We have all heard stories of fake debt collectors taking unsuspecting individuals for thousands of dollars. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Illinois Attorney General recently asked a federal court to close down a network of businesses operating as fake debt collectors. The interesting twist on this case is that they were attempting to collect real payday loans.
The illegal collection operations were conducted by Stark Law, Stark Recovery, Capital Harris Miller & Associates, and other names. The entities had no authority to collect the debts, but they used threats and harassment to recover millions of dollars from victims.
The FTC alleges that the entities would contact people who had applied for payday or other similar short-term loans and claim that their loans were past due. They would intimidate the borrowers by threatening lawsuits or charging them with “defrauding a financial institution” for writing insufficient checks. The victims were contacted repeatedly. The victims’ family, friends and employers were told lies and also harassed. In fact, most victims paid simply to make the abuse and harassment stop. All of these tactics are illegal.
If you are facing similar harassing tactics by one of your collectors, it is essential to seek help. Debt collectors are prohibited from harassing you, telling you lies, or using other unfair practices. If a collector is using these types of tactics with you, it is likely that you are dealing with a scammer.
Whether you owe the debt or not, you deserve to be treated with respect and fairness. Fitzgerald & Campbell handles debt collector harassment cases on a “contingency fee” basis, which means you pay us nothing unless we are successful! There is no charge to you for us to represent you. If we win, we will get paid. If we lose, we will not get paid. It is that simple. The law provides that if your case is successful, the creditor or collector will pay your reasonable attorney fees. Call us today toll-free at (844) 431-3851 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation.