in MN was April 30.
http://www.startribune.com/investigators/92589329.html?elr=KArks:DCiU6:5DiaPQEacyiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUs
Ripoffreport shows only 2 complaints since the beginning of June.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/search/company/Afni.aspx
Last consumeraffairs complaint is June 25, in connection with their insurance claim division..
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/debt/afni.html
Is this a statistical anomaly, or have they had to lie low until they settle with MN AG.
I received a collections notice today from AFNI, supposedly collecting a $230.64 debt from DirectTV. I have NEVER had an account with DirectTV.
I am thankful that I didn't open the mail until after the time that their offices had closed, because I most certainly would have called them had they still had people at the phone lines, and then they would have had my phone number as well.
I did a simple search, and I found your site. I copied your letter and inserted my own info into it. I will mail it off tomorrow.
I knew immediately that this was either a scam, or they had the wrong person. I have a credit score of 740 that I have worked to attain, and I have no outstanding unpaid bills to ANYONE. Receiving a collection notice from ANYONE puts me completely over the edge. I have no debt but my mortgage.
I wanted to thank you for your site, and for the mock letter. I am a bit enraged by this, but hopefully this letter will be the end of the matter.
Thanks again.
As you probably already suspect, there are indications they are "cheating" by intentionally and negligently demanding payments from persons "accidentally misidentified", and that they have been doing this for a long time. The recent investigation by the Minnesota Attorney General supports this.
Do not be afraid to take legal action if they stall on sending validation or fail to correct damaging errors on your credit reports. A recent decision against AFNI in a federal class action lawsuit has gotten the attention of a number of plaintiff's attorneys practicing consumer debt and credit reporting law.
Dispute promptly, mailed certified return receipt requested, to begin building a paper trail documenting possible violations and their receiving notice of their error.
Document any credit damage (closed accounts, reduced credit lines, raised interest rates, or rejected credit applications), and tie it to any erroneous posting, by requesting an Adverse Action Notice from the original creditor, to document the credit reports they may have used in their decisions.
Get copies of credit reports from the credit reporting agencies, and disputing errors found through the credit reporting agencies to establish liability in the data furnisher (AFNI) if the error is "verified".
Afni is now chasing bogus Dish Network accounts. If you dispute it, they'll put the onus on you stating it's identity theft which is something you should never go along with, unless of course it really is. Even then, it's their fault for not exercising due diligence when setting up the account to begin with.
It's a bogus bill and up to them to prove legitimate. Always correct them and state, this is not an issue of identity theft, it's a bogus bill.
A glimpse at how easily a fraudulent debt collection operation can rapidly rack up illgotten gain.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-25/inmate-ran-collection-agency-from-prison-cuomo-says.html
"Inmate Ran Collection Agency From Prison, Cuomo Says
August 25, 2010, 4:34 PM EDT
By Karen Freifeld
(Updates with alleged scheme from second paragraph.)
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Lamont D. Cooper was supposed to be paying his debt to society. Instead, he ran a debt-collection company from federal prison, demanding payments from people who owed nothing, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said.
Cooper, 38, imprisoned in October 2009 for violating the terms of his release on a drug conviction, continued to operate a business called Legal Action Recovery while in New York’s Batavia Detention Facility, Cuomo said today statement. He had been barred from the business in April 2009, after a court found his service employed threats and intimidation.
“Such disregard of the law will not be tolerated and we will hold him accountable for the harm he has caused families throughout the country,” Cuomo said in announcing charges.
While Cooper sat in prison, his collectors impersonated law enforcement officers to scare victims into payments on sometimes non-existent debts, according to the criminal complaint. They were told they’d be arrested and jailed unless they paid immediately, Cuomo charged.
Some authorized withdrawals from their accounts or sent wire transfers, according to the complaint.
Millions in Deposits
From May through August 2009, Bank of America accounts in the name of CMP Processing, which were connected to Cooper’s CMC Recovery Services, Inc. showed deposits of $1.38 million believed to be from debt-collection payments, Cuomo said.
Cooper had told his probation officer he was working for Shepsu Financial Services Inc., a corporation owned by his girlfriend, which bought and sold debt portfolios, according to the complaint. He said he earned $72,000 a year, plus bonuses.
..."
ABC News/Nightline investigation of ACT, a debt collector for Bank of America caught making racist, abusive, and harassing calls. A Texas jury awarded a $1.5 million judgement against them.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/investigation-debt-collectors-word-bank-america/story?id=11719972
Investigation: Debt Collectors, the N-Word and Bank of America
Bank Fires Collection Agency After Operators Caught Using Racist, Obscene Phone Calls to Collect Debts
By BRIAN ROSS and JOSEPH RHEE
Sept. 24, 2010
..."
http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2010/oct/oct12b_10.html
"ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO EXPANDS PROBE OF NEW YORK FORECLOSURE ACTIONS
Demands information from Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and GMAC Mortgage/Ally
~
Calls for suspension of foreclosures by mortgage servicers engaged in “robo-signing” in New York until accuracy of court documents and integrity of process are assured
NEW YORK, NY (October 12, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he is seeking information from four major mortgage servicers - Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and GMAC Mortgage/Ally - concerning the filing of affidavits that falsely attest the signer has personal knowledge of the facts presented in home foreclosure proceedings, a practice known as “robo-signing.”
In view of the prevalence of this practice in the industry, Cuomo also called on mortgage servicers engaged in “robo-signing” in New York to immediately suspend all foreclosure actions in the state until they correct their procedures to comply with New York law and can assure the public and the courts that integrity has been restored.
“I will not allow New Yorkers to lose their homes due to mortgage goliaths that buck the system by submitting affidavits signed without knowledge of the facts,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “Such conduct is a fraud upon our courts and a slap in the face of New Yorkers struggling to get by in this economy. My office will continue to root out these practices so homeowners receive the full protections afforded by our judicial system.”
Recent reports indicate that employees of these mortgage servicers routinely signed affidavits submitted in foreclosure proceedings without personal knowledge of the underlying facts or verification of loan file information, and without even reading the documents they signed. This practice, known as “robo-signing,” has tainted the integrity of the foreclosure process by which homeowners in New York lose their homes. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and GMAC Mortgage announced that they were temporarily halting pending foreclosures, while Wells Fargo has not suspended foreclosures despite the deficiencies uncovered.
