Is Atlas Collections, Inc Calling You?*

Is Atlas Collections, Inc Calling You? Learn how to protect your rights!

Every month there are always bills to pay: credit cards, medical bills, student loans and mortgages. When we experience an unexpected setback like job loss or illness, debt that was once manageable can become a financial nightmare.

Once we miss a certain number of payments, debt collectors will start calling, when can be stressful and upsetting. It’s important to remember, however, that you have rights no matter how much you owe.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

In 1977 Congress passed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA to protect indebted consumers from unethical debt collection practices. Under this consumer protection law, deceptive and harassing tactics like those below became illegal:

• Using profane or obscene language
• Calling non-stop with the intention of annoying and harassing you
• Calling you at work when they know that your employer prohibits such calls
• Calling at inconvenient times, such as before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Ignoring a formal request to cease communications
• Threatening action they cannot legally take or have no intention of taking

Company Profile: Atlas Collections, Inc

Atlas Collections, Inc is a debt collection agency located in Yorktown, Indiana. It was established in 1984, has less than 10 employees, and is managed by its owner, John Fisher Jr.

Records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirm that Atlas Collections, Inc has been sued for allegedly using debt collection methods that violate the FDCPA.

Alleged Violations against Atlas Collections, Inc

Betty Jackson vs. Atlas Collections, Inc

According to PACER**, in or around early 2012, Atlas Collections, Inc began contacting New York resident Betty Jackson on a regular basis to collect an HSBC debt it had purchased from another collection agency. Collectors allegedly called her at her workplace and told one employee that Atlas Collections, Inc was a process serving company that was trying to serve Ms. Jackson with a summons and complaint.

On another occasion, she was allegedly paged over the company loudspeaker during a business meeting to answer an “important business call”, which turned out to be from a collector.

During one conversation with a male collector, Ms. Jackson was allegedly shouted at, with the man yelling, “Don’t interrupt me! You haven’t handled this in years!” Another conversation took place soon afterward, during which a collector allegedly refused to validate the debt and threatened to serve her with papers at work.

Ms. Jackson finally hired a consumer attorney and sued Atlas Collections, Inc for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Using profane and obscene language
• Contacting her at work after being told to stop
• Discussing her debt with other employees
• Threatening legal action that never transpired
• Refusing to validate the debt
• Using the telephone to harass her
• Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for Atlas Collections, Inc are:

• 1-765-289-2114
• 1-800-628-0803

If either number appears on your caller ID when the phone rings, a debt collector may be attempting to reach you about a debt it has been assigned to collect. If they try to humiliate you into paying by letting you co-workers know about the debt and yell at you over the phone, hire an attorney.

Such pressure tactics are illegal under the FDCPA, and during a court action you could potentially receive $1,000 per FDCPA violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. If Atlas Collections, Inc goes too far, the law helps you push back.

**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is (Case 1:12-cv-00353-RJA from United States District Court for the Western 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 If Atlas Collections, Inc or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.