If your student loans are past due, you may be extremely stressed out and an aggressive debt collector can make the situation even worse. Remember that no matter how much you owe, a collection agency must treat you with respect or face penalties.
Your Rights Under the FDCPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, imposes strict guidelines on how third-party debt collectors can communicate with you. Collection tactics like those below are illegal and give you grounds to sue a company that uses them on you.
● Calling you before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
● Calling you abusive names over the phone and in voice mails
● Trying to convince you that you’ll be arrested and jailed if you don’t pay
● Inflating the amount of the original debt with illegal collection fees
● Calling your friends and family and telling them that you owe money
● Pretending to be attorneys or federal agents
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Company Profile: McKelvey Law Office
If you are being called by McKelvey Law Office, more information about the firm is below.
McKelvey Law Office is a debt collection law office in Buffalo, New York. It opened for business in 1972, has fewer than 10 employees, and is managed by Terrence McKelvey. Legal files at the PACER website indicate that consumers who believed that they were being harassed by McKelvey Law Office went to court to fight back.
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Alleged Violations against McKelvey Law Office*
According to information on the PACER website, on or around June 2007, McKelvey Law Office allegedly began calling a Colorado consumer to collect a debt. She claimed that callers threatened to take her to court if she didn’t pay and said that she would have to pay over $12,000.00 in attorney’s fees and court costs if she did not pay the debt. They also allegedly threatened to place a lien on her residence.
Feeling harassed by McKelvey Law Office, the consumer hired counsel and sued the firm for:
● Threatening actions it could not legally take
● Using false, deceptive, and misleading means to collect a debt
● Using harassing and abusive means to collect a debt
● Using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt
The matter was later settled.
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Hire a Consumer Lawyer
The phone number for this debt collection law firm is 1-716-424-2070. If you see it on your caller ID, it means that McKelvey Law Office is trying to collect a debt from you. If they threaten legal actions that they have no intention of taking, hire a consumer lawyer and file a claim against McKelvey Law Office. The company could be ordered to pay you $1,000 per FDCPA violation, so when it crosses the line, it could end up in debt to you instead.
*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). Case 1:07-cv-02011-REB-MJW from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
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Additional Resources
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 McKelvey Law Office or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.