Are you afraid to answer your phone, worried that a collector is on the line? Have you stopped checking your mail each day because you’ve gotten too many menacing letters? If the answer to either question is “yes,” there are laws designed to protect you from these harassing tactics.
Your Rights Under the FDCPA
Although they will never admit the fact, debt collectors are not allowed to intimidate or harass you to collect a debt. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, prohibits abusive collection tactics like those below.
- Swearing and using profane language
- Calling at all hours of the day and night
- Discussing the debt with your family, friends, and co-workers
- Refusing or failing to validate the debt and prove that they are authorized to collect it
- Pretending to be attorneys or police officers
- Ignoring a formal cease communications request
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Company Profile: Summit Receivables
If you are being called by Summit Receivables, an overview of the company and its management are presented below.
Summit Receivables is a collection agency located in Henderson, Nevada. It opened for business in 2007, has six employees, and is a member of the American Association of Credit and Collections Professionals. It has a B rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Litigation records at the PACER website suggest that consumers who believed that they were being harassed by Summit Receivables acted on their right to dispute the company’s claims.
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Alleged Violations against Summit Receivables
According to PACER, in or around March 2017, Summit Receivables started trying to collect a debt from a California consumer. She alleged that the company called her on her cell phone and at work. In one message left on April 24, 2017, a collector stated that a decision would be made within 48 hours.
On April 27, 2017, the same collector called her at work and spoke with the receptionist. When he said it was a personal matter, the receptionist told him that the consumer was not allowed to receive personal calls at work.
The collector then allegedly asked to speak with the consumer’s boss or the HR Department. When the receptionist hung up, he called back and said he was calling about a business matter.
On April 28, 2017, the collector left a message on the consumer’s cell phone stating that her conduct, “…according to the FTC…can carry some heavy penalties.”
Feeling harassed by Summit Receivables, the consumer sued the company for allegedly:
- Calling her at work after being asked to stop
- Using harassing and abusive means to collect a debt
- Harassing her by phone
- Misrepresenting the legal status of the debt
- Failing to identify itself as a debt collector in all communications
The matter was settled.
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Hire a Consumer Lawyer
The phone numbers for this debt collection agency are:
If you notice any of these numbers on your caller ID, it is confirmation that you are being called by Summit Receivables. If they call you at work after being told to stop and imply that legal action is forthcoming to scare you into paying, protect yourself by hiring a consumer lawyer and filing a claim against Summit Receivables.
Bullying consumers violates the FDCPA, and you could be awarded statutory damages of $1,000 per FDCPA violation, so take action when a debt collector crosses the line.
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Additional Resources
Case taken from PACER (pacer.gov). File number is Case 2:17-cv-01536-MCE-AC from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento 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 Summit Receivables or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.