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Updated on Author: Contributor: Sergei Lemberg

Is D&B Receivable Management Services Calling You?*

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Is D&B Receivable Management Services calling you? Here’s what you need to know.

Debt is prevalent in modern society. We owe money to credit cards, student loan issuers, and the bank that backs our mortgages and car loans. As long as we don’t experience any financial setbacks, we can usually manage. But what if you lose your job, or your spouse files for divorce and you have to incur massive legal bills to protect what you own? That’s when you can start missing payments, and once you miss a certain amount, debt collectors will be calling.

Debt collectors have a reputation for being rude, persistent, and aggressive, although the law requires them to be civil and professional when they contact you. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, was enacted in September 1977 after abusive collectors were linked to a rise in personal bankruptcies. Since then, it has been illegal for them to use methods like the following when attempting to collect a debt:

  • Call you several times a day and leave voicemail messages that do not identify the caller or their purpose
  • Swear at you and make legally unsupportable threats, such as sending you to prison if you don’t pay
  • Pretend to be police officers or federal agents
  • Call you at work after you tell them that you can’t take personal calls there
  • Tell your friends, family, and neighbors that you owe money
  • Demand amounts that are not supported by law or the original creditor agreement

The Receivable Management Services Corporation (formerly D&B Receivable Management) is a collection agency located in Columbus, Ohio. It started out as a strategic partner to The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, and has thousands of employees that collect debts across a variety of industries. Records archived at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirm that the Receivables Management Services Corporation has been accused of violating the FDCPA while attempting to collect a debt.

Plaintiff v. Receivable Management Services Corporation

According to PACER**, in March 2011 Illinois resident began getting constant calls from the Receivable Management Services Corporation, which was attempting to collect an alleged debt from her daughter. By the time she filed her lawsuit in 2013, she accused the agency of calling her number approximately 150 times.

The Plaintiff alleged that for at least 110 of the calls, Receivable Management Services Corporation used caller ID “R.M.S.” with phone number 877‐567‐2620. For approximately forty or so others it used caller ID “NORTHWESTERN HU” and call back number 484‐242‐2486. She complained that the latter caller ID was false and misleading.

The Plaintiff hired a consumer attorney and filed a complaint accusing Receivable Management Services Corporation of the following FDCPA violations:

  • Using a false, deceptive and misleading caller ID (15 U.S.C. §§1692e, 1692f, 1692d(6))
  • Communicating with Ms. Schultz about a debt her daughter owed (15 U.S.C. § 1692g)
  • Using deceptive means in connection with the collection the alleged debt (15 U.S.C. §1692e)
  • Using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt (15 U.S.C. § 1692f).

The matter was later dismissed.

The phone numbers associated with Receivable Management Services Corporation are 1-888-807-2576 and 1-484‐242‐2486. If either number appears on your caller ID, a debt collector from the agency is attempting to contact you about a debt that you may not even owe. If they leave constant messages for someone else on your phone and make calls that do not correctly identify the caller or their purpose, contact a consumer attorney.

Such actions are illegal when attempting to collect a debt, and you could receive $1,000 in statutory damages per FDCPA violation, along with court costs and attorney fees. Any collection agency that harasses a consumer, whether they owe a debt or not, can expect to be penalized.

**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is (Case: 1:11-cv-05815, from United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division)

*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 Receivable Management Services Corporation or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.

About the author:

Contributor: Sergei Lemberg

Sergei Lemberg is a consumer rights attorney, practicing since 2006, whose practice focuses on consumer law, class actions and personal injury litigation. He is known for a United States Supreme Court case (Facebook v. Duguid) defending consumers from autodialers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 to send unsolicited text messages. He is also the author of Defanging Debt Collectors, a book that teaches consumers how to battle debt collectors and win.

See more posts from Contributor: Sergei Lemberg
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