West Seattle Blog...

WSB Forum » Open Discussion

(17 posts)

Class action suit?

Started 1 year ago by anonyme
Latest reply from redblack

anonyme
Member Profile

This is not really West Seattle related, but I'm interested in hearing if anyone else has had this problem. If so, we might be able to join forces and sue these MF's (forgive the language, but in this case it might even be literal).

For months now, I've been harassed on the phone by a California collection agency working under the umbrella of Worldwide Recoveries LLC. Sometimes they call themselves by other names, such as P&R Associates, but all calls are from the same phone bank.

Here's the crazy part. They're not looking for me or anyone related to me. I don't owe any debts. They're looking for someone who sold the house I now live in 13 years ago. That person is now DEAD. My phone number did not exist at the time the dead guy lived here, so they had to have done some tracking to come up with my name and my number. Wouldn't you think they'd know the guy is dead?

I've called the Attorney General's office and will probably file a complaint. However, I also want to sue them. I know you can take them to small claims and win up to $1,000 even if you can't prove damages. QWest won't give me my own phone records without a subpoena. Has anyone else done this, or had experience with a similar situation?

Posted 1 year ago #
westseattledood
Member Profile

With all due respect,

If I were you, I would get on the horn and file the complaint with the AG's office and whomever else the AG's office will suggest you contact to rattle their cage. At a minimum, I would have all of the names of the companies and their mailing addresses at hand. Better yet, I would have already written letters to each offending company stating the facts and requesting that they update their databases accordingly and cc the AG's office of not just Washington, but also the states in which those entities are operating out of. Then, I would let the AG's office take care of it.

Attorney fees are not inexpensive. Lawsuits are a drain not just financially, but emotionally. Are a few months of irritation worth it? It sure would not be to me. And certainly not enough to sue somebody over. Write a few letters first before you start spending money to sue somebody, because in all likelihood, that is what you will end up paying an attorney to do for you. And, sure, you could find an attorney who will be glad to take your money to do that for ya'. But why?

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
Member Profile

WSD: I have no intention of hiring an attorney. For me, this would be a small claim's case, if it becomes a case at all. I would really rather not deal with any of it, but I think these companies run roughshod over the law and need to be taught a lesson. The callers have been quite abusive, with absolutely nothing to gain.

Posted 1 year ago #
waterworld
Member Profile

I suggest you contact the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC enforces the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The link below will take you to their FAQ and contact information.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm

The Washington Attorney General has an office of Consumer Protection. You can find out more about that division and how to contact them at this link:

http://www.atg.wa.gov/page.aspx?id=1792

Also, I don't think you can file a class action case in small claims court. I think it's limited to your own personal claim. That's something you could check with a lawyer about to find out.

Posted 1 year ago #
Carson
Member Profile

I have a very common name and several years ago I was getting regular and quite harassing phone calls about my Macys and other credit cards (none were mine). At first I was nice and said its not me, they asked me to verify my last 4 of my SS#, I always refused. Eventually I got sick and tired of it and just started to be as abusive as I could when they called. The stuff would make a sailor blush. Finally the "owner" called me and asked what was up. I gave him the story, he again asked me to just give him the last 4 of my SS# and they could clear it up. I said not a chance. Finally I told him what he could do is sue me and take me into court, I would happily hand that info over to the judge but that was it. They stopped calling me.

Posted 1 year ago #
cjboffoli
Member Profile

anonyme: I've come to not expect very much from the AG's office. Our government in Olympia often seems like nothing but a factory that sends out form letters telling you they will keep a record of your complaint and nothing more.

But with that said, you might check with the Secretary of State's office. A California company would need to have a certificate of authority to do business in Washington State. If they don't have one (and many of the more fly-by-night companies don't) they could be fined and prohibited from doing business here until they are in compliance.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
Member Profile

Waterworld: sorry my posts haven't been very clear. I thought if a lot of other people were having the same experience with this company, we could join forces and file a class action. I did a little online research and this company is no stranger to lawsuits. As an individual, I would go through small claims.

CJ, do they have to have the certificate in order to call from California? Unfortunately, I agree with you about the AG's office. You file a complaint, the respondent denies the charges, and that's that. They don't do any investigation on their own.

Carson: sounds like you've had a similar experience, and I confess to responding in a similar fashion. I think a couple of these guys were shocked at what can come out of the mouth of a little old lady...

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

Posted 1 year ago #
Carson
Member Profile

anonyme,

When I did it, it worked very well. I simply told them if they didn't like the way I spoke to them then all they had to do was stop calling me. It did cause a little tension with my ex who told me I can't speak to people that way, but being the stubborn guy I am, I persisted.

Posted 1 year ago #
westseattledood
Member Profile

Get Jesse Jones | KING5.com | Contact KING 5 and KING5.com
Send E-mail: getjesse@king5.com
Phone: 1-877-51-JESSE (1-877-515-3773)

Filing complaints with AG's offices may not produce the immediate results most people assume should follow, but if folks don't make formal complaints, how are states going to
be able to track patterns of bad businesses? Your notion of finding other complainants is good but class action suits have
minimum standards to be filled which are more effectively
determined and pursued by consumer protection experts
who can impact more broadly - *if* they have complaints to
work with.

Here's another idea to add to all the good suggestions folks
have presented.

Drop an email to Jesse Jones with all of the details and see
what might come of his team applying their resources to the matter.

Good luck.

Posted 1 year ago #
GAnative
Member Profile

The Today show had a story on this topic this morning and mentioned a couple that is in the process of suing the collection agency.

Hopefully this link works...

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/3041440/vp/39737563#39737563

Posted 1 year ago #
bsmomma
Member Profile

I'll have to pay attention to who the company is next time but I get calls and Loooong computer messages for the previous owners ex-husband! They're not nice. Once I asked how they had MY phone number of which I've had for 7+ years tied to this fantastic guy?! And the response was, "Don't worry about it. Is so and so there?" Of course my answer was, "Don't worry about it." click. Our phone # is unlisted. How they figured out our number was tied to this new address is kind of scary.

Posted 1 year ago #
guidosmom
Member Profile

I have a common last name and often get calls looking for someone with my last name. It gets old... I even had one from "Asset Acceptance" call about 20 times after telling them who they were looking for was not at that number. They even had the nerve to ask me for my ss#! What finally made them stop calling, whenever they would call we would answer but just put the phone down. A few times we would scream or play something really loud into the phone.

Posted 1 year ago #
Bonnie
Member Profile

What I can't figure out is why they think they can call you? Do they really think they are going to get anywhere? They must bleed money out of people occasionally who don't know better and they are hoping that you are one of those people. What a waste of time.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
Member Profile

Bonnie, I can't figure that out either, although I'm more scared since watching GAnatives Today show link. There appears to be a flood of fraudulent cases being brought by debt buyers. They are getting judgments against people completely unconnected to a debt, based on false or flimsy evidence presented in court. The innocent party never even knows about the suit, because the summons is sent to a false address. The debt buyers are fully aware that they have targeted an innocent third party. Unbelievable. Since this company has not responded to any level of reason, I fear they may go this route. I guess I'll just have to beat them to court. What a waste of time, indeed.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
Member Profile

Even if you are unlisted your phone number is available through reverse directories. _

Posted 1 year ago #
HunterG
Member Profile

Yeah, get Jesse! Love that guy.

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
Member Profile

boffoli: not so fast! i used the gregoire-era AG's office as a pit bull on a company 10 years ago, and they were very effective for contract enforcement. they saved me the trouble of suing privately.

Posted 1 year ago #