Are You Being Called By ProCollect, Inc.?*

The collection industry is a huge one, with literally billions of dollars being collected each year. If you are targeted by a debt collector, you may be faced with harassing calls, letters, and threats, all designed to make you pay more quickly.

Such conduct is illegal, so if it happens to you, act on your rights and fight back.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, provides you with legal protection no matter how much you owe. Any debt collector that uses these types of collection strategies on you can be fined thousands of dollars and closed permanently.

• Calling you before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Trying to make you pay a debt discharged in an earlier bankruptcy
• Demanding amounts not supported by law or the original creditor agreement
• Using profane and obscene language
• Demanding payment for a time-barred debt
• Pretending to be lawyers and federal agents

Company Profile: ProCollect, Inc.

If you are being called by ProCollect, Inc., below is an overview of the company’s background and operation.

ProCollect, Inc. is a debt collection agency in Dallas, Texas. It opened for business in 1995, has 27 employees, and is managed by owner Barry Curtis. The company has a B- rating with the Better Business Bureau due to 315 complaints filed against the company.

Files retained by the PACER website confirm that consumers who believed that they were being harassed by ProCollect, Inc. did not back down and pay.

Alleged Violations against ProCollect, Inc.

According to PACER, on or around May 5, 2009, ProCollect, Inc. sent a collection letter to a Texas consumer. She sent a dispute letter on May 22, asking for validation of the debt, and added (in the letter) “Contact me by mail only. NEVER contact me by any other methods.”

The agency allegedly sent an incomplete validation package, so the consumer sent another dispute letter. She stated again, “You may only contact me by mail.” When the agency responded, it allegedly failed to send a complete package yet again and, despite her request to do otherwise, began calling her to collect the debt.

Feeling harassed by ProCollect, Inc., the consumer retained an attorney and sued the agency for these alleged violations of the FDCPA:

• Communicating with her at a time and place known to be inconvenient
• Failing to send a complete validation package

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this debt collection agency are:

• 1-214-341-7788
• 1-800-839-8166
• 1-800-839-8186

If you see them on your caller ID when the phone rings, it means that you are being called by ProCollect, Inc. If they persist in calling you after you tell them to stop, they have violated the FDCPA, so hire a consumer lawyer and file a claim against ProCollect, Inc.

You could be awarded $1,000 in statutory damages plus your attorney fees, so act on your rights when a debt collector is in the wrong.

Additional Resources

• What Do I Need to File an FDCPA Claim?
• Do I Need a Lawyer To Sue a Collection Agency?

Case taken from PACER (pacer.gov). File number is Case 4:10-cv-01859 from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

*Disclaimer: The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be constructed as legal advice. If you file a claim against ProCollect, Inc. or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.