Law Office of Vincent Cignarale

They are a cube farm collection agency that is renting a NY lawyers license. Send them a certified return receipt debt validation letter. Once recived they must stop all collection until they validate the debt. A sample template can be found in the do it yourself section here. I requested just a written dunning letter and never received one within the required 5 days. They seem to not know how to use the post office.

I don't have a problem sending them a letter with a certified return receipt but since it will take a day or two to get there, can she start filings against me already or do I have some time?

I would say this would be a good example of overshadowing as well, wouldn't you frogpatch?

I'm curious did they tell your mother that they were calling to collect on a debt? That would be a violation of the fdcpa. I don't know what your burden of proof would be in that case but if they were found guilty it could cost them $1000.

I would have to talk to my mom on exactly what they said. I know when she called she said it was a lawyers office trying to collect a debt and that they were going to attach $1600. What is "overshadowing?"

Ok, within 5 days of initial communication they are supposed to send you a dunning letter. In this letter there is also supposed to be a notice of consumer rights, including right to dispute within 30 days. They are telling you to make payment in 2 or they will file. They are trying to pressure you into action and skip giving you the chance to dispute it, that is overshadowing in a nutshell.

Is a email the same as a dunning letter? I decided to copy and paste the email that was sent to me. Thank you so much for all of your help so far


The Law Office of Vincent P. Cignarale, LLC is offering you an opportunity to pay the amount due to satisfy your delinquent account. This settlement-in-full shall be in the total amount of $480.00 and is due in our office on or before February 29, 2008. Please contact the representative handling your file upon receipt of this correspondence with the appropriate payment information by the 21st of February 2008. In the event that any payment is late, not received, or returned by the bank for insufficient funds, this offer will be withdrawn. Please direct all other correspondence to 5100 Transit Road, Depew, NY 14043.
When you provide a check as payment, you authorize us either to use information from your check to make a one-time electronic funds transfer from your account or to process the payment as a check transaction. Please remit payment to the order of First American Investment Co., 2809 Wehrle Drive, Suite 1, Williamsville, NY 14221. Upon clearance of funds the account will be updated as paid in full and the credit reporting agencies will be notified that this account has been satisfied.
If you have any questions relative to the above referenced settlement, please do not hesitate to contact our office Monday through Friday 8:00AM to 10:00PM EST. Please refer to the file number indicated above.
Federal law requires we notify you this is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. This communication is from a debt collector.

They did the same thing to me. They called my 80 year old father in law. I called them and said I did not recognize the name of the PDL. Requested a statement. The guy said the letter has gone out as if he did it right then and there. I never got it and that was the last I heard from them. What state are you in an how much did you originally pay on this loan and how much was the original amount.

I am in PA. I honestly couldn't tell you how much the loan amount was for. To my knowledge, I thought I paid all my pay day loans except 1 off and it wasn't from this company and to complicate matters a little bit more, I don't have that bank account anymore and haven't had it for some time now so it isn't so easy to get copies of my bank statements

I do not think an email is considered legal correspondence as they fail or get caught in spam filters. Correct me if I am wrong!

That is very true about spam filters and such. I am planning on calling her back soon about this. Advising her that I sent out a letter of validation and hopefully I can have something witty to say back to anything she may threaten. I am just not sure of what exactly that is yet, hehe.

My suggestion is not to waste your time exchanging witty banter with collection agencies. Just deal with them strictly business, in written form only so you have a paper trail.

Also I just wanted to add that I'm not jumping your case here, I'm just speaking matter of fact, nothing more.

I completely understand and I am not looking for a fight or anything. I just want to know what to be able to say something legally back if she starts telling me that she is going to file my paperwork in the county I live in and so on.

Let her know that you have the right to request validation and that the threat of legal action within the same period could be construed as overshadowing.

Sorry to keep on bothering everyone but I did get in contact with the representative from Cignarale's office and she said that she did send me out a letter months ago and that she can prove that a letter was sent out and that she doesn't show that is was returned back to them so the 30 days that I am owed to despute this debt are over with. I NEVER received a letter from them at all. Is this true?

On another note, I told her about me sending out a letter of validation. She asked me what that was and what I needed for it. She said that she couldn't get certain amounts that she could only give me what was currently owed and the dates I paid and the account number the payments were coming out of and that the burden of proof is on me, not them.

I doubt it. Just send them the DV letter. Certified mail return receipt requested. Here is their address:

30 Church Street, Rochester, NY (585) 428-6625

The fdcpa says otherwise, anyway I provided you with the address so feel free to fire off that DV letter CMRRR and see if they can provide anything.

