THIS IS A SCAM!! They tell you, you owe money and you need to pay up ot you will be served with a lawsuit....don't give them any info! Call your local police department!

Watch out for these 2 numbers as they are the same caller;
(702) 357-9775
(702) 997-7667

A call was once again made to Mandatory Arbitration, at 213-550-4678, asking where I could send the money.  The woman who answered had the same voice as the above telephone calls. She asked if I was Mary Shannon and I advised I was not. Clearly, she had my telephone number logged in her database. She asked why I was going to pay for her...and I stated to keep them from calling me, harassing me and my family and that they were frightening my family.  I asked where I could send the money.  She said they could only take it electronically with a credit card.  Visa, Mastercharge, American Express.  I explained I didn't have a credit card.  Where could I send a money order or cashiers check, since she stated people "sent in bad checks."  She stated, you can send it to  "1420 5th Avenue" (Suite 2200?)....then suddenly stopped and hung up the phone.  It was the voice as answered the phone numbers above.  

This new address provided is yet another one of Regus' properties in Seattle, located in the U.S. Bank Centre.  Will check more on that...I suspect they are fairly close by, if not located at this address.  Again, this site has virtual offices, as well and will not release the information as it is proprietary.

The true name of the company is Mandatory Security Arbitration Services.  It lists the above virtual office at 800 5th Avenue, as their address (again, note it is simply a forwarded mail and telephone service.)  They have had many complaints at the Better Business Bureau     http://www.bbb.org/western-washington/busines ... 0969/complaints

Additional Notes
Complaint Category: Improper collection practices

Complaint: This company contacted me Saturday morning saying they would issue a warrant if I did not contact them in the next 48 hours about a returned check item. I get calls like this from different companies at least twice a week. They are always trying to collect on an old paid off payday loan so I know the drill by now. When I called them back they hung up on me 3 times and I left them two messages. It amazes me that companies like this continue to exist that obviously violate so many Fair Collection practices. I always turn these companies into the FTC and my state attorney general but they continue to harass me.

Complaint Resolution: Company failed to respond to BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.

10/29/2013Billing / Collection Issues | Read Complaint Details
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Additional Notes
Complaint Category: Failure to substantiate charges

Complaint: A REPRESENATIVE FROM MANDATORY ARBITRATION CONTACTED ME FOR THE FIRST TIME OVER AN ALLEGED DEBT FROM 2007. THE REPRESENATIVE WAS RUDE, POORLY INFORMED, AND SPOKE OF MATTERS THAT ARE CLEAR VIOLATION OF LAW AND IT MANY POINTS TRIED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE AS A CRIMINAL AND NOT CIVIL MATTER. "2 COUNTS PENDING AGAINST ME". I INFORMED THE REPRESENTATIVE THAT I HAD NOT NOR HAD I EVER OBTAINED A ONLINE CASH LOAN. THEY WOULD NOT GIVE ME ANY INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE THE MONEY WAS SENT OR PROVIDE ME VALIDITY OF THE DEBT. I HAVE PULLED ALL MY BANK RECORDS FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS AND I, AS I KNEW, HAVE NEVER RECEIVED ANY SUCH LOAN. THE REPRESENATIVE WAS CONSTANTLY TRYING TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WAS CAUGHT IN LIES SEVERAL TIMES. THEY WOULD GIVE ME NO INFORMATION AS TO HOW TO DISPUTE THE CLAIM, AS REQUIRED BY LAW, NOR WOULD THEY TELL ME ANYTHING ALTHOUGH I CLEARLY TOLD THEM THAT THIS WAS EITHER A CASE OF FRAUD OR THEY WERE INTERNET CROOKS TRYING TO OBTAIN MY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION. THE COLLECTION AGENT HAD MY ENTIRE SS# BUT NO OTHER CORRECT/RECENT INFORMATION.

Complaint Resolution: Company failed to respond to BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.

