Are You Being Called By Commercial Recovery Systems?*

Are You Being Called By Commercial Recovery Systems? Here’s What You Need to Know.

If your monthly bills and debt payments have been in arrears for while, you’ll almost certainly hear from a debt collector sooner or later. While they are legally permitted to try collecting any overdue balances, they are not allowed to harass or intimidate you.

If they do, you have recourse under the law.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, limits what debt collectors can say or do when trying to collect a debt. Methods like the following are illegal and if a consumer complains, the agency can be fined and even lose its license.

• Failing or refusing to identify themselves as debt collectors trying to collect a debt
• Using profane or obscene language
• Discussing the debt with uninvolved third parties like your friends, family and neighbors
• Calling you at work after you’ve told them that your employer doesn’t allow such calls
• Making threats they cannot legally carry out or have no intention of carrying out
• Contacting you directly after you have retained an attorney regarding the debt

Company Profile: Commercial Recovery Systems

If you are being called by Commercial Recovery Systems, information about the company is below.
Commercial Recovery Systems is a debt collection agency located in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in 2011, has 10 to 19 employees, and is managed by its President, Tim Ford.

The company currently has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau. Records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirms that several consumers who felt they were being harassed by Commercial Recovery Systems hired attorneys and filed lawsuits in response.

Alleged Violations against Commercial Recovery Systems

According to PACER, on or about January 15, 2013, Commercial Recovery Systems called an Arizona resident regarding an old car debt dating from 2006. The collector, who was later identified as Mrs. Sharmen, allegedly told Ms. Telles that if she did not pay the debt, Commercial Recovery Systems would be filing a judgment against her in court, freezing her bank account, garnishing her wages, and taking her income tax return.

She allegedly told Ms. Telles the amount owed on her current car loan, and then claimed that she would be putting a lien on her current vehicle so that when she was done paying her bank, she would have a new lien on the car.

When Ms. Telles said that she could not afford to make payment arrangements, as she was a single mother with four children, he allegedly said that she would mark the file as a refusal to pay.

After this conversation, Ms. Telles called Commercial Recovery Systems and spoke to a supervisor, Mrs. Sandlin. The latter allegedly implied that she was going to be sued, and that her tax refund would be taken, and that she should get an attorney.

Feeling intimidated, the plaintiff hung up, but immediately got a call from an unknown number. When she answered, a man allegedly yelled, “DO YOU HAVE AN ATTORNEY!?” When she asked who was calling, the man emphatically stated “You owe us money!” When she asked again who he was, the man stated that he was calling from Commercial Recovery Systems, but allegedly refused to give his name.

Feeling harassed by Commercial Recovery Systems, the plaintiff hired a consumer attorney and sued the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Using harassing and oppressive means to collect a debt
• Using false, deceptive, and misleading means to collect a debt
• Using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt
• Threatening legal action that they could not take
• Failing to disclose that all communications were from a debt collector

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for Commercial Recovery Systems are:

• 1-214-324-9575
• 1-800-214-5366
• 1-800-505-5374
• 1-800-214-7801
• 1-888-978-4308

If you see any of these numbers on your caller ID, it means that you may be being called by Commercial Recovery Systems. If they use abusive language and attempt to obscure their identities, hire a consumer attorney.

Actions like this are illegal under the FDCPA, and if you file a claim against Commercial Recovery Systems with your attorney’s assistance and win, you could potentially receive $1,000 per violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages.

When bullying debt collectors infringe on your rights, the law gives you an avenue for pursuing justice.

**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 2:13-cv-00450-NVW from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.

*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 Commercial Recovery Systems, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.