The first 2 calls I got ask for my ex husband.  I just said he's not here.  I don't give out information to strangers, especially over the phone.  This morning the story was he had given me as a reference and they couldn't find him and would I give them his information.  There could not be anything to this, my ex has his faults but he pays his bills so this has to be a scam.

We too have gotten these identical calls from these "agents". I spoke with Atty General, state of police in MI and GA what they are doing is illegal. You are not allowed to leave messages on a vm to anyone let alone a "reference" not even to the intended person stating criminal charges. We did not fall for this, 8 days later and still no documents that we requested. But we are saving every message they leave and have reported them to everyone we can think of. Funny thing is the supposed loan payday was supposed to be from B.C., we live in MI and this company is in Utah!? And they never ONCE requested to speak to my husband only me yet the supposed debt is his? Be aware this company is not legit. Research. Do not fall victim.

repeated calls

I just got a call from Agent Davis from DTA saying that she was in the process of serving my place of work with a "felony packet" to notify my job that I am "about" to prosecuted for a felony for check fraud. When I questioned "Agent" Davis about the company she was representing and what the debt was, she got annoyed and only wanted to keep talking about this "felony" she was charging me with.  She said I had to pay it now or my case would be up for review at 3pm today and she would have no choice but to issue an "arrest" warrant.  Then she asks if I have "little kids" and how it would be sad for them if I had to go to jail.  I said I would call her back after I looked further into this and she got mad and said "well, after 3pm I wont be able to stop them from issuing an arrest warrant".  Glad I looked up this company!!!

This exact thing happened to me yesterday, the difference is that I told them I would make the payment.  Only after that is when I started digging as it was mentioned to me that it sounded like fraud.  I am worried now that because I told them I would pay it I don't have a choice.  I am not usre what to do I don't know how they can arrest me though as they haven't ever notified me.

Awww. . . you're just a shill for Dorsey Thornton.  I know that.  Any reasonable person would.  Which manager is this?

I found this tonight on aol's main page please read and let me know if you still the same way.


America's new debtor prison: Jail time being given to those who owe
Martha C. White
Jul 15th 2010 at 8:00AM More Text SizeAAAFiled under: Borrowing, Credit, Debt, Bankruptcy, 101 credit&debt, In the News

Debtors prisons were federally abolished in the United States in the 1800's, yet in certain states, they seem to be making a comeback. Out of Minnesota come disturbing reports of Americans being thrown in jail due to outstanding bills -- sometimes for as little as $85. The Star-Tribune of Minneapolis profiles a number of people who say their debts got them jailed, including Joy Uhlmeyer a 57-year-old patient care advocate who was pulled over on her way home from visiting her elderly mother and put in jail for a night for missing a court hearing about unpaid debt.

The Star-Tribune reviewed the state's court documents and found that arrests like Uhlmeyer's are up 60% in Minnesota over the past four years. And Minnesota isn't the only state where this is happening. It's a turn of events Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at advocacy group U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (or PIRG), calls a "very bad situation for consumers." Mierzwinski attributes the practice to "bottom-feeder debt collectors [who] are very aggressive."
People who are imprisoned for their debts are technically locked up for contempt of court after failing to appear for a hearing pertaining to their debt. It's a legal loophole that debt-collection companies are increasingly using. Here's how it works: First, the collections company files a lawsuit against the debtor, which requires them to appear in court. If the debtor doesn't show up, the creditor wins a default judgment against them. This allows them to ask the court to schedule another hearing at which the judge can go through the debtor's assets and determine if actions such as wage garnishments or bank account seizures can take place.

If the debtor doesn't show up to that hearing, the hammer of justice can come down hard and fast. From there, the judge can order the debtor in contempt of court and issue a warrant for their arrest. If this seems unnecessarily punitive, the price to get out of jail is even more so, say consumer advocates: Generally, the judge sets the cost of bail at the amount of the disputed debt, an amount which is then turned over to the creditor.

"This is the private use of government resources to collect debt," Pete Barry, partner at law firm Barry & Slade LLC, told Walletpop. One of Barry's clients was arrested at her workplace for not filling out and sending back a form demanded by the creditor. The client, Barry says, suffered the humiliation of having to have her boss come to the jail and post a bond before she could be released. The bond money, he added, was turned over to the creditor. "They're using the court system as their collection agent," he says.

"There are big issues," says Ira Rhinegold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. "Minnesota isn't the only place it's happening, but it seems to be the worst. They're leading the way," he says, noting that NACA has heard similar stories out of Wisconsin, New Jersey, Arkansas and Washington.

