Is Rickart Collection Systems calling you? Here’s what you need to know:
If you encounter financial problems and fall behind on your mortgage, credit cards, medical bills, and other debts, you will eventually hear from a debt collector. Although the law requires them to behave ethically, too many collectors try to get your money by intimidating and bullying you. Most times they yell at you over the phone, but some agents have been known to send rude letters and talk to your friends and co-workers about the debt.
Your Rights Under the FDCPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, grants rights and protection to indebted consumers. Third-party collection agencies are prohibited from using pressure or scare tactics like the following to make you pay.
- Calling at all hours of the day and night
- Swearing, raising their voice, and calling you names
- Claiming that you can be arrested or sent to jail for not paying your debts
- Claiming that you owe an amount that’s not supported by law or the original creditor agreement
- Harassing you even after you have retained an attorney regarding the debt
- Discussing your debt with anyone except you, your spouse, or your attorney
Company Profile: Rickart Collection Systems
Rickart Collection Systems is a collection agency located in North Brunswick Township, New Jersey. It was established in 1970, has 20 to 49 employees, and is a veteran-owned business managed by its President, Arthur Toto. Litigation records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirm that Rickart Collection Systems has been a defendant in various lawsuits regarding alleged FDCPA violations.
Alleged Violations against Rickart Collection Systems
According to PACER, on or about March 11, 2014, Rickart Collection Systems sent a New Jersey resident a collection letter regarding an outstanding medical debt. The letter was mailed in a window envelope. When he received it, he claimed that his account number associated with the debt was illegally exposed through the window envelope.
He hired a consumer attorney and sued Rickart Collection Systems for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:
- Using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt
- Using a mark, symbol or text other than his address on the outside of the envelope
The matter was later settled.
Hire an Attorney
The phone numbers below have both been associated with Rickart Collection Systems:
If your phone rings and either number appears on your caller ID, it means that a debt collector is trying to reach you. If they send you letters that make your account number and other information about the debt publicly visible, hire a consumer attorney who can help you assert your rights in court. You could potentially receive $1,000 per FDCPA violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. As an indebted consumer you have rights that debt collectors ignore at their own financial risk.
*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is 2:15-cv-01769-MCA-LDW from United States District Court, District of New Jersey
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 Rickart Collection Systems, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.