FTC Settled With Debt Collector That Posed as Ed McMahon

This is simply beautiful. I wrassled with a couple of LBA's trolls in July 2010.
http://whocalled.us/lookup/8002586587

From the haughty responses of LBA's reps I infer that they really felt justified in their behavior, and were probably given very faulty FDCPA compliance training if any. I had at the time also found numerous complaints going back to 2000 from alleged former employees discussing sexual harassment and other workplace abuses.

This is another of their phone number haunts, though reports are scant on all the forums:
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-678-667-3905


Time to adjust my FTC Upside Slap Scoreboard .....

Luebke Baker and Associates   . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3.10m - May 2012     FDCPA, FTC Act, TSR
West Asset Management  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.80m - Mar 2011     FDCPA violations
Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.50m - Jan 2012     FCRA & FDCPA violations
Academy Collection Service  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $2.25m - Nov 2008     FDCPA violations
Allied Interstate  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $1.75m - Oct 2010     FDCPA violations
NCO Financial  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $1.50m - May 2004     FCRA violations
Nationwide Credit  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $1.00m - Oct 1998     FDCPA violations

- notes -
Academy is currently named Monarch Recovery Management. Allied since rebranded as its parent iQor, but hasn't quite completed the change for its American presence.
LBA's FDCPA share of the penalty was $2.3m, so it now places third for violating that one Act.

This calls for a little Snoopy Happy Dance on my front lawn.

(Maybe not, the neighbors are staring, and my wife wants me to put some clothes on.)

Would like to see that! LOL

At least cover yourself with the supper dish first. Have some decorum!

Else you could compromise and perform like Jules Feiffer's interpretive dancer.

http://www.rmichelson.com/Artist_Pages/Feiffer/Dance%20To%20Autumn.htm
http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/swanngallery/exh ... eCharacter.aspx
http://nyclovesnyc.blogspot.com/2011/07/dance-drawings-of-jules-feiffer.html

Why the celebration? This is more disgusting evidence of the abandonment of the rule of law in this country. It is nothing more than a tollbooth on the cost-of-doing-business highway that represents a small fraction of these crooks' illicit take. No real accountability is involved. Look at the list -- how many are still in "business"?

No cause for celebration whatsoever, sorry.

It's one solo dance on the lawn, not a block party. We need all the small victories we can get. In the present this action vindicates every victim's complaint and every person who took insults and grief while trying to debunk the company cheerleaders.

Sure, I wish my millionaire penalty club for scofflaw collectors was much larger. Your depressing point is taken, that too few rogue agencies are killed off in these skirmishes and most tend to recover quickly. iQor/Allied Interstate alone was fined another combined $390K by two state AGs last year and is still attracting consumer complaints. One hopeful aspect is different this time.

The previous six record holders in my chart are all major industry players which have probably trafficked in a ska-billion accounts from vast debt portfolio purchases and from name brand banks. The Luebkes were small time hoods by comparison, working the fetid scraps tossed from an already poisoned portfolio of bogus magazine sales. It's not like anyone lost a home or vital organ or spouse over those account disputes. Yet LBA's total FTC bill now outranks a short list of the industry's heavies.

It would be nice if this marks a new trend in more serious civil actions, starting with much higher penalty numbers and painting more targets. In time the examples made of Harold Bolling and Tobias Boyland have to expand from the exception to the norm. We might have to wait for Richard Cordray to finish unpacking his moving crates, but he did a nice job tearing into National Enterprise Systems two years ago as Ohio AG. (Last I read the class action members were all due $320 checks, which is pretty good payout for people not suing privately.) I'm not exactly doing handsprings here, but any slender hope is better than none.

These companies make so much money over the very long time it takes to catch them that a few million bucks here and there in fines is nothing.  I want to see these guys incarcerated, even if it's only in Club Fed, and see them pay real fines that take away most if not all of their profits.  Sadly, we'll never lay a hand on the cash they stash off-shore.

Would you like to take the red pill or the blue pill?

