Litigation Management Group

So I get a call from an unknown number a guy who wouldnt give me his name. They first asked for my step-dad well hes not here then they said they are trying to get in touch with me to serve me papers to appear in court, then he asked if I still live at a certain address...i had not lived at that address in over 10 years, I did not give him my address but he said we have a secondary address in the part of the city I do live in, but I lived in different parts of my city...all this sounded odd, when he gave me a number to call about my case number i immediatley googled it and realized these are the guys who sent me a letter saying i owe 20 grand and had 10 days to pay, so what im wondering is someone going to actually show up to serve me papers to appear in court..everything i continue to read about this litigation management is fraud and scammers...what should i do if someone does show up at my door ?..anyone ?

No one will show up to serve you court papers( a summons). If anyone was going to do so they certainly wouldn't be dumb enough to tell you in advance! That's a sure sign of fraud.

So my brother got a call from this place looking for me. I called back and they have all kinds of information. And my problem is that what they are calling about is true i do owe the place they say. Im not sure about the amount. But my concern is that all i have read is that they are fraud, so I told some white lie to get off the phone. But they are talking about how they sent me some paper which they never have, and that if I don't resolve this they will take me to court!! What should I do ignore it??

Threatening to take you to court (unless they do fully intend to file suit against you) is a violation of the FDCPA.  Many fraudsters say they mailed the information, when they didn't.  Call the place you do owe and ask them if they sold your debt and to whom.  If they tell you they didn't sell the debt, then you can make some kind of payment arrangement with them.  However, if they DID sell your debt, then they can tell you if the outfit calling you is actually the new owner of the debt.

NEVER pay any caller unless they mail proof that you owe the debt to them.  It is your right under the FDCPA to receive documentation proving the debt is yours and the caller can collect that debt.  Ask for their company name, mailing and physical address and phone number.  If they refuse to give this information, that is yet another FDCPA violation.  Many scammers or third party debt collectors will refuse to give you this information.  

If you do get a mailing address, send a letter, certified mail/return receipt - so they can't say they didn't receive it - telling them that you do not acknowledge the debt as valid until they mail documentation proving the debt is yours and proof that they have the legal right to collect said debt.  You can find request for debt validation letter templates and other good information here - http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forms/sampleletter9.shtml

Last I knew, LMG has a Stanton, CA address and a history of business name changes, likely due to a parallel history of consumer law violation. Ignoring them is precisely what a scofflaw agency wants from you. Let's backstep the story:

} my brother got a call
Why was your brother contacted and not you? Are you so hard to find or is LMG pretending you're invisible? It was in their minds to shame you out of hiding and soften you for a fast payment.

} they have all kinds of information
So what? Do the data prove you owe something? With access to various databases, I can quote back your own address, SSN, DoB, name of your high school biology teacher, and whatever else I might frighten you with.

} they sent me some paper
Yeah, and where is it? Was it the dunning letter required by federal law? Were you given the disclosures it should contain during that phone call? Here's the relevant FDCPA section:

FDCPA §1692g. Validation of debts
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1692g

} they will take me to court
Was the LMG rep an attorney? Does LMG own your alleged debt? Would they like you to wet your pants and pay up without a challenge?

} not sure about the amount
So you have a perfect excuse to dispute the claim, not that you need one. That's one of your rights until you get sued, which I doubt these goons are planning. While it won't hurt to ask, you may not be entitled to validation as Elspeth discussed. It's not clear what communication you've had. If hassling your brother was their first move, I would wait a week for that dunning letter you're owed. Since you've had a nice chat with LMG, it has five days to mail that "G-letter" in that case.

In time this agency will give you cause to sue (for real) and I suspect already has. Document everything carefully and blast away by next Autumn.

I just received one called from them saying I owe them 1500 from Cresant jewerly
and is for sure a scam, I never bouth nothing there

its terrible, they have all my info, my ssn date of birth, adresses everything
I will report them tomorrow

Remember if these scammers have any of your personal information such as your social security number, date of birth or drivers license make sure you register with identity protection notify the credit agencies as well as your banks!!
**************************************
Your entitled to one free credit report from each once a year.

credit reports:  Experian, Equifax, TransUnion
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports

I received a call from a "NO CALLER ID" on Friday. This lady was letting me know that I needed to be home on Saturday from the hours of 8-12 to receive paperwork because I was being served. I made a huge stink about it because I have paid off all of my debt early last year and there is no reason for me to be served. She had stated that it could be that I missed "jury duty" but the only information that she has is my name and address and couldn't give me anymore information other than someone would be at my house on Saturday.
I called my Lawyer/friend and she specifically looked up my name and I don't have anything pressing against me. Not even jury duty, so NO ONE should be serving me anything. She also said that the "summons" number/reference number didn't sound right.
Saturday rolled around and no one showed. I made sure to stay home between those hours because I wanted to know what the hell this was. I even called (knowing offices were closed) and the voice mail says "Thank you for calling Corporate. Please leave your name and Summons Number after the tone." Really. Just Corporate? No company name? Fishy. Mind you, I have not received any Jury Duty notices, past due notices or debt collection notices in OVER A YEAR.
Today (Monday), my step-mom text me saying they have contacted her and my step-sister. So I called. The number that all the previous comments is different than what I have (844-680-1950). I spoke to this guy named Rick and I gave the ref #. He asked for the last 4 digits of my social and I flat out told him "absolutely not. Not until I know what this is about." he got real rude with me and after I said my lawyer looked me up and had nothing against me. He responded with "Your lawyer must be real good. You can tell her to contact me." and hung up. This is a scam if I have ever seen one.
My dad even told me that the Sheriff will serve you and you won't get a complimentary call before hand.

