Free Republic

The Internal Revenue Service is about to start using four private debt-collection companies to chase down overdue payments from hundreds of thousands of people who owe money to the federal government, a job it has handled in house for years. Unlike I.R.S. agents, who are not usually allowed to call delinquent taxpayers by telephone, the outside debt-collection agencies will have free rein to do so. Consumer watchdogs are fearful that some of the nation’s most vulnerable taxpayers will be harassed and that criminals will take advantage of the system by phoning people and impersonating I.R.S. collectors. Additionally, one of the...

The country is facing an epidemic of unscrupulous debt collectors willing to pose as law enforcement and threaten arrest to squeeze dollars out of Americans, a top prosecutor said Tuesday as he announced the arrests of seven people who worked for an Atlanta-area company. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the abusive practices have become so widespread that even a top FBI official in New York City got a call. “This has become something of an epidemic,” Bharara told a news conference. He described the workers at the defunct Williams, Scott & Associates LLC in Norcross, Georgia, as “ruthlessly persistent” as...

Dear Dave, I’m trying to help my son and daughter-in-law by encouraging them to get out of debt and live on a budget. It hasn’t been a problem to give them money when they’ve asked in the past, but I’m afraid they’re still in a mess. How can I make sure I’m doing the right thing?MargaretDear Margaret,The first thing you need to do is sit down and have a serious, loving talk with them. If they’ve asked for money before, and it has become something of a trend, you have a right to know more about their circumstances. In addition,...

Much thanks to the Freeper referred SA law firm which advised and offered services which I did not accept, but paid close and attentive attention to. Your counsel . . . pending the next elevation when I might need it . . . was invaluable to get this much of a result. Thanks. Maybe there might be a class action or federal complaint against CMRE . . . based upon thier reply to the California Attorney General, there might be one. I'm going to press to the federal level with a complaint. In reply to the California Attorney General, CMRE...

For two or three years I've reported to FreeRepublic my ongoing battle with collection agencies trying to collect from me medical/emergency bills from the San Antonio Baptist Hospital System and their emergency contracted billing services . . . how don't they understand, I'm not the Racehorse they're looking for? The problem for them is I am a retired military guy who only uses military services provided by Wilford Hall Medical Center. These collection agencies apparently shop and sell debts like mortgage companies. In my next post I'll provide the name and content of the letter sent to me for a...

Do you think debt collectors should be given access to your cell phone number? Not sure. Doesn't this open up the whole issue of cell phone privacy? No. Cell phones are meant to be private, not for use by bill collectors and solicitors. Yes. A lot of people use their cells as a home phone, so what's the problem? Other (post a comment).

I'm cursed with the fact there may be two other Racehorses in San Antonio. For years I've endured phone calls and letters from debt collectors trying to recover money from the other Racehorses. Recently, I received by mail a settlement offer from Capio Partners, 2222 Texoma Pkwy, Ste 250 in Sherman, Texas on behalf of Baptist Emergency Physicians. My assumption is that Baptist Emergency Physicians provide medical personnel to the San Antonio Baptist Hospital System and use a private billing company (which as yet has not returned my phone calls . . . just checked my messages). Only problem is...

When Tobias "Bags of Money" Boyland went looking for a new career after serving 13 years in prison for armed robbery and drug dealing, he quickly found something that suited his sensibilities: He opened a collection agency. It was, in some ways, a natural move for a young man in Buffalo. Desperate for jobs, this chronically depressed Rust Belt city has become home to one of the biggest concentrations of debt collection businesses in the U.S. "Collections is the Bethlehem Steel of Buffalo," said Boyland, 44, recalling the industrial giant that once employed 20,000 people in the region. "You can...

With all the recent news stories of debt collectors landing in prison or being taken out of business for illegal and strong arm tactics, I thought i'd share with my fellow Freepers a great resource to help if you ever have to deal with a scumbag debt collector. http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs27-debtcoll.htm This link has resources to use if dealing with collection agencies/collectors, your rights, links to the FTC, sample letters and more. I hope this is helpful to some Freepers who've been hounded rightly or wrongly by this pretty much unregulated billion dollar a year industry.

Licensed enforcement agents will be authorised to break into people's homes and seize property from debtors under new Government plans announced yesterday. They will also be given powers of arrest.