You have actually highlighted a very alarming trend, R47. When the little crooks are fined disproportionately compared to the big crooks, it offers an opportunity for the big crooks to consolidate and get even bigger. The little crooks aren't paying as much for their "insurance" either, which is no coincidence. In essence, the "regulators" are clearing the playing field of the little pieces of trash while leaving the big steaming heap of you-know-what fundamentally unaffected. Ever wonder why?

Case in point: NCO CEO Ronald Rittenmeyer. You can review some of his "insurance" payments here, at least the ones he disclosed publicly.

http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contri ... er.asp?cycle=12

I'll take the Green one!

Scummy [***].....I think it's high time America had it's own take on the guillotine.

I'll take the Statue of Liberty one!!!

These crooks need JAIL TIME and forfeiture of ALL $$$$$$.  That would really stick it to these scum sucking white collar phone number spoofing BLEEPERS.  If the employees of these BLEEPING companies know that they are going to JAIL for being part of the scam it MIGHT cut down on it a little bit.  I think we should treat this crime as a terrorist act.  In fact all WHITE COLLAR crime should be reclassified as ECONOMIC TERRORISM and let us ship all of them off to that secret holding prison in CUBA.

Resident, I have a question for you, or need your help rather. I have an old "debt" on my credit report (that wasn't legit and no matter how I fought it, they ignored me) from one of the companies on here (from 2004 ironically) in fact it STILL receives monthly updates at Experian, and Experian refuses to remove it despite my proof I don't own that debt, as well as lack of response from the company.

Plus I have a recent debt that I'm currently working with the AG as well as trying to find out if I need to contact the FCC or the FTC or PUC (like which agency regulates phone service?) because of discrepancies with the company. Basically, I didn't have a contract with the company, and I had 3 services from them - Phone, cable and internet. I then chose to disconnect my phone service, and they threatened to turn off my internet too as punishment, IN EMAIL! And then even after I canceled all their services 3 months ago, they chose to continue to bill me every month, and now, what should have been a $125 debt, they are sending me a $727 bill, including sending bill collectors to my house at all hours in order to force me to pay. And they are so terrible about it too! I live in an apartment, so my neighbor's door is right next to mine, and the bill collector stands out by my door yelling about how I "need to learn to pay my bills" and that I "can't hide from being a responsible adult forever"! It's embarrassing and how is paying for something I canceled being a responsible adult?? And this "debt" is managed by one of the companies on your list as well. (I have explained to them I am currently working with the AG to get this resolved and they insisted that I should just pay them everything they ask for now, and once it's settled with the AG they will "return the over payments". I have NO reason to believe they would refund me a dime once the AG is done with them!)
Do you have any suggestions? Is there anyone I can contact to see if this goes under the original settlement against them, and get them to comply, rather than reinvent the wheel?
Thanks!!

sorry, not Resident but hope this helps. Since I don't know what you have done so far or how you have addressed your complaints, sorry if this response is a bit general and duplicates any efforts.

Phone company complaints are an FCC issue and there is a complaint form on their web site http://www.fcc.gov/complaints . Like any other government agency, it does take a little time to investigate  but they do investigate. I do hope that you kept your emails and all copies of correspondence and bills.

Here is an FTC link on credit repair and how to complain to credit repair companies: http://ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre13.shtm .

Anytime that you are using a phone for correspondence with any company for any reason, keep a notebook log: date, time, employee name, employee number, ask what call center they are located, department, issue discussed and resolution. Always ask if the conversation has a confirmation number. Spiral notebooks are at the most $.25 and you can make your own chart with pen and ruler. Even if it is to pay a bill, discuss an order, etc. I also log if I can't get thru such as line busy or hold time. I can't tell you the times my little notebook chart has saved me aggravation. To record a call, you need to know your state laws. for example in Florida, I need to advise the party before conversation that the call is being recorded. Companies get around that by stating that the call may be recorded for customer assurance (which is why you ask for call center and employee number.)

Hope this helps a little.