818-251-9361

I worked for a unscrupulous insurance company. This company has hired Caine and Weiner to collect fake chargebacks. They just started harassing me for $347.01. I need to know what to do. Any suggestions?

Consumers across the country report that they're getting telephone calls from people trying to collect on loans the consumers never received or on loans they did receive but for amounts they do not owe. Others are receiving calls from people seeking to recover on loans consumers received but where the creditors never authorized the callers to collect for them. So what's the story?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:

is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.
If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:
Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.

Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft – charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate – but you think the collector may not be – contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors

We recently switched cell phone carriers and with that we got new numbers. My phone has not stopped ringing from these people since! They ask for someone I don't know and refuse to believe that I'm not that person. So sometimes it's not a matter of ME not paying MY bills!

Caine & Weiner called saying they're collecting on behalf of Enterprise rent a car. saying that i owe enterprise $600 for car rental, first of all i never rented from enterprise & second they would need my credit card authorization. so how can i rent a car from them if the Authorization from my card was never approved. i doubt that enterprise would really release a car if the credit card got denied in the first place.

Wiener as in Anthony Wiener or Oscar Meyer Wiener?

If you don't owe. You can dispute... if you dispute a debt you just need to send a letter explaining the situation or ask for documentation showing the validation.  You can also request a cease and desist.

The fact of the matter is,  if you do  not owe a debt.. say something.... hanging up on any collector and being snarky to them even if they are jerks in the first place, doesn't help the situation. Ask for a manager,  then go from there. If you owe or not it could be a possibility that the original creditor had placed the account by accident.  Ask for validation, proof, documents.
I used to be a Collector, a long time ago, only cause I needed a job.. I would like to see half the people that cry about the collection business try it out for size and they might have a different point of view.  Find out what it is for, then go from there. I know some places are mean and cruel but there are some collectors that truly are trying to help you out due to they have been in your shoes.
I'm sorry some people had a bad experience.  Walk a mile in their shoes, cause some of them have walked a mile in the same situation as you..

AGAIN   I received an abusive phone call from a man at this number claiming to be a lawyer.  He put words in my mouth, told me "you son BETTER have a lawyer" looking for a relative.... and this is NOT even about me.... and told me my REFUSAL to give a message to my son would be "recorded"  He interrupted my questions at least for several minutes, talking and refusing to answer the simple question, "are you a lawyer".   I have NO business with these people.  I am a senior citizen and I have told them OVER AND OVER I can't help them but they continue to harass us at all hours, early morning, late nights,Sundays and they have been asked FOR MONTHS to leave us in peace.   WE HAVE NO CONNECTION TO THE BUSINESS DEALINGS OF ANY OF THIS       I said I would call the police and this sleazy man told me to "go ahead"  and hung up on me.  I called back and he ranted on and on that "this phone call will continue until you hang up" and never answered my question as it his legitimacy and was again, rude and abusive.  How do I report this to the CA Attorney General?  I live in Pennsylvania.

Same thing happens to us.  They are just awful.  I wish they'd get arrested for harassment.  We don't owe them anything and have no affiliation with the company they are looking for.  This has been going on for two years.  Is this still America?

This guy is posing as a collection agent... How did he get the info? He's slick he's obtaining your info fr a public records website. Ever had an unpaid parking ticket or citation?? Ur info is online via ur local clerk courts, this guy will search records and obtain ur info and simply want ur money threatening you that ur gonna lose ur license ie. He has no binding authority... He's a flunkie trying to be middleman and makin a buck BUT he who pays this stranger is a fool...

Why post anything? As you can see from the above posts all are near to being the "same" & yet nothing is done.
It will not stop. Every day - week. An odd message might be left for another # to call (= last 4 digits change).
Trying again.

