Are You Being Called By South & Associates, PC?*

Are You Being Called By South & Associates, PC?* Here’s What You Need to Know.

When financial problems hit, paying your debts can become impossible. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently estimated that 30 million consumers currently have debts in collections. If you’re getting rude and harassing collection calls and letters, you may be anxious and upset, but fortunately, there are ways you can protect yourself.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) makes it illegal for third-party debt collectors to harass and intimidate consumers. If you are being pursued by a collection agency that uses tactics like the following, you have grounds to sue.

• Swearing, raising their voice, and making threats they have no intention of carrying out
• Pretending to be attorneys, police officers, or federal agents
• Calling you at work after you’ve told them that you aren’t allowed to talk to them there
• Using profane and obscene language
• Demanding amounts not supported by law or the original creditor agreement
• Calling at inconvenient times, usually before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m.

Company Profile: South & Associates, PC

If you are being called by South & Associates, PC, information about the company is below.

South & Associates, PC is a debt collection law office located in Overland Park Kansas with branch offices in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. It was established in 1995, has approximately 150 employees, and is managed by Alan E. South. Records of civil litigation actions retained by the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website indicate that consumers who believed they were being harassed by South & Associates, PC hired attorneys of their own to help them fight back.

Alleged Violations against South & Associates, PC

According to PACER, on March 18, 2011, South & Associates, PC, filed a lawsuit against a Missouri couple to collect an alleged deficiency balance on a Ford Explorer, which had been repossessed by the firm’s client in 2006. The statute of limitations applicable to a claim for an alleged deficiency balance on contract for the sale of goods is four years, but as a result of the lawsuit, the couple was forced to retain counsel. South & Associates, PC,continued to litigate the alleged claim against them up to and until September 8, 2011, when firm filed a Dismissal Without Prejudice.

Feeling harassed by South & Associates, PC, the plaintiffs hired a consumer attorney and sued the firm for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Using false, deceptive, and misleading means to collect a debt
• Using harassing and abusive means to collect a debt
• Misrepresenting the character, amount, or legal status of the debt

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this debt collection law firm are:

• 1-913-663-7600
• 1-316-684-7733
• 1-314-655-7001
• 1-402-342-4644
• 1-515-223-7325

If you see any of these numbers on your caller ID when the phone rings, it means that you are being called by South & Associates, PC. If they force you to spend money defending a collection lawsuit that is legally insupportable, hire a consumer attorney. If you file a claim against South & Associates, PC with your attorney’s help, you could potentially be awarded $1,000 per FDCPA violation plus court costs and attorney fees. Don’t tolerate harassment: the law is on your side.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 4:12-cv-00334-BP from the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Western Division.

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 South & Associates, PC, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.