Is Regional Adjustment Bureau Inc. Calling You?*

Is Regional Adjustment Bureau Inc. calling you? Here’s what you need to know.

Financial difficulties can be excruciating to deal with, especially if you’ve fallen behind on your bill payments through no fault of your own.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

When creditors turn your accounts over to third-party debt collectors or charge them off entirely and sell them to a junk debt buyer, the nightmare worsens. Now you’re dealing with debt collector calls at your home and even place of business.

Fortunately, as a consumer you have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA. This consumer protection law, which was enacted in September 1977, prohibits the use of abusive collection tactics like the following:

• Failing or refusing to identify themselves as debt collectors trying to collect a debt from you
• Contacting you by telephone outside of the 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. time frame, or at work when you’ve already advised that your employer does not allow such calls
• Calling you several times per day, and frequently hanging up without leaving a message
• Using profane and obscene language
• Making threats they cannot legally carry out or have no intention of carrying out
• Telling your friends, neighbors, and co-workers that you owe a debt
• Pretending to be police officers or government agents
• Calling you directly even after you’ve hired an attorney to represent you in the matter

Several debt collectors are willfully blind when it comes to FDCPA guidelines, however.

Regional Adjustment Bureau Inc is a collection agency located in Cordova, Tennessee. Established in 1971, it employs a staff of approximately 250 to 499. A search of the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website as well as consumer complaint boards indicate that Regional Adjustment Bureau Inc has frequently been accused of breaching the FDCPA.

Alleged FDCPA Violations

According to PACER, beginning in or around February of 2013, Regional Adjustment Bureau started contacting a South Carolina resident regarding a debt he allegedly owed. She later claimed that the company placed daily calls to both his residential and cellular telephones in an attempt to collect the debt.

The calls to his cell phone were allegedly made using an automated telephone dialing system and/or by using artificial or pre-recorded messages. He often answered these calls only to have the call immediately end with no message or conversation. None of these communications allegedly disclosed the company name or that they were placed for debt collection purposes.

Additionally, Regional Adjustment Bureau allegedly placed several automated telephone calls to the consumer’s cell phone as early as 5:00 a.m. When he called the agency directly, he explained he was currently living on the West Coast due to his service in the Navy and that these calls were placed extremely early. Accordingly, he requested that the agency cease communications.

Regional Adjustment Bureau, however, allegedly continued to place numerous and early calls to him. Out of frustration, he entered into a verbal payment arrangement with them. Per this arrangement, Regional Adjustment Bureau was to withdraw monthly installments of $150.00 from his account until September of 2013. They allegedly did not procure his written authorization to make such withdrawals, but proceeded to withdraw the monthly installments in May and June 2013. Moreover, Regional Adjustment Bureau also allegedly failed provide him with written validation of the debt.

The complaint that he filed with the US District Court accused Regional Adjustment Bureau of the following FDCPA violations:

• Contacting the consumer at a place and during a time known to be inconvenient for him (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(1))
• Engaging in harassing and abusive behavior while collecting a debt (15 U.S.C. § 1692d)
• Causing a phone to repeatedly ring and engaging him with the intention of harassing him (15 U.S.C. § 1692d(5))
• Placing calls without disclosing the identity of the debt collection agency (15 U.S.C. § 1692d(6))
• Using false and misleading means to collect a debt (15 U.S.C. § 1692e)
• Failing to inform the consumer that the communication was an attempt to collect a debt (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(11))
• Failing to send him an initial letter within five days of its initial contact with him (15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a))

The suit was later settled.

The phone numbers associated with Regional Adjustment Bureau are 1-901-382-0250 and 1-800-829-0250. If either number shows up on your caller ID, someone from this agency is trying to collect you about a debt. If they call you at inconvenient hours and withdraw money from your account without your permission, contact a consumer attorney.

Such actions are illegal and you could win statutory damages of $1,000 per FDCPA violation as well as actual damages (e.g. pain and suffering), court fees, and attorney costs. Your attorney will work with you to ensure you receive the compensation you’re entitled to.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is 4:13-cv-02162-RBH, from United States District Court, District of South Carolina, Florence Division

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 Regional Adjustment Bureau, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.