800-840-9166

from www.BudHibbs.com:

Another ‘Buffalo Style’ debt collector with all the common lies, threats and extortion you expect from the Debt Collection Capital of the World; BUFFALO, NEW YORK!

Owners, Spoor, Kazmark and Welch are out buying up old, mostly worthless debts, then calling consumers with threats of immediate lawsuit, garnishment and seizure in their illegal attempts to collect at highly inflated numbers. We were NOT surprised when a search of state records showed NO licensing or bonding as required by law. The name they use is typical of how many debt collectors want you to think they are a law office, when they are not. Expect their collectors to lie and state they are attorneys, which is a felony in most states. These are the lowest of the low-lives, the losers who can’t find work anywhere else. Their job is to lie, cheat and extort your money under the guise of fear.

The enclosed email describes their collection tactics:

“They first called our parents and threatened to serve court papers to put a lien on our house in 20 minutes unless we called them. Our parents are old and do not need to be harassed.

They also called our daughter-in-law and threatened to send someone to kick the door in at her house.

But worst of all, when our daughter called the 800 number and asked what they needed, the person there (apparently Glenn) started shouting obscenities and used the "F" word. Our daughter was so upset she was unable to determine which creditor, if any, this company represents.

We can find no record of any mail correspondence from this company.”

This behavior is typical of Buffalo, NY collectors, extending from the GIOVE/MCKELVEY/COLLINS/EVANS/BURGESS collectors, who are on a one way ticket into bankruptcy, as was their predecessors, the Lenahans. We found over and over that these type collectors have serious criminal records; many on probation and a large number are drug users, who feed their habits off the debts they collect. Consumers are warned that paying them will NOT help their credit in any way; they do NOT have access to that type of information.

Suffice to say, we will continue to assist consumers in referral to local consumer law professionals and law enforcement officials who can deal with this group. We STRONGLY warn anyone being contacted NOT to deal with them under any conditions and to NEVER give them any type of banking or credit card information.

There are consumer law professionals available nationwide who can assist you in going after them. We are happy to assist you in dealing with them, so you are NOT a victim of their scam, or end up on their list of those scammed by their illegal enterprise.

Bradley W. Spoor, Ryan D. Kazmark and Sean J. Welch Can be held accountable for their actions in a courtroom, we can assist you to that end.

STAY FAR AWAY FROM THE LIARS & CON MEN OF PHILLIPS & BURNS!

Called and left a message.  Caller stated that this call needs to be return by you or your attorney as soon as possible.  I am unable to disclose any information about this call under the federal law.  The caller never stated his name left an ext. # 158.  I google the number and this site pop up.  Thanks for the information.

Stay OFF the phone and send them a CEASE and DESIST Letter VIA Certified Mail (with return receipt requested). If they continue to harass you after they have received the letter, you collect $1,000 per violation.

Phillips & Burns, LLC
461 Ellicott Street.
3rd Floor.
Buffalo, NY 14203

Also file a complaint online with the FDCPA. They are violating:

§ 807.  False or misleading representations  [15 USC 1692e]

A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section:

(2) The false representation of --

(A) the character, amount, or legal status of any debt; or

(5) The threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken.

https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

STAY OFF THE PHONE!!! SEND THAT LETTER!!

"In accordance with state and federal law, a decission regarding documentation recieved on behalf of (my name) will be made with or without your concent regarding this action in 72 hours, you need to have yourself or your representation contact the offices of Phillips and Burns at 1-800-840-9166." They have called everyday for a week so far with that general messege, sometimes it's a little different, but mostly the same.

Basicly the same as the above letter stating "inacordance with state and federal law you have 72hrs to respond. A decision will be made with or without you. ect. Another call was made that stated they had received a file and the person had 38 hrs to respond.This call had a phone number 716-891-5800 but also refered to Philip and Barns I once asked what is this about and the person said they had a client that was filing a suit in the county I live in. So it sounded like a law firm though he did not specifically say so. I have repeatedly stated that this is not the persons phone number and does not live with me. But I deep getting calls anyway and when I protested the person said I will keep getting calls until they reach the person they want.

Phillips and Burns are debt collectors.  They are NOT a law firm.  If you want a rough idea of how disreputable they are, check out:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/269/RipOff0269487.htm

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/272/RipOff0272311.htm

They pose as lawyers because it frightens people.  Demand proof in writing of any claims they make.  According to consumer web sites, Phillips & Burns inflates and/or re-ages debts, pursues claims on debts rendered uncollectable by reason of expired statute-of-limitations, and are generally unable to provide documentation of any kind when requested.  Never give them any kind of financial information (bank acct or credit card nos.).

Check out the Hibbs web site, cited above in letter of 08/25/07, for first-hand accounts of people's dealings with this firm.

