FTC Settled With Debt Collector That Posed as Ed McMahon

Ed McMahon never rep'ed for Publishers Clearing House.  He was a spokesman for American Family Publishers.

Just round them all up and shoot them all in the head...twice.

Tenshi,

You need a lawyer.  This has reached a point where only legal action can resolve things.  In particular, Experian will not remove anything voluntarily if you dispute an entry but the company keeps replying back that you do owe it.

Also, try and use video camera to record the collector at your apt. door.  Open the door a crack using the security chain and record him through that.  Don't say anything to him other than to ask what his name is, employer, and company ID.  This video can be put to good use by your lawyer.  The company should be contacted in writing by yur lawyer, never talk about debt to a collector at your door.

More like Publishers Phishing House, amirite?

The fine is great, but, as mentioned above, these guys factor in the chances of being fined.  The way to deal with these scumbags is to treat them as organized crime, which they are.  They are engaged in fraud.  The FBI could use RICO and take about all their assets and give them some prison time.  This is what needs to be done.

Sorry I didn't see this a couple months ago. Let's just say for now I had my own issues with a scofflaw collector. Really this belongs under a number thread or a topical discussion where others can see it, as it doesn't involve Luebke.

Disputing credit reports is a very thorny topic, too exhausting to explain here. As Tom indicated, you almost need a stick of dynamite to remove bad data. There is a process, but it leads inevitably to your filing suit against the bureaus and/or information furnishers, or at least writing a very good Intent To Sue notice with a draft of your civil complaint attached. The controlling federal law you sue under is called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) gives you some pre-suit dispute muscle.

As to the inflated utility debt, I'm not sure why you'd want to shoehorn yourself into a past FTC action, (not that I think you could) when you have a very strong cause of action for your own suit. If a third party collector has sent out goons to insult you through the windows and you can offer proof, you should have little trouble collecting several times the so-called "debt" amount as your damages, and possibly get the debt wiped to zero. Affidavits with testimony from you and the neighbors would likely help, as those become facts before the court the other side has to defeat.

You are correct to not trust any promise to "reimburse" you if and when your AG ever helps out. That in itself is violative of FDCPA as deceptive, if not coming close to offering you legal advice. If truly the character and/or amount of the debt has been misrepresented, that's another legal foul. I hope someone got you to dispute the collection agency on paper before your 30 days expired. If not, you can still request validation but are not entitled to it. You can at any time demand restrictions on collector contact. Most people keep it simple and leave postal mail open while banning all phone calls, and I guess in your case personal visits. USPS Certified with return card is your new best friend for all communication now.

HamNat and Tom made very good points regarding the need to document, document, and also document everything your collection tormentors do and say. Your encounters could be loaded with their violations, which become ammunition for you. Don't get too worried about your cost. If you can't fight alone (pro se) your whole FDCPA legal bill gets shifted to the losing party. An FCRA action racks up hundreds per violation, per month. A really good consumer lawyer will run a case like yours on contingency, asking no more than a court filing fee if anything.

The online brain trusts of Credit InfoCenter and DebtorBoards can give you tremendous help learning about the above topic points. The next links take you to official material on the cited federal laws.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/guidance/supervision/manual/fdcpa-narrative/

Fair Credit Reporting Act
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.shtm

Exactly. I have already posted this on another thread, but it deserves repeating. This woman, posing as a debt collector for a local utility company had the book thrown at her violatioms of Georgia's RICO act, identity and financial fraud and elderly exploitation for making threats and coercing people into paying money for electric bills they didn't owe.

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2012/10/19/woman- ... ia-powers-scam/

She will spend the next 20 years of her life behind bars. If only the FTC did the same thing to these organized criminals...

Continuing to execute the terms of the FTC settlement, LBA had to refund $11,384.70 in sales for 831 copies of an illegally sold "debt fixer" CD about five weeks ago. The total bill should have been $33,198.45 since suckered marks were charged forty bucks a head.

CDs were upsold immediately after people "settled" what was usually a bogus debt. A CD and "information packet" were offered allegedly at the "half price" of $39.95 as a premium to people who paid without question like good little frightened children. This of course was in reality a premium to the debt collector, as the production cost would have been trivial and the "Credit Solutions system" offered nothing which a person cannot obtain for free straight from the FTC and reputable consumer advisors.


FTC Returns Just Over $11,000 to Consumers Who Were Allegedly Charged an Illegal Advance Fee for a Credit Repair Product
28 Sep 2012 [excerpts]

In May 2012, third-party debt collector Luebke Baker & Associates, owner Kevin Luebke, and other defendants ... marketed a credit repair CD titled ''Credit Solutions,'' allegedly collecting an up-front fee before providing any goods or services, in violation of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule .... The settlement required the defendants to pay for refunds to all consumers who paid an advance fee to buy the Credit Solutions CD.