Are You Being Called By Central Credit Audit, Inc.?*

When you’ve lost your job, keeping up with your credit card, student loans, and medical debt payments can be challenging and even impossible. When you’re no longer able to make the minimum payments, chances are high that a debt collector will soon be assigned to your accounts.

If this happens, it is important to know your rights as an indebted consumer.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was passed in 1977 after debt collector harassment caused high numbers of consumers to declare bankruptcy.

In addition to giving you the right to dispute a debt and request its validation, it prohibits actions like the following and penalizes collection agencies that use them to settle a debt.

• Using profane or obscene language
• Calling before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Contacting you after you have formally requested that all communications cease
• Contacting you after you have sent a cease and desist letter
• Calling you at work when they know that your employer prohibits such calls
• Refusing to provide proof that you owe a debt and they are authorized to collect it

Company Profile: Central Credit Audit, Inc.

If you are being called by Central Credit Audit, Inc., information about the company is below.

Central Credit Audit, Inc. is a debt collection company located in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It opened for business in 1978 and is managed by its Vice President, Jeffrey Shott.

In the beginning, it focused on collecting medical debt, but gradually opened other divisions to cover delinquent taxes and pre-collection services.

According to litigation records retained by the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website, people who felt they were being harassed by Central Credit Audit, Inc. commenced legal action.

Alleged Violations against Central Credit Audit, Inc.

According to PACER, beginning in or around January 2014, and continuing through February 2014, Central Credit Audit, Inc. allegedly began contacting a Pennsylvania resident and trying to collect a debt owed.

She later claimed that she constantly told the collectors that she was not the person they were looking for and to stop calling, but the calls allegedly continued.

Feeling harassed by Central Credit Audit, Inc., she hired a consumer attorney and sued the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Using harassing and abusive means to collect a debt
• Constantly contacting her over a debt that did not belong to her

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this debt collection agency are as follows:

• 1-570-286-7742
• 1-800-326-9326

If either one shows up on your caller ID when the phone rings, you are being called by Central Credit Audit, Inc., presumably about a debt you are believed to owe. If you indicate that you do not owe the debt and they insist on contacting you anyway, contact a contact a consumer attorney who can help you stop the unwanted calls.

If you decide to file a claim against Central Credit Audit, Inc. and win, you could receive compensation of $1,000 per FDCPA violation in addition to attorney fees and other legal costs.

When a collection agency refuses to believe that you are the wrong person, going to court can give them the proof they need.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 3:14-cv-01668-WJN from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Additional Resources

• Is a Debt Collector Calling at Odd Hours?
• Debt Collectors Ignored Written Request?

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 Central Credit Audit, Inc. or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.