FTC Forces Scam Artist To Pay Up

The Federal Trade commission plans to award 1.6 million dollars to thousands of consumers who were tricked into paying money that they did not owe by scam artists who used threats, harassment and lies to get them to pay up.

In 2003, the FTC sued three companies that were operating under the name, National Check Control. They charged them with harassing and abusing customers. The list of grievances included falsely threatening criminal prosecution, collecting amounts that were not due, illegally communicating with third parties and other violations of federal laws.

Two years later the court put a permanent halt on their business and demanded that they to pay back the consumers they had scammed. The defendants, Check Investors Inc, Check Enforcement Inc, Jaredco, Inc and the companies owner Barry Sussman attempted to appeal the case to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court but to no avail.

One day after the appeals court didn’t agree to look into his appeal, Sussman suspiciously retrieved an amount of coins valued at $335,000 from a bank safe deposit box. The federal court demanded that he turn over them to the FTC to pay back the consumers. Later, a federal jury convicted him of two felony counts, one for theft of government property and one for obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to forty one months in federal prison and is serving his sentence now.

The FTC was able to recover 1.6 million dollars to give back to the conned consumers. They plan to distribute the funds to 24,916 consumers who lost a hundred dollars or more as a result of the scam. They will begin to receive checks this month.

The Federal Trade Commission is responsible for putting an end to fraudulent, unfair, and deceptive practices that may be harmful to consumers. Also, they provide information to help the consumer in seeing, stopping, and avoiding scams.

Mallory works for a new york collection agency. Using a collection debt agency? Hire the services of a collection attorney.

Ambulance Collections Decision Put Off By County Officials

Commissioners on Monday delayed a decision to hire a collection agency because of unpaid ambulance bills incurred in unincorporated areas of Flagler County. Instead, county staff will do more research and the item will be brought back to commissioners for consideration sometime in July.

Commissioner Alan Peterson pronounced during the meeting that he was not ready to sign at the dotted line in the piggyback contract alongside officials in Orange County because he first wanted to have knowledge of how the collection agency does its business.

He wanted to know how commonly the agency calls residents about their delinquent accounts and what times of the day those calls were made. He also wished to know how many written notices would be sent to residents in arrears for their emergency medical care during an ambulance ride.

“My overriding concern on this whole issue is that unlike most bills people incur, this is an involuntary expense,” Peterson said. “People don’t normally choose to take an ambulance for medical care.”

Commissioner Barbara Revels said she also wanted to ensure the county wasn’t getting into business with a “heavy-handed” collection agency that could result in consumer backlash, like some that’s now being seen around the country.

Under the county’s current billing methods, insurance companies are billed for a patient who receives medical care and transport. If the patient is not insured or the insurance does not cover the full balance due, a third-party billing company steps in and attempts to collect the debt through written notices with the help of information verification from Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston’s office. The account is kept open and debt collection attempts continue for up to a year, at which time the debt is moved to a “bad debt” list and charged off by commissioners.

The debts are not placed on residents’ credit reports and quarrelsome telephone tactics are not used for collection.

Peterson also said if the board arrives at conclusion to move forward in hiring a collection agency, he’d like to see county officials add a new level of regular review to the accounts on its “bad debt” list before they’re turned over for collection.

“There should be a review of each and every account to see if it makes sense to turn it over to the collection agency,” Peterson said.

He requested county staff obtain the proposed collection agency’s procedures and has asked them to present an outline of the policy they will use for reviewing accounts before they’re turned over to the agency sometime before the end of July.

“We haven’t had a collection agency up to this point, so I don’t think it would hurt to delay the decision two weeks,” said County Administrator Craig Coffey.

Collect your judgement recovery and improve your accounts receivable collections. Mallory Nocks works for a third party collection agency.

FTC Declares Further Extension On ‘Red Flags’ Rule To November 1st

To aid small businesses and other entities, the Federal Trade Commission agents will enhance its efforts to educate them about compliance with the “Red Flags” Rule and ease compliance by supplying additional resources and guidance to clarify whether businesses are covered by the Rule and what they must do to comply. To give creditors and financial institutions added time to review this guidance and develop and implement written Identity Theft Prevention Programs, the FTC will further delay enforcement of the Rule until November 1, 2009.

The Red Flags Rule is an anti-fraud regulation, pressing creditors and financial institutions with covered accounts to implement programs to identify, detect, and respond to the warning signs, or red flags, that could reveal identity theft. FACTAs definition of creditor includes any person that regularly extends or renews credit ” or arranges for others to do so ” and includes all entities that repeatedly permit deferred payments for goods or services.