..."
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/10/alliedinterstate.shtm
"For Release: 10/21/2010
Debt Collector Will Pay $1.75 Million to Settle FTC Charges
Ignored Consumers’ Disputes Without Checking Its Information for Accuracy
To resolve Federal Trade Commission charges, one of the nation’s largest debt collectors will pay $1.75 million for allegedly making repeated telephone calls to collect from the wrong person, to collect the wrong amount, or both. The settlement is the second largest civil penalty obtained by the FTC in a debt collection case.
“Debt collectors had better make sure their information is accurate, or they could end up paying a big penalty,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “There is no excuse for trying to collect debt from someone if you can’t confirm that they actually owe it.”
According to the FTC’s complaint, between 2006 and at least 2008, Allied Interstate, Inc. continued collection efforts even after consumers told the company they did not owe the debt, without verifying the accuracy of the disputed information. Allied is a Minnesota corporation that works out of offices in the United States, Canada, India, and the Philippines. The company also allegedly made improper harassing phone calls to consumers, using abusive language or calling many times a day for weeks or months, sometimes hanging up when the calls were answered. In addition, the complaint charges that Allied made repeat calls to third parties seeking to locate a consumer, revealed alleged debts to third parties without the consumers’ consent or court permission, and threatened legal action against consumers it did not intend to take. The complaint alleges that these practices violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
In addition to the monetary penalty, the proposed consent decree requires Allied to take specific steps whenever (1) a consumer disputes that he or she owes the debt or the amount of the debt, or (2) a reasonable person would consider the information on which Allied is relying to collect the debt to be implausible, facially unreliable, or missing essential information. In either circumstance, Allied must either close the account and end collection efforts or suspend collection until it has conducted a reasonable investigation and verified that its information about the debt is accurate and complete. If Allied cannot substantiate that the consumer owes the debt, the company cannot sell the debt or provide it to any business other than the client from which it obtained the debt.
..."
Beware...they are now sending letters that state the debt is from "T-MOBILE". I received one today (November 8, 2010)
well i got one. I know its a fraud because there are two people on the deed to my home...and the name addressed on the envelope was not the person who lives here (i contacted them) Not only that but the telephone number was an old disconnected number by the landlord, who has proof of payment. Soooo glad I checked the net!!!
well, i see your post was in 2007. i am getting mail, and did fall into the phone thing, for a bogus Verizon bill. I have had verizon for as long as i can remember--land lines, internet, cell---and have an outstanding account status. But I get this collection notice from Afni for $158.982, they are actually settling for half of what is due--$317.83. i have never paid it, nor i have even responded. should i do what you said, with all the letters? this is ridiculous.
staceymac1028@gmail.com
AFNI has long been showing a pattern of complaints consistent with altering original Verizon account data to match whatever person they think they can tag with an old account.
On top of the thousands of consumer complaints of "id theft" filed with FTC in 2007, other evidence has included a steady stream of complaints where consumers have found out enough about the bogus bills to conclude elements were being fabricated or altered to make it appear they "owed" it. Often this is in the form of bills sent to people who may have once lived at some address on an account, but at times years different from when the account was allegedly opened.
If the bill referenced an old disconnected number known to have been opened under a different name and where the account was verified as paid, what is the connection of the name on the collection bill to the address?
If they sent this bill in your name, for example, is it for a long disconnected phone number from before your name was ever associated with this address, indicating that since your name could not possibly have been on the original account at any time it had been open, the bill must be a fabrication made from access to more recent skip-trace information?
If this is the case, can you verify that:
1) Verizon shows no outstanding balance under your name and SSN,
2) Check your credit reports to see if AFNI pulled one of them.
(1) will verify that the fabrication is attributed to AFNI's own actions (although there wouldn't be any way for Verizon to have done it anyway).
(2) would determine if AFNI has illegally pulled your credit report without "permissible purpose", which violates FCRA and state laws and may also be a crime under state and federal law.
Debt collectors assume they just have a blanket right to pull any credit reports they want, but if your name and SSN were never on the Verizon account, then you did not apply for credit in connection with this account, and neither Verizon, nor AFNI, would have had ANY permissible purpose.
If this is the case, you want to get documentation of this into the hands of FTC and the Minnesota Attorney General, who has been chasing AFNI for years over "accidental" bills sent to Minnesota residents. They both need to be aware of the scope of deceptive collection.
No, "Jon Smith", we have very long memories. We are tracking you and your friends, collecting information on deceptive and fraudulent collection practices through consumer complaints and news reports, deconstructing them to determine patterns of external and internal deception, including training "rationalizations" and deceptive excuses used to counter regulatory queries, and verifying deceptive patterns against court cases and decisions.
They are still at it. I just received a letter for an account that I never had, attempting to collect for ATT&T/BellSouth. The first thing they did when I called was "attempt to verify my ID" by asking for my SS#. I told them I was not giving out any information about my SS#. They then asked if my birthday was such-and-such a date. When I said "no" (the truth) they asked me if my last name had ever been "So&S0", I told them "no" (the truth). They then said that it appeared that I had been billed in error. I told them it had better not show up on my credit report because I am doing a refi on my mortgage right now. It was not on the credit report last week and I certainly hope it does not appear in the next few days and interfere with my loan.
It smelled to me like a scam right away.
If it shows up on your credit reports, and costs you money by trashing your refi, contact a consumer attorney immediately.
They recently lost a 3 state federal class action lawsuit over use of deceptive letters to evade validation, and the Minnesota AG has had repeated problems with their collection of unowed debt from Minnesota residents.
It has become increasingly obvious what they are up to, so you should be able to find attorneys willing to take these FDCPA and FCRA damage cases on contingency. Since both allow courts to also award attorney fees, that may become an added incentive to settle quickly.
