Is DETEX Agency & Associates calling you? Here’s what you need to know.
Financial difficulties are extremely stressful. There’s a sense of being overwhelmed and caught in a trap that has no immediate way out.
When it reaches the point that you are no longer able to make the minimum payments, your creditors will eventually turn the accounts over to a third-party debt collector or charge them off and sell them to a junk debt buyer. Either way, you’ll soon be receiving collection calls and notices.
Debt collectors can be rude, aggressive, and persistent when trying to collect your money, making it easy to forget that as a consumer you have rights. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, prohibits the use of deceptive and oppressive collection tactics like the following:
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- Contacting your friends and family and telling them that you owe money
- Calling you repeatedly and leaving vague messages that do not identify them as debt collectors
- Demanding outrageous “fees” in addition to the original debt
- Pretending to be police officers or federal agents
- Calling you at work after you tell them that you can’t take personal calls there
DETEX Agency & Associates is a small collection agency located in Decorah, Iowa. It was established in 2007, has a small staff, and pursues debtors all over the country. The company states on its website that there is no charge to clients for uncollected debts. Records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website reveal that DETEX Agency & Associates has been accused of violating the FDCPA while communicating with consumers about delinquent debts.
Plaintiff v. DETEX Agency & Associates
According to PACER**, on or around 2003, a Connecticut resident was pursued by DETEX Agency & Associates regarding a defaulted loan from My Pay Day Loan.com. The Plaintiff later complained that collectors from the agency used false and deceptive means to coerce him into making a payment, called him constantly, threatened legal actions that never came to pass, and failed to send him the validation notice required by law.
Finally, in 2005, he hired a consumer attorney and filed a lawsuit accusing DETEX Agency & Associates of violating the FDCPA in the following ways:
- Engaging in harassing and abusive conduct (15 U.S.C. §1692d)
- Failing to send him a complete and accurate validation notice (15 U.S.C. § 1692g)
- Using deceptive means to collect the alleged debt (15 U.S.C. §1692e)
- Using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt (15 U.S.C. § 1692f)
He also accused the agency of engaging in acts and practices that violated the Creditors’ Collection Practices Act, and the Consumer Collection Agencies Act.
The matter was later settled.
The following phone numbers all belong to DETEX Agency & Associates:
If you see any of these numbers on your caller ID, a debt collector is trying to contact you about a delinquent debt. If they behave in ways that you find harassing and distressing and disregard a request to stop contacting you, see a consumer attorney.
You have the right to discuss the debt and explain your circumstances without being harassed, and if DETEX Agency & Associates goes too far, you can sue them and potentially win $1,000 in statutory damages per FDCPA violation, along with court costs and attorney fees. When debt collectors abuse the consumers they are dealing with, they run the risk of owing a debt themselves.
**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is (Case 3:05-cv-01394-CFD from United States District Court, District of Connecticut)
*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 DETEX Agency & Associates or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.