716-648-3240

This collection agency keeps calling our house from different numbers. They look for a person we don't know, and we asked them to stop the calls. Instead they just change the number and call again. We block the numbers they use but they call from new ones.

This is a collection agency. I have dealt with them on two previous occasions for a debt of mine and then again for my son. They were not like a typical agency. They were helpful, polite, explained situation and gave me different options that would help me close the accounts. I hope I don't ever have anything in collections again, but heaven forbid I do, I hope it's with LHR Inc.

1-800-616-5473 is the toll free number that I was given when LHR left a message on my machine, looking for another family member.  My family member most likely gave them my number in an effort to avoid a collection.

I called the toll free number associated with the incoming call that read (NY 716-648-3240), on my caller ID.  I informed them or the correct contact information for my relative.  So far, they have not bothered me again.  

I know they have a job to do, and we all SHOULD be accountable for our outstanding bills.  Sometimes things happen and we can get in a pinch financially but it would be my suggestion that if you get harrassing phone calls from them - RETURN the FAVOR, over and over and over again.

my ex-husband of 10 years received a phone call from this number asking if he knew my sister, or her ex-husband (of 23 years). They wouldn't give a name or tell him who they were with. My ex told them that we were divorced and that he had not had any contact with any of our family for years. They said, "Ok, we will mark your name off the list." Why they are calling, I don't know considering my sister has always paid her debts and probably has the highest credit score possible. And how they associated her with my ex-husband, I don't know, especially since he and I were not even dating, let alone married, until several years after my sister and her ex were divorced. Strange company.

I found out that the LHR is a collection agency that purchases your old debt and will be on your credit report until you pay them off.   i thought about just letting it come off of my credit report in the next 7

These people call and scream and try to intimidate, they relate information about the debt- WHICH IS ILLEGAL- they cannot discuss why they are calling for the person. They are not the people who my son owes a debt to. I certainly DO NOT OWE THEM OR ANYONE ANYTHING!
I have turned them over to the Attorney Generals office of my state and the FTC.
They called me again a little while ago, so I am going to do it again.
I hope the AG will give them hell.
The worst profession in the world. It is obvious that the above positive statements about these "people" are from LHR.

I received 3 calls from different numbers like an above complaint stated wanting to talk to a relative in a different state.  I didn't answer any of these calls because I don't answer calls "unknown".  The woman on my answering machine stated my relatives name and then went on with what I would call demeaning since that info should of been private.  My relative was then suppose to call another number that the woman gave out by a certain time the next day.  What is this the wild west?  I'm sorry but those tactics won't work with me.  This was just the first message left and I did not appreciate it one bit.  If it continues to go on I will contact the New York attorney general since this is not my debt.

Wether the debt is your or not, LHR Inc. is breaking the law not only in revealing personal financial information of somoene elses to you but also to harrasment.
I wonder how long it will be before someone either walks into their office with a weapon and starts shooting people or just blows up their building. Screw with enough people and you eventually get somoene you should have left alone.

yea how dare lhr try to collect money that belongs to them! unbelievable!! Its perfectly natural and ok if you don't want to pay a bill you owe...i mean thats how life works isn't it? the nerve of those people. Who cares about law suits and bad credit? its absolutely worth it to wine and complain and not pay up.. as long as you have your pride! right? and then its perfectly justified to harm someone physically because you didnt want to be responsible...the judge will see it the same way right?

The fact is that too many people have too much debt.  Collections agencies have a job, but there are lines drawn as to how to collect that debt--To the person that wrote before me--if you wish to be considered credible and want to be taken seriously--please don't litter your message with grammatical errors.

now your just being rediculous.. you have nothing to retort, other than spelling errors..sounds like your a person who will be getting some phone calls... and besides who's to blame for the debt you create? certainly wouldn't be yourself right? i think all of you need to look deeper into those "fine lines" collectors have. maybe then you'll understand how to interpret those laws correctly.

Those you posting in defense of Collectors are obviously collectors yourself, otherwise there would be no reason for you to have come upon this board unless you had debt yourself or have been contacted by these scum.
MOST of the people posting about the harrassing phone calls on here are NOT the people who have the debt, they are relatives, neighbors and the like. The collectors have NO RIGHT to contact someone who is completley unrelated to the debt. When the collectors do call someone who has a debt they usually make demanding/threatening remarks. There are legitimate reasons why someone may not be able to pay their debts and there is no reason for these scumbags to call and make threats, there is a legal system in place for such things and they are just trying to bypass that legal system to collect by using ILLEGAL threats so they can make a buck.
Now I'm all for people to make a buck, but at least do it legally.
they call neighbors and relatives and then they flat out lie to them to try and get information on people. The reason they call friends/neighbors/relatives is to attempt to "SHAME" you into paying the collector. Not only is it ILLEGAL but you can sue the [***] out of them for releasing ANY personal information about a debt you owe.
You know why collectors even exhist, they BUY bad debt for pennies on the dollar and then hire people to make the calls and attempt to collect, giving the collector a percentage of what gets collected. Many times these people are able to operate with relative anonymity by hiding their phone number, (Unlisted, Not Available, or Blocked) and by also using completley false names (which is also Illegal).
so for all of you on here who are defending the collection agencies, quit and get yourself a job doing something that doesn't require you to perform illegal acts. If more people just knew the rules you are SUPPOSED to abide by then you probably would be out of work. Especially if more people started to take you to court over violating those rules.

