Are You Being Called By Grant Mercantile Agency?*

Are you being called by Grant Mercantile Agency?* Here’s what you need to know.

Debt problems can be hard to deal with, and communications from rude and aggressive collection agencies can make it all the more stressful. There is some good news, however. You have the legal right to tell them to stop calling you and sue them if they don’t.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was passed in 1977 to protect consumers from being abused by third-party debt collectors. It regulates and restricts what collection agencies may say or do to collect a debt and prohibits actions like the following:

• Swearing and calling you names
• Talking to uninvolved parties such as your friends, family, and co-workers about the debt
• Contacting you after you have sent a cease and desist letter
• Using profane or obscene language
• Reporting false information to the credit bureaus
• Demanding amounts that exceed the original debt

Company Profile: Grant Mercantile Agency

If you are being called by Grant Mercantile Agency, information about the company is below.

Grant Mercantile Agency, the business name for Yankee Inc., is a debt collection company located in Oakhurst, California. It was established in 1983, has less than 10 employees, and is managed by its President, Rick Slayton. Records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website reveal that consumers who believed they were being harassed by Grant Mercantile Agency did not tolerate it for long before filing a lawsuit.

Alleged Violations against Grant Mercantile Agency

According to PACER, on or around October 1, 2007, Grant Mercantile Agency allegedly called a Georgia resident in a debt collection attempt and left a voicemail that did not identify the caller as a debt collector seeking to settle a debt. The plaintiff had to use his own resources to determine who the caller was.

Feeling harassed by Grant Mercantile Agency, he hired a consumer attorney sued the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA by using false, deceptive, and misleading means to collect a debt.

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this collection agency are:

• 1-559-683-4651
• 1-800-821-7530

If you see either one on your caller ID in response to an incoming call, it means that you are being called by Grant Mercantile Agency. If they leave messages that do not disclose their company name or the fact that they are trying to collect a debt, hire a consumer attorney. Deceiving consumers is illegal under the FDCPA, and if you file a claim against Grant Mercantile Agency and win, you could potentially receive $1,000 per FDCPA violation, proving that standing up for yourself can really work.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 1:07-cv-02876-JEC from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.

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 Grant Mercantile Agency, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.