Worried

Yep, that's what I do.  I have a time and date stamped log with the calls which are recorded on my att voice mail.  I call my local police department and they take a detailed repot each time and I archive the recordings with my att uverse account.  So, this way I have the police documenting it and forwarding the infomation to the detectives as well as ATT working on a complaint as my home phone service.  Most of the boiler room dialers (that's what they are, like telemarketers) are incredibly stupid.  They give me information that can be documented and traced. I have the phone numbers, names, call center noises in the background.  I've got the paper trail on the company, origins, owners, and history.  I've got an archive of law suits in various States.  If you have a Justia account you can find them.  They are rather entertaining to read.  Hard to believe this bottom feeder folks they have as what amounts to "bad check" attorneys/collectors are such idiots.  They usually hang themselves in court when the plaintiff files charges.  I find it quite ironic that these folks end up being the ones getting served papers after they threaten people with the same.  Makes me chuckle.  The sad thing is that these contractors they split the take with don't seem to realize that THEY can be held personally responsible for impersonation of law enforcement officials and government employees.  I imagine it takes a special kind of person to do that kind of work; namely unethical, dishonest, sans morality, and lacking a moral compass.

Yep, just another form of credit card theft.  I always wonder about people like you.  Sometimes I imagine you folks actually go to church on Sundays and parade around like you are upstanding citizens when you aren't anything more then a criminal.  But sounds like all you care about is the money, so I doubt you have any morals or ethics at all.  The very fact that you read these opinion boards to see who is talking about you is very narcissistic.

Idiot.  You and all your scum bag former telemarketing drug dealing felons need to learn the law.  Your scum bag draft dodging boss are buying bad debt.  YOU do not have the right to pursue criminal remedies on a returned check.
 YOU are not the PAYEEs of a bounced check and have NO legal authority to protest the check.  In order for someone to be charged for bouncing a check the first step is that the PAYEE MUST protest the check and MUST do so within 30 days of the insufficient funds and only after documenting the attempts to get the payor to make good on the funds.  The right to protest the check is not transferrable.  
I suggest you brush up on the law and i strongly suggest you brush up on criminal law because that is where you are headed.  If you want to continue to harass people go ahead, but do us all a favor and do so with at least an ounce of common sense.  Process servers dont call you before they serve you and lawyers dont give you a heads up before you are served or sued.  
The FDCPA protects the least sophisticated consumer.  to bad the friggin stupid collector isnt protected.  Rot in Jail you and all your co-scum bag workers and bosses.  They must have really enjoyed prison the first time around

I received a call from these people as well. Fortunately I am studying to be a lawyer. These are scams, and they use your personal networking connections against you. Also they use public documentation. They may have bought list from companies and have received an f from the better business bureau. The have sever a investigations against them... and when I told the lady to serve me she pretended she couldn't hear me...the phone was breaking up. Then she asked what I said...after repeating myself she threatened me and hung up. Funny enough neither my husband nor I have it on our credit reports hmmmm

I received a message from Upstate Debt Management/Scott, Brown, Andrew LLC.  The caller said that I was the center of a fraud check investigation and if I did not return the call I would be considered a criminal.  I researched the company and found the following:

BBB - 21 complaints, company failed to respond to 19 complaints of those 19 complaints 9 were considered serious.  The BBB gave the company a rating of "F". That is correct an "F".  This is not a law firm.  Stephan Brown is not a lawyer.  

I contacted the Depew Police Department.  The DPD told me to file a report with my local police department as well as the State's Attorney General.  They in turn will contact the FBI and the DPD.  I was assured that Depew does not want criminals like Upstate Management in their town.

Hey buddy, i'm no longer working at this place.. but I hope it satisfies you to know I am making 1500 to 2k a week doing collections somewhere else..hope you enjoy unepmloyment...jack a**.  And yes,  I am a very smooth talker.  You could learn a thing or two from me, maybe youd be able to take care of your pay day loans then.

TO BE SUCH A SMART GUY YOU SPELLED "GENIUS" WRONG JACK***! WHY DON"T YOU GO BACK TO WHATEVER SLIME FILLED HOLE YOU CRAWLED OUT OF AND LEAVE US HARDWORKING AMERICANS ALONE!!!

These people are the worst kind of people, scam artists! If you don't believe me google their fake law firm Brown Andrews and Scott, that should be enough proof to never send money to them!! Be smart think before you act! They use fear as a tactic to get you to pay quickly without thinking!  This is America! We have no debtor prison/jail. The act of threatening a person with jail time if they don't pay a debt is in fact a crime itself! There is a code of conduct that debt collectors must follow, and as you see Mr. Sawnson here would be in violation of several of these such as:

Sec. 392.301.  THREATS OR COERCION.  (a)  In debt collection, a debt collector may not use threats, coercion, or attempts to coerce that employ any of the following practices:
(1)  using or threatening to use violence or other criminal means to cause harm to a person or property of a person;
(2)  accusing falsely or threatening to accuse falsely a person of fraud or any other crime;
(3)  representing or threatening to represent to any person other than the consumer that a consumer is wilfully refusing to pay a nondisputed consumer debt when the debt is in dispute and the consumer has notified in writing the debt collector of the dispute;