Rhinegold tells Walletpop that some unscrupulous debt collectors never even send debtors the required notification that the case is being taken to court. Then the debtor fails to show up and the collector wins a default judgment, which can pave the way for imprisonment until they post their bond.

What's behind all of this? "In some ways it stems from the growth of the debt buying industry," says Rhinegold. Collection agencies buy debt for pennies on the dollar, then hire lawyers to chase after even the smallest amounts. Of all of the unfair aspects of this chain of events, advocates say the most galling is that, in many cases, consumers may not even be legally responsible for the debts for which they're being jailed. In fact, the debt may not even be theirs, the amount may be inflated by penalties and attorney's fees, and it's almost certainly been written off by the original creditor -- who then resold it for pennies on the dollar to a debt-collection firm that plays hardball to get money from consumers. Often, says Rhinegold, the collector doesn't even have the paperwork that would prove that existence of the debt. In these cases, the judge will dismiss the case against the debtor. All the debtor had to do was show up for their day in court.

For this reason, Gail Hillebrand, financial services campaign manager at nonprofit Consumers Union, says it's vitally important for consumers to respond if you get a letter threatening legal action and requiring a court appearance. The name of the collector can change because of how often debt is resold, she warns. So if you have an outstanding debt, don't assume that a notice that seems to come from a different company than the original lender is junk mail. "The problem is that people don't realize what it is," she says.

It's important to do some research first, though. If the debt isn't yours, you can dispute it. Even if it is, showing up to court can sometimes lead to an outcome in your favor if the collector can't prove you owe the debt. Either way, it will keep you from being hauled off in handcuffs.

If you research this company (Dorsey Thornton and Associates) you will find that they got their business license for being an alarm company in Union City, GA. The website is registered to Michael Thornon to an address in CA. There are a lot of phone numbers listed in various places. I have 6 phone numbers for them. All 6 have been disconnnected or belong to another company now. SCAM!

The owners of this company are Michael Thornton and Wyteria Dorsey.

I am really mad. I got a call from them saying I had commited a felony and now i find out that this is not true. I have already paid them half of the money... $300 and they are scheduled to take out another $300 in a few days. I might reverse the charges since this is fraud.

I am working with a lawyer to find out what my rights are in this matter. He is telling me that there has been a rash of this type of fraud going on lately. BEWARE of Dorsey Thornton and Associates. At best they are bold face liars who use illegal collection practices. At worst they are scam artists.

Just FYI-----PayDay Loans are illegal in Georgia and have been since July 2004. There is no PayDay Loan operation in Georgia and I would suggest that you contact the Georgia Attorney General's Office. I had those people calling me. I was a victim of identify theft in 2005. These individuals told me that I "took out" a PayDay Loan in Georgia in January 2006 and that they would be pursuing criminal charges against me. I immediately called Thurbert Baker's office and was informed of these loans being illegal, regardless of whether they were or were not my debt. I hope this group is reading this information and chooses to stop harrassing people, specifically those who live in Georgia.

An Agent Moore from Dorsey, Thornton, and Associates called and left a message on my mother's voicemail June 28, 2010.  My mothers voicemail clearly states her name, yet Agent Moore left a message as if she was leaving it on my voicemail stating she was from the Criminal Investigations Unit at Dorsey, Thornton, and Associates and that I had 24 hours to return her call or she would file a criminal warrant with my Sherriffs Department.  

I called immediately after receiving the message.  I was told she was calling from a law firm and that she was going to file paperwork for my arrest.  I asked what for, she stated it was for a payday loan back in 2007.  I asked her for the details of the loan, because I just wanted to know what the original debt amount was, dates, etc.  She would not provide origination dates or the amount due.  She said I had to pay $585.00 no later than 3:00pm the next day or she would file for my arrest.  I said this was the first time I'd heard from her, but she claims she left several messages with my Mother (which we knew wasn't true) and that I could not make payments.  I never denied the debt and was aware I had a few outstanding (yes, a lot of us have debts, I am working with debt consolidation to take care of any debts from my "stupid young days"...not everyone with debts are losers), but I asked if I could make payments because that was a lot to come up with at once.  She said I could not make payments.  I told her I could not pay a company without documented proof of this loan/debt.  This is when she began to get very offensive.  She started saying I obviously do not care about my debts nor want to take care of them.  She said she could email me the documentation, but by doing so I'm binding myself to pay the due amount by tomorrow.  I said I would not bind myself to pay anything until I had proof.  She said all their "proof" would come out in court and that they cannot send me documentation.  I told her I have a legal right to see this, and she said that they know that, but they assume when a debt is this old I was aware of it and they do not legally have to provide any documentation (this coming from an "attorney").  So I told her I had to call her back.