You might try www.naca.net
3/8/2011 AFNI Collections sent a letter offering a settlement offer to pay a remaining balance for a disconnected phone, original creditor named GTE Southwest Incorporated. Never had a phone with this company and certainly will not call them or log into the AFNI website with part of my SS# to give them more of my personal information.
This is a group of lawyers trying to take on afni, if you have been the victim of AFNI, contact them
http://www.ConsumerLitigators.com/
Thanks for your insite and assistance on how to deal with these guys.
As of April 2011, this scam is continuing. Fortunately I knew that I'd paid my phone bill, so after confirming that with my online record, I googled Afnicollections and found your site. Outrageous that they're still in business. Thank you for this blog.
Manhattan Verizon customer
http://www.startribune.com/business/118777379.html?page=1&c=y
"State files suit against debt firm
Collections giant is accused of "robo-signing" documents.
By DAVID SHAFFER, Star Tribune
Last update: March 29, 2011 - 11:21 AM
Employees at a giant debt collection company in St. Cloud "robo-signed" thousands of collection documents without verifying their accuracy, allowing false and deceptive lawsuits to be filed across the country against consumers who didn't owe money, the Minnesota attorney general charged Monday.
The state lawsuit against Midland Funding LLC, one of the nation's largest debt collection firms, is the first enforcement action in the country against a debt collector for robo-signing, Attorney General Lori Swanson said.
Midland workers admitted signing up to 400 affidavits a day without reading them or verifying whether a debt was owed, according to the lawsuit. Often, the debts were 10 or more years old, known as "zombie debt," that Midland had purchased for cents on the dollar from credit card companies and other businesses, Swanson said.
"This company has a history of targeting people and assuming they owe them money until the citizen can show they don't owe the money," said Swanson, appearing at a capitol press conference with five Minnesotans who had been subjected to the practice.
Midland declined to answer questions about the allegations, but said in a statement that it takes the allegations seriously.
..."
i just recieved a notice from afni that i had a balance of 69.41 turned over to them from quest, that was paid 4/8/2011. i do not owe anything to qwest or afni.msg said write 9705063832702 on the payment. this must mean something to afni.
Thank you so much for sharing your letter and advice. I have contacted the attorney General of Illinois and the fraud dpt of us mail. Thanks!!
fortunately i sent them no $$
AFNI keeps calling our house continually for a person who worked for us over 6 or 7 years ago. I advised them of this and they stated they would remove my number from their database. Today, I received another call from them (same phone number as all other occassions) and when I asked the representative what the name of the company was, she stated it was 'NARS'. These people are a real piece of work. I advised her that I had spoken not 3 days ago and my number was to be removed, as we have no connection to the person they are trying to collect on. Instead of apologizing she plowed on and wanted to know if I knew this person. Can I report them for harassing me for another person? Michele
I just sent these A holes a nice letter,,,,give me the PROOF,,I ALMOST made the mistake of going over the internet to them but sent a FU letter instead,,,
I wish these A holes would get a real job!!!
Darn,
I usually don't pick up the phone from an Unknown caller. The one time that I picked up happened to be from AFNI, saying they're collecting from behalf of AT&T. I asked them for their number to verify, the guy spell A-F-N-I and that they're a reputable company. Should have hang up and verify instead of continuing like I did.
Apparently, he was looking for someone else with name almost like mine. Not sure if that's even true. AFNI was either trying to scam someone else or just phishing for my info.
Anyone know their contact info? It seems that they don't even have a website
I just got a "Settlement Offer" from Afni, Inc. for a T-Mobile bill that the SOL has run out on. I prepared my validation letter and will send it off tomorrow. I am looking forward to their angry response.
AFNI
404 Brock Dr
Bloomington, IL 61701-2654
Always mail certified when contacting debt collectors, keeping copies for your files, in case you have to sue them and prove when they received your dispute letter.
You can get the Post Office delivery confirmation off the post office website (www.usps.com) using the certified tracking number.
NARS appears to be a different debt collector, separate from AFNI.
http://www.narsnet.com/About/
If they continue to harass you after you notified them to cease, contact FTC and your state Attorney General for assistance.
Debt collection the AFNI way, an inside look.
Note how the "id theft" gambit is played, threatening to "investigate" relatives as a threat to coerce payment on unrecognized accounts. This same script has been reported by many consumers for years, and suggests it is part of their training.
Also note the comments on suspect DirectTV accounts, including high levels of consumers claiming they never had such an account.
In particular, note the allegation that DirectTV doesn't respond to disputes from AFNI, which may either mean they ignore them, or that AFNI fails to even pass them on. That is also consistent with AFNI knowing the alleged bills are bogus.
The reported insider view of how they handle "id theft" disputes is also consistent with knowledge by AFNI that they are sending out a lot of bogus bills, but may be under pressure to close them, rather than actually continue the "id theft" gambit beyond an initial attempt.
Both are consistent with AFNI using sloppy name matching while intentionally evading validation. They are also consistent with the MN AG allegations.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/collection-agency-s/afni-inc/afni-inc-employees-forced-to-d2d57.htm
"...
When a representative tells you that there is going to be an "investigation into their ID Theft claim where family members at that address could be investigated"........it is a 100% lie. There IS NO investigation. As I said, it is simply marked "fraud" and closed by supervisors within minutes of entering the ID Theft status. Lastly, I have written DirecTv asking for input on the ANCIENT (10-13 year old accounts) that they have supposedly sold Afni, Inc. but no one will respond to me. I'm 99% sure there is a DirecTV scam going on as well with Afni, Inc. and could give you HUNDREDS of examples where Directv was set up at a home in the city where consumers lived but not their actual living quarters and Afni is trying collect on them now. About 80-90% of consumers would not pay and said "I'll get back to you as I've never had Directv in my name ever in my lifetime."
..."
Example of AFNI matching by name only, and an old one at that, in effect "guessing" people to bill.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/debt/afni.html
"...
1/9/11
My prior name was Kristin ******** (7 years ago.) AFNI sent a letter in that name to my current address stating that I owe 282.03 for direct tv which I have never had.
I called direct tv and they stated the name was correct but the correct address is:*** ***** Street in Caney, KS. Direct tv confirmed that my address has never had direct tv.
