Is Professional Recovery Systems Calling You?*

Is Professional Recovery Systems Calling You? Protect Your Rights!*

When job loss, divorce, emergency house repairs, and other financial crises strike, even those who are normally diligent about paying their bills can fall into arrears.

For these people, calls from debt collectors can be embarrassing and even alarming if the collectors are rude and aggressive.

Should this happen to you, be aware that even if you owe money, you have rights that debt collectors cannot infringe upon without incurring financial penalties.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

Prior to 1977, scores of Americans were declaring personal bankruptcy solely to escape from abusive and unethical debt collectors. Congress responded by passing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, to protect indebted consumers from harassment.

You do not have to put up with the unethical practices of debt collects bent on getting money from you without regard for your privacy, comfort, or mental health. If you are harrased, you do have the option to fight back against the unethical behavior of unprofessional debt collectors.

The FDCPA makes it illegal for a collection agency to use methods like the following to collect or attempt to collect a debt:

• Using profane and obscene language
• Calling you at your workplace when they know that your employer doesn’t permit you to take such calls
• Calling you before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Refusing to validate the debt and prove that they are authorized to collect it
• Telling uninvolved third parties like your friends and co-workers that you owe money
• Demanding an amount that is not supported by law or the original debt agreement
  

  Company Profile: Professional Recovery Systems

  Professional Recovery Systems is a debt collection agency located in Denver, Colorado. It was established in 2003, has 11-50 employees, and specializes in purchasing charged-off or junk debt.

  Records retained at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website reveal Professional Recovery Systems has been accused of unethical debt collection practices by indebted consumers it had tried to collect from.

   

  Alleged Violations against Professional Recovery Systems

  On October 3, 2007, a Pennsylvania resident received a collection letter from Professional Recovery Systems, which had purchased a 12-year old debt he had owed to an apartment complex.

  When collectors from the agency began calling, he told them that the debt had already been paid, but the agent allegedly demanded payment plus an amount of interest nearly equal to the original debt. When he asked for verification, they allegedly refused to provide it.

  He later complained that a Professional Recovery Systems collector called him while he was in the middle of assisting his diabetic daughter. The agent allegedly responded that it was not his problem and “Get out your check book and I will stop calling.”

  After another call in which the collector allegedly accused him of simply not paying his bills, he hired a consumer attorney and sued Professional Recovery Systems for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

  • Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt
  • Failing to identify itself as a debt collector in all communications
  • Using abusive and unethical means to collect a debt

  The matter was later dismissed.

  Hire an Attorney

  The phone number for Professional Recovery Systems is 1-303-575-6900. If your phone rings and this number appears on your caller ID, it means that a debt collector may be attempting to reach you.

  If they attempt to collect a debt that you know you have already paid, refuse to provide proof that the obligation actually exists, and verbally abuse you, hire a consumer attorney. The FDCPA prohibits third-party debt collectors from harassing consumers in this manner, and your attorney can help you both stop the abuse and seek compensation.

  You could potentially be awarded $1,000 per violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages, so exercise your right to fight back if Professional Recovery Systems crosses the line.

  *Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is 2:07-cv-05136-LDD from United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

  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 Professional Recovery Systems, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.