I have been getting calls from phone number 818-251-1712.  A lady by the name of "Adriana", leaves a vague message like were friends.  Her message is always this, "Hey, this is Adriana, give me a call at 818-251-9361".  She never identifies herself, never asks for anyone by name, and never states what the call is about.  I have been a collection manager, and I guarantee you anytime my employees called to collect a debt, the person on the receiving end knew who we were, knew what company we were calling for, and knew who we were calling for.  We were never rude, never used scare tactics, and always tried to follow the law regarding collections.  Their are so many scams out there, it is hard to keep up.  Once one bogus collector stops calling, another starts.  It can be very frustrating, but I refuse to be a victim.  They get reported to the FTC, my local FBI, local police department.  Let's put an end to bogus debt collector's once and for all!  It's great seeing people post about the number, but also report them!!  You can also see many numerous reports on Ripoff Report.com

Why pay them anything as their recently hired CFO was removed from his duties in 2011 for co-mingling client funds with operating expenses. The sanction was from Minnesota Department of Commerce when he was President of Nationwide Recovery Systems fine 250,000.00     credibility in question?

I got a call- a man mumbled a name I couldn't understand, all I could make out was "return call" but then he made sure to very clearly say his phone number and then very clearly repeat the number. I called back, a woman answered and just said "hello?" like how you answer a personal call, didn't say any company name or her name or anything- when I said that someone had called and left an unclear message she just said "yeah I'm looking for Travis". I have no idea who Travis is, but good luck to him trying to deal with these people! I only knew who they were after I googled the number and got to this site. The one time I did have to deal with debt collectors they always identified themselves, were professional and courteous and would immediately say exactly why they were calling. These people looking for Travis are a joke! They must the cheap careless Walmart of debt collectors

Why do you call my house. My son is 35 and had not lived at home for 4 years I am not responsible for his debt and you can find him on face book so why do you call me

Trying to collect on a fraudulent debt.  They wanted me to submit proof it wasn't mine. Uh no how about providing me proof it's mine,  signature card,  drivers license number on the credit app.

I received a letter today in the mail from Caine & Weiner stating that I owe $149.70 that they are trying to collect. The company I allegedly owe this to is listed as Germany-MDFZ. I called to find out what this is because what if I missed something? I still don't know what it is because the guy I talked to spoke clearly for everything else, but mumbled the company name. He said it was something I did online that had to do with media or something for a new business I was starting. I said I did nothing of the kind and that I disputed the debt. He said he would send info. I said this is a scam bye bye and hung up. I went online and started checking and here I am. Checked back in my phone -- I received one call from these people on Thursday that I didn't answer because I didn't see or hear the call -- I was driving home from an appointment. They left no voice mail. When I called back, there was no identifying info and I hung up. I just called back now and suddenly there are no available representatives to take my call and it went to voice mail even though it is 4 pm in California. I am furious. This is absolutely a scam. There is nothing on my credit report -- i just went over it.

This is what that letter was supposed to contain:

Federal law (FDCPA) requires them to send you a letter (US MAIL ONLY) postmarked within 5 days of their first contact that contains their name, physical address, the creditor’s name, and the amount of the alleged debt.  It also must contains “mini-Miranda” telling you that it is an attempt to collect a debt and that all information will be used for those purposes.  The one other important thing that this letter must also have in it is that you have a right to dispute the debt within 30 days of receipt of the letter and if you do so, all collection activity must be stopped until the debt is verified.

Now in order to assert your rights in this matter this is what must be done according to law:

You need to send them a certified, return receipt debt validation letter (think of it as the best $6.47 you ever invested).  Also send it first class mail in case no one will sign for it.  Make a notion of that fact at the bottom of the letter.  You also need to report them to the proper agencies to which I have provided links to.  Then you need to go out and get a consumer lawyer to sue them on a contingency basis (no money out of your pocket) and let them pay you for the harassment.  If everyone did these three things, these crooks would be bankrupt and we would all be the richer for it.  Use these web sites to find an attorney in your state that will probably take the case on a contingency basis (no money out of your pocket up front):  http://www.consumeradvocates.org/
http://www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-atto ... tates_value=All

Read up on your rights here, get template letters to send and also make a complaint at this government site: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/

Also file a complaint with your State Attorney General's office.
List of State AG’s offices:  https://800notes.com/faq/attorney-general

someone left voice message but didn't know who they're reach out