The FTCs Red Flags Web site, www.ftc.gov/redflagsrule, offers resources to help entities determine if they are covered and, if they are, how to conform with the Rule. It includes an online compliance template that enables companies to design their own Identity Theft Prevention Program through an easy-to-do form, as well as articles directed to specific businesses and industries, guidance manuals, and Frequently Asked Questions to help companies navigate the Rule.

Although many covered entities have already grown and implemented appropriate, risk-based programs, some ” particularly small businesses and entities with a low risk of identity theft ” remain uncertain about their obligations. Among other things, Commission staff will create a special link for small and low-risk entities on the Red Flags Rule Web site with materials that provide guidance and direction regarding the Rule.

The Commission has already posted FAQs that address how the FTC intends to enforce the Rule and other topics ” www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/redflagsrule/faqs.shtm. The enforcement FAQ states that Commission staff would be unlikely to recommend bringing a law enforcement action if entities know their customers or clients individually, or if they perform services in or around their customers homes, or if they operate in sectors where identity theft is rare and they have not themselves been the target of identity theft.

Todays announcement that the Commission will delay enforcement of the Rule until November 1, 2009, does not affect other federal agencies enforcement of the original November 1, 2008, compliance deadline for institutions subject to their oversight.

I work for a third party collection agency. Find out about collection services and collection laws at our website.

Irish Gang Branches Out Into Bill Collection

And you thought your bill collector was bad. In recent news it has been revealed that a gangland boss in Ireland has taken on a new career - debt collection. This criminal mastermind has been associated with twelve deaths; a threat even more serious than a collections letter.

Usually, legitimate creditors who aren’t criminals will hire out third party bill collectors to retrieve debts. Collection agencies work on commission, where they receive a portion of the amount of money that they collect. Frequently collection companies will purchase debt from the creditors so that they can collect the whole sum of money owed.

The Irish thugs seemed to have borrowed inspiration from this practice, but the similarities end there. The boss of the notorious Irish gang has established his own collection agency, purchasing debt and using his reputation to bully his way into gathering the money owed. The unfortunate debtors are drug users who are unable to repay dealers.

Lawful collection agencies will generally start with a gentle “reminder letter.” If the debtor is hostile or evasive, the letters will become sterner. Phone calls are used as well to remind those who owe money to pay up. If these tactics fail, the agency has the right to report a debt to credit bureaus, or file a lawsuit.

On the other hand, the Irish gangland bill collection agency will utilize its reputation as a group of ruthless murderers and crooks to intimidate debtors into paying back drug money. Thankfully, the head of this operation has been arrested, and the Justice Minister of Ireland has promised to do everything in his power to guarantee that the accused will be brought to justice.

So next time you get a letter from a collections agency, try to keep things in perspective. And if you are ever in Ireland, it is probably not smart to take out a loan with a notorious gang.

Experiencing trouble collecting credit? Collections can aid you.

Wyoming City Is Trying To Collect

In the town of Cody, Wyoming, 219 utility accounts were sent for collection. Only four of the bills belonged to property owners. Some are suggesting that the town council should think about holding property owners responsible for utility costs that their renters left unpaid. A policy like that could have added $180,000 to the city budget during the past five years, and furthermore, other utility users are subsidizing those that don’t pay their bills.

Landlords are offering fast and obvious objection, asking the city council why it should be their responsibility to pay for a bill that someone else racked up. Another plan has been proposed though, one that would require a deposit from every person opening up a utility account.

This change in policy would involve a number of changes such as a mandate that a property owner co-sign for a renter’s account. Tenants would be billed on their own account but have an open landlord account for each property. Unpaid bills would be transferred to the landlord’s account if the tenant doesn’t pay.

Deposit requirements would go from $150 to $200, and would be necessary for all accounts, regardless of their past credit history. Property owners would be notified of delinquencies, and they would be encouraged to get in touch with the city to determine if the bill got paid before returning rental deposits. All property owners would have to keep utilities in their names.

Proponents of the plan say that it is not out of line with what other cities are doing, and it is a simpler and more cost efficient way to collect money. Collection agencies receive about one third of what they collect in the city, and 60 percent of bills that go to collection remain unpaid.

No matter what decision they arrive to, it should be quick: city officials are noting a trend towards fewer people making deposits and more accounts being sent out for collection.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery solution, a credit collection agency. Our aim is to collect as much of your cash as possible.