888-498-1282

I received a very official sounding voicemail from 1-888-498-1282 advising that a pending lien would be attached to my property by the court in my county, in NC, if I didn't respond immediately. I called and spoke with an...  Andrew Roussow...  claiming to be handling a collection on a debt from 2009 for a repossessed vehical from Wells Fargo. The company he said he repressented was...  Pennington Associates, 3400 West Riverside, Burbank, California....  He had my SS# and said the full settlement was $22000 but would accept $8216 and because of my age, I could apply for a hardship settlement of $3779 if the attorney...  Stephanie Ramirez...  would agree to it after filling out the required information in the email he would send to me after we closed the call. ( I received the email which was signed by a...  Lawrence Thomas... ) I called the above number a second time and asked to speak to...  Andrew Roussow...  she said they didn't have anyone by that name, I gave her the claim # and she then asked if I was Barry Robertson...yes... she said hold on, which I did for 38 minutes and was once again speaking to Andrew Rousow... I asked him to email me a copy of the original vehicle purchase agreement, he responded that this would only be made available to me if I chose to go to court, he said it couldn't be emailed as it contained my full SS# and other sensitive information. I said that according to the statute of limitations in NV, where the vehicle was purchased and repossesed the debt wasn't collectable, he responded that I had signed a "tolling agreement" which was valid for 20 years, and I could avoid going to court if I paid either of the the two lesser amounts mentioned above, or I would be summonsed to appear for the full amount of $22000 plus costs. I Googled the company, but none were located at the address he provided. In my research I discovered a thread on Reddit with those who have had similar interactions, albeit with different company names, phone numbers and representatives, with similar addresses BUT with the same name... Lawrence Thomas... Mediation Coordinator, Client Services having signed the confidential email which was sent to me. According to those posting on Reddit, this was a scam. My question is, has anyone received similar interactions to mine from these people, and what are your opinions regards to the authenticity of this interation? Thank you.

Whenever someone tells you that they are a "lawyer" or that they work for a lawyer or law firm, the first question you should ask is what state(s) they are registered in and their BAR number for that/those state(s).  Then go to that state and check them out, contact them directly using the information in the state registration, as these crooks have been known to research real law firm names and attorney names and impersonate them.

The fake process server/location specialist scam usually contains:

They mention that they have received a Fax document or that some sort of complaint has “come across my desk” and that there is a pending legal matter or action about to filed against you to create the sense of urgency.  They tell you that they are a “process server” and cannot give you the particulars of the case since the file is sealed. This is simply ruse to get you to call another number (often with a made-up case number) where they will ask for money to “make it go away” (this is actually the same place, they work in teams, one pretending to be the server, and the other usually pretends to be a lawyer).  They threaten to serve you at home or at work.  They tell you that if they serve you at work they need a supervisor, security, or HR person there as a witness, hoping that will cause you to panic over the alleged embarrassment of being served at work.  They also tell you that you will need two forms of ID.  None of which is true.  Process servers do not ever call ahead so that you can dodge them.  Process servers get paid to serve papers, nothing else.  They certainly are not going to pass up a paycheck by telling you that you can avoid being served, they are not going to give you an extra day or even a few hours to get a “stop order”.  Court documents are time sensitive and have to be served within a certain amount of time.  Remember that you can always call the local courthouse to see if there is actually a lawsuit that has been filed against you.

It is incumbent upon them under the law to prove that the debt exists and that you owe it, and (this is the important part) that they have the legal right to collect it.  You are not obligated under the law to prove that you don’t owe or that it is paid.  

Federal law (FDCPA) requires them to send you a letter, email, or text (postmarked in the case of a letter) within 5 days of their first contact that contains their name, physical address, the creditor’s name, and the amount of the alleged debt. Unless they have communicated it to you verbally at the beginning of your conversation. It also must contain the “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 communication 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. If and when you get that communication you should immediately send that debt validation letter by certified, return receipt mail.

First, you should make a complaint at this Federal Agency, and while there you should also read up on how debt collection is supposed to work as well as what your rights in this matter are: https://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

Yes I have received a call similar to this recently. Same exact story for a smaller amount of money. Processor called, gave me the number to call about case. Talked to law firm with a different name than yours. Got a letter from Lawrence Thomas via email. Was denied the original agreement because it was sealed and would only be opened in courts. That letter head had no return address, logo could not be found in Google image search and her story kept changing. Saying she was talking to a lawyer every time she put me on hold. I know a call center when I hear one in the background. Also, Barry did you ever get served or go to courts.

