866-598-9375

Just got a call from this number, kenneth something from a mumbled collections company, reading a script.

I don't have caller ID.  I received automated message on my answering machine asking for a male with the same last name as mine. The name of the male happens to be the first name of my father and my boyfriend whom i live with so it bothers me a little bit, but not enough to call back. the message also says that it is not a telemarketing call.  I've received calls before for that individual.

Says something like: This message is for (pause)(insert name) please call us back at 866-598-9375. This is not a telemarketing call.

Once I got a call (not from this #) from a collections agency looking for someone with my same name.  They told me they call everyone in cities with the same name or initial and last name until they find the person they are collecting for.

I've been receiving repeated automated phone calls over THREE AND A HALF YEARS for a former tenant of this house I am renting.  I never met the guy, but apparently he owed money and it's been in collections.  They got my phone number by looking up the address, I suppose.  I've called many times and told them that this person has not lived here for years, this is not his phone number and never has been, to please remove me from their call list, but to date I am still receiving annoying calls at all hours.

File complaints with

Federal Trade Commission  https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

Your State Attorney General
State Attorney General is every state they have offices

Link to all State Attorney General Websites www.naag.org

If you or they are located in NY – use this SPECIAL Link  www.NYDebtHelp.com
This special website was created by NY AG Andrew Cuomo specifically for reporting illegal debt collection practices.  HE’S CRACKING DOWN AND SHUTTING THEM DOWN!

Also report your calls and contacts with debt collectors at http://www.budhibbs.com/index.html  If the company is listed under agencies – report there. If not on the list YET, click on Watchlist! and add to the list.   You can also post here http://www.collectorsexposed.com/forum2/index.php?board=2.0

Debt Collectors DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION!    
The INFORMED CONSUMER IS THE DEBT COLLECTORS WORST ENEMY!

Dealing with Debt Collectors
http://www.budhibbs.com/start.html


Statute of Limitations by State – always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Website
http://www.budhibbs.com/statute_of_limitations.htm


Recording calls from Debt Collectors - always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Website
http://www.budhibbs.com/record.htm


From Federal Trade Commission Website – FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT
Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide for Consumers
If you’re behind in paying your bills, or a creditor’s records mistakenly make it appear that you are, a debt collector may be contacting you.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.
Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.
Here are some questions and answers about your rights under the Act.

What types of debts are covered?
The Act covers personal, family, and household debts, including money you owe on a personal credit card account, an auto loan, a medical bill, and your mortgage. The FDCPA doesn’t cover debts you incurred to run a business.

Can a debt collector contact me any time or any place?
No. A debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it. And collectors may not contact you at work if they’re told (orally or in writing) that you’re not allowed to get calls there.

How can I stop a debt collector from contacting me?
If a collector contacts you about a debt, you may want to talk to them at least once to see if you can resolve the matter – even if you don’t think you owe the debt, can’t repay it immediately, or think that the collector is contacting you by mistake. If you decide after contacting the debt collector that you don’t want the collector to contact you again, tell the collector – in writing – to stop contacting you. Here’s how to do that:
Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by certified mail, and pay for a “return receipt” so you’ll be able to document what the collector received. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact or to let you know that they or the creditor intend to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect the debt.

Can a debt collector contact anyone else about my debt?
If an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you don’t have an attorney, a collector may contact other people – but only to find out your address, your home phone number, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting third parties more than once. Other than to obtain this location information about you, a debt collector generally is not permitted to discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.

What does the debt collector have to tell me about the debt?
Every collector must send you a written “validation notice” telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don’t think you owe the money.

Can a debt collector keep contacting me if I don’t think I owe any money?
If you send the debt collector a letter stating that you don’t owe any or all of the money, or asking for verification of the debt, that collector must stop contacting you. You have to send that letter within 30 days after you receive the validation notice. But a collector can begin contacting you again if it sends you written verification of the debt, like a copy of a bill for the amount you owe.

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?
Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:
    use threats of violence or harm;
    publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
    use obscene or profane language; or
    repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:
    falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
    falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
    falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
    misrepresent the amount you owe;
    indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren’t; or
    indicate that papers they send to you aren’t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:
    you will be arrested if you don’t pay your debt;
    they’ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
    legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don’t intend to take the action.

Debt collectors may not:
    give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit reporting company;
    send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it isn’t; or
    use a false company name.

Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, they may not:
    try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount you owe unless the contract that created your debt – or your state law – allows the charge;
    deposit a post-dated check early;
    take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally; or
    contact you by postcard.

Can I control which debts my payments apply to?
Yes. If a debt collector is trying to collect more than one debt from you, the collector must apply any payment you make to the debt you select. Equally important, a debt collector may not apply a payment to a debt you don’t think you owe.