Do no give these guys any information. It seems like they change their phone numbers periodically because you can't find it online anywhere. It was until I got the company name was I able to investigate myself. They will get a hold of whoever they can, so warn all your family if you start receiving these calls. Stand tall and make sure you get every detail before you give them anything. Most credit companies are understanding and will give you information. Legitimate debt collectors are the same way. I've dealt with those before and are very nice and professional and are willing to help you in anyway. If the courts are trying to contact you, then you should be getting a local area code not a toll free area code. Even most debt collectors have normal area codes. If you have to make a stink, make one. It shows them that you're not as easy as they want you to be. I made one with the first lady and she tried to get me off the phone as fast as she could. And with the Rick guy. And he hung up on me. No professional company would do any of this!  Unbelievable!!

LMG began contacting me on 05/07/2014.  They have also contact my children.  I do not have any current or past credit problems.  They have tried to coerce information and also made threats.  They are violating Federal law regarding debt collection practices.  I also believe LMG may be committing wire fraud through of phone contact and losing threats to collect any debt.  
LMG has asserted law enforcement; is watching my house and will be at my door in 15 minutes; will be at my house in 4 hours; and will be arrested.  They also asserted they are pinging my cell phone.  A female who contacted me yesterday found it necessary to cuss.  What a hoot.
What too do.  Ask the following information; name of person you are talking too; name of the company and physical address; the owners name and contact address.  You may verbally inform them not to contact you by phone and they must adhere to this.  Write a letter informing them not to contact you and this should be done within 30 days.  In addition I would ask for there EIN number (IRS tax Employer Identification Number) and if they say they don't have one then ask for the owners SS number because that will be the number he used to file Federal taxes.  I would also ask for there license showing what states they authorized to conduct business and articles of incorporation.  In lieu of articles ask for documents showing they formed an LLC, S Corp. or other type of business.  The only information they are required to provide is name of the company, owners name, address physical and mailing with phone number.
LMG is allowed to contact relatives but only once and get the name of the person then make a note of date and time.  If they don't provide name at a minimum make a note of the date and time.  Do the same for each subsequent contact if any.  If they contact you by phone and leave a message save the message and transcribe a hard copy showing the date and time.   This will assist the Government in showing violations if you choose to file a complaint.

Isn't contacting 3rd parties, such as your employer, neighbors, relatives, etc., to collect a debt illegal? Maybe this person should threaten to sue. A bail bondsman is allowed to call anyone (relatives, etc.) to track down someone who skipped bail, but a debt collector isn't.

It IS illegal, but does that ever stop criminals?

I also received a call from them wanting me confirm my work address so they could send me court documents. (It was a robot call). I called the number and had to leave a message. The message I left was if you need to confirm or send me anything to send it to my attorney and gave the name, phone number and address to the attorney. We had filed bankruptcy in March. It is against the law to call anyone who has filed bankruptcy on the debt. We were smart enough to go back to all the unpaid debt from 8 years ago when I first lost my job.

They want your work address so they can get the phone number and call you (and supervisors) at your job to embarass you and to try to extort payment out of you.

Regardless of the bankruptcy, the fraudsters and scammers are still going to call you, so you will probably have to block these callers in the future; never talk to live calls and never return messages. Remember that everthing they say is a lie.

Sure, IT IS the law, but just like another well rounded issue regarding guns, CRIMINALS don't obey the laws.
If you can't get a call blocker then just set your home answering machine and cell phones to the generic greeting the machine or cell phone provides. When a call comes in and you don't recognize the number, let it go to voicemail.

Expect many calls to follow by many other scammers. If by accident you answer a call and speak to the caller, give NO PERSONAL INFORMATION whatsoever. Sometimes they will ask you to "verify" it is "You" they are speaking with and will request your full date of birth or full social, etc. DON'T GIVE THEM ANY INFO! THEY called YOU! Giving them info just allows them to gather info on you and either use it to steal your identity or sell their database to the next set of scammers with your updated info and the cycle will continue. Some of these scammers might claim that the debt they claim you have isn't covered under US Bankruptcy, which is a lie.

Go to this site's "Articles" page, found here: https://800notes.com/arts/. Educate yourself on the scams that are out there and what to expect to hear out of the mouths of the scam callers. Be sure to go to you State's Attorney General's website and file a report with as much information as you can provide regarding the  scam caller (names, company names, phone number, if they gave you an address, the conversation, etc.)