You might include a copy of the fdcpa with your letter as the obviously are so poorly trained that they do not know what it is!

Cignarale's collectors have a track record for breaking the debt collection laws. I know of a pending lawsuit against them in Texas. They seem to have very little knowledge, training, or oversight.

You should have asked her how she can prove that they sent anything...does she have the little green card from the certified letter? No? Oh..poor you..then you have no real proof, do you? :):):)

But yeah, this lady doesn't know squat. Burden of proof is on you, not them. Heh, I laugh every time a CA tries to tell me that load of bull. You should be happy that she admitted that she has no sort of validating documentation whatsoever.

Definately send that DV.

i am so pissed, they are so rude. she said the exact same thing to me. oh my blood is boiling. Grant it i do owe this money, but dude , do ya have to be so rude.

aerogirl, I got a call from them almost 2 weeks ago, and have not received an e-mail from them. Can you tell me the e-mail address from which their notice was sent? My guess it's in my spam filter....which has 2,000 messages in it. If I can search for it, it may help! Thanks!

This Cignorale Law office calls me at work but first calls my Father in Law, who is 80, and leaves an urgent message with a file number. He gets all upset and calls my wife and asks why are there lawyers after me. What did I do before I moved from NJ. He thinks I came to Florida to escape prosecution or something!
I asked them for a dunning letter that was required withing 5 days under the fdcpa and they say it went out and the fact that it was not returned is proof that I got it. The same old BS that they all use. I tell them I can't recieve calls at work but they call again and say the person I told must have forgotten to note it. They have called my in laws about 5 times and left messages. I think I am going to file a complaint with the NY bar association and hire a lawyer and sue them for FDCPA violations. I have not sent a validation letter yet as they have not sent me anything to reference. I think they said I owed money to One Click Cash! I don't have them on my former PDL list. Do you all see any FDCPA violations here?

ok, aero--here's what you need to do. First, off, she's flat-out lying to you about sending you a letter months ago. Know how I can tell?? They called a third-party trying to locate you. If she already had an address and knew where to find you, they would have had no need to call your mother! Dont let these idiots fool you.

Second, anyone who collects for illegal payday loan companies is not willing to go to court--because they know that what they usually do to try to collect on these debts is illegal all day long.

Send off the DV letter ASAP, by certified mail RRR. When you get the receipt card back in the mail, keep it somewhere safe, along with a copy of the DV letter you sent them. Make sure to include in your DV letter a statement telling them that they are not to contact you for any reason over the telephone--tell them that all communication is to be done through the mail.

I wouldnt be very worried about them trying to file a lawsuit against you before your letter gets there....

you said that this was a loan through "tendollarpayday.com"? An internet payday lender....not legal in PA, if I recall right.

Here--read this link. It is very helpful for you--specific to PA. It even states that payday loans are generally ILLEGAL in PA because they charge interest higher than the state's interest cap.

clsphila.org/Content.aspx?id=603

dont forget to add the www. at the beginning.

I can also tell you that Ten Dollar Payday Loans is NOT licensed by the PA Dept. of Banking, and they would have to be in order to legally operate in your state.

Also, I went to this attorney's website. He is seemingly proud of the fact that he is a member of the New York State Bar Association, as well as the bar associations for Erie and Monroe counties, both in New York. He even includes links to these on his website. But he mentions NOTHING about being a member of the PA Bar Association. You may wish to check into that--if he isnt, then he doesnt have the authority to practice law within your state to begin with.

frogpatch--

yes, there are some violations there...

1--repeated third party contact, which is illegal in several ways. First, they are allowed to contact a third party ONE TIME, and ONLY ONE TIME, unless that third party gives them permission to call again. Second, they continued calling the third party after they spoke with you, another big no-no.

2--depending on the message they originally left with your father in law, that could be a fdcpa violation itself, because they are not allowed to reveal anything about the business they have with you, nor are they supposed to reveal their identity unless really pressed for it. They could have released your private information to him in that call.

3--continued calling at your place of employment even when told not to.

4--didn't send out the disclosure of rights within 5 days of initial contact.

5--at this point, to be honest, I would make a case for simple harassment. Think about it--they keep calling you at work, they keep calling your in-laws, yet thus far, even though you have spoken with them, they have barely even identified the debt they are calling about!! All these calls, and they arent giving you any information at all! I would argue this--"even if this were my debt, how in the world would I even know? They call and call, but havent told me a damn thing!"

