877-268-9286

tell them you will settle the account--but wisely----they will take the offer and mark your credit report---doesnt really sound like a scam if the money is owed and only you know that ...do it fast they will file

They said they would freeze my checking account, and they transferred me to a "real" detective that said the police would bring me a summons in 5 days unless I started a payment plan, obvliously reopening the dormant debt. I may be young,but I ain't dumb.

Business Contact and ProfileBack To Top Name: Tri-Fi LLC
Phone: (877) 268-9286
Address: 286 Schenck Street, Suite A, North Tonawanda, NY 14120
     Google map  Mapquest map  Yahoo map  
Business Category: Collection Agencies
BBB file opened: October 26, 2007
Business started: June 2007
Business started locally: July 2007
Complaint Contact: Joseph Neri (Owner/CEO)
Other Contacts: John Hummel  (Owner/COO)

Additional Locations and Phone NumbersBack To Top P O Box 216, North Tonawanda, NY 14120, Niagara County
     Google map    Mapquest map    Yahoo map
109 Goundry St, North Tonawanda, NY 14120, Niagara County
     Google map    Mapquest map    Yahoo map

(716) 694-5970
(716) 694-5972 (FAX)

Customer Complaint HistoryBack To Top
The company's size, volume of business and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company has handled them. The BBB generally does not pass judgment on the validity of complaints filed.

Number of complaints processed by the BBB
   since the firm's BBB file was opened in October 2007: 19
   in the last 12 months: 19

Complaints Concerned:
   Selling Practices  (2 complaints)
 1 Resolved
 1 Unresolved

   Service Issues  (5 complaints)
 4 Resolved
 1 Company did not respond

   Credit or Billing Disputes  (12 complaints)
 7 Resolved
 1 Unresolved
 1 Delayed Resolution
 1 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
 2 Company did not respond


Alternate Business NamesBack To Top Tri-Financial

Government ActionsBack To Top The BBB has no information regarding Government Actions at this time.
Advertising ReviewBack To Top The BBB has no information regarding Ad Reviews at this time.
Industry TipsBack To Top s may not use false statements when collecting a debt. For example, they cannot:
* falsely imply they are attorneys or government representatives;
falsely imply you have committed a crime;
* falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit bureau;
* misrepresent the amount of your debt;
* misrepresent the involvement of an attorney in collecting a debt;
* indicate that papers being sent to you are not legal forms when they are;
* give false credit information about you to anyone;
* send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency when it is not; * use a false name.

Law Violations
If you believe a debt collector has violated the law, you may sue in state or federal court within one year from the date of the possible violation. If you win, you may recover money for damages you suffered, including court costs and attorney's fees. You should also report problems with debt collectors to the Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission.

For more information, contact:

Better Business Bureau Serving Upstate NY
(800) 828-5000
www.bbb.org

New York State Attorney General
(800) 771-7755
www.oag.state.ny.us

New York State Consumer Protection Board
(800) 697-1220
www.consumer.state.ny.us

New York State Banking Department
(877) 226-5697
www.banking.state.ny.us

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
(877) 382-4357
www.ftc.gov

This report is general in nature and is not intended as a reliability report on any company, service or product.

L05Debt Collection

The following is BBB general information and is not intended as a report on any specific company.

If you experience problems with a collection agency, it's important to know your rights. There are two types of debt collectors: creditors, to whom you owe money directly, and third party collectors, which collect on behalf of companies. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, creditors and third party collectors may NOT:
* use false, deceptive, or misleading representations or means;
* harass, oppress, or abuse any person while seeking payment;
* use any false statements or engage in unfair practices.

The Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission offer the following information on fair collection practices.

Contact

Debt collectors may not contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree to alternative times. They may contact you in person, by mail, telephone, telegram, or fax; however, they may NOT contact you by postcard. Collectors also may not contact you at work if they know your employer disapproves. You may stop a collector from contacting you by writing a letter to the agency telling them to stop. Once the agency receives your letter, it may not contact you again except to say there will be no further contact, or to notify you if they intend to take a specific action.

If you have an attorney, debt collectors may not contact anyone other than your attorney once you've provided the attorney's information. If you do not have an attorney, collectors may contact other people, but only to find out where you live and work. In most case, collectors may not contact such permissible parties more than once and cannot reveal to anyone other than you or your attorney that you owe money.

Within five days after you are first contacted, collectors must send a written notice telling you the amount of money you owe, the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and what action to take if you believe you do not owe the money. If you believe the company contacted you in error, you must write to them within 30 days after the initial contact; upon receipt of your letter, the company must cease collection activities. However, if the company can provide proof of the debt such as a copy of a bill for the amount owed, the company may renew collection proceedings.

Prohibited Practices

Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices while attempting to collect a debt. For example, they may not:
* use threats of violence or harm against the person, property, or reputation;
* publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts (except to a credit bureau);
* use obscene or profane language;
* use phone calls to repeatedly harass you;
* fail to identify themselves on the telephone;
* advertise your debt;
* threaten arrest if you do not pay your debt;
* say they will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so, and it is legal to do so;
* indicate that actions such as a lawsuit will be taken against you, which legally may not be taken, or which they do not intend to take;
* collect any amount greater than your debt, unless allowed by law;
* deposit a post-dated check prematurely.

Debt collector
As a matter of policy, the BBB does not endorse any product, service or business.

BBB Reliability Reports are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. Information in this BBB Reliability Report is believed reliable, but not guaranteed as to accuracy.

BBB Reliability Reports generally cover a three-year reporting period. BBB Reliability Reports are subject to change at any time.

If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted the BBB for a BBB Reliability Report.


