Are You Being Called By Money Recovery Nationwide?*

Is Money Recovery Nationwide calling you? There are some things you need to know.

Most of us miss a bill payment or two. When this happens, creditors usually let us catch up without penalty. But if we lose our jobs and arrears pile up, they will eventually be assigned to third-party debt collectors or charged-off and sold to junk debt buyers.

For many of us, that can be a nightmare, as collection agencies are known to use threats and harassment to pressure us into paying.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, requires collection agencies to be both civil and professional when attempting to collect a consumer debt. Using collection methods like those below is against federal law.

• Using abusive and / or obscene language
• Demanding amounts that exceed the original debt
• Calling your workplace and mentioning the debt to your co-workers
• Calling multiple times per day, manually or using an autodialer
• Claiming to be police officers or federal agents
• Threatening legal actions they cannot take or have no intention of taking, such as having you imprisoned or seizing your assets

Company Profile: Money Recovery Nationwide

If you are being called by Money Recovery Nationwide, information about the company is below.

Money Recovery Nationwide is collection agency located in Lansing, Michigan. It was established in 1988, has 42 employees, and is managed by its President, Ron Kochanski.

Litigation records archived at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirm that several people who felt they were being harassed by Money Recovery Nationwide chose to fight the matter in court.

Alleged Violations By Money Recovery Nationwide

Salwa Kandalaft vs. Money Recovery Nationwide**

According to PACER, in or around May, 2010, Michigan resident Salwa Kandalaft started to receive calls from Money Recovery Nationwide regarding an alleged medical debt. She later complained that the agency did not specify exactly how much she owed, but demanded to be paid in full that day.

During the first call, Ms. Kandalaft informed the caller that she had retained legal counsel and that Money Recovery Nationwide would need to call her attorney directly in this matter.

The caller allegedly replied that they were aware that she had an attorney, but they were not going to work with them, because the attorney would try to pay less than fifty percent (50%) of the debt owed.

On or about May 19, 2010, Ms. Kandalaft’s attorney sent a cease and desist letter to Money Recovery Nationwide, but the calls allegedly continued. During one call on January 28, 2011, she told the caller that her husband was out of work and that she could not afford to make a payment at this time because she was solely supporting the five people in her household.

The collector allegedly replied that this was not their problem and that she chose to take care of all of these people. They also allegedly threatened to garnish her wages, freeze her checking account, and contact her employer if she did not pay.

Feeling harassed by Money Recovery Nationwide, Ms. Kandalaft hired a consumer attorney and sued the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Threatening legal action it did not intend to take
• Contacting her directly and refusing to work with her attorney
• Continuing to try collecting after she indicated that she could not pay
• Harassing her by telephone
• Using harassing, oppressive, and abusive means to collect a debt
• Using unfair or unconscionable means to collect a debt
• Failing to send a debt validation notice

The matter was later resolved.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this collection agency are:

• 1-800-466-1320
• 1-517-866-5500
• 1-517-466-1320

If you see any of them on your caller ID, you may be getting a call from Money Recovery Nationwide. If they threaten legal action they are in no position to take and insist on approaching you directly when you have legal counsel, hire a consumer attorney who can help you file a claim against Money Recovery Nationwide.

You could potentially receive $1,000 per violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. Never assume that you have to put up with abuse because you owe a debt. The law confirms otherwise.

**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 2:11-cv-12428-PDB-MKM from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

*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 Money Recovery Nationwide, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.