Is Medcah, Inc Calling You?*

Is Medcah, Inc calling you? You can protect your rights!

According to recent statistics, debt is growing faster than household income. In the United States, the average consumer’s household carries a revolving credit card balance of over $15,000.

Consequently, many people are spending close to 9% of their yearly income in paying off the interest alone. If they lose their jobs or are otherwise unable to keep meeting the monthly minimums on their credit cards, they will eventually be contacted by third-party debt collectors, and not all of them are pleasant or even civil.

Many consumers don’t know that they have rights that the government protects. They don’t have to put up with harrasment from debt collectors, and they can take action against debt collectors who do harrass them.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, limits what third-party debt collectors can say or do while attempting to collect debt payments from you.

Under this consumer protection law, actions like the following are prohibited:

• Claiming that you owe an amount that’s not supported by law or the original creditor agreement
• Calling at all hours of the day and night to stress you into paying
• Discussing your debt with anyone except you, your spouse, or your attorney
• Swearing, shouting, and calling you names
• Telling you that you can be arrested or sent to jail
• Making threats they cannot legally carry out or have no intention of carrying out

Who is Medcah, Inc?

Although tactics like these are illegal under the FDCPA, debt collectors still resort to them because too many consumers may not know their rights, or are afraid of taking legal action.

Medcah, Inc is a collection agency located in Kailua, Hawaii. It was established in 1974, employs a staff of under 20, and has active memberships in the Hawaii Collectors Association and the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals. Its profile on the BBB website** indicate that it has had 17 complaints against the company in the last three years, and that all the reviews of the company were negative.

Records archived at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website indicate that Medcah, Inc has been sued for alleged FDCPA violations.

Alleged Violations against Medcah, Inc.

Keith Medeira v. Medcah, Inc***

In April 2014 Hawaii resident Keith Madeira received a collection letter from Medcah, Inc about an alleged medical debt. It identified the collector as ‘Sheila Richards’ and listed different medical accounts that Medcah had been assigned to collect.

One of the accounts had experienced no activity since April 14, 2008, and the statute of limitations for the filing of a lawsuit in an attempt to collect the alleged debt, a medical bill, expired April 14, 2014.

Medcah filed a lawsuit in an attempt to collect the debt on May 15, 2014, over a month after the applicable statute of limitations ran out.

Mr. Medeira asserted that the agency knew when the alleged debt went into default, and in spite of the expiration of the statute of limitations, it intentionally moved forward with collection efforts and took the requisite steps to file a lawsuit against him.

On September 26, 2014 Mr. Madeira received a call from 1-808-266-2020 on his cell phone. The following message was left:

Hi, this message is for Keith Madeira. This is Jennifer getting back in touch with you regarding an important business matter of yours. You can reach me at 266-2031.

Mr. Madeira hired a consumer attorney and filed a lawsuit against Medcah, Inc for failing to disclose the identity of the caller and the company they were calling from, trying to collect an out-of-statute debt, collecting an amount not supported by law, and failure to send validation of the debt.

The matter was later resolved.

How Can I Get Medcah, Inc to Stop Calling?

The phone number for Medcah, Inc is 1-808-266-2020. If it appears on your caller ID, it means that a debt collector may be trying to contact you about a debt they have been assigned to collect.

If they leave voicemail messages that do not meaningfully disclose the caller’s identity and / or attempt to collect an out-of-statute debt, contact a consumer attorney. The FDCPA prohibits such activities, and you could potentially win $1,000 per violation plus attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages.

When debt collectors cross the line with you, the law provides you with the resources and support to assert your rights.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is 1:14-cv-00438-DKW-BMK, from United States District Court, District of Hawaii.

**Medcah, Inc BBB Profile:
www.bbb.org/hawaii/business-reviews/collections-agencies/medcah-inc-in-kailua-hi-34000471/reviews-and-complaints?section=complaints

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 Medcah, Inc or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.