I researched online and found several people complaining about this similar situation and also found out they were a collection agency.  I called the local State Attorneys Office here in Utah.  They said that only they can issue arrest warrants, not some agency in Georgia and to call the Department of Financial Institutions in Utah in regards to this payday loan company.  The State Attorney in Utah also stated that NO ONE goes to jail for check fraud in Utah for a payday loan, because according to federal regulations (which about 48 states follow in their own state regulations) payday loans ARE NOT CHECK FRAUD.  This company takes your "check" (whether ACH or paper) on the direct assumption that 1.  You do not have the funds, therefore they are accepting your check that would bounce if cashed today and 2.  They are requesting a post-dated check, which by most financial institutions voids it automatically.  So I called the Utah Department of Financial Institutions.  They stated that the payday loan company DTA was claiming they were collection for was not even licensed to loan within Utah.  That DTA and companies like it, will threaten things like jail time, etc because they are collecting for a debt that is void within the state the person resides.  That if DTA filed anything with the Sherriffs Department in Utah, they would not even accept an arrest warrant from another state, that the State Attorney would not issue one for a payday loan, but instead would issue a court filing on the payday loan company for operating within their state without a license.

My brother-in-law that works for a debt consolidation firm asked their in-house lawyers about the tactics of this company.  They ALL stated that it is illegal to threaten jail time if payment is not made, that payday loans are CIVIL MATTERS, NOT CRIMINAL and that DTA needs to be reported to the FTC, State Attorney of both Utah and Georgia, and notified in writing about verification of debts.  

For the record, I'm working on paying off all my debts.  I still plan on paying this payday loan company, even though legally I do not have to.  I am, because its the principle.  However, I do not deserve to get phone calls about how i'm going to be arrested "on-site" by the local police if I dont pay an outrageous amount of money within 24 hours without documented proof.  That is illegal.  This company refused to prove to me they even had rights to collect on this debt.  No matter how old the debt, if this is the first time youve spoken to that collection agency, THEY LEGALLY HAVE TO provide proof of the debt.  If they dont, you do not have to pay.  They cannot just throw out an amount of $ and threaten jail time unless you pay it.  Know your rights, but call your local State Attorney and Department of Financial Institutions (if your state has one) and verify that bad check laws/check fraud does not apply to payday loans within your state.  Also, just know that you will not go to jail for a bad check law in Utah that is under $500.00.  Over $500.00, yes you can be imprisoned, however if it's a bounced check for a payday loan, that law does not apply (DTA will threaten you with this law, but Dept of Financial Institutions and the Utah State Attorneys Office both have verified otherwise).  Note that in Utah, they consider a Bad Check/Check Fraud for goods stolen.  You buy an item over $500.00 and the check bounces, they may send you to jail, however you will be summoned to court first and can pay it there.  They DO NOT SEND YOU TO JAIL FOR A PAYDAY LOAN, PERIOD.

Also, I was told if I didn't pay by June 30, 2010 everything would be submitted for my arrest.  Yesterday I received an automated message from their company requesting I call them back in regards to my "case".  A case I was told after June 30th would be out of their office and with the local police.  Yeah...that makes sense.

Go on the FTC website and look up debt collection laws. Its not legal for them to have him arrested or threaten to do so. He has the right to have them verify the debt(send a letter to him stating what is owed, from who/when ect. He then has 30 days to dispute it. He should not have sent them anything. I've tried to find anything about these people and i cant, even tried looking on the BBB website for Georgia area debt collectors.

This nikki harris keep's calling and telling my boyfriend that if he don;t pay on this pay day loan he was going to prison for 2 to 5 year's,and a warrent would be issued!So he made a payment of 150.00 and now they are calling again saying if he don't have 363.00 dollor's by theend of today he was going to jail?Can they really do this? They are saying check fruad,but he lost his job how can you pay thing's then???

got the same call two days ago. said i owed for a payday loan. when i said i wouldnt do anything about it unless its verified ,even tho i know i dont owe for one, and i asked for the name of their business, location and license number all she said they were gonna contact the police and hung up. guess they dont know threatening arrest is illegal. Somebody should burn their playhouse down

Lady called me saying that Im going to jail for two years but she never gave me her name and she answered the phone saying hold on. She kept placing me on hold. Once I figured out this was collection agency she got rude and told me I deserve what ever sentence they give me.

i have your social security, drivers liscense number and u will be in jail for 1 to 2 years. she left this message reguarding my daughter