Are You Being Called By Siegel Credit Solutions?*

Are You Being Called By Siegel Credit Solutions? Here’s What You Need to Know.

Are you being hounded by a ruthless debt collector? If the answer is yes, they may be breaking the law. Collection agencies are legally allowed to contact you about collecting a debt, but bullying and threats are illegal and penalized accordingly.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, protects consumers from being bullied and abused by third-party debt collectors. Collection tactics like those below are illegal and can get an agency shut down.

• Maliciously reporting false information to the credit bureaus
• Trying to collect more than the law and / or the original creditor agreement allow
• Telling your friends and family that you owe money
• Calling you before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Threatening to have you arrested if you don’t pay immediately
• Calling you at work after you indicate that your employer does not allow personal calls

Company Profile: Siegel Credit Solutions

If you are being called by Siegel Credit Solutions, information about the company is below.
Siegel Credit Solutions is a debt collection company located in Buffalo, New York. It was established in 2005, has less than 10 employees, and is managed by its Executive Director, Tom Greathouse.

Litigation files archived at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website indicate that consumers who felt they were being harassed by Siegel Credit Solutions decided to confront the agency in court.

Alleged Violations against Siegel Credit Solutions

Lealah Afif vs. Siegel Credit Solutions**

According to PACER, approximately one week prior to December 25, 2007, Siegel Credit Solutions allegedly called the neighbor of New York resident Lealah Afif and left a voicemail stating that they were calling about a matter relating to Ms. Afif’s social security number, indicated that she had a court date, requested that she return their telephone call.

When Ms. Afif learned about this message, she called Siegel Credit Solutions and was allegedly told that a court date was scheduled for the 21st, and that in order to delay court, she would have to give the company her checking account information to pay off a certain debt.

Ms. Afif gave Siegel Credit Solutions her checking account information, informed them that there were insufficient funds in the account to cover the requested payment, and that she would not deposit any more funds into her account until she was provided a written statement demonstrating her liability for the debt.

She also provided her cell phone number and current address.

Siegel Credit Solutions allegedly never provided her with the requested written statement, and unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw $800 from her checking account, causing her to incur a bank charge.
On or about December 31, 2007, Siegel Credit Solutions allegedly called and spoke to Ms. Afif’s father, stating that she had bounced a check and that they were taking her to court.

Collectors also allegedly called her ex-brother-in-law’s wife and stated to her that Ms. Afif was going to jail, and informed her ex-husband that she had bounced a check, that she was going to jail, and that he might want to consider suing to obtain custody of their child.

After learning about these calls, Ms. Afif contacted Siegel Credit Solutions and was told that she could go to jail and that she would be unable to remarry unless she paid the subject debt.

Feeling harassed by Siegel Credit Solutions, Ms. Afif hired a consumer attorney and sued the firm for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Discussing her debt with a third party
• Threatening legal action that could not be taken
• Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt
• Using harassing and abusive means to collect a debt
• Failing to send a debt validation notice

The matter was later settled.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for Siegel Credit Solutions are:

• 1-866-234-9969
• 1-716-886-5603

If either of these numbers appear on your caller ID, it means that you are being called by Siegel Credit Solutions about a debt they have been assigned to collect. If they discuss your debt with uninvolved third parties, make threats, and refuse to validate the debt, hire a consumer attorney.

Such actions are illegal, and if you decide to file a claim against Siegel Credit Solutions with your attorney’s help, you could potentially be awarded $1,000 per violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. When you confront an abusive debt collector, they could end up owing you money instead.

**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 1:08-cv-00040-WMS-HKS from the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.

*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 Siegel Credit Solutions, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.