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2008 - 2009 FCRA - FDCPA violations

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The liars at Trans Union - time for my published FTC complaint

Trans Union attorney Tiffany Cox with Strasburger IGNORED my 8/25/09 email about numerous issues including the INCOMPLETE Trans Union credit reports at TrueCredit.  Most important, it appears that you can NOT obtain your COMPLETE Trans Union credit report unless you dispute.  The investigation results contain the scheduled deletion dates and ALL inquiries including soft account review inquiries and promos.

I just logged into TrueCredit and the advertisements and constant questions about personal information that are NONE of their business are so incredibly offensive.  They’re SELLING the info you provide to marketers and of course they’ll inundate you with obnoxious ads for the worst products while at the TrueCredit site.

Since attorney Tiffany Cox and Trans Union ignore me, I decided “chat with a virtual agent.” Here’s the transcript:

Jenny Says: Just type ‘HI’ or ‘Hello’ in the space below to let me know you are there.

You: Hi

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

Jenny Says: This TrueCredit exclusive offer is available through this chat. CLICK HERE to take advantage of this deal.

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

Jenny Says: Hi, thanks for chatting with me… to return to truecredit.com and sign up for 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring for only $14.95/month CLICK HERE

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

Jenny Says: Would you like to find out more about this offer?

You: no

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

Jenny Says: You can’t erase the past, but you can definitely work on improving the future. Improving your credit is doable with bit of knowledge and patience. CLICK HERE for more information.

You: are you a real person?

Jenny Says: By checking all three of your credit reports, you can make sure you are maintaining a healthy credit profile.

Jenny Says: My name is Jenny and I’m a live virtual agent.

You: what is a “virtual” agent?

Jenny Says: Don’t pass this opportunity up; remember we would like to offer you monitoring of all three of your credit reports and scores for just $14.95! There’s no obligation and you can cancel any time. CLICK HERE to take advantage of this deal!

You: are you a living human being?

Jenny Says: I’m actually a virtual agent.  I’m here to help you with your credit. Virtual is a computer simulation of a real chat

Jenny Says: My name is Jenny and I’m a live virtual agent.

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports

Jenny Says: With 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring you will have the ability to get immediate access to all three of your credit reports AND credit scores that can be updated every 30 days. ...

Unbelievable.

Trans Union uses http://www.upsellit.com/—“automated chat agents”

How STUPID are Americans?

THAT stupid!

You know that Trans Union wouldn’t pay upsellit if this crap didn’t work.

And that the FTC lets Trans Union get away with these lies and invasion of privacy is just amazing.  In the 90s, the FTC continually sued Trans Union y with tketing.  Now, Trans Union gets away with these blatant lies and the FTC does NOTHING.

See http://credit-reporting-collection-ftc-complaints.info/ for other complaints the FTC entirely IGNORED.

Obama is the EXACT SAME CROOK as Bush. 

Be afraid, be very afraid.

And STOP paying your credit cards if you’re (nearly) judgment proof or you are a true patriot and willing to put up a fight.

STOP acting like a hamster running on a wheel in the cage.  We do NOT have to pay the banks, we do NOT have to pay for credit reports, we do NOT have to pay income tax and we do NOT have to finance this corrupt system.  There ARE alternatives. You have CHOICES.

Choose wisely.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Missouri Attorney General sues Portfolio Recovery Associates for FRAUD

Too cool!

My published complaint: http://credit-reporting-collection-ftc-complaints.info/category/portfolio-recovery-associates/

Of course the FTC did NOTHING.

But apparently the MN AG contacted Portfolio and while I haven’t even had time to update yet, they also deleted the inquiry.  Here’s the MO press release:

August 18, 2009

Attorney General Koster takes action against fraudulent debt collectors--Koster says businesses tried to collect debts people didn’t owe--
St. Louis, Mo. - Attorney General Chris Koster today filed suit against two debt collection companies that are operating scams to collect debts from citizens who do not owe the money.

Koster filed law suits in St. Louis against Portfolio Recovery Associates, a public company based in Virginia, and Professional Debt Management located in Kansas City.

Koster said Portfolio buys old and bankruptcy-discharged debt, often from another bad debt buyer, and then tries to collect, sometimes through court action. He said the company often is attempting to collect on accounts that are already paid or have been discharged in bankruptcy; sometimes they try to collect from the wrong consumer or for the wrong amounts. He said the company has threatened to garnish consumers’ social security checks, which they have no authority to do, and has refused to provide consumers with proof that the debt is valid.

Koster said Professional Debt Management uses scare tactics, leaving messages on consumers’ phones that there is an emergency. He said that like Portfolio, they attempt to collect on accounts already paid or from the wrong party.

“The Attorney General’s office intends to take aggressive action to protect Missouri consumers,” Koster said. “I am asking the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting these companies from violating consumer protection laws and to order that they provide full restitution to the people they have harmed.”

Koster also is asking that the court impose monetary penalties and require the companies to pay all court costs.

The feds so totally sold out.

