Is Riddle & Associates Calling You?*

Is Riddle & Associates calling you? Here’s what you need to know.

If financial difficulties cause your mortgage, student loans, and other obligations to go into arrears, you’ll eventually hear from a debt collector. Although debt collectors are legally permitted to try collecting the amount you owe, they are not permitted to bully or harass you into paying. It’s a guideline that many collection agencies fail to heed.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

If a debt collector is being abusive toward you, they’re breaking the law. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, requires third-party debt collectors to treat consumers in a professional manner during the debt collection process. Actions like those below are illegal and can result in fines or license revocation.

• Calling you before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Threatening legal action they have no intention of taking
• Calling your friends, relatives, and neighbors and discussing your debt with them
• Telling you that you have committed a crime and will be arrested if you don’t pay
• Trying to collect an amount that is not authorized by law or the original creditor agreement
• Pretending to be police officers or federal agents

Company Profile: Riddle & Associates

Riddle & Associates is a law office and debt collector located in Draper, Utah. It was established in 1989, has 20 to 49 employees, and is managed by its President, Jesse Riddle. Files archived at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirm that Riddle & Associates has been accused of unethical debt collection practices that violate the FDCPA.

Alleged Violations against Riddle & Associates

In October 2006 a Pennsylvania resident received a collection letter from Riddle & Associates. The letter stated, in part, “If you request proof of the debt… the law requires our firm to suspend our efforts to collect the debt (through litigation or otherwise.”

No lawsuit was ever filed, but he received calls from Riddle & Associates collectors who allegedly commented that the company had “ways of getting our money back” and “making sure you pay for not paying your money back.”

The debt was also an older one, and barred by statute of limitations. Feeling he did not owe it any longer, he hired a consumer attorney and sued Riddle & Associates for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Threatening legal action that it did not intend to take
• Using abusive and harassing means to collect a debt
• Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt

The matter was later settled.

Hire a Creditor Harassment Attorney

The phone number for Riddle & Associates are 1-800-225-5050. If it appears on your caller ID, a collection agency is trying to reach you about a debt you allegedly owe. If they attempt to collect an out-of-statute debt and make comments that could be interpreted as threatening, hire a consumer attorney.

Threats and bullying violate the FDCPA, and you could potentially be awarded $1,000 per FDCPA violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. When a debt collector tramples on your rights, the law gives you the resources to fight back.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is 2:07-cv-00284-LDD from United States District Court for the 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 Riddle & Associates, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.