How do I get this resolved so that I no longer receive these bogus past due letters
..."
10 theads on ripoffreport in the month of July, and July isn't yet over.
Looks like their complaint levels are rising again, consistent with the recent cluster of 5 complaints in July here.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Search/afni.aspx
Qwest settles with MN AG.
http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/118713884.html
"Agreement ends push to collect old Qwest debts
Updated: March 26, 2011 - 6:01 PM
Qwest customers who have been hounded to pay old bills should get some relief under an agreement the company made with Attorney General Lori Swanson's office this month. Whistleblower reported in May on an Illinois collection agency that was attempting to collect an estimated 100,000 old Qwest debts in Minnesota. In the past three years, Qwest sold allegedly delinquent accounts to AFNI, Inc., even though some of the accounts had been disputed by the customer, stemmed from identity theft or had been previously paid, according to the agreement. Some of the accounts had been closed for more than six years, which is the statute of limitations in Minnesota for most types of debt. AFNI paid at least $4 million for the accounts.
"In some cases, Qwest has admitted that it no longer has the information necessary to validate the accounts, due to their old age," the agreement said.
Qwest denied the attorney general's allegations, but the company said it would retrieve the accounts from AFNI and remove any debts from the credit histories of its Minnesota customers. In the future, the company agreed not to sell debt that has been disputed and not substantiated, and that is the result of identity theft or fraud.
Qwest agreed to pay $50,000 to the state, which can be used as restitution to consumers.
..."
Basically, they agreed to do what they should have been doing all along: not selling paid or disputed unverified accounts, or those due to fraud and id theft.
So what have they been doing in other states?
I was told by Verizon upon swtiching my cable to another service that I was paid to date, in fact past the date my new service was to start and my final bill would be 0.00. I never received a final bill from Verizon, but I kept getting bills for different amount like I still had service. After dozens of phone calls and several emails to Verizon, no help, just more bills mailed to me. Then came the letter from AFNI saying I owed Verizon $118.45 immediately. I called AFNI and explained to them the situation and the lady said if Verizon says I owe the money then I do. I laughed of course and said could I have your fax number so I can prove to you I do not owe the money. She then said I could fax her the information but again if Verizon says I owe the money then it does not matter. I faxed her the information on June 22nd and then received a letter on June
30th saying they verified with Verizon I do owe the money. I DID NOT pay the bill. I go to trade in my car a week later and guess what is on my credit report?? Yes indeed, Verizon for $118.45. Due to that fact, my credit score dropped 71 points and I could not get my new car. Verizon refuses to talk to me at all and AFNI refuses to see that I do not owe the money to Verizon and I do not know how to get rid of all of this. I did nothing wrong and I have worked so hard to improve my credit and now what??? I have no clue how to fix this, other than call my lawyer, which will cost me more money in the long run. All I can say is shame on Verizon for screwing people who truly do not deserve it and how are they still allowed to keep doing this over and over without being stopped????
Liz Couch
Virginia Beach, VA 7/26/11
Verizon has numerous complaints reporting that they keep accounts open after consumers request that they be closed, run up additional charges with no actual service sending no more bills, then pass it off to AFNI.
Contact your state Attorney General for assistance.
Due to their error damaging your credit and preventing you from buying a car, you have damages.
Get an attorney.
I had an erroneous account show up on my credit report last week. I called Afni and they immediately agreed to take it off. They faxed me a letter stating they would contact the credit agencies. Ugg. Was my experience too good to be true? Oh I hope not!
For years, that response has been atypical for AFNI. More commonly, they have numerous complaints of ignoring or evading validation, "parking" erroneous accounts on consumer reports until they get paid.
Someone may be holding their feet to the fire.
What state were you in?
Minnesota?
One of the 3 states (IL an 2 others) where they lost the class action lawsuit?
(contact Edelman and Combs)
Looks like they showed up on the Florida AG's radar.
http://www.myfloridalegal.com/lit_ec.nsf/investigations/5EFA63E73CEF4DFD8525766200545993
"Active Public Consumer-Related Investigation
The case file cited below relates to a civil -- not a criminal -- investigation. The existence of an investigation does not constitute proof of any violation of law.
Case Number: L09-3-1197
Subject of investigation:
AFNI, Inc. a/k/a Anderson Financial Network
Subject's address:
404 Brock Drive Bloomington, Illinois 61701
Subject's business:
Debt Collection
Allegation or issue being investigated:
Violation of FSS 501, Part II, Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA), FSS 559.72 and The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA).
AG unit handling case:
Economic Crimes Division in Orlando, Florida
..."
thank you for this post. I have received three notices from Afni in two weeks. harrassment! glad I found you and know how to handle this.
I did business with Verizon many years ago, and thought I had settled my account in full. I received an AFNI, Inc. letter showing that I owed $295. Worried about my credit, I provided them with my CHECKING ACCT# (I'm an intelligent person, most of the time anyway). They set up four equal payments to be drafted from my bank account ($71 each). I have contacted my bank. Any amount between $71 and $72 will be rejected (thank God for their cooperation... and thank God for this website!). I have written the Illinois Atty General, and sent AFNI the suggested certified mail, return receipt letter outlined on the main page. The FCC or the Atty General needs to shut these jokers DOWN! I work too hard for my money to give it to these scam artists. I hope they're all hauled to jail in hand-cuffs. Sophie D.
I just got a AFNI collections notice in the mail today. It claims that I owe AT%T $50.83 I know that isnt a huge amount nor would it cripple me financially however, I haven't had an account with AT%T since 1997. I'm wondering why now all the sudden? This isnt showing up on any of my credit reports. I tried calling but was on hold for 45 minutes before I hung up. Wondering myself if this is some sort of scam. Guess Ill try that sending a certified letter thing.
I just got a notice from Afni regarding an old MCI bill. I never even had MCI. Didn't they get bought out , like, 15 years ago?