But dont worry--I am sure they will violate the FDCPA more....ya just gotta be patient....give em time!!

I was not sure of the repeated third party contact as they only left messages. They did however leave who they were on the machine. I am speaking with an attorney in a few minutes! I have too much of this crap to handle alone. I send DV letters and I have to send more because I get sold from place to place.

right frog--but they cannot call a third party AT ALL once they have spoken with you! Third party contacts are ONLY to be made for the purpose of locating the debtor! So, they spoke with you, then continued to call the third party afterwards--there's your violation. The fdcpa details the whole third party issue pretty clearly, so there isnt a gray area there for them to weasel out with.

To this day, I have yet to receive anything from the Law Offices of Vincent P Cignarale, and it's been almost over a month since I initially spoke with them. Nothing in the mail, nothing in an e-mail. However, just to make sure, does anyone have the e-mail address that a dunning letter may have been sent to? I've tried searching my e-mail for Cignarale, etc.. but nothing has come up. Thanks!

Any collection agency that has an attorney on staff does have the ability to sue you. I dont think they would sue for such a small debt but if you owe it then you owe it. I come on these sites all the time and see people looking for exscuses not to pay back money they borrowed. I think it is kind of pethedic.

Any collection agency that has an attorney on staff does have the ability to sue you. I dont think they would sue for such a small debt but if you owe it then you owe it. I come on these sites all the time and see people looking for exscuses not to pay back money they borrowed. I think it is kind of pethedic.

No one comes here looking for excuses NOT to pay. In fact we do want to pay all our debts. I actually think that you coming on here and judging people without knowing their true intentions is pathetic.

I am glad you feel you can speek for everyne who comes on here or any other site like this but you are wrong. If you have intentions on paying the debt then why look for violations of the fdcpa and why use stall tactics such as a AOI.

Ans i am very aware of people who default on pay day loans. It is a advance on your paycheck and then you close your bank account two days later so they cant debit your account back. A person who does that and then comes onto a site like this looking for lame exscuses not to pay is pethedic and has no moral values.

Its pathetic not pethedic. Learn to spell

oh i'm sorry mr banner,i forget the part about me caring what you think.

yeah i am a very poor speller...but i am good at paying my bills : )

i guess it's nice to know your good at something.being a collector isn't one of them or you wouldn't be posting your hooey.

Why should I allow a collector rent a lawyer call me repeatedly at work to collect a debt I do not even owe. Why should I allow them to call my relatives. I am suing them and I am the one who has had his rights violated. End of story. Move on!

Actually anyone has the right to sue whether your an attorney or not. But if I were a gambling man I would guess that most people hired for collection agencies have gained their limited knowledge from being deadbeats. most are under achievers who are willing to work for small wages and truly feel like they are above others. They have never been in a possition of authority and feel like this is their big chance at life. They can make all the threats they want but I would warn them to check with someone who knows the law befor they start running their mouths about the law. And when your attemting to collect debts in other states they should be aware that there are different laws that apply. So put the crack pipe down and read a book. If you were so smart you wouldnt be working at a collection agency, you would own the agency!

If Cignarale's office sent a letter and has proof, it would have to be a signed returned receipt. If you didn't get the letter and you didn't sign a receipt, they don't have proof.

This "firm" is not a real attorney's office. They are a debt collection agency that uses intimidation and bullying tactics to exploit consumers' ingorance of credit and debt collection laws. If they told your mother they were attempting to collect a debt, they've broken the law. If they do not put it in writing, they are breaking the law.

If it makes you feel any better, they've been harassing me for a year and a half via phone. I've asked for it in writing. I've written them certified return receipt letters asking for such. I have never once received anything in writing from the Office of Vincent P. Cignarale. I finally have just decided to ignore their calls.

