Arkansas Blog

"Government regulators", now that's a laugh. T.R. would be appalled

Why does it take soooo long to post here?.

About a year ago a debt collection agency got in its head that my cell phone number belonged to some guy they were trying to track down. Even though I told them I was not the guy, and had no knowledge of him, they kept calling - often times being demanding and rude. My letter to the AG's office was quickly passed off on another state agency (the name of which I do not recall), which apparently ignored my complaint - as I never heard from them. Letters to the company's legal dept. didn't seem to do much good either. Finally, after about 6 months of annoyance the calls stopped. Just another example of the contempt that the business community has for the public. BTW - a Google search of the collection company found one reference that described them as "...a class action suit waiting to happen..."

Could be because the AG's office is run by a Democrat.

There's a special place in hell for nasty talking bill collectors AND nursing home owners.

My most recent credit card gripe hasn't been about a bill collector but about an company selling insurance to cover the outstanding bill (which is usually about $25) in case of job loss, etc. When my husband handed me the phone, both because I take care of family business and because he had just gotten out of the hospital and didn't want to deal with it, the caller refused to talk to me.
That particular company called repeatedly and always refused to talk to me. To get it stopped, it took an irate call to the credit card company explaining that I wield the scissors in this household.

I'm surprised the Repubs haven't brought back debtor prison.

Last year's bankruptcies legislation was one big sell out of the middle class in favor of the banks/credit card companies. And, given that over fifty percent of bankruptcies (last year) were due to medical bills, our Republican government has, once again, demonstrated that it's all about money, not about people...greedy bastards all.

I just received my third collection call from Orchard Bank. I had no clue that there was such a thing as an Orchard Bank. I was nice the first time and spent an hour on the phone with three different departments there. Once they verified that my number had been added by an overzealous collector, they said it would be removed from that account. Apparently, a new collection tactic is to find people that live in or around the city of the actual account holder with a similar name and if a phone number works ZAP they attach it to the account regardless if it is for that person or not. I was not so nice on the second call and really not nice today on third call when they promised me that this was their first call. How do I get rid of these people?

Banana Rep,

I think you can write them a letter and ask that they stop calling you, especially if they call at work, even if you do owe them money.

do you have call blocking available, or caller ID?

They just call at home. That is the only # they have and they have it only becuase my name is similar to someone with an actual account with them who apparently is behind on it. I do have caller ID and it shows a 1-800 number when they call so not knowing who it is, I answer. I hate that we have to resort to screening phone calls but I guess that's what I should do. It is annoying! They actually asked me for my social and I said no way. They were able to rule out that I was their person by other data that I did give but I refused my social. They keep calling even after they agreed that I'm not their man.

I sold a business five years ago, and just today I received a bill (addressed to my former business) from a company called Lease Finance Group out of Chicago.
I have not had the chance to call them, and I have no idea who they are.
Anybody familiar with this company? I googled it and they have lots of complaints lodged against them.