Are You Being Called By Lewis Hastie Receivables?

Once you miss a certain number of debt payments, the creditors will eventually assign your accounts to a third-party collection agency. When these companies attempt to collect the outstanding balance, they may use means that are demeaning or harassing. If they do, know your rights and prepare to fight back.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits third-party debt collectors from threatening or bullying people into paying a debt. If they subject you to any of the following collection tactics, they’re breaking the law.

● Failing to identify themselves during each communication as a debt collector
● Calling you at work after being informed that the workplace does not allow non-business calls
● Threatening legal actions that they have no intention of taking
● Calling at inconvenient times, such as before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
● Using an autodialer to leave a series of pre-recorded messages
● Reporting false information to the credit bureaus

Company Profile: Lewis Hastie Receivables

If you are being called by Lewis Hastie Receivables, an overview of the company is below.

Lewis Hastie Receivables, which also does business as LHR, Inc., is a collection agency in Hamburg, New York. It was founded in 1996, has 135 employees, and is managed by owner Wayne Lewis. Archived records at the PACER website confirm that consumers who believed that they were being harassed by Lewis Hastie Receivables chose to resist instead of pay.

Alleged Violations against Lewis Hastie Receivables*

According to information on the PACER website, in or around late 2011 Lewis Hastie Receivables started contacting a New York consumer to collect a debt. On December 2, he sent the agency a dispute letter, but it allegedly never acknowledged the letter and failed to report the debt as disputed to the credit bureaus.

Feeling harassed by Lewis Hastie Receivables, the consumer sued the agency for:

● Using false, deceptive, and misleading means to collect a debt
● Reporting inaccurate information to the credit bureaus

The matter was later settled.

Hire a Consumer Lawyer

The phone numbers for this debt collection agency are:

● 1-877-219-0986
● 1-716-648-3240
● 1-716-926-2389
● 1-800-616-5473
● 1-716-312-2119

If you see any of them on your caller ID, you are being called Lewis Hastie Receivables and should react accordingly. If you dispute the debt and they fail to update the credit bureaus, hire a consumer lawyer and file a claim against Lewis Hastie Receivables. You could potentially receive $1,000 per FDCPA violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. No matter how much they want your money, debt collectors must obey the law when trying to collect it, or expensive penalties result.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). Case 1:12-cv-01644-ARR-MDGfrom the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Additional Resources

• Dispute Letter By Collection Agency
• I-L Debt Collection Agencies

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 Lewis Hastie Receivables or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.