CIGNARALE IS A FORMER BAILBONDSMAN WHO GOT CAUGHT WITH 2 KILOS OF COCAINE AND LOST HIS LICENSE, THIS TENACIOUS PRICK FINALLY WENT TO LAW SCHOOL AND PASSED THE BAR..CHRIS HESS, THE MANAGER EXTRAORDINAIRE RECRUITED HIM AND NOW THEY ARE NOT ONLY VIOLATTNG EVERY FDCPA LAW IN THE BOOK, THEY'RE ALSO RUNNING A PROSTITUTION AND DRUG SMUGGLING RING OUT OF THE VERY SAME OFFICE. MOST OF THE "WORKING PEOPLE" ARE ABNORMALLY MALFORMED, SUITED MOSTLY FOR THE DARK UNDERWORLD OF BUFFALO FETISHES. IN FACT WHEN A LITTLE PERSON-4'2, WE'LL JUST CALL "MARK SHOLEWA", A CONVICTED RAPIST CAME TO WORK FOR HESS AND COULDN'T CUT IT AS A COLLECTOR, HE WAS FORCED INTO THIS PERVERSE UNDERWORLD OF FORNICATION AND DEBAUCHERY BY THE CIGNA-HESS TANDEM SERVING THE NEEDS OF THEIR MOST DEPRAVED CUSTOMER'S WORKING FOR ONLY HALF PRICE DUE TO CIGHESS'S TWISTED RATIONALE. HE WAS LATER ABLE TO ESCAPE INTO A TRAVELING CIRCUS, WHERE MANY BELIEVE HE HAS BEEN PLACED IN WITNESS PROTECTION.......

JHEINTZ - 7 Jul 2008
I WAS SENT IN AS A SPY FOR THE FDCPA, THE ABOVE NAME IS AN ALIAS........THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNT, A TRUE STORY....... I BEGAN WORKING AT CIGNARLE AS A COLLECTION AGENT WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS. I DID NOT EXPECT THE EVENTS THAT WOULD FOLLOW. I STARTED WORKING THERE ON A TUESDAY, IT SEEMED A FRIENDLY WORK ENVIRONMENT WITH STRONG ETHICAL STANDARDS. AT FIRST MY CASELOAD WAS BAREABLE. I WAS KIND AND COURTEOUS TO THE DEBTORS BUT ALL TOO SOON THAT WASN'T ENOUGH. MY SUPERVISOR WHOM I SHALL CALL JAY KERMP BEGAN TAKING LIBERTIES WITH MY TRUST. HE CORNERED ME SEVERAL TIMES AND EXPLAINED THAT IF I DID NOT REACH MY MONTHLY BUDGET HE WOULD DO TO ME WHAT WAS DONE TO HIM DURING HIS TIME IN MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON FOR PURCHASING ALCOHOL ON 10 SEPARATE OCCASION FOR MINORS UNDER THE AGE OF 12. IT RAPIDLY BECAME AN ATMOSPHERE OF FEAR AND REPRISAL. WHEN I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO MUSTER THE COURAGE TO COMPLAIN TO THE HEAD MANAGER, A MAN WHOM I SHALL DUB MR. CHECKERS, HE PUT HIS ARM AROUND ME, LAUGHED AND TOLD ME TO DROP MY TROUSERS. HE PROCEEDED TO TAKE PICTURES OF MY UNDERGARMENTS AND TOLD ME IF I EVER TOLD ANYONE THAT HE WOULD POST THEM ON THE WEB. JAY, MY SUPERVISOR CORNERED ME SEVERAL TIMES IN THE BOYS ROOM AND MADE ME PERFORM LEWD AND LACIVIOUS ACTS ON HIS CAMERA PHONE, MOSTLY JUMPING UP AND DOWN IN THE NUDE SCREAMING " I LOVE JELLO!". I FINALLY TURNED TO ATTY CIGNARALE AND AIRED MY GRIEVANCES. HE TOLD ME THAT NONE OF
WHAT I DESCRIBED CONSTITUTED ANYTHING RESEMBLING A WARRANT FOR LEGAL RECOURSE. I FINALLY LEFT AND HAVE BEEN IN THERAPY FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. EVERY SO OFTEN SOMEONE FROM THE OFFICE WILL DRIVE BY MY HOUSE AND ASK FOR MY TROUSERS...I USUALLY TELL THEM NO......

Honestly sounds like another bluff which is oh too common with these people. I assume you asked for the delivery confirmation numbers to verify yourself? I would highly recommend you calling her with some sort of recording device. If the number you call to informs you that you will be recorded there is no need to inform her you are recording the call as she has already waved her right to privacy. If there is no message simply inform her you are recording the call for court purposes and would like the delivery confirmation number of the debt validation letter she supposedly sent.

jhEINTZ, if that *really* did happen you have grounds for a lawsuit for harrassment. Any reasonable attorney would pick that up in a heartbeat.

I received a call from the a law office, but the name was changed from Cignarale to Signarale.

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I have been receiving phone calls from this company the last couple of weeks, they have also been calling my place of employment and 3 of my relatives, every day. When I asked the guy to send me a letter stating what I owed, he told me that they aren't able to send out letters about debts, we have to strictly go through the phone. Is he full of it?

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