Being Called By VRM Collections? Here’s What to Know

If you live paycheck to paycheck like a lot of people, job loss can leave you in such poor financial shape you can barely make ends meet. If this happens to you and debt collectors get abusive with you, understand that you have rights that protect you from such treatment.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

Congress passed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in 1977 to allow indebted consumers to resolve their debt situation without being subjected to pressure tactics like the following:

• Calling you names like deadbeat or loser
• Threatening to publish your name to a public debtor’s list
• Using an autodialer to send nonstop calls to your phone
• Telling your friends and relatives that you don’t pay your bills
• Saying they have a court action in progress when they don’t
• Calling you at the crack of dawn or late at night

Company Profile: VRM Collections

If you are being called by VRM Collections, more information about the company is below.

VRM Collections, which also does business as Vigden Receivables Management, LLC, is a debt collection agency located in Cypress, Texas. It opened for business in 2004, has 10 employees, and is managed by its President, Branden Vigliotti. Legal files at the PACER website suggest that consumers who felt that they were being harassed by VRM Collections fought back in court.

Alleged Violations against VRM Collections*

According to information on the PACER website, on or around June 25, 2009, VRM Collections called an Illinois consumer at her workplace to collect a debt. When the collector provided an incorrect social security number in connection with the alleged debt, the consumer said that it was not hers and the collector hung up.

A few minutes later another collector called the consumer. When she stated that she disputed the alleged debt and to stop calling her at work. The collector allegedly yelled at her and ordered her to “pay her bills” before threatening to garnish her wages. The same collector allegedly then called her boss and the company’s HR department, told them that the consumer owed money to VRM Collections, and that her wages would be garnished.

On June 27, 2009, VRM Collections allegedly called the consumer again and said, “You need to be a woman and pay your bills.” When she insisted that she disputed the alleged debt and to stop calling her at work, the collector allegedly retorted that he will continue calling her at work until she got fired and will tell anyone that answers the phone that she owes money.

He also allegedly made disparaging racial remarks, saying, “Black people never pay their bills. People like you are the reason black people are held down” and telling her that she lived in a “dirty part of Chicago”. The collector also allegedly stated that the consumer’s husband was a homosexual and was planning to engage in sexual acts with him.

Feeling harassed by VRM Collections, the consumer sued the company for:

• Calling her at work after being told to stop
• Using harassing and abusive means to collect a debt
• Using profane and obscene language
• Talking to third parties about the debt

A judge awarded the consumer $19,355.

Hire a Consumer Lawyer

The phone number for VRM Collections is 1-800-469-0136. If it appears your caller ID at any time, it means that that VRM Collections is calling you. If they call you at work, embarrass you in front of your boss, or use racist language, hire a consumer lawyer and file a claim against VRM Collections. You could be awarded $1,000 per FDCPA violation, so when you know you’re in the right, take action.

Additional Resources

• Has a debt collector used profane language on the phone?
• FDCPA Frequently Asked Questions

*Case taken from PACER (pacer.gov). File number is Case: 1:09-cv-04405 from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern 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 VRM Collections or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.