Are You Being Called By Sequoia Financial Services*?

Are You Being Called By Sequoia Financial Services*? Here’s What You Need to Know

You may be behind on your monthly debt payments, but debt collectors don’t have free rein when it comes to getting the money from you. If they are rude, make illegal threats, and constantly violate your privacy, they are going too far. This is when it pays to know your rights.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, grants important rights and protections to indebted consumers. You can dispute a debt and demand no further contact from the collector. It also penalizes collection agencies that use hostile collection methods like the following:

• Using profane and obscene language
• Calling prior to 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Demanding amounts inflated for ‘service charges’ and other various fees
• Telling you that you will arrested or your wages garnished if you don’t pay
• Calling you at work after they’ve been advised that such calls are not allowed

Company Profile: Sequoia Financial Services

If you are being called by Sequoia Financial Services, information about the company is below.

Sequoia Financial Services is a debt collection company located in Agoura Hills, California. It was established in 1990, has 41 employees, and is managed by its President, Roy Duplessis. The company presently has a C rating with the Better Business Bureau. According to records retained by the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website, people who felt they were being harassed by Sequoia Financial Services denied the company’s claims and filed lawsuits in response.

Alleged Violations against Sequoia Financial Services

According to PACER**, on June 21, 2016 Sequoia Financial Services sent a letter to a California woman seeking payment of an overdue utility bill. The alleged balance included a principal amount of $813.50, accrued interest of $6.62, and a “city statutory fee” of $215.33. She was shocked at the collection fee amount, as she had never authorized a flat 25% fee to be assessed by a collection agency.

Feeling harassed by Sequoia Financial Services, she hired a consumer attorney before suing the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Attempting to collect an amount not supported by the original creditor agreement or by law
• Using false, deceptive, along with misleading means to collect a debt

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this debt collection agency are as follows:

• 1-818-409-6000
• 1-888-544-9711

If you see either number on your caller ID at any time, it means that Sequoia Financial Services is calling you. If they attempt to collect an amount not authorized by law, hire a consumer attorney, because inflating the cost of a debt in this manner is illegal. If you file a claim against Sequoia Financial Services and win your cause, you could receive $1,000 per FDCPA violation in addition to court costs and attorney fees. When a collector tries to profit from you more than they should, penalties result.

**Case taken from PACER (pacer.gov). File number is Case 2:17-cv-00039-PJW from the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

*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 Sequoia Financial Services, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.