(4)  threatening to sell or assign to another the obligation of the consumer and falsely representing that the result of the sale or assignment would be that the consumer would lose a defense to the consumer debt or would be subject to illegal collection attempts;
(5)  threatening that the debtor will be arrested for nonpayment of a consumer debt without proper court proceedings;
(6)  threatening to file a charge, complaint, or criminal action against a debtor when the debtor has not violated a criminal law;
(7)  threatening that nonpayment of a consumer debt will result in the seizure, repossession, or sale of the person's property without proper court proceedings;  or
(8)  threatening to take an action prohibited by law.
(b)  Subsection (a) does not prevent a debt collector from:
(1)  informing a debtor that the debtor may be arrested after proper court proceedings if the debtor has violated a criminal law of this state;
(2)  threatening to institute civil lawsuits or other judicial proceedings to collect a consumer debt;  or
(3)  exercising or threatening to exercise a statutory or contractual right of seizure, repossession, or sale that does not require court proceedings.
You can find the full list here: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/docs/fi/htm/fi.392.htm

Not paying a payday loan is not the same as bouncing a check, Most states have stipulation that explain any post dated checks (checks written for a future date) cannot be considered fraudulent under the rule of criminal law because at the time you wrote it you intended on having the money at the date that was written on the check so you had no Mens Rea or criminal mind when you wrote the check (that is needed for every criminal case)- so no they cannot hit you in criminal court only in civil court.
What they are doing  however, is highly illegal and can be punishable up to 20 years for violating federal debt collection laws.

And yet you sound so unprofessional calling people scumbags and liars. Your words alone prove what a deceitful person you are. You Mr. Swanson are the scumbag.

This people just won't stop and when I asked the name of the office they refused to give it so I told them my attorney would be calling. When he called they didn't answer and I know they are scammers!!

I just received a call from these guys.  I am no longer related to the person that they are pursuing, he is my daughter's ex.  The girl hung up on me when I told her not to call me again regarding the matter.  She decided to call me back and gave me an excuse that the phone had been cut off.  Bullsh**t.  She had to rally her speach.  She told me that she was having the sheriff knock on my door with a summons for my daughter's ex.  She would try to stop the action but she probably couldn't.  I told her once again don't call my house or have a sheriff come knock on my door, if she does -- that would be grounds for harassment and that I would sue her agency.  She hung up on my again.  I called her back and left a message on the agency answering machine that if they call back I will begin to record each time they contact me and file it as evidence of harassment.

Nice try "Nicole" but you're clearly not too bright and are getting real desperate with your posts!   Quite entertaining!

Please do not accept calls from these scammers!! If someone I'd after you to collect a debt, they are required by law to send you written notification FISRT and they have a certain amnount f time to do so.  These people cannot provide a physical addresss yut claim to be a law firm which if course they are not registered with the NY (or any other) Bar Association.  They use intimidation tactics to scare and confuse people into giving them money.  They call with no real info about you and ask all kinds of questions.  If they were being hired to collect a debt, they would already have this information.  Use common sense! These people are scum bags.  Report ll calls to the attorney Generals office as soon as possible.

Nice try but this was posted by the scammers!  Letters of dept come first..not after money is sent!! These people are sleezy and will do and say anything to convince you that they are legit.  They sit on the phone all day like monkeys and lie to people.  Not sure how they can even look at themselves in the mirror each day but the important thing is to ignore them.  Report them to the Atorney General.  They are SCAMMERS!

Well...your debt is not forgiven.. sorry, but give me a call and I'll be more than happy to get you any documentation on it, since you claim to have no problem paying of something in writing, even though you've mentioned to me that you do indeed remember taking this cash advance out, providing your bank info to get the money, and then bouncing it.

collection agents  are bound by state  laws to provide proof of debt to said debtor -as this would also be needed in court for civil judgement, wage garnesment, or lien.  I have had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with some debt collectors that will say or claim just about anything - since most of you work on a commission basis of what you collect. In these economic times perhaps some compassion might work best for you in your efforts yo collect on debts. None the least I have recored some the debt collectors calls to me - provided them to the States Attorneys Office and suddenly the debt is forgiven because what was said to me was in violation of state law and the collection agency would rather forgive the debt then be charged by SA for illegal collection activity.

You are a complete liar.  That was never said.  How would I even be able to impersonate a police officer calling from a 716 area code...wouldnt your caller ID give that away genious?? And yes you did bounce a check, and if I really wanted to spend the time filling out all your paperwork to file a claim for it I most certainly could..Its a shame that a scumbag like you will go to such measures just not to pay a debt that you owe.

Two months ago i received several phone calls from a Mr. Johnathan Swanson. The first time he called he pretended to be a law enforcement officer who had a warrant for my arrest. The second time he demanded i pay him 3 times the amount of the debt or he would have me arrested the very next day. I told him i had no problem paying this debt but i would like to have proof of what i'm paying. He agreed to send me an email statement within the next few hours which to this day i have never received. Long story short: These guys are scam artists!!! What they are doing is ILLEGAL!! Whatever you do DON'T SEND THEM ANY MONEY!! YOU WILL NOT GO TO JAIL!!!!!

I have received automated calls from these people and I received a call from a John Grossi. They have threatened legal action and this Grossi person actually told me that there was a criminal complaint filed against me. I don't like these people and don't appreciate harassment from a company that can't even tell the truth. They used a different number for me: 716-748-6273.

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Re. "Does anyone know how we can pay off the original loan without having to go through these scammers," you can pay the original creditor or his agent if he still owns the loan. If the original creditor sold your loan, then payment must go to the new owner of your debt or his agent and paying the original creditor does no good. The first step upon receiving a collection call is to find out who really owns the debt.
Re. "They doubled the amount owed," payday loan interest rates are so high (around 15% per 2 weeks?) that