Are You Being Called By Stern Recovery Services, Inc.*?

Are You Being Called By Stern Recovery Services, Inc.*? Here’s What You Need to Know

People fall into major debt for reasons that have nothing to do with financial irresponsibility. They are laid off, become disabled, or experience an expensive setback like a divorce. Once an account goes into arrears, creditors will assign them to third-party debt collectors who will go to great lengths to settle the account, even if it does cross the line into abuse.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

While debt collectors are legally allowed to contact you while attempting to collect a debt, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits them from using actions calculated to embarrass, stress, or bully you into paying. Examples of such tactics include:

• Failing or refusing to identify themselves as debt collectors trying to collect a debt
• Using profane or obscene language
• Discussing the debt with uninvolved third parties like your friends, family and neighbors
• Calling you before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m.
• Pretending to be attorneys, police officers, or federal agents
• Demanding outrageous ‘fees’ in addition to the original debt

Company Profile: Stern Recovery Services, Inc.

If you are being called by Stern Recovery Services, Inc., here is some more information about the agency and its background.

Stern Recovery Services, Inc., which also does business as SRS, Inc., is a debt collection agency located in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 2015, has 28,500 employees, and is managed by owner Sidney J. Stern III.

The company, which has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau, previously operated under the name, Stern & Associates, P.A. Records at the PACER website confirm that consumers who believed that they were being harassed by Stern Recovery Services, Inc. did not let themselves be pushed around.

Alleged Violations against Stern Recovery Services, Inc.**

According to information on the PACER website, on or around February 19, 2015, Stern Recovery Services, Inc. sent a collection letter to a North Carolina consumer seeking payment for a medical debt. The letter allegedly did not include the information that a written dispute would result in the agency obtaining verification or a copy of a judgment and sending it to her.

Feeling harassed by Stern Recovery Services, Inc., the consumer filed an FDCPA lawsuit against the agency for allegedly:

• Using false, deceptive, and misleading means to collect a debt
• Failing to properly inform her of her dispute rights.

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire a Consumer Lawyer

The phone numbers for this debt collection agency are:

• 1-336-272-0800
• 1-800-455-0260

Seeing them on your caller ID is confirmation that Stern Recovery Services, Inc. is attempting to reach you. If they send you a collection letter that fails to clarify your dispute rights, protect yourself by hiring a consumer lawyer and filing a claim against Stern Recovery Services, Inc. If a judge decides in your favor, you could potentially win $1,000 per FDCPA violation. When debt collectors violate your rights, expensive consequences can result.

**Case taken from PACER (pacer.gov). File number is Case 5:16-cv-00080-D from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, 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 Stern Recovery Services, Inc. or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.

Additional Resources

• Did a Debt Collector Affect your Credit Score?
• Debt Collector Sent a Notice of Debt?