Anyone can encounter financial difficulties. One day you are making regular payments towards your credit card bills, student loan accounts, and other obligations, and the next day you are laid off, had your hours dramatically reduced, or become unable to work. Once you have missed a certain number of payments, the accounts will be turned over to third-party debt collectors, who can be persistent to the point of harassment.
Your Rights Under the FDCPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a consumer protection law that was passed in 1977, regulates the way that debt collectors can deal with consumers while attempting to collect payments. Actions like the following are prohibited and illegal.
- Calling at inconvenient times, namely before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in the consumer’s time zone
- Cursing and raising their voice
- Talking to your friends, neighbors, and coworkers about the debt
- Failing or refusing to report a debt as disputed to the credit bureaus
- Telling you that you have committed a crime like fraud and will be arrested
- Making threats they have no intention of following up on, such as garnishing your wages or filing a lawsuit
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Company Profile: Financial Management Services, Inc.
If you are being called by Financial Management Services, Inc., information about the company is below.
Financial Management Services, Inc. is collection agency located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was established in 1993, has a branch operation in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and is managed by its President, John Smith. Records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website indicate that many consumers who felt they were being harassed by Financial Management Services, Inc. sued the company for alleged FDCPA violations.
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Alleged Violations against Financial Management Services, Inc.
According to PACER, In or around March of 2011, Financial Management Services, Inc. allegedly began placing repeated collection calls to a New York resident. The company was seeking payment on a debt owed by a Kevin Lenord.
The plaintiff repeatedly informed the callers that she was not Lenord, that Lenord did not use her phone number and that he did not reside there. Despite her requests for the contact to cease, the calls allegedly continued.
Feeling harassed by Financial Management Services, Inc., the plaintiff hired a consumer attorney and sued the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA by causing her phone to ring constantly and refusing to stop when requested.
The matter was later dismissed.
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Hire an FDCPA Attorney
The phone numbers for this collection agency are as follows:
If you see any of these numbers on your caller ID when the phone rings, you are being called by Financial Management Services, Inc., presumably about a debt they are trying to collect. If they keep calling you while looking for someone else and do not stop when requested, hire a consumer attorney. If you file a claim against Financial Management Services, Inc. and win, you could potentially receive $1,000 per violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. Collecting a debt may be legal, but violating the FDCPA in the process is not.
*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 2:11-cv-04355-MKB-ARL from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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 Financial Management Services, Inc., or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.