For those of you getting the calls. A few Tips.
If it is your debt and you are able to pay it, do so.
If it isn't your debt or you are not able to pay it and want to stop the harrasing phone calls follow these tips.

Just send them a cease and desist letter, fax it to them , and then mail one certified mail to them, once that is done if they contact you not only does the federal government fine the crap outta them but you have legal grounds to persue legal action against them as well. Not only can use actually sue the company but you can even sue the actual individual making the call on behalf of the company.
here is a link to Clark Howards website where you can just copy, paste and print the letter you need to fax/mail to them to stop these calls.

http://clarkhoward.com/topics/drop_dead_letter.html
LHR, Inc.
56 Main St.
Hamburg, NY 14075
Phone: (716) 648-3240
Fax: (716) 648-3484
If you feel your concerns have not been properly addressed, please contact
Maria Pace at 1-800-616-5473 ext. 2230

When they call, record the phone call if possible, when you answer the phone and they ask for whoever it is they are looking for even if it is you, just let them know that you are recording the phone call for your records, you'll find they are a bit more pleasant to talk to when they know you are recording them, many times they will just hang up or attempt to explain to you that recording them is illegal (that was a funny one but a whole diff. story) in short THEY DON'T WANT TO BE RECORDED BECAUSE THEY CAN'T MAKE THEIR THREATS!
Also when they ask for you just get a few questions for them out of the way, you don't have to answer any questions, but they have to answer questions you ask them get the following information.
Callers FULL NAME
Name of Company they work for.
Address of company they work for.
Phone number for company they work for.
FAX Number for company they work for.
Callers Supervisor's Name.

Stay calm, get the information, do not get upset.

Fax/Mail the above letter.

Then if you still have problems, report them to the proper authorities and do a little searching online and you will be surprised at what you can find out about not only the company calling you but also the individuals working for the company who called you.
Trust me when you rattle off thier personal information to them over the phone I.e. Home address, Phone number, BOY do they get nervous, and before they try to say something about privacy, it's all public info available on the internet.

Also remember this, there is no Debtors Prison in the United States, they cannot have you locked up or arrested, even though many times they will attempt to make you believe they can. If you do in fact owe a debt. The most they can do is take it to court and get a judgment against you and garnish your wages.

I think I smell a class action law suit!  I am willing to start and / or participate in one.

This collection agency is full of SCUM!!!   They have threatened me, yell at me as soon as I say "hello", threatened to take my property, and have insulted people who have answered my phone. I want to hit these people where it counts! In the pocket!  They have broken several laws and have threatened to garnish my wages which is also illegal...  Now this is the funny part, over an old debt that is around $150.00!!  I'll be checking back to see what people here think about a class action suit!

They are / or YOU are a company full of angry people with no life that buys old debt for pennies on the dollar then try to intimidate people into paying off this ""SO CALLED"" debt 5x's the amount of what was originally owed.  The company who lent the money is not LHR.  If you want to be paid, then stop inflating the debt! Maggot.

If you owe a debt , this does not give anyone the right to threaten or harrass you. It is against the law for them to use false information to intimadate you or scare you. If you can by any means, settle your debt for a reasonable offer. DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION. Regardelss if you owe money, if you feel threatened, SUE them for your pain and suffering!!!!

Head Collector: Wayne B. Lewis, 40, Owner, President Orchard Park, NY David J. Hastie, 37, Co-Owner Colden, NY Other Offices: 1385 Market St Philadelphia, PA 19107-2500 Phone: (716) 648-3240 Fax: (716) 648-3484

Both are owners of LHR, Inc. (Lewis Hastie Receivables) are as bad as bottom feeders get, being from Buffalo, NY

Lewis and Hastie get sued a lot; they lose a lot of the suits because their organization and collection accounts are based on lies, hearsay and bogus documents.
...
Lewis and Hastie are liars, thieves and con men.

Go to FTC.gov and file a complaint this would be great for all of you above. If enough people file compliants, the government will sue LHR on behalf of the consumer.

Here is his middle name:
WAYNE BRIAN LEWIS
PRESIDENT
56 MAIN ST
HAMBURG,NY  14075
Date of Taking Office: 12/10/1996
Last Updated: 12/05/2007


OR

1385 Market Street
Philedelphia, PA   19107

I found someone here in California already sueing them!!! YESSS!! I will be contacting her!!!
check this link out!!! FIGHT BACK!!!
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-candce ... case_id-200757/

i found one in my state too!! their a--es are being sued left and right.
http://dockets.justia.com/search?q=LHR+INC

These people have been harassing me and my parents (of which I have not lived with for over 6 years) for the last two years. The most recent call came yesterday. They called my work phone at 8:04am, my cellphone at 8:50am and my parents as well (not sure of the time on this one). Each time there was a different person. My dad tried to call them back to tell them to stop calling because I don't live there and they hung up on him!

I have TRIED to get validation of the debt they claim I owe and they refuse to send me anything. They have screamed at me, threatened me, hung up on me and called back and screamed at me more. I've filed reports on the better business b. on them and it's on record in their file because all they would write back is "She owes us money" (I kept a copy of it because it's so funny).

I'm getting ready to send another cease and desist letter today. Isn't there some law as well that they can NOT contact you before 9am without permission?

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forms/sampleletter9.shtml

They  have letters for making them not contact you and validate the debt. Do not tell them not to write - tell them not to call and write you only - which is all in the letter.  

Don't forget to report them to FTC.gov!