Hi, what happened with this. I got a call about my property being investigated. They told me to call a 1888 number. When I called the man told me I owed an old providean credit card  debt. I couldn’t remember ever having that card. He then told me they sent me a letter. When I told him I never got it he emailed me a letter with my name and address and it was signed Lawrence Thomas with the exact title you said was on your letter. It was being sent by Milner legal services. I looked up the company but I cannot find them. Currently they said they are going to file suit against me. They threaten to put a Leon on my house and empty my bank account also garnish my wages

To start, "barry robertson" will probably never read you post, partially because he posted six months ago, but mostly because he probably does not know it is in this particular thread.  He initially posted it in the wrong thread, but since it had useful information about the call he received and this thread (the proper one) was empty, it was reported to the Mods and they moved it here.

This is a scam!  Read the informative post by BigA (second post from the top).

Did they bother to tell you how old this alleged debt was?  If they did, most likely the date they gave would make it too old for the Statute of Limitations in your State to allow it to be taken to court.  Even if we were to assume that you ever had that credit card, the fact that you do not remember having it is a good indication that any debt that might remain is well past the Statute of Limitations.

A search for "Milner Legal Services" does turn up a "Milner Legal Services, LLC" in Boone, NC that has been in business since late 2005 and lists a residence as its address.  No listing with the BBB (not that that means much), and could not find a website (although a small firm just doing local business would not need one).  It is probably more coincidence than connection that this firm has the same name as the one you were given.
While "barry robertson" mentions he lives in North Carolina, he also stated that the address the caller gave him was for Burbank, CA which would be a fair distance from Boone, NC.  The address that he lists is a large office building, but there are no law firms listed among the tenants.  (There are a good number of law firms close by, but none with the name he was given.)

Scammers claiming that they are lawyers will either make up names or "borrow" them from existing firms to seem more legitimate and imposing to their intended victim.  The point is to scare their victim into giving them money to supposedly pay the "debt" and make the threatened "court case" go away.

Best thing for you to do is just ignore and block any further calls and do not call them back.  They will most likely call a few more times, since you did return their call, but after a while of getting no further response from you they will give up and turn their efforts elsewhere.

Hi Nimrod, thank you for answering my post. It was signed by the same mediation coordinator/ client services Lawrence Thomas. I thought there was a connection because I read a read it thread where a few people said they had received a letter from this same person but from a different company on the letter head. This debt they say I owe supposedly was owed in 2003. They then said the statute of limitations was extended because I entered something called a tolling agreement . The person I was speaking with explained to me that I don’t have to sign anything to enter a rolling agreement. It could be verbal or If I made a payment to them They said the tolling agreement was in 2010 and is due to expire May of 2025.  I am now just waiting to see if I get served as I refused to pay the settlement of 2,000 to 3,000$ that they offered.

It is good that you are refusing to pay them anything.  As I stated earlier, this is a scam and they will say just about anything to try to convince you that they are legitimate and have a valid claim.

A real tolling agreement would temporarily suspend the Statute of Limitations (SoL) for a time, if you had actually entered into one.  But it is not one of those types of agreements that can be entered into verbally or by making a payment.  They are trying to confuse you by mixing conditions for other things (making a payment may reactivate an expired SoL in some states) with pure lies (the agreement can be entered into verbally).  This article on Forbes explains what a Tolling Agreement is and when it is generally used: What Is A Tolling Agreement & Should You Sign One?

They pretty much shot themselves in the foot when they told you that that agreement in 2010 would have extended the SoL on a debt from 2003.  Look at that link I gave for SoLs by State in my previous post, and look at the column for "Open-ended accounts".  Unless you reside in Rhode Island, the SOL for that debt would have been expired by 1 to 4 years (depending on your State) by 2010.  A Tolling Agreement pauses the SoL for a time, it cannot reinstate it.

I would suggest, for your own peace of mind, that you never talk to them again.  But, if they do call and you want to see just how fake they are, tell them that you cannot find your copy of that "Tolling Agreement" and would like them to send you a copy.  You will find them hemming and hawing as they try to come up with an excuse why they cannot provide you with one, and they will tell you things like "we already sent you one", "we do not have a copy at this office", "it is not our problem that you lost yours", etc.  Who knows, they might even tell you they cannot send it because "their dog ate it".  The real truth being that they cannot send you something that never existed.

Pamelyn wrote:

I am now just waiting to see if I get served ...

Do not hold you breath while you are waiting, as it will be a very long wait (i.e., forever), as they never serve anybody, they never take anybody to court, and they certainly never win any of those "lawsuits" that only exist in their twisted scammer imaginations.

Thank you 🙏. This made me feel better about the situation

You are welcome.