Is Illinois Collection Service Calling You?*

Is Illinois Collection Service calling you? Learn how to protect your rights!

Financial troubles can strike at any time. Companies shut down unexpectedly, throwing employees out of work. People without health insurance become injured and have huge medical bills to pay when it’s over. As a result your credit card accounts, student loan payments, and mortgage bills can all go into arrears.

Once a certain number of payments have been missed, your creditors will turn everything over to third-party debt collectors, who will pursue you for payment. Upsetting as this may be, remember that you have rights.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, prohibits actions like the following during a debt collection attempt. Any third-party collection agency that uses them or others like them faces fines and even license revocation:

• Swearing, shouting at you, and calling you names
• Calling you before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Ignoring a debt validation request
• Discussing your debt with your friends, neighbors, and co-workers
• Telling you that you will be arrested, have your wages garnished, or lose your house if you don’t pay
• Trying to collect an amount that is not authorized by law or the original creditor agreement

Alleged Violations against Illinois Collection Service*

Illinois Collection Service is a debt collection agency located in Tinley Park, Illinois. It was established in 1940, has 100 to 249 employees, and is managed by its President, Mr. John Cronin.

Litigation files retained by the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website reveal that Illinois Collection Service has been accused of violating the FDCPA while trying to collect certain debts.

Franzetta Russell vs. Illinois Collection Service Inc. et al

In or around late 2011, Illinois resident Franzetta Russell started receiving up to three calls a day from Illinois Collection Service, which was trying to collect a debt.

The collector requested to speak to “Fran Russell.” She confirmed she was in fact Fran Russell and asked what the call was about. The collector allegedly ignored her question and requested that she confirm her address and provide her Social Security Number (SSN). Ms. Russell refused to give out her SSN and demanded that the collector provide her name, but the collector allegedly failed to do so.

On numerous occasions Ms. Russell informed Illinois Collection Service that she had recently survived a heart attack and asked that they cease calling her. She added that due to her poor health condition she could no longer work and had no means to pay the debt at the moment and would pay as soon as she was able to do so.

However, Illinois Collection Service allegedly continued to call.

On March 23, 2012, she received another collection call and repeated that she was seriously ill and that she would pay the debt when she was able to do so. The collector allegedly hung up when Ms. Russell requested her name.

During subsequent telephone calls, Illinois Collection Service collectors allegedly told her to borrow money from friends and refused to provide the company address so she could send them a letter.

On one occasion, she informed Illinois Collection Service that she had retained services of an attorney and demanded that they cease calling her, but the company allegedly continued to call, so she sued it for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Contacting her directly after learning that she has represented by an attorney
• Causing her phone to ring repeatedly with the intention of harassing her
• Using a deceptive, unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for Illinois Collection Service are:

• 1-708-229-1485
• 1-888-427-2655

If either number appears on your caller ID when the phone rings, a debt collector is calling. If they use the telephone to harass you and use rude, belittling language, hire a consumer attorney who can help you file a lawsuit against the company.

You could potentially win $1,000 per FDCPA violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. Stand up for yourself when a debt collector goes too far, and they could end up in debt to you instead.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is 1:12-cv-03621 from United States District Court for the 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 Illinois Collection Service or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.