ID: 140126505
Report as of: 9/4/2008 2:25 PM

© 2008  Better Business Bureau, Inc.

Their Schenck St location is a crappy, run-down storefront.  Suite #2 makes it sound swanky, but believe me, it isn't.  I do believe they have recently moved to a nice hovel, but it sure sounds like they are scum.  Call Mayor Larry Soos at  (716) 695-8540 and fill him in on the dirt in his city.

Look up their "Corporate Headquarters" located at 286 Schenck Street, North Tonawanda, NY 14120 on Google Maps.  Then click on the Google Street view to gaze upon the beautiful architecture.  You can also search for 190 Goundry Street for their new Call Center.  You will surely be impressed!

I know I owe the debt they are calling about, but using fowl language and threats is no way to get someone to pay a debt.  What I would like to know is this: has anyone actually been served with legal documents from this company?

I really don't think so.  Most of the time if a company intends to take you to court - they may make one or 2 calls at the most, send an official letter (again maybe two) and finally just send someone to your door with a summons WITH proof of debt attached.

In this case I think these people are just purchasing ANY debt (valid or not) and using scare tactics to try to settle and move on to the next sucker.

If a collections agency has a valid case they will just serve you with papers without all of this drama.

I used to work in collections - I have some experience here.

did you get court paper from them saying there are taking you to court?

yeah.pay your bill that you owe and stop trying to weasel out of it%%%

Received summons from my Latham County District on my pay-day loan acct through Tri-Financial's legal department

they keep calling and calling .. it is a recording and most of it is not there... we have had this number for over 30 yrs it done not say what company it is and i do not answer any 800 or any of those types of calls... i am tired of them calling my house

Same person called twice in a row. He left a message both times. First time he said he was with TRI Law Offices and implied an affidavit had been sworn out AGAINST the person he was trying to reach. Second time he called he said he was from (our local county) District Court, warrant division, calling about a warrant that the person he was trying to reach had supposedly FILED. Now which is it??? Lies from a dishonest collection agency.

they called me and told me i owed us bank and that i owed over $2000, they also told they r going to freeze my account and take my money.  i just want to know r these people allowed to go into ur bank accounts, freeze them and take your money and what can be done to get rid of these people

The call was very intimidating and there was a veiled threat implied.  The caller did not identify themselves nor did they say who the phone call was directed to.  It seems to me that if it was a ligitimate service they would identify themselves and also mention who it is they are trying to contact.  As it is I don't know if it is someone who is "casing" us or if I need to be concerned about it.  Maybe they had a wrong number????

if you owe it pay it  ...  i got sued several times ..not from this organization ..but i did pay off an old discover card ...i checked and validated that the debt was good ,, and if indeed it was on my credit report----so i paid ------pay your bill if you owe it and they go by ssn

Sometimes people can't pay due to circumstance

We got a call from this number as well, supposedly from a Brian Lucas with TRI and Associates stating that our dughter had a civil suit pending against her in LA County. He went as far as to say the case number and leave the 877 phone number. We received a similiar call just yesterday from 716-696-6131 that was looking for her deadbeat ex-husband. Probably for the same reasons. Boy am I glad this site exists so we don't get duped by these jerks!!

these guys called my mother repeatedly saying i owed money & were filing a civil suit in our county. very threatening messages. "this is not a game"

i googled the number - they have a website

http://tri-fillc.com/


Some guy named Jeremy Sweet @ ext. 340

Tri-Financial
286 Schenck Street, Suite A
North Tonawanda, NY 14120

they buy really old bad debt & then try to collect on it.

do not give them information or money

i had to dump an email address & change my home number because of them

I started receiving calls from these people back in January.  First I was contacted by a company calling itself  "Rubin and Yates."  They kept pestering me with calls (never sending me anything in writing) so I finally sent a Debt Validation demand under the FDCPA through certified mail.  They never responded.  A few months later, I received a call from "Brewer, Michaels & Kane" from a 716-957-3005 number.  After a little on-line research, it appears that all these companies are in one way or another related to Tri Financial.

During this last call, I was told I was going to be sued (in a state in which the  state court wouldn't even have juristiction on me) and that they would allege I committed malicious fraud in an affidavit.  They claimed I owed over $6,000 on a debt that was at least six to seven years old.  When I requested a Debt Validation or proof of the underlying debt, and that they had a legal right to collect on that debt, I was referred to a "paralegal" who proceeded to verbally harass me.

Of course, I immediately retained an attorney specializing in consumer protection matters because even if (and that is a gigantic if!) the underlying debt is valid, these companies have grossly violated the FDCPA.  I am now investigating 1) filing a suit against this group of companies based on the FDCPA in Federal District Court; 2) getting a class action status if there is a suit; and 3) I'm going to write a letter to the Attorney General of New York and the Federal Attorney General's Office about whether their actions violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and if they can be criminally prosecuted under RICO.

These people rely on their victims not taking the time to seek redress through the civil or ciminal courts.  It is time these people are stopped.

I always pay what I owe.  The problem is that I don't know if I really owe anything, or how much.  They've called me about an account closed FIVE years ago.  I was getting married around the same time so it's possible that maybe one of the vendors didn't submit the bill until I had closed the account.  I have moved twice since then, so it's POSSIBLE that they have been trying to get their 400 dollars from me unsuccessfully.  If so, I would be happy to pay it off.  Unfortunately, I can't get through to their recovery line.  All they can tell me at a branch is that my account was closed and it is so old it has been purged from their system without any information.  I'd give these people the 400 to make them go away, but I'm NOT going to give them 3,000 over the phone 'so I don't get sued'