I received a letter in the mail yesterday from AFNI (Bloomington, IL) with the letterhead: "DISCOUNTED PAYMENT OFFER"..The letter states: We are making "another" attempt to contact you regarding your overdue account of $1,600.89, but we will accept $100.00 to resolve this matter. Once this is paid, our records will reflect the status of your account with Afni, Inc. as closed as settled. This offer is valid until 4/16/2012 and Afni is not obligated to renew this offer. Don't miss this opportunity to settle this account for $100.00!!
Well, I looked down to see who the creditor is & it is VERIZON! I have been a customer of theirs for 12 YEARS! In fact, I still have my cell phone service with them!
I sat & thought about this for awhile, wondering if maybe I had not closed a prior account after my divorce 10 years ago & had moved several times-maybe somewhere along the line, at that time I had accumulated such a balance? I had a LOT of things going on in my life, with my 2 kids...is this even possible?? So, I called the # on the letter: 1-866-308-1160 & a rep answered right away asking if I wanted to pay by credit, debit or check...I told her that I didn't remember such an outstanding balance & she said she "didn't know, but if you pay the $100.00, it's a very good deal"...I thought about it & told her I wanted to do some research online about this first & she just said "oh, ok"!!
I googled AFNI & was amazed at the 100's of people who have posted complaints about them on different sites...
I still don't know what to do about this--I will probably start with Verizon & see if they can dig back to when this possibly happened--it has to be at least 10 years ago..I will definitely send a letter to the BBB, so they can add it to their Afni file!
I'm happy that I trusted my instincts to check this out first.. If anyone can advise me further, I'd appreciate it!
Send them a letter, mailed certified return receipt requested, notifying them that you dispute this alleged debt, and demand that they obtain and send you proof from the original creditor that you owe it. Include that this is the first letter you have received from them, and that it is inconvenient for you to be contacted by them by phone.
Their letter implies that they sent you some earlier letter, but you have never received one. If you send this letter within 30 days of receiving their first letter, they are required by FDCPA to cease all collection activity until they obtain and send you proof.
If you have further problems, file complaints with FTC and your state Attorney General, and find an attorney to deal with them.
Well today Igot the same letter but them say I owe a T-mobile bill which I have ever have been with this company at all I am report this to the bbb and let them take over. Thanks
I'm sorry I know everyone is weary of a conspiracy but people who dont pay their bills should have to pay them and people who dont want to wont until it turns against them and some people will make up any excuse to get out of it. We all know there are so many people like that in the world. I know afni is a good place and they are honest with what they do, and it has to be done so people can get money for the good/service that they provided if a customer doesnt pay. Honestly you are all wasting your time and energy. If you pay your bills you wont get "harrassed" the end. Spend your time doing something productive or getting a job.
I'm sorry, Sarah, but you are very naive.
AFNI provides an example of how common deceptive debt collection practices result in consumers "harassed in the end" even when they do pay their bills.
They have flood the mail system with fraudulent dunning letters to people who don't owe them, and lost a federal class action lawsuit over a deceptive letter they had been sending to disputing consumers for years. They have been investigated and sued by several state Attorneys General, notably over old Verizon and Qwest bills sent to people who didn't even owe them. They were so routinely using the "id theft" talk-off that they actually skewed FTC's id theft complaint statistics in a 2007 study. They have even been caught collecting on Verizon accounts that Verizon itself says aren't owed, with AFNI employees still trying to convince consumers "Verizon is wrong" and they are owed anyway.
No question, AFNI is more clever than CAMCO, the notorious collection agency shut down by FTC years ago. They clearly know the critical value of plausible deniability in evading consequences when deceiving through implication and denial of information. They are practically a textbook case for how to do it, and how to get away with it, with thousands of consumer complaints available to track their evolving strategies and training, along with court cases to confirm the illegality of what consumers were reporting.
You parrot what you have been taught in training, which included "suggestions" (talk-offs) for convincing consumers not to send written disputes on disputed "debts". You blindly believe what you have been told. What you fail to realize is that when you make skip-trace "mistakes", and then use talk-offs to profit anyway or even just to cover it up, you get caught.
Your "mistakes" mostly target the 80% of people who actually do pay their bills, and even know who they used for phone service years ago. That's just how probability works.
They may not know what to do about it, but when they catch you in a lie, they know it's a scam. When you "suggest" something you do not know to be true, to deflect a consumer dispute, you are lying.
I received an email credit alert from my bank today and when I checked my credit report I noticed that my score had dropped almost 100 points! A new collections account was opened by AFNI with two bureaus on Jan 1 2012 and a third on Jan 16 2012. I find this odd because Im damn sure I owe no one money but mainly because it shows a positive payment history from Jan 2012-Apr 2012 with collections starting in May... seeing how it's only mid may ( and showing a positive payment history )how is that possible?! I have no credit cards or any monthly payments besides a cell phone so Im a bit perplexed to say the least.
Filed a complaint with the IL AG. Will sue if nothing is done. They are reporting a debt that was paid to Verizon years ago.
As a former AFNI employee, I can assure you that the collections that they attempt are real/legit/valid. That said, most are past the statute of limitations and you do not need to pay them. Most of the bills are old cell phone bills from previous companies that you owed (Southern Bell is now Verizon, etc.) but are past the statute of limitations. Many are fraud committed by your parents (their credit was too bad to get a cell phone, so they used your ss#, etc.). If you do not notify AFNI in writing that you do not owe the money, they will come after you and ruin your credit. It is a crappy company and really bad to work for, but they are doing what our government has allowed by law to do. Blame the system, not the people that work there.
"I can assure you that the collections that they attempt are real/legit/valid. "
At least that's what they told you, and you bought it. Never admit any errors, not even if Verizon says it's bogus. No money in it, and that's all that counts.
" Most of the bills are old cell phone bills from previous companies that you owed (Southern Bell is now Verizon, etc.) but are past the statute of limitations. "
Always say "you owed". Isn't that what your trainers told you?
Never admit you are just a bunch of F*** Ups.
"Many are fraud committed by your parents (their credit was too bad to get a cell phone, so they used your ss#, etc.). "
That's a talk-off straight from your training. Call their parents' crooks, whether you have any evidence to prove it or not.. They teach you to say this convincingly. That's called "lying". You are on your way to becoming a sociopath.
