Is Asset Maximization Group, Inc. calling you? Here’s what you need to know.
Most of us carry some form of debt: car payments, mortgages, credit card, and student loans. A recent article in Fortune.com estimated that American households carry an average credit card balance of nearly $16,000.
When it becomes impossible to keep up the minimum payments, these accounts may be turned over to third-party debt collectors, who could push the borders of harassment when it comes to collecting money.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) limits what third-party debt collectors can say or do to you while attempting to collect debt payments. In particular, it prohibits them from doing any of the following:
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- Calling you at all hours of the day and night
- Swearing and making threats they cannot legally follow up on
- Calling you at work after you tell them that your boss doesn’t allow such calls
- Telling your friends, co-workers, and neighbors that you owe money
- Calling you demeaning names
- Failing to report to the credit bureaus that a debt is in dispute
Some debt collectors cross the line anyway, because their methods stress cash-strapped consumers into paying. The people, unaware of the rights they have under the FDCPA, only want the harassment to stop.
Asset Maximization Group, Inc is a collection agency located in South Richmond Hill, New York. It was established in 2002 and is a smaller company, with less than 10 employees, According to the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system, Asset Maximization Group, Inc has been sued for allegedly violating the FDCPA during debt collection attempts.
Susan Breen and Nelly Sanchez v. Asset Maximization Group, Inc
According to PACER**, sometime prior to November 2015, New York residents Susan Breen and Nelly Sanchez incurred a personal debt that allegedly went into arrears and was assigned to Asset Maximization Group, Inc for collection. On the agency’s website, they noticed that a “convenience fee” of $4.95 was charged for all check payments, and credit card transactions made by New York residents incurred an added fee of 3%. The website stated that payments would not be accepted unless the consumer agreed to the convenience fees.
Concerned about these added charges, Ms. Breen and Ms. Sanchez hired a consumer attorney and filed a complaint accusing Asset Maximization Group, Inc of the following FDCPA violations:
- Trying to collect any interest, fee, charge, or expense that was not is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law ( §1692f(1))
- Using false, deceptive, or misleading representations or means in connection with the collection of the debt (§1692e(2)(a))
The matter was later dismissed.
The phone numbers for Asset Maximization Group, Inc are 1-800-280-9770 and 1-718-371-7000. If either number appears on your caller ID, a debt collector is attempting to reach you to settle a debt. If they attempt to make you pay charges that are not authorized by the original creditor agreement or by state law, contact a consumer attorney who can help you protect your rights and take Asset Maximization Group, Inc to court for violating the FDCPA.
You could win statutory damages of $1,000 per violation , providing the agency with a stern reminder that pursuit of money does not entitle them to break the law.
**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is (Case 1:15-cv-08900-RWS, from United States District Court, Southern District of New York)
*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 Asset Maximization Group, Inc or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.