10/03/2013Billing / Collection Issues | Read Complaint Details
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Additional Notes
Complaint Category: Improper collection practices

Complaint: Mandatory Security Arbitration Services contacted a family friend (emergency contact person) advising I must to contact their company at XXX-XXX-XXXX regarding an arbitration claim, an alleged debt collection attempt. They disclosed my name, address, and social security number to my family friend. What ever happened to protecting privacy in alleged consumers in debt collection cases? I am concerned with Mandatory Security Arbitration Services breach of privacy. Upon receipt of the message, I contacted Mandatory Security Arbitration Services in July 2013 and was informed to submit a payment of $200.00 or I would be subject to an arrest warrant due to lack of payment. I am stunned how this company can submit a warrant for my arrest when the company is located in Seattle, WA and I reside in Nevada. I am disappointed with their scare tactic; however I am aware that an arrest warrant has to be signed by a judge! In fear of my freedom, I submitted a payment of $100.00 in July 2013. I have documented several conversations with customer service representatives with Mandatory Security Arbitration Services. During our initial conversation, I was informed payments are submitted electronically ONLY. I inquired on a payment address to complete further research on the company who just seized $100.00 from my household. ** ****** stated, Ive told you before; we dont take paper payments, and disconnected the line. Please bear in mind, management refused to speak to me. I spoke with *** ****** ** ******* and ** ****** on 8/20/13 to request evidence of payment, my request again was declined. I was informed the receipt would be emailed when the payment was submitted. I have waited over 20 days for a receipt that has not been delivered electronically as stated. Each representative refused to provide their operator number, first name, business license number or corporate office contact information. I am confident this company is a scam! They deliver unfair business practices in arbitration, and to make defendants pay court costs and undetermined civil penalties. Not to mention, arbitration deprives individuals of their right to a trial before a jury, and channels disputes into a system that's friendly to business.I have expressed I will contact a lawyer regarding the declined request of my evidence of payment. I have ran out of options. Can you please point me in the direction for help? Thank you.

Complaint Resolution: Company failed to respond to BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.

- See more at: http://www.bbb.org/western-washington/busines ... h.XuTaL9pC.dpuf

They are not listed as a corporation, nor do they have a Washington State business license.  

Documentation on Investigator Harris, t the telephone number listed by the Washington Better Business Bureau indicates the telephone number to 410-417-5279, in Ellicott City, Maryland, with service through Weblink Wireless.  The phone is still in operation and a message was left for Investigator Harris to call back.  

Do file a complaint with the State of Washington Attorney General's Office.  They are taking complaints about this organiza tion seriously.

In the meantime, there is a great new organization within the federal government. We are pleased to announce Mandatory Aritration has been added to their database.  Fill out your complaint at this address...and they will start working on it!  https://help.consumerfinance.gov/app/debtcollection/ask#currentPage=0

Today, on December 9, 2013, I received a call from "Mandatory Arbitration," once again, from the same telephone number, 702-357-5775.  Again, it was a threatening telephone call.  I pressed 9 in order to speak to a "customer service representative."  No one answered within ten minutes and I was transferred to a voice mail.  I called the number left upon the recorded voice mail message.  A woman answered and I asked to speak to a supervisor.  She wanted to know the "case number."  She demanded to know if I was "Mary Shannon."  I stated I was not and wanted the harassing telephone calls stopped. She hung up on me.  I called back and again asked to speak to a supervisor and was placed on hold for over thirteen minutes after providing the case number 2013-149020, which was furnished in the telephone recording.

The collector wished to know the last four of my social security number, which I refused to give.  He wanted to know if I lived on Havasu Drive.  We established Havasu court was located in Lake Havasu, Arizona.  He was advised I did not live on Havasu Drive nor did I reside in Arizona.

The calls were particular aggressive as they stated they would be coming to my home to "take action" with me.  It is disconcerting, as the individuals spoken with over the telephone were hostile, argumentative and rude.

I called 888-743-9314, the number left for me to call.  I asked to speak to a supervisor.  The individual was hostile, yelled at me and stated they were going to go ahead with the "action against me."  I called back and spoke to "Investigator Jones," who advised he was with the "Legal Department."  (I had asked to speak with the legal department."  He advised he would take my number out of their system.

