770-882-0004

Yet another lazy collection agency harassing the current owners of a phone number that long, long, long ago belonged to a deadbeat. Recording, no opportunity to tell them they have the wrong number. Robot collection agency calls should be against the law.

Was hoping somebody here knew which company this is.

Seems like a SCAM...
After getting automated calls from the # 7708820004 for sevaral weeks, I got a call from a woman "Pat" claiming she's with "Fitzgerald Law Firm" which she said was in Georgia. The call back # she gave me was 1-877-475-7617.
   Like the previous posters, she demanded payment for a student loan from 20 years ago. She claimed that Fitzgerald Law Firm sent me a letter a month ago (I never received it) and she threatened to serve me with court papers in 5 days if I did not agree right then and there to make a payment over the phone. She said that she WOULD ONLY ACCEPT PAYMENT VIA A CREDIT/DEBIT CARD # OR A CHECK BY PHONE. I DID NOT give her any financial info!
  Since I was under the impression that the loan she was referring to had been paid, I requested that she email me documentation of what she was trying to collect money on. She emailed me a copy of my original loan APPLICATION (in my writing). However, she did NOT email me any bills or any PROOF that I owe the debt. This is HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS!!!!

Fitzgerald Law Firm is ALSO Endeavor Financial Partners, LLC
see link for more info:  http://budhibbs.com/debtcollectorpages/endeavor_financial_partners.htm

Endeavor is also listed here as a collection agency to BEWARE OF:
http://budhibbs.com/coll_to_avoid_list.htm

If you get calls from Fitzgerlad Law Firm or Endeavor similar to those above and you feel like they are trying to scam you report it to the Federal Trade Commission, Attorny General, etc. Scammers like this can't be busted unless people report them.

Typical Junk Debt Buyers (JDB's), who purchase old debts for pennies on the dollars, then attempt to collect on them...even if they are beyond the SOL (Statue of Limitations).

I found the following information which may be useful in dealing with these scavengers:

If you are currently in debt or have ever been in debt, a new consumer alert is necessary to inform you that you could be the target of a new assault by Junk Debt Buyers, also known as zombie debt collectors!
"Junk Debt Buyers" are collection agencies that purchase old charged-off bad debt from creditors who have already written off the debt as uncollectable! These outfits, known as "junk debt buyers" (JDBs), or zombie debt collectors, are working for themselves due to the fact that they now "own" the debt.  In most cases, they are simply counting on filing a lawsuit against you in hopes that you won't fight it so they can obtain a default judgement against you and then easily garnish your wages, etc.  DO NOT LET THEM DO THIS!  "Contingency" collection agencies work as agents for another company to collect a debt. A junk debt buyer may also be in the contingency collection business or they may contract with a contingency agency. This new breed of JDBs are a multi-billion dollar industry and are responsible for an alarmingly large number of debt collection and credit reporting violations of law.  They operate on the barely legal side of the law.  Know who they are and fight back!

Typical "Junk Debt Buyer" Agency Violations
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) violations typically practiced by junk debt buyers.

1. Re-aging Accounts: Junk debt buyers attempt to force settlement on "time barred" or "Expired Statute of Limitations" accounts. The actual date that the debt becomes delinquent is supposed to be reported to credit reporting agencies under FCRA/FACTA within 90 days of the delinquency.  Debt reporting re-aging is the practice of reporting a bad debt account as more recent than it really is. Re-aging causes the FICO score to drop dramatically since the scoring model interprets the re-age as a more recent default. Junk Debt Buyers press for payment of some amount to bring the debt back under the statute of limitations after which they can sue you and have a chance of winning. It is important to note that State statute of limitations (SoL) for collections are different from FCRA/FACTA statutes of limitations for reporting the alleged debt on your credit report.

2. Misreporting the legal status (e.g., an open chargeoff that was actually discharged in bankruptcy) and also misreporting the "open date" and "date of last activity" on an account are two favorite "illegal tactics"!  Junk debt buyers purchase debts that are outside the statute of limitations for lawsuit (legal enforcement of the debt) but not outside the statute of limitations for reporting the alleged debt on your credit report. They like to report this debt as a revolving account, which is illegal.

3. Various Code Violations: (e.g. consumers not being notified that their calls are being monitored or recorded) are also likely violations in almost all fifty states.

4. Multiple Listings of the Same Debt: Junk debt buyers are often responsible for multiple reporting of the same debt as these change hands among buyers and sellers. Usually, these same debts are reported by the original creditor as well. Thus you could have the same debt reported multiple times!  Increase your credit score by disputing your credit reports and cleaning them up.

5. Collectors Pretending to be Lawyers. It does not improve a credit score to settle an old debt unless the item is completely deleted (not just reported as "paid in full"). Settling a debt with a junk debt buyer makes your credit score worse because the delinquency or chargeoff will now be reported as more recent!

