Is Enterprise Recovery Systems calling you? Here’s what you need to know.
When your mortgage and credit card payments are in arrears and you’re having to choose between paying the rent and paying Mastercard, life can become extremely stressful.
Things become even worse when debt collectors begin to call, demanding that you pay the outstanding balance or they will send the sheriff over to seize your home. Is personal bankruptcy the only way to stop the harassment?
No. There’s also the FDCPA.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, regulates what debt collectors may say and do when communicating with you, making activities like the ones below illegal when used to collect a debt.
- Using profane or obscene language
- Failing or refusing to identify themselves as debt collectors trying to collect a debt
- Trying to collect amounts that exceed the original debt
- Calling you at work after you tell them that you can’t talk to them there
- Making threats they have no intention of following up on, such as seizing your house or having you arrested
- Discussing the debt with uninvolved third parties like your friends and neighbors
These tricks may be illegal, but they are alarmingly effective, which is why so many debt collectors continue to use them despite the risk.
Alleged Violations against Enterprise Recovery Systems, Inc*
Enterprise Recovery Systems, Inc is a collection agency located in Oak Brook, Illinois. It was established in 1988, has a large staff of 250-499, and collects consumer debt throughout the country. Records archived by the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website indicate that Enterprise Recovery Systems has been accused of violating the FDCPA when attempting to collect some debts.
In October 2012 an Illinois resident filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Enterprise Recovery Systems, Inc had been collecting student loan payments from him, and the filing automatically stayed all pre-petition debts. On November 8 he sent the agency a letter advising them of the bankruptcy filing and automatic stay, and directed that they stop debiting his account, but on November 16, Enterprise Recovery Systems, Inc debited another payment.
He hired a consumer attorney and filed a lawsuit accusing the company of the following FDCPA violations:
- Misrepresenting the legal status of the debt
- Implying that nonpayment of the debt would result in consequences such as wage garnishment and property seizure
- Threatening actions that could not legally be taken
- Using false and deceptive means to collect a debt
The matter was later dismissed.
The phone numbers below are all associated with Enterprise Recovery Systems, Inc:
If any of these numbers appear on your caller ID, someone from the company is trying to contact you about a debt they have been assigned to collect. If they keep trying to collect money even after the debt has been included in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, contact a consumer attorney.
Such activities are illegal under the FDCPA, and your attorney can help you pursue compensation of up to $1,000 per FDCPA violation, as well as court costs, attorney fees, and any actual damages you may have incurred. Even if you did incur a debt, the law demands that collection agencies respect your rights, or pay a price.
*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is 1:12-cv-10005 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 Enterprise Recovery Systems, Inc or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.