"If you do not notify AFNI in writing that you do not owe the money, they will come after you and ruin your credit."
Yet AFNI employees won't volunteer that little bit of information, that you need to dispute in writing. They will tell you that if you dispute, they don't have to prove anything. (a half-truth) They might even tell you "It's too late to dispute so you owe it", and similar lies. What other half-truths did they teach you?
"It is a crappy company and really bad to work for"
And yet if you believe them, that's what you deserve.
If you want to find what it's like working for them, try here:
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/bowling-green-ky/TF2R7VLN4ATPNIN1E/p13
I work for AFNI, and I can assure you that most employees don't admire the company, nor do they respect them. Most of the floor agents are good people who are absolutely desperate for work. I have spent 6 months at AFNI, and the administration are complete losers. They preach constantly about how AFNI is a great place to work, and how the "rumors" are false and have no basis. However, they treat employees like cattle and it is a living nightmare working for them. The head of HR, Mckenly, took a month and a half to set up my direct deposit. Over my 6 month tenure I was given 3 opportunities to change my schedule, however this was denied each time despite my solid performance due to "unforeseen circumstances". In my six months there, I found that I got in trouble if I was truthful with the customer, yet if I lied this was actually encouraged! One particular call involved me telling a customer that things would be fine, when they were not. The coach then reprimanded me not for lying, but for not lying enough! They told us in training to do this to increase stats and resolve more calls. During training, I had notified the company that I would need two days off after training to attend my cousins wedding that I was an usher in. I had already purchased the tuxedo, and had planned on it. When I tried to confirm this with Mckenly, he said that I could not get the days off. I missed anyway, and was reprimanded by him, and others there and I only kept my job because I confirmed that I had been told by the person who hired me that I was promised the days off. During my time in Rookie Camp, I requested help from a "coach". He told me to delay the customer by repeating what I had already told them. When the customer refused these again, the same coach came, and proceeded to go on break and ignore the call. Leaving me with an angry customer that I had to distract because there were no other coaches. I was written up for call avoidance because I had too long a gap between calls, even though I took more calls than my whole team, and I had the lowest handling time. I was berated by my coach for telling the customer that they could not take their phone outside the US without special equipment. She said I should have done more, even though I read all of my information verbatim to the customer. They get paid $7000 dollars per student for training, this is how they make most of their profits from Verizon. They pay a single instructor at best $30,000 per year while making &140,000 per 20 person class each six weeks. Each student makes approximately $1700 dollars for training. This leaves with AFNI with approximately $70,000 profits for each class. There are 3 classes going during each six week period, and they make approximately $210,000 just on training each six weeks. Hence their slogan "AFNI, a great pace to work!". They run commercials in town here just to get as many people as possible to apply. I have concluded that they don't want the best people working there because those people would stay and their turnover rate would drop thus costing them profits from training. Honestly, I don't know how Verizon has missed what is being done to them by this company, AFNI is screwing them and making huge profits off of a scam. Their training is pointless and consists of going over how to be nice to the customer. This lasts for six weeks! I have been lied to numerous times by AFNI, and the only reason I stay is because as a college student, I am desperate for a job, and AFNI pays better than most and they are constantly hiring. As for respecting them, I have not met a single agent who would spit on their boss if they were on fire.
I received a letter from afni and, just like your website says, you try and call them and it says that you cannot contact them by phone. Your website was very helpful. Thery're not getting one penny from me and as far as threatning me over the phone, I dare them to. My sister was diagnosed with cancer and i am just looking to vent....Thanks for your help.
Oh no! I already paid them. What now??? I saw AFNI on my bank statement and checked online to see what AFNI is. I had forgotten.
Now after reading that AFNI is a scam, I feel nauseated! I paid 250 for a bill that I thought I had paid about 9 years ago. The amount was not even close to 250. However, it was on my credit and I don't want bad credit, so I paid it. What do I do now? UGH!
C.T.
To make sure my comment above is clear...I RECENTLY paid 250 for a bill of 250 that AFNI said I owed 9years ago from AT&T. I paid this bill many years ago, but AFNI said maybe it was a fee for "early termination." The AFNI rep also told me if I paid it now, my credit would be cleared; they would post on my credit that I have paid that bill, and it will reflect on my credit within 1-2 weeks. The reason I was checking and fixing up any credit issues is because the jobs I applied for said they check credit and will not hire if there are any 'dings'.
Thank you,
Ms. C.T
I just checked my credit report and found afni on there twice saying I owe 1000 some dollars...what the heck?? There was also a place called lvnv...anyone heard of that?? I did my research and it said about being a scam as well...I aslo had something from verizon on there as well...I did have a verizon phone once but I also had a bunch of other cell phones that weren't paid and there not on there...hmmm? How do I get afni off my credit report?? Also that lvnv place...I have no idea what either of them are!!
“life insurance policy types is a right not a privilege.” ? Edward M. Kennedy
“Religion is more than a life insurance policy types”
I used to work for Afni. Some people may have bad experiences with getting calls that they do not believe are for them. Or they may have a legitimate complaint.. But this is a LEGITIMATE debt collection company with years of history collecting perfectly legal debt. All of those people out there who are bad mouthing Afni have no idea what you are talking about.
To the former Afni employee:
You're a straight-out liar and you know it. Afni sent me a fraudulent collections notice, claiming that I lived in a city in which I never lived, and attempted to collect a bogus debt on a number which I never had. I was able to legally prove it.
You might like to live in denial and convince yourself that you weren't part of an unethical company that carried out illegal tactics, but you were.
Don't know what we're talking about? The more you do, the more we see, and the more we know.
There are so many detailed complaints posted about AFNI, over so many years, that it is real easy to see what they are up to. You can track them, watch the shifts in tactics in response to newspaper articles, lawsuits and AG investigations, even determine the training scripts and talk-offs from the multitude of AFNI employee responses. You can watch their key employees squirm in depositions, trying to defend their actions.
It's a wonderful case study in the problems of consumer protection against well organized deceptive collection, the strengths and weaknesses of current federal and state law, the total lack of education provided by our schools in even basic consumer law, and similar issues of public policy.
