Are You Being Called By Bureau of Account Management?*

If job loss or disability has caused you to fall behind in paying your bills, you will likely hear from a debt collector. Collection agencies cause more complaints to the Federal Trade Commission than any other industry group because they can be abusive.

Sophisticated debt collection tactics can leave you feeling emotionally bruised and overwhelmed, but you should not hesitate to shield yourself by exercising your rights under the law.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, controls how how debt collectors have to conduct themselves while collecting from you. As a consumer, you are entitled to file a lawsuit against any debt collector who uses collection strategies like those below.

• Yelling or screaming at you over the phone
• Calling you after they have been ordered to stop calling
• Threatening to ruin your credit
• Calling your workplace after you have told them that you are not allowed to accept calls there
• Contacting you when you are represented by an attorney
• Refusing to validate the debt and prove that they are authorized to collect it

Company Profile: Bureau of Account Management

If you are being called by Bureau of Account Management, details about the firm and its history are below.

Bureau of Account Management is a debt collection agency located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania It was founded in 1997, has a staff of 20 people, and is managed by its President, Steve Kunkle. It appears to be primarily a healthcare debt collection company.

Information viewable at the PACER website indicates that consumers who believed they were being harassed by Bureau of Account Management sought the advice of a consumer rights lawyer.

Alleged Violations against Bureau of Account Management

According to PACER, in or around early 2010 Bureau of Account Management started trying to collect a debt from a Massachusetts consumer. This individual later alleged that debt collectors called her family and friends and either told them or left messages about the debt.

During these communications, the company allegedly accused her of breaking the law and writing bad checks, and claimed that a lawsuit would be filed against her. Other times, the collectors allegedly identified themselves as lawyers.

Feeling harassed by Bureau of Account Management, the consumer filed a federal civil lawsuit against the company seeking damages for these alleged FDCPA violations:

• Failing to warn on all communications that they are a debt collector
• Contacting third parties about the debt
• Threatening legal action they did not intend to take
• Claiming to be attorneys
• Contacting her at inconvenient times and places
• Failing to send a debt validation notice
• Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire a Consumer Lawyer

The phone numbers for Bureau of Account Management are:

• 1-717-214-3017
• 1-800-599-0423

Any time they show up on your caller ID, it means that Bureau of Account Management is trying to contact you. If they share your debt information with others in order to stress you into paying, don’t give them what they want.

Hire a consumer lawyer to file a claim against Bureau of Account Management. The FDCPA allows you recover any actual damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000 per violation, and attorney’s fees and costs, so don’t let concerns about money prevent you from seeking justice.

Additional Resources

• What Are Damages in an FDCPA Claim?
• How Can a Lawyer Help Me with an FDCPA Claim?

Case taken from PACER (pacer.gov). File number is Case 1:10-cv-10358-PBS from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

*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 Bureau of Account Management, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.