During the phone calls I was advised their office was located at 800 5th Avenue, #4100 Seattle, Washington.  That address belongs to Premier Law Group.  I have called them at the telephone number reflected upon the attached link. http://linktown.king5.com/biz/premier-law-gro ... /98104/40267920  The secretary was kind and at this time, is attempting to find a partner with whom I may speak.

Jason Epstein of Premier Law Group was interviewed and advised the address is simply a virtual office to establish a presence in Washington.  The same suite number is shared by approximately one hundred companies and is operated by an organization called Regus, which charges $60 a month for such a presence.In turn, they receive a live receptionist who answers the phone, and mail forwarding service.  

They can be contacted at regus.com and perhaps through them, we can find the name of the individuals who are participating in these unfair debt practices.  In the meantime, there are attorneys who are willing to take action against these individuals, once identified.

I called Regus at 1-972 865 4600.  Mandatory Arbitration is one of the customers who possesses a virtual address at that location.  Regus was reluctant to provide any information about their "leasees."  They did agree to pass on a message to the owners of Mandatory Arbitration to contact me directly.

This is the third threatening call in two weeks.  All calls came from 702 numbers.  The first address was tracked back to these numbers is a "virtual office." (Storefront)  A police reported is being filed in the morning and a complaint has been filed with the Washington State Office of the Attorney General.  We will be filing another with the Nevada Stated Attorney General.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:

?is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
?refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
?asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
?exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.

If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:

?Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.?Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
?Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft ? charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
?Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate ? but you think the collector may not be ? contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
?Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors

Last week, we received a telephone call from a company, documented on here, insisting we stay home for two hours to be served with litigation papers.  Upon tracing the company back and speaking with them, it was discovered a woman named Mary Shelton, in 1994, used my first initial and the same last name as a reference to obtain credit with a credit card company, therefore, they felt it may be me and felt justified in threatening me, fully knowing my name was not Mary Shelton.  They were advised it was not me...they were rude. The company, on that date, identified themselves as WSA, out of Chicago.  I was able to track them to a local office.  After hours of pursuing it, I received an apology and assurances of account correction and my name and number would  be removed from their database.

Today, we received a telephone call from telephone number 702-357-9775 (which we traced back to a Sprint/Nextel telephone number, from a company called "Mandatory Arbitration," threatening to sue us within 24 hours for a debt.  If we pressed "9" we could speak to a loud person.  The person asked if we were "Mary Shannon."  We advised we were not.  She refused to give any further information, to escalate the call to a supervisor and hung up on us.  We called the original number back (which was captured on caller ID) and it rang twice, then gave "reorders," a fast busy sound.  We consider these to be terroristic telephone calls, as they are threatening an action against the person answering the telephone.  We encourage any person who receives  such calls to call their local law enforcement agency and report terroristic and harassing telephone calls. Innocent people who some person chose to use a name similar to theirs as a reference twenty years ago should not be subjected to ongoing and continuing threats.  This is harassment and stalking...we will be reporting it to local, state and federal authorities.

If you are being harassed by bill collectors, you can sue them directly.  There are legal organizations which will file suit for ongoing harassment (calling after hours,  threatening to arrest, etc.)  

If the individuals are private investigators, you can file complaints through their State licensing board, as private investigators cannot threaten arrest, in most states.  They can serve legal papers ordinarily for small claims court.  And, finally, they cannot threaten private individuals who are "references" or stated as "references" for credit applications, including family members.

Bottom line is harassment is harassment.  Threatening and  terroristic telephone calls are illegal in most states.  Also be sure and call your State Department of Consumer Affairs...if they have a unit which deals with telemarketing, bill collecting, etc.  And, be sure and file a complaint with the Office of the State Attorney General.

Finally, take your concerns to your legislators, so state legislation can be developed for severe penalties for these individuals, who are violating state and federal laws.

http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/11/fake-debt-col ... wsuits-arrests/