Are You Being Called By Berks Credit Collections?

When a debt collector demands payment from you, they may tell you that you have no choice but to pay the debt. This is not true. If you don’t owe the money or the debt is too old to be collected, you can order the collection agency to stop contacting you. If they refuse, the law allows you to file a lawsuit and seek compensation.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) penalizes collection agencies that use deception and harassment to collect money. If you’re being hassled by a debt collector who uses these methods on you, let your next call be to an attorney.

● Leaving voice messages that do not identify them as debt collectors
● Calling you at work after being asked to stop
● Using an autodialer to harass you by phone
● Failing to validate the debt on request
● Saying they will file a lawsuit against you when they have no intention of doing so
● Showing up at your house to intimidate you

Company Profile: Berks Credit Collections

If you are being called by Berks Credit Collections, here are some additional details.

Berks Credit Collections is a debt collection agency located in Reading, Pennsylvania. It opened for business in 1989, has approximately 40 employees, and is managed by its President, Anthony Carabello. The agency has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau. The PACER website archives include litigation records revealing that consumers who believed that they were being harassed by Berks Credit Collections took the firm to court to seek justice.

Alleged Violations against Berks Credit Collections*

According to information on the PACER website, in or around early April 2017, a Pennsylvania consumer checked his credit report and saw that Berks Credit Collections was reporting a medical debt. He promptly disputed the debt, but claimed that over a week later, the agency duplicated the account, assigned it a new number, and reported it as new, although the original debt predated 2012.

The consumer continued to dispute both debts, and on or around April 24, Berks Credit Collections sent a validation package that only verified the second account. On June 3, after the consumer filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Board, the agency allegedly admitted to the duplication and said it would remove the second account, but Equifax continued to report the second account until June 25, and the consumer was denied a credit increase that he applied for.

Feeling harassed by Berks Credit Collections, the consumer sued the agency for:

● Using harassing and abusive means to collect a debt
● Using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt
● Using false, deceptive, and misleading means to collect a debt
● Misrepresenting the legal status of the debt
● Communicating inaccurate information to the credit bureaus
● Attempting to collect an amount not permitted by law

The matter was later settled.

Hire a Consumer Lawyer

The phone numbers for this debt collection agency are:

● 1-610-670-8562
● 1-800-448-8709
● 1-610-916-7301
● 1-888-932-6553

Any time these numbers appear on your caller ID, it means that you are being called by Berks Credit Collections. If they attempt to collect a time-barred debt by re-aging the account with the credit bureaus, hire a consumer lawyer and file a claim against Berks Credit Collections. You could be awarded $1,000 per FDCPA violation, so don’t ever be persuaded that you have no rights.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 5:18-cv-01568-JFL from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Additional Resources

• Collection Agencies – B
• Did A Collection Agency Make False Statements Regarding Your Debt?

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 Berks Credit Collections or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.