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.

Texas Toll Booths Shape Up And Ship Out

In Dallas, the North Texas Tollway Authority, an authority that is responsible for collecting tolls, has been scrutinized for months due to its toll collecting policy. This policy charges drivers who do not pay up at the toll booth fines of hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. Because the NTTA has been under fire in the public eye, it announced today two steps it says that will target improving customer satisfaction.

The first measure that the NTTA took was to allow all drivers to use the electronic toll collection lanes, including those who do not have one. They are able to do this without being punished with a twenty five dollar fine.

Before this measure, drivers without toll tags that utilized the electronic lanes on the Dallas North Tollway were seen at as violators and would be fined twenty five dollars for each time they passed through an electronic toll booth, rather than a cash booth after the fact.

However, after February eighth, the drivers lacking a toll tag who use the electronic lanes will be given the opportunity to pay for the tolls before being slammed with the additional twenty five dollar fine. But these toll charges will continue to be calculated at the cash rate, which is twice as high as the rates paid by toll tag consumers.

Unfortunately, the change won’t affect the NTTA’s collections policy in any other way and it will not stop consumers without toll tags who do not pay toll bills mailed to their homes from being charged twenty five dollars for every unpaid toll. This is a policy that can turn a week’s worth of tolls into a thousand dollar bill.

The NTTA’s second move was to appoint an internal auditor as a sort of mediator, which will be available to frustrated customers who have first complained their way through NTTA customer service hierarchy without a result that satisfied them. The auditor will then review the account and determine if customer service and billing reps have followed their own rules.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution, a nationwide collection agency. Looking for credit card services or skip tracing? Contact us today.

The Reasons You May Want A Home Equity Loan

Many people today are feeling the economic crunch and may be interested in getting a loan. You may be in the position that you must consolidate your debts, repair your home, pay for education of your children, pay for medical care, or purchase a large item. You may perhaps be eligible to apply for a home equity loan that would help you in being able to achieve your goal.

There are differences between other loans and this one. You, as the homeowner and borrower, use the equity that you have accumulated in your home and use is to apply for a loan. Your greatest asset, which is your home, is now considered collateral against a loan. This reduces the equity since the lending institution has now placed a lien on your property.

How would you qualify for this loan? One of the first things that the lender will look into is your credit history. The better your credit the easier it will be to get the loan. You must have a good credit score.

To establish eligibility the lending institution will also examine two ratios. These ratios will examine the debt to income and loan to value. Debt to income ratio needs to prove that you are not spending over 36% of your income, in fact it should be below that 36% figure. Then the second ratio, which is loan to value, means that you could borrow up to 80% of the worth of your asset taking into account mortgages or liens that exist on the property.

Equity loans usually have a shorter term attached to them than the regular mortgages. In some countries, citizens can benefit by using the interest payments as a deduction on income taxes. This loan is generally paid in a lump sum with the interest at a fixed rate. This is not always the case as it could be negotiable.

An important point to remember is that these are secured loans. This signifies that should one default on it the lender is liable to possess your property since you used is as your collateral. In this case the lender would own the asset so your inheritors would not inherit. The lender could sell it to recoup the loaned amount.

A benefit that you will find with these loans is the low interest rate. The rates are much lower than the rates on credit cards but tend to be higher than your first mortgage interest rate would be. When you are approved for a loan there are some closing costs. These costs could include the cost of property appraisal, application for loan, and title search. You may feel that this loan may meet your needs.

Thank you for reading our Helpnets article on home equity loan in your search for help with home equity loan online. Visit Helpnets.com today for all your online help needs.