Ellis always managed to call me at work and home

My thing is, if I can't understand you, I'm not talking to you...so I hang up. :-)
That isn't the Ellis number that was calling me...so it might be a different collections company that you're getting calls from. I'd block their number if you can! Don't sent them a dime, either!

I haven't returned their phone call. They said it was an important matter that they needed to discuss with me. Thing is, one called at 8:32 am and then the guy called at 8:33 am. I think it's kinda funny they called back to back.
It's not the same number that Ellis called me from either. I was just thinking it was them since that's the only thing I owe.

Thanks Lindsey!

Suspicious! It's either got to be the same guy or two guys that work in the same company...I certainly wouldn't be surprised if Ellis stooped so low as to call under a different moniker.

Until you receive something official from your state's Attorney General office, don't send them ANYTHING and block their calls. They're intentionally trying to rip you off :-(

I'm not sending Ellis anything. If in fact this company is calling about the same thing, if they want to validate it and I owe it I have no problem paying it. The thing with Ellis is, I've already paid it..to them and and have the money gram receipt where i sent it. Ellis was going to send me a reciept within 10-14 days and as you can figure I never received it. I asked Ellis to validate it and of course they couldnt' because I had already paid it.
I'll wait to hear from Summer before I do anything about it.

Michele, make sure that every correspondence has to be done in written form with proper receipts so that it can be tracked later.

Also, just to be in safe and strong side while dealing with any collection agency, you can record the names of the people whom you talk to, and write down the date and time.

Thanks Ben,
They have called me twice at home today and 4 times at work in the last hour and a half. I keep telling them I will return this call when I get off and she keeps telling me she wants to handle it now. It is in fact the account Ellis was calling me about. So I'm going to request validation and then I'm going to send a copy of my resiept where I have paid it. Anyhow, I think 6 times in one day is a little excessive.

Hi Michele

As per the fdcpa law, the collection agencies are required to make call only to inform the consumers about their debt. Thus, if they make repeated calls which cause harassment, it is a violation of the said law.

After you have sent a written notice to them asking for validation, they are not supposed to call you during this time. You can inform them that you are aware of your consumer rights and can definitely take actions if things go out of control.

Regards
Roxette

Make that 10 times they have called me at work now. Two phone calls ago the guy assured me I would receive no other phone calls at work. Within 10 minutes one of the original ladies called and said I had told her I would call her back(which I did say, but I told her I would call back when I got off)and that I hadn't called her back and that she wanted to take care of the situation right now. I told her I would call back when I got off but not to call me at work again. It's been 15 minutes so I'm waiting for another call here shortly. I sure hope they don't call back today.

Ok this company claims they are India. I've asked them several times not to call me at my office. They tell me it's on an automatic dialer. I've told them to take it off. I've also told them to send me validation of the debt, which they claim they can't. So my question is, since they are out of the country how do I deal with them? Do the same laws apply since they are trying to collect in our country? The thing is I don't owe it. I have a moneygram resiept where I've paid it. Should I contact the original creditor?

If they can't validate your debt then there is no way they have legitimate proof that you owe any given amount...so there's no grounds for you to pay them.

Tell them that you are not calling them ever again, and they must adhere to your request never to call YOU again. Threaten them, as they've threatened you. And definitely report them to the FTC. The FTC can handle companies that aren't in this country. I reported one that was in Ireland.

Just know that you're in good standing. You've done all that you could!

Thanks Lindsey. I didn't know the FTC would deal with companies out of the country. I'm headed to their site right now. These people claim they have sent me a letter twice. I have yet to receive one. I really just want them to stop calling me.

I pulled up the 800 number that a gentleman who just called my work left telling me that it was urgent that I call right back stating the name of his company was e-max. He also left 6 messages on my cell phone and called my parents home last night saying he got the number from my credit report. I tried calling back but could not understand him at all. I asked him what it was in reference to and all he said was a debt. He mentioned something about filing charges against me if I did not comply but I don't know what to comply to. I have never received anything in writing. What do I do? Does anyone have any idea who they are or who they work for?
Thanks.
Kristen

Kriss,

Do you really have some unpaid loan? If yes, try to pay it back. It will help you to score a good credit.

But, if you feel that the debt collector is adopting some unfair means to collect the debt, you can apply your legal rights provided by FDCPA. According to these rules, the collector cannot call you at your work if you don't allow them to do so. They are not allowed to contact your relatives too, except to verify your present contact details; however, they can contact your co-signer anytime.

So be aware of the facts that what a debt collector cannot do with you and if they violate the rules, how you should come up with the situation. Lots of discussions are going on here about how to deal with collection agencies. Browse the forum and collect your weapons. You can check the E-max topic also.

I asked him if he could send me something in writing so that I could figure out a payment plan and a way to get the debt cleared up but he said no that they did not have anything to send and that I could not do a payment plan it needed to be all or nothing. I don't even know how much or anything. I will do more research on what I can do. Thank you for responding and pointing me in a good direction.

Kriss, protect yourself! If you are not sure who the creditor is and how much you legally owe, make the collection agency provide you with information regarding the debt before you pay them anything. Under the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act, you are allowed to challenge the validity of a debt that a collection agency states you owe to them. Use this letter and the following form to make the agency verify that the debt is actually yours and owed by you. Keep a copy for your files and send the letter registered mail.

Your Name
123 Your Street Address
Your City, ST 01234

ABC Collections
123 NotOnYourLife Ave
Chicago, IL

Date:

Re: Acct # XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on September 30, 2002). Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

This is NOT a request for ???verification??? or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.

Please provide me with the following:


What the money you say I owe is for;
Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
Identify the original creditor;
Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau's (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:

Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character
If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.

Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.

I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

Best Regards,

Your Signature
Your Name

Yes Tracy, this is a very powerful weapon to keep the debt collectors in control. Actually, I am happy to go through this letter after a long time. I last saw this one when Jerry posted it in this forum somewhere in the month of March.

It's nice that you have collected it and brought back to attention. Thanks for the effort

I have printed the letter you provided me and will be sure to send it out as soon as E-max provides me with an address. So far they keep telling me that they will not be able to give me an address to send anything to because they are not in the US. I called the Florida Dept of Financial Services and spoke with a representative who has no record of E-Max being licensed in the state of Florida. She called the 800 number and advised them to contact her to provide her with their licensing information so that she is aware of who they are and what they do. She told me if they continue to call me at work and call my family that I should let them know that they need to contact her before I do anything with them and that they have to provide me something in writing to prove I owe this debt. They called me over the weekend and I advised them that I had spoken to the Dept of Financial Services and said exactly what she advised me to say and the woman on the phone laughed and said that they are out of the jurisdiction of the US and therefore did not have to follow any of our laws. I hung up on her.

Hi Kriss,

I am pretty sure that Emax has its office in the United States and thus, they are within the US jurisdiction.

Can you contact the Trade Union office in your state to get some more information about Emax? If they are trying to collect the debt from you, it requires them to be legally listed in your state.