It’s up to the states to protect their citizens.  Unfortunately, that will come at a cost much greater than if the FTC did its job and protected consumers nationwide.

In the InsideARM article about the MO suit Portfolio claims to have a “good relationship” with the MO AG and they’re complaining about no notice of the lawsuit.  If you read my complaint, you can see that they IGNORE communications even from me and I’m known to publish my collection experiences.

And exactly WHY should they have received advance notice?

So they can resolve the complaints with the AG and CONTINUE to screw people?

That’s exactly what usually happens.  Long-time readers might recall my suit against American Agencies in 2003, their dismissal based on PERJURY by Experian’s Kimberly Hughes and the FTC investigation.  Of course the FTC did NOTHING whatsoever to stop their illegal collection practices and as a result, I keep getting reader complaints about American Agencies. 

American Agencies recently even ignored a cease and desist mailed certified and continually threatens and harasses people for OLD debts that are completely undocumented and often fraudulent.

Thanks FTC!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Cuomo sues collection attorneys - default judgments to be vacated

Cuomo Sues Debt Collectors, Law Firms to Toss Default Judgments

By Edvard Pettersson

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sued 35 law firms and two debt collection agencies to throw out about 100,000 default judgments he said were improperly obtained in debt-related lawsuits.

Cuomo said in court papers filed July 21 in Buffalo, New York, that the firms and debt collectors relied on American Legal Process to notify the defendants they faced lawsuits and that the company failed to properly serve the consumers with legal papers. In April, Cuomo brought criminal charges against American Legal Process and its owner, William Singler.

“Our legal system is defined by due process and the guarantee that every New Yorker will get the chance to defend him or herself in court,” Cuomo said yesterday in a statement. “ALP’s scheme undermined the foundation of this system and denied thousands of individuals their day in court.”

Cuomo is asking the court to throw out default judgments, where the defendants failed to respond, in cases in which the law firms used American Legal Process to serve the defendants and in which the firms can’t provide evidence other than the company’s statements that the defendants were properly served.

Cuomo said in April that Singler and Long Island-based American Legal Process ran a fraudulent business scheme from January 2007 to October 2008 in which the company claimed to have served 98,000 debt-lawsuit summonses and complaints. The firm is also accused of concealing the fraud by falsifying sworn affidavits of proper service.

Corey Winograd, a lawyer representing Singler, didn’t return a call to his office seeking comment yesterday.

The case is In the matter of the petition of the Honorable Ann Pfau, I2009-8236, New York State Supreme Court, County of Erie (Buffalo.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at .

Last Updated: July 23, 2009 00:01 EDT

This is certainly great news for the people who were allegedly served by American Legal Process.  However, does anyone really believe these practices are limited to NY?  It seems like NY and MN and occasionally VA are the only states with any enforcement.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

The Vantage Score FRAUD—it’s NOT the score used by lenders!

I just tried to get my free annual credit report from Trans Union and it is so incredibly irritating to see how people are DEFRAUDED by the credit bureaus.

Christine, we want to let you know what’s changed since your last visit.

TransUnion is pleased to feature VantageScore, the only credit score developed and used by all three national credit bureaus.

We know you’ll enjoy this new credit score because of the following valuable benefits:

Easy-to-understand—each score includes an academic grade, so you’ll automatically know how you rank

Consistent—since it’s used by all three credit bureaus, there’s no guessing about your credit

Accurate—based upon extensive knowledge and data to ensure you’ll receive a score that accurately represents your credit profile.

Please note that your VantageScore is based upon a different score range than past credit scores you may have accessed through TransUnion. Your score will now range from 501-990, with 990 being the highest score.

Christine, we’re confident that once you see your VantageScore, you’ll agree that change is a good thing!

UNBELIEVABLE!

It’s time for a published FTC complaint about the CRAs’ credit scoring fraud.

These scores are NOT used to rate mortgages and MOST credit applications.

I’m working on my response to the TU motion for summary judgment and that’s why I’m getting my credit report—otherwise I wouldn’t bother getting the TU report.  And, as usually, I can’t get my free annual report and that idiotic TU system defaults to TrueCredit and their incomplete reports.  So I had to order their monitoring and that’s even more aggravating.  From being unable to enter my correct address “103-156” (no hyphens allowed) to the OBNOXIOUS ads and TU’s aggressive marketing of CRAP and FRAUD.

Also please see the recently UPDATED Credit Scoring Basics for more info on credit scores.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

FTC / AG complaint #2:  Portfolio Recovery FDCPA and FCRA violations - credit inquiry

I posted my complaint to the FTC and my client’s complaint with MN AG Lori Swanson and the VA AG:

Complaint #2: Portfolio Recovery complaint to FTC and MN and VA AGs

It is truly AMAZING to see that a MAJOR debt buyer like Portfolio simply IGNORES me!

Of course that doesn’t go over well with me and I gladly spent the 20+ hours to get this complaint mailed and posted.

Everybody with Portfolio collection problems PLEASE file your complaints.