From a theoretical point of view, we see numerous examples played out, like a massive game simulation. Clearly visible are the practical benefits of effective deception, including use of lies of ommission for deniably evading compliance, the benefit of buying the appearance of legitimacy, and the role of plausible deniability as cover.
I hope that you left because you aspire to something better, but from your naivete I doubt it.
Omg they have been sending me bills the past couple years for nextel . I haven't been with nextel since the early 2000's . How do I make this stop !!!
Most of their problem "debt" has been really old. Such old debt is also suspect, as the selling telecoms aren't particularly careful that the data they sell off for pennies is accurate.
Such old telecom portfolios often contain erroneous "bad debts" that may really have been zero balance accounts with correction of billing errors lost in the process, garbled accounts with partial or erroneous name or billing address information that resulted in lost bills, fraudulently opened accounts, etc.
The seller typically washes his hands of the bad debt, writes it off, and sells it for whatever he can get. Companies like AFNI buy it really cheaply, and are equally cheap (and sloppy) about correctly identifying who to bill for it.
They don't even have much incentive to be very careful in who they "accidentally" bill, since they might even be more likely to get paid from billing the wrong person (or people) than from trying to locate someone they already know didn't pay the original creditor. Although FDCPA allows consumers to dispute alleged debts, and requires collection agencies to respond to such disputes by checking back with the original creditor, in many cases these junk portfolios are sold with restrictiona on the collection agency prohibiting access to such verification, giving them every incentive to lie and cheat when faced with disputes.
If it's actually connected to your old account, then it's past the FCRA 7.5 year credit reporting limit, and it would be illegal for them to post it to your credit reports. In practically all states, it would also be past SOL, so they couldn't legally sue, although if they can con you into paying even a small amount, that might reset SOL, allowing a lawsuit.
It could also be some "screw-up", as they are commonly reported to just "guess" who might owe these alleged "debts".
Send them a letter, mailed certified, notifying them that you dispute the alleged debt and demand proof you owe it. On verifying their receipt of your letter (via the USPS website), send a second letter, again mailed certified, notifying them to "cease communications", in accordance with FDCPA.
If they trash your credit, or continue to harass you over this unproven "debt", or simply call or send any letter asking for payment, contact a lawyer, since you can sue for FDCPA and FCRA violations.
You can find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net
Here's a new slant: Today I received a letter from the IRS saying I owe them $734 tax from 2011 for a charged-off debt of $2800 from AFNI. I have not idea where this came from at all and just googled AFNI to find this site among many claiming AFNI scams people. WTH!?! They are pretty bold criminals to go through the trouble of filing 1099-C forms to the IRS! If the IRS is saying I owe them tax on this, is AFNI getting a tax break for it? Now this is a truly underhanded way of making money and sounds like it's illegal as heck!
I'm assuming you were never contacted about this by AFNI, and have no idea what "delinquent account" they have now reported to IRS as "your cancelled debt". Given the amount, the original telecom debt is most likely a commercial account, not even a consumer account, also consistent with AFNI's common f*ck-up practices.
You are looking at the collision between the IRS regulations on reporting cancelled debt as income, and the sloppy collection industry practices of negligently or intentionally assuming their "guesses" are accurate, and dunning "misidentified" consumers.
If it's not your debt, then it's not your cancelled debt or your "income" either, regardless of AFNI's "erroneously" reporting it as so. Problem is, now you have to dispute it with the IRS, and you will probably want to go after AFNI for the trouble their "error" is causing. Although companies are required to report cancelled debt as income to the debtor, they also are supposed to report accurately, and IRS has penalties for deliberately reporting erroneous information. AFNI and other debt collectors, however, are playing the deceptive game that they supposedly "know" who owes these debts, when in many cases they don't even have sufficient information from the original creditor to identify the actual correct debtor. Past complaints have found AFNI just "guessing" who "owes" alleged debts, dunning people based on address matching only, dunning individuals for business accounts, or just finding a similar last name in the same city. They have posted these "debts" on credit reports, and told consumers they "owe" them using as "proof" SSNs obtained from other sources, so why wouldn't they also file false IRS information? Given their past behavior, they clearly have the capability to make this "error".
Lies to consumers compounded by more lies to IRS, all to pretend they weren't lying in the first place, and "didn't know" they wre making "mistakes". How can you "not know" when you routinely make it up then try to evade consumer disputes and validation? This industry bullsh*t needs to stop.
Suggest you contact a consumer attorney (or a bankruptcy attorney, since they often handle not only debt and FDPCA litigation, but IRS and tax issues). Due to the systematic nature of the "third party disclosure" and the additional duty to report to IRS accurately, there's probably another class action lawsuit possible here. They may have gored themselves on a dilemma. You might try www.naca.net
In addition to contacting an attorney, pull your 3 credit reports, to see if AFNI is reporting this "error". If so, you will want to dispute it through the CRAs, to get either removal (an admission that the original posted "debt" was in error) or "verification" by AFNI, to establish liability for their erroneous posting. You should also send an FCRA "data furnisher" dispute directly to AFNI. Send all mail certified return receipt requested, should you need to establish proof of your dispute in court.
If they remove in response to a FCRA CRA dispute, they are also required by FCRA to notify all other parties they have transmitted the erroneous information to of their "correction". That would include IRS, and may be the basis to extablishing AFNI's FCRA liability to you for "erroneous" reporting to IRS if they fail to update and correct IRS reporting.
If they leave the error, in response to your dispute, without adequately verifying with the original creditor, including verifying correct identity, that helps establish their FCRA liability for their original reporting error.
Also keep in mind that under federal law (FDCPA):
"...
(c) The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer.
..."
AFNI has every incentive to try to stonewall and bullsh*t you on this bogus "debt", to make you just go away without any admission of error by themselves, and "you didn't dispute" what you never even knew about is one of their favorite talk-offs.
In addition, IRS may be responsible for reimbursement for your legal costs in defending against their frivolous claims. Bet they really like that one, but they created this problem through the legal fiction that debt collectors can be trusted to report accurately, when they've failed to do so for years. If they don't like it, their recourse is to fine the erroneous "information" filers.
