Is Advanced Recovery Services Calling You?*

Is Advanced Recovery Services calling you? Here’s what you need to know.

Debt collectors can overstep their bounds when it comes to collecting your overdue accounts. Some call you at all hours of the day and night while others threaten to have you arrested or reveal the existence of your debt to your friends and family. If this happens to you, be prepared to act on your rights.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, was enacted in 1977 to provide indebted consumers with protection against abusive debt collection practices like those below:

• Using profane and obscene language
• Contacting you even after you’ve ordered them to cease communications
• Calling you before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Telling uninvolved third parties like your friends and co-workers that you owe money
• Calling you at your workplace when they know that your employer doesn’t permit you to take such calls
• Demanding an amount that is not supported by law or the original debt agreement

Company Profile: Advanced Recovery Services

Advanced Recovery Services is a debt collection agency located in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was established in 1987, has less than 10 employees, and is managed by Dianna Spaulding. The agency’s primary focus is collecting medical debt. Records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website indicate that Advanced Recovery Services has been accused of collection practices that violate the FDCPA.

Alleged Violations against Advanced Recovery Services

Larry Allen Coleman and Penny Sue Coleman vs. I.P.A.C.S., Inc d/b/a Advanced Recovery Services

According to PACER**, beginning in June 2013, Advanced Recovery Services started contacting Indiana residents Larry and Penny Coleman to collect a debt they had incurred to Union Hospital. In addition to letters, the Colemans received a litany of collection calls to their individual cell phones, most of which subjected them to a pre-recorded message before speaking with a live operator.

When the Colemans advised that they were in an active Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Advanced Recovery Services allegedly said that unless the Union Hospital debt was included in their bankruptcy, then they would continue to receive calls. Collectors also allegedly warned that if the Colemans didn’t pay, they would face a garnishment, so they hired a consumer attorney and sued Advanced Recovery Services for the following alleged FDCPA violations:

• Contacting them directly when they were represented by an attorney regarding the debt
• Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt
• Threatening legal action it had no intention of taking
• Engaging in collection actions against consumers that were under the protection of the Automatic Stay

The matter was later settled.

Hire an FDCPA Attorney

The phone number for Advanced Recovery Services is 1-812-478-2784. If it appears on your caller ID when the phone rings, a debt collector is calling. If they attempt to collect a debt that is included in a recent bankruptcy, hire an attorney right away. If the matter goes to court, Advanced Recovery Services could be compelled to pay you $1,000 per FDCPA violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. No matter how much you owe, it must be collected in accordance with the law, or consequences could result.

**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is (Case 2:15-cv-00265-WTL-DKL from United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division)

*Disclaimer:

The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Advanced Recovery Services or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.