Owing a debt does not make you a criminal, but it’s a fact that many collection agencies choose to ignore. When they try to collect the money, they often use abusive language, call you at all hours, and threaten to have you imprisoned.
Such conduct is illegal, so if it happens to you, contact a consumer attorney to help you protect your rights.
Your Rights Under the FDCPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) makes it illegal for third-party collection agencies to intimidate and harass consumers. If you are being contacted by a debt collector who uses tactics like the following, they are breaking the law.
- Swearing and using racist or sexist language
- Demanding amounts that are inflated by ‘service charges’
- Threatening to damage your reputation and credit rating
- Calling you at work after you’ve told them that your boss doesn’t allow such calls
- 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.
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Company Profile: Universal Recovery Corporation
If you are being called by Universal Recovery Corporation, information about the company is below.
Universal Recovery Corporation is a debt collection company located in Rancho Cordova, California. It was established in 1993, has 20 to 49 employees, and is managed by its CFO, Robin Langley.
The Better Business Bureau has given it a rating of F. Civil litigation records retained by the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website indicate that consumers who felt they were being harassed by Universal Recovery Corporation elected to actively confront the company in court.
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Alleged Violations against Universal Recovery Corporation
According to PACER, on or around June 25, 2015 a California woman checked her credit report and saw that Universal Recovery Corporation was reporting an alleged debt.
She disputed it by letter, but when she examined her credit report again on August 19, 2015, she saw that the company had neither removed the alleged debt from her credit report, nor had it marked as “disputed by consumer.”
Feeling harassed by Universal Recovery Corporation, she hired a consumer attorney and sued the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:
- Using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt
- Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt
- Reporting inaccurate information to the credit bureaus
The matter was later settled.
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Hire an Attorney
The phone numbers for this collection agency are:
If you see either one on your caller ID, be advised that you are being called by Universal Recovery Corporation. If they fail to report your debt as disputed to the credit bureaus, hire a consumer attorney.
If you file a claim against Universal Recovery Corporation, you could be awarded $1,000 per FDCPA violation plus costs and damages. Even if you actually owe the debt, collection agencies ignore your rights at their own risk.
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Additional Resources
Case taken from PACER (pacer.gov). File number is Case 8:16-cv-01288-JLS-JCG from the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Southern 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 Universal Recovery Corporation, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.