Are You Being Called By Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc.?*

Being in debt is stressful enough, but when collection agencies are harassing you for payments you can’t afford, the situation feels a lot worse. The good news is that you don’t have to tolerate abuse. If a debt collector is threatening or trying to intimidate you, the law is on your side.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

Although the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) requires third party debt collectors to be professional when contacting consumers, abusive collection actions like the following result in hundreds of complaints to the Federal Trade Commission every year.

• Yelling, swearing, and using language meant to intimidate you
• Demanding amounts inflated by ‘service charges’ and other miscellaneous fees
• Calling you at work when they know that your employer doesn’t let you take personal calls
• Calling you several times a day, every day
• Failing to report to the credit bureaus that a debt is in dispute
• Refusing or failing to validate the debt and prove that they are authorized to collect it

Company Profile: Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc.

If you are being called by Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc., information about the company is below.

Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc. is a debt collection company located in Morrisville, North Carolina. It was established in 1990, has an estimated 15 employees, and is managed by its President, Paul Jay Smith.

According to records retained by the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website, consumers who felt they were being harassed by Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc. chose to fight in court instead of pay.

Alleged Violations against Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc.

Rita Reinke vs. Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc.*

According to PACER, on or about March 25, 2008, Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc. contacted Wisconsin resident Rita Reinke to collect a debt related to rental car damage that occurred overseas.

She arranged for her credit card issuer to pay the debt but disputed her personal liability and asked for validation of the debt. Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc. allegedly failed to provide the requested documentation but claimed that the check from Visa did not cover everything and allegedly implied that nonpayment would be reported to the credit bureaus.

Feeling harassed by Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc., Ms. Reinke hired a consumer attorney and sued the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Threatening to report false information to the credit bureaus
• Failing to send a debt validation letter

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this debt collection agency are as follows:

• 1-919-861-2400
• 1-800-326-3734

If you see either one on your caller ID in response to an incoming call, it means that you are being called by Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc.. If they threaten to damage your credit if you don’t pay the debt immediately and in full, contact a consumer attorney.

If you file a claim against Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc., you could potentially receive $1,000 per FDCPA violation plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees. Never assume that what a debt collector tell you is the truth: talk to an attorney instead.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 2:08-cv-00575-RTR from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Additional Resources

• Has a Debt Collector Used Profane Language?
• Did a Debt Collector Identify Themselves to a Third-Party?

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 Kross, Lieberman, & Stone, Inc., or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.