What to do if you are contacted by someone claiming to own one of your past debts:

Never assume you are wrong - assume instead that your rights are being violated.  Make the JDB prove the debt is yours and you are legally obligated to pay it.
Retain and file all letters, account statements, and court records concerning any communication from JDBs (even from 15 years ago).
Never provide the collection agency or junk debt buyer with updated personal or contact information.  Never provide banking information (such as sending a check with your checking account number on it) to these JDBs as they will freely dip into your bank account in the future with garnishments, etc.  
Never acknowledge a debt with a collector or agree to any payment until the collection agency proves and validates the debt as belonging to you (past billing statements are not considered proof).
Know the statute of limitations and date of last activity for the alleged debt.  Never agree to pay on an out-of-statute debt as that will do more damage to your credit than good.  
Never accept credit card "offers" that come with an offer to settle a debt or that request payment in any other way. They will simply tack on an old out-of-statute debt onto a "new" credit card account and start the clock all over for the old debt.  Beware of these "credit card" offers that promise to rebuild your credit by allowing you to pay off obsolete debt.  
These "Junk Debt Buyers,"  sometimes called "zombie debt collectors," are barely operating within the law in many cases and are the bottom-feeders of the entire credit and collection industry.  Do not be intimidated by them and know your rights when contacted by them.  Many people fight them in court and actually win.  Do not give in to their intimidating threats without exercising all of your consumer rights.

http://www.credit-repair.atomicshops.com/junkdebtbuyers.html

This is a CLARIFICATION of the Jan.22 Report These Calls post above:

The above Jan.22 post was not meant to imply/say that this firm in particular is a "scammer" firm. The post simply meant to say that if you feel like you are being scammed or have been scammed by any firm/collection agency then you may want to report it.

Hey everyone, I am being contacted by these people about a student loan I paid off long ago. My fear is that they will try to ruin my credit -- or just keep harrassing me. I don't have time or energy for their nonsense. I have contacted my state Atty Gen'l, my Sec'y of State and am filing consumer complaints with both. I am also going to call the GA Atty. General and tell them what's going on and find out their complaint procedure.
To protect yourself, there is good advice at this website http://www.creditinfocenter.com/debt/JDBs.shtml
It outlines what our rights are, what to ask and what type of letter to send to Fitzgerald.
I urge everyone who is in this situation to do the same. The more complaints that are made the better.
GOOD LUCK!

This is their information. Research states that these are the worst of the bottom feeders. Doesn't it seem odd that we all recieved calls starting in Dec. 2007 and not before.

Endeavor Financial Partners, LLC
Aka/ Fitzgerald Law Firm, PC
5490 McGinnis Village Place
Ste 233
Alpharetta, GA 30005
Web Address: www.endfin.com

I too recieved a call from Fitzgerald Law Firm 11/29/07. I did have an outstanding student loan which I had been making payments on to another company. The caller had the name of that company and my account #, and I was told that they had taken over collections for this company. She told me that they had sent a letter earlier that month (which I did not recieve). I get all of my other mail though. I was told that they would settle for 50% of the amount due in equal monthly installments. I agreed and began making the monthly payments. I call each month to make the payment. I requested a copy of the settlement agreement. I have not recieved it and the account is almost paid off. The # she gave me was a toll free #. 877 475-7617.

Yes, you're being scammed but now that you've paid, it's too late.
You may or may not have actually owed the debt (you mentioned you do owe it) but Fitzgerald buys "junk debt" that other companies believe they will not be able to collect and then they attempt to collect it. You will not receive any hard copy from them, I'll bet.
The only comfort I can offer is that they aren't based in Nigeria and, chances are, when the negotiated amount is paid off, they'll leave you alone.  They got  you, though.

To Scammed in Florida
I was contacted by these people for a student loan I had paid off. If you send a certified letter that requests a copy of the settlement agreement it should get you what you need. They are not interested in doing paperwork and will only respond if you push. If they don't respond to your letter then I would follow up with another letter saying that your lawyer recommends that you don't continue with the payments until you receive proper documentation. Did they even show you paperwork that they own the loan? Do you have confirmation from the company you were paying that they have sold it? It would be horrible to find out that the company you were paying didn't release the debt to Fitzgerald and you might be forced to pay twice. I'd push for documents from both places. Oh, and if it isn't on your credit report, see if you can convince them not to put it there.
Good luck.

I don't even have any student loans, I never did, they have my number for some one else. I've asked them repetedly to stop alling me, they have the wrong number..this last time, after more then a month, I asked for a supervisor, I was hung up on 3 times, and one woman even said to me "Mamm I am not going there with you!" and hung up! So I'm getting all of this rude back talk from people who are harrassing me. Nice.

They are telling her that they have a lawsuit against her about a student loan that happened 20 years ago.  Carol has a letter that says that she owes zero amount.