Are You Being Called By Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan?*

Are you being called by Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan?* Here’s what you need to know.

Falling behind on your monthly financial obligation and owing increasing amounts of money is a difficult and stressful situation to be in, especially if rude and unethical debt collectors are harassing you daily. The good news is that no matter how much debt you may owe, you still have rights, and collectors violate them at their own risk.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

Legally, third-party debt collectors are not allowed to be rude or harassing when they contact you about paying a debt. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, imposes significant penalties on companies that use collection tactics like the following:

• Calling you outside of the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Pretending to be attorneys or law enforcement officials
• Using profane and obscene language
• Demanding amounts that are inflated by ‘service’ fees and other charges
• Failing or refusing to report a debt as disputed to the credit bureaus
• Making threats they have no intention of following up on, such as garnishing your wages or filing a lawsuit

Company Profile: Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan

Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan is a debt collection law firm located in Commack, New York. It was established in 1930, has less 11-50 employees, and is managed by its managing partner, Timothy Wan. Records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirm that frustrated consumers who believed they were being harassed by Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan have sued the firm to assert their rights.

Alleged Violations against Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan

Mordechai Palace and Chava Lezell, on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated consumers vs. Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan*
According to PACER, on or about October 28, 2014 at 11:03 a.m., New York residents Mordechai Palace and Chava Lezell were called by Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan. A representative by the name of Christina left a message stating:

Name is Christina, callback number is (631) 499-5400, Ext. 154, calling from the attorney’s office of Smith Carroad Levy & Wan, regarding a personal business matter.

At the time Mr. Palace and Ms. Lezell received the message, they did not know the identity of the caller, or that it was regarding an alleged debt. Feeling harassed by Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan, they hired a consumer attorney and filed a class action lawsuit against the firm for the following alleged FDCPA violations:

• Using oppressive means to collect a debt
• Using false, deceptive or misleading means to collect a debt
• Failing to disclose the caller as a debt collector in all communications
• Using unfair or unconscionable means to collect a debt

The matter was later settled.

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The phone number for Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan is 1-631-499-5400. If you see it on your caller ID when the phone rings, it means that you are being called by Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan. If they leave messages that fail to properly identify them as debt collectors seeking to collect a debt, hire a consumer attorney. If you choose to file a claim against Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan and win, you could be awarded $1,000 per violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. When you fight back, debt collectors learn that harassing consumers can be an expensive error.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 1:15-cv-01613-CBA-CLP from the United States District Court for the Eastern 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 Smith, Carroad, Levy & Wan or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.