My goodness! Second collection agency calling me with references to old, closed (and paid in full!) accounts from 8 - 10 years ago. I learned from the last "scam agency" to not even waste my breath discussing this stupidity with a collections agency "loser" ..... just send a crease and desist letter.
A fantastic copy can be found on the NY City Consumer Financial Justice Justice Project website at:
http://nedap.org/resources/documents/CeaseLetter.pdf
Also, check out other pages on the NYC Consumer website for more great information.
So, armed with $4 to cover the post office cost for a registered letter, I will send these cockroaches a Cease and Desist letter and see how long it takes Phillips & Burns to crawl back into the dark.
Much like Foti and Webguy have said above, Phillips & Burns are just scam artists - DON'T give them any personal information or agree to ANY payment plan.
If you need to see what the "current scam" is (ie: buying old account numbers and threatening people with bills for $$ they do not owe), check out AFNI collections (another herd of collection cockroaches) tactics at:
www.thecomplaintsboard.com/complaints/3894/page/1
.....you'll get an idea of what these kind of people you are dealing with....remember, there is a special place in hell for folks like this!
So good luck, keep your cool (remember, YOU are in control, no matter what they threaten you with) and arm yourself with information - it's power!
Randy

Yeah ive been getting calls from this number as well, sometimes up to 6 times a day. When i finally got to talk to someone and tried to explain that she had the wrong #, the woman flipped out and told me nobody has ever called me and then hung up the phone.. I'd like to know how to get them to stop, considering this is my mobile phone they are calling.

This company called my home and threatened my 11 year old son but refused to give any information other than their telephone number and the caller's name, reportedly a Mr. Dean.  I googled them and found your website.  I truly appreciate the time you've taken to post this information and advise the public of scams such as this.  Thank you.

jerks called me 2 days ago. left a message for my husband asking if he got a letter from them. she said her name was miss hamilton. asked if the address they sent the letter to was correct. needless to say i did not call her back. the address she said she sent a letter to was 12 years ago!!!!! how can these morons get away with this???? are they really a terrorist group in disguise? i wonder. even years ago, if we owed money, we NEVER got calls like this. this is a pathetic indication of how the law fails innocent people that have PUT their number on a "DO NOT CALL" list in their states. what a joke.

I received a call from Phillip and Burns and a man named Shawn left a message. He said I needed to call him back to settle out of court on some unknown case. I took down the name, number and obviously the law firm... then googled the law firm and this was the first site to pop up. After realizing what was going on, I read through the Fair Debts Act and if I get another phone call, I plan to explain as calmly as possible that they are in trouble. I'm glad I checked if they were credible before I worried myself to death over some sort of pending lawsuit. I don't plan to call them back... from what I've read, I'm not up for being yelled at.

My buddy's father got a message from these schmucks on his home voicemail, which I don't even know what the number is.

If you get a call from them, send them a cease & desist letter and send a copy to your state attorney general.

Same thing.  These people are calling my 11 year old son.  Found this site through a google. Thanks for the info! I am trying to see if there is a way to block their calls.  They are asking for a person we dont even know!

They are also using another number - 716-558-5855 - a Mrs Robinson from this same company.

It's things like threatening 11-year-olds that makes me want to find the scumbags responsible for this company and sue them.

Phillips & Burns are NO strangers to this or any other websites...not to mention Federal courtrooms.

Threatening an adult over an "alledged" debt is one thing...but threatening a child is another, and these SICK F***'S need to be stopped (excuse my language, but they have gone WAAAAY too far)!

DM, I would strongly suggest that you not only get an attorney and sue these--(I am not going to say that again), but also report this incident to your local law enforcement, your State's Attorney General's office and to the FTC. I don't know of any government agency whose ears will not be bent back in anger by the fact that an innocent child was verbally abused by these criminals. And, if they aren't, something is SERIOUSLY wrong!

Let us know the outcome, OK?

I'm not a victim of these jerks.  I had to throw in my opinion on how low they would stoop to get money from people.  Outraged, you're right about Phillips & Burns going too far.

If a person borrowed money for whatever, why cease communication?  Chances are the he signed something saying he will pay the debt back!  All of a sudden collectors call and some debtors are rude (same for collectors) and everyone is screaming harassment!  What the debtors dont know is that the collector is calling to collect the balance in full, and we all know most of us dont have 100's of thousands just sitting in our bank accounts.  If the debtor give the collector a chance, chances are there is a program there to help correct the situation and take the account out of default.  If you ask me sounds like the "CEASE and DESIST Letter" is just another tactic for the debtor to avoid paying his bill.  What I love is come tax season, the debtor discovers that he has a tax offset because the IRS saw he has a loan in default. All of a sudden, the debtors want to call and yell at us because "YOU TOOK MY TAX REFUND!"  Our response wants to be "You told us to stop calling, and we listened!" Just keep in mind that the tax offset (if you get one) is your own fault and we could have possibly help you.

What ever happend do they stil call?  did they sue you?  What happend after.

keeos calling and threatens me