Can a debt collector garnish my bank account or my wages?
If you don’t pay a debt, a creditor or its debt collector generally can sue you to collect. If they win, the court will enter a judgment against you. The judgment states the amount of money you owe, and allows the creditor or collector to get a garnishment order against you, directing a third party, like your bank, to turn over funds from your account to pay the debt.
Wage garnishment happens when your employer withholds part of your compensation to pay your debts. Your wages usually can be garnished only as the result of a court order. Don’t ignore a lawsuit summons. If you do, you lose the opportunity to fight a wage garnishment.

Can federal benefits be garnished?
Many federal benefits are exempt from garnishment, including:
    Social Security Benefits
    Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits
    Veterans’ Benefits
    Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits
    Service Members’ Pay
    Military Annuities and Survivors’ Benefits
    Student Assistance
    Railroad Retirement Benefits
    Merchant Seamen Wages
    Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Death and Disability Benefits
    Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Benefits
    Compensation for Injury, Death, or Detention of Employees of U.S. Contractors Outside the U.S.
    Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Disaster Assistance
But federal benefits may be garnished under certain circumstances, including to pay delinquent taxes, alimony, child support, or student loans.

Do I have any recourse if I think a debt collector has violated the law?
You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can’t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney’s fees and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector’s net worth, whichever amount is lower. Even if a debt collector violates the FDCPA in trying to collect a debt, the debt does not go away if you owe it.

What should I do if a debt collector sues me?
If a debt collector files a lawsuit against you to collect a debt, respond to the lawsuit, either personally or through your lawyer, by the date specified in the court papers to preserve your rights.

Where do I report a debt collector for an alleged violation?
Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General’s office (www.naag.org) and the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov). Many states have their own debt collection laws that are different from the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your Attorney General’s office can help you determine your rights under your state’s law.

For More Information
To learn more about debt collection and other credit-related issues, visit www.ftc.gov/credit and MyMoney.gov, the U.S. government’s portal to financial education.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
        February

866-598-9375 is the Brachfield Law Group, a collection agency. I returned a call, the phone rang and without anyone answering.

I got a call from this number stating they were calling concerning my home. My home is paid for, my taxes are current. The guy left a message and said I had 24 hours to return the call. Is this really a law firm or just another debt collector trying to fool me?

Left a message yesterday, wrong number but I listened to it anyway.  This is Brachfeld, a debt collector.

Very persistent about finding someone who does not not, nor never has lived at this address or used our phone number. They keep calling no matter what we say

have had many robocalls from this number asking to press 1 if I am the person they are looking for or 2 if I am not, actually was home when one of these calls came in and pressed 2, but still was admonished to call a # or have the person they are looking for call them.  Called twice recently to have them remove my number but no answer....spoke with someone 6 months ago that accused me of covering for my son, whose name is also not the one they are looking for and who does not have or has never had a credit card account with the company they say they are collecting for, would not accept that I am not originally from this city and do not have any relations here.  They say my number was left as a contact # but that is BS have had this number for over 20 years, they are doing harassment of possible family members.  Have just about had enough but can't get anyone to answer the phone so I can unload!!!

stop calling me...i am not charlene gordon..and i have told you this many times.

Brachfeld Law Group (http://www.brachfeldcollections.com/) a debt collector based in 3 states. With the increase in identity theft/fraud, a lot of these calls are going out to people who have no delinquent debts. This company seems to have a problem in regards to internal communications. Calling the number left for "Paul Torres" put me through to an automated system. Just hit 0. If you get no answer, call them back again and hit 0. Eventually you'll get someone on the line.

The problem comes with when you try to have your number purged. Apparently they have three completely different databases (probably one for each office) and apparently no one person that you can talk to has access to all three. Thus, getting your number purged requires calling them repeatedly. They do NOT respond to messages left in their answering service (I have called them back every time they've called me the last couple of times and left a message) so make sure to speak with an ACTUAL HUMAN BEING.

I have already spoken to my family attorney to draft up a Cease and Desist letter to be sent to their offices if I receive one more call, and have already spoken to a representative of Brachfeld in regards to this. This may be what it takes to get my number purged. Shame that I have to get billed by my attorney in order to stop these jerks from repeatedly calling the wrong number.

I missed a call from a local number, and after doing an internet search to see who it was, it showed up as an assisted living facility. I listened to the voicemail that was left and was told to call the Brachfeld Law Group at 866-598-9375 immediately. I checked into their website, and this number is not listed as any of their 3 offices contact numbers. I consider this to be shady business, as I do not have any current debt and they tried to hide where they were calling from!

lamet posted the laws they break as standard operating procedure
read all about their illegal debt collection tactics and selling your info to Debt settlement companies!

http://www.collectorsexposed.com/collectors/Index.php/topic/303-brachfeld-associates/

http://www.collectorsexposed.com/forum/Index.php/topic/4059-brachfeld-illegally-selling-consumer-information/