When stabbing demons, always use as many prongs on the pitchfork as you can, lest they slip through.
You should also contact the IRS Ombudsman.
Based on analysis of a study of FTC id theft complaints, AFNI collection practices probably resulted in nearly 10,000 FTC "identity theft" complaints in 2007, as they sent massive mailings of dunning letters on old pre-Verizon merger "accounts" to people who didn't owe them. Due to consumer underreporting, or outright deception and stonewalling by AFNI employees (as documented in Hale v. AFNI), the actual level of erroneous dunning may have been an order of magnitude higher. One report at the time placed their mailing levels at 1 million a month.
If AFNI is now filing 1099Cs on these fabrications, then IRS is now a participant in massive levels of fraudulent tax billing. Those are levels worthy of a Congressional investigation.
Two other sources that might be generating high levels of fraudulent 1099C IRS reports include fraudulent health club "debts" created by the sales and contract fraud common in the industry, and reversed or nullified arbitration awards from the NAF fiasco.
Another likely source might be fraudulent collection of fake "magazine subscription debt", as in the little scam FTC nailed Luebke Baker for last year. Since these fraudulent "subscription contracts were often inflated above the $600 IRS reporting level, they might be expected to generate fraudulent 1099C reports, and fraudulent IRS "tax deficiency" bills.
There is a process for disputing erroneous W-2, 1098, or 1099reports to IRS using Form 4598. Contact IRS directly.
http://getoutofdebt.org/43711/how-to-deal-with-a-new-1099-c-issued-on-old-debt-using-little-known-irs-form-4598
OCC and CFPB may be coordinating regulatory policy positions to crack down on negligent or fraudulent "cowboy" debt collection. (This position is consistent with DBA v. Snow, i.e. push the problem back on originating debt sellers, mostly banks.)
http://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/congressional-testimony/2013/pub-test-2013-116-oral.pdf
OCC position is that noncompliant debt collection, even by third party debt buyers down a clouded chain of title, is a reputational risk to national banks, and therefore a financial risk.
Which is is! Duh!
Banks have an obligation to manage their risk to preserve value, including by contractually controlling debt collection practices, even by third party collectors after the sale.
Negligent or fraudulent collection, including litigation based on unreliable "robosigned" documents, disrupts the courts, consumer credit markets, and undermines bank collateral, including clear title, affecting bank solvency.
Ese mismo problema (Robo me hicieron a mi) me dañaron el credito con una supuesta deuda de $ 366.00 dólares.
Francisco Martinez
New Jersey
I'm a bit confused about all of this. I received a collection notice from Afni today that I owed over $1000 to Directv. I contacted Directv, and they stated there was an outstanding debt in that amount in my name. Though I despise electronics, and I never open/change/call/do anything with TV or phone services. My husband does though his name was not on the collection notice. We have not used DIrectv since 2007 though when I called, they said the service was opened in 2012. They also said they use Afni as a collection service. Is it possible it's a mistake or are you saying Afni somehow uses pieces of people's information to connect collections that don't belong to them? Thank you.
I'm getting harassed by Afni looking for someone who doesn't even exist at this number!!! I've told them sooo many times both to agents and their computer [press 4 if xyz doesn't live at this number] each time I am told that they will remove the number from their files. The next day it starts all over again. Do I have any recourse at all? This is a new number for me and apparently the person who had this number before was on their radar. Now it's me. Today I asked for a supervisor and after much arguments finally got someone on the line is says he was a supervisor which I doubt but I did get a name and told him he was left holding the bag and that this was bordering on harassment. Anything else I can do?
I, too, have been receiving calls to my office number. I work for a large company and have had this number for quite some time. Anyway, the message I get (for some reason, it goes straight to my voicemail), states that it's AFNI and they're attempting to collect on a debt.
I have called them numerous times over the past 4 or 5 months that I've been getting these messages and, when I give them the phone number, they state that it's not valid for any account they're trying to collect on. So, why am I getting these calls?
According to them, they're calling a number that's been "forwarded" to my office line. Okay...then they need to track THAT number and figure out how to stop it from rolling into my line. I've been told that MY tech support would need to do that, not on their end. Huh?
I finally got tired of this harassment and have filed a complaint with the BBB. Hopefully, this will get some movement and resolution.
It's not much good complainting through BBB. AFNI is a member, and BBB just accepts whatever excuse AFNI sends them.
FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from making harassing calls, and requires that they accept disputes and respond to requests for verification (proof from the original creditor).
File complaints with FTC and your state Attorney General.
If you have further problems, especially if they are trashing your credit over an unowed "debt", contact an attorney, as you may be able to sue them for violations of FDCPA and FCRA. You can find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net
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I'm a former Debt Collector, both first and third party. (Meaning I've spoken with businesses, the military and individuals alike.)My fiance received a "debt collection notice" from Afni for a Verizon land line he hasn't had in a number of years and actively closed the account with Verizon. He was never contacted regarding any debt owed regarding the land line.
Seeing as I know some of the tricks of the trade (legally.) I called them and I can assure you- this is a scam.
1. They never asked for my name, even after I identified myself as his wife. (which would be on any actual account.)
2. They actually sounded nervous about a cease and desist letter. (You have one of these drawn up and mailed to a collection agency legally, They now can no longer contact you.
3.When I put my fiance on the phone,they refused to tell him the phone number they were calling about. Or the address, or anything to prove to him that it was his debt. He would have had to give information to them. Not how that works.
In short: They don't follow FDCPA regulations. There were at least five things I could report that were flagrant violations. Do not pay them a cent.
I urge all consumers who have dealt with AFNI to send them an invoice, charging them for use of your personally identifiable information. This information is your property, and it is in your right to limit who has what access to it and for what purpose. As the owner of this information you also have the right to charge an individual or company for it's use.
Afni sent by mail a letter, saying I owe 402.67.I said would they take halh.o yes they said.right now over credit card.I say I will call back.I have to look an see if I owe.I did give them my numberphone.I new it was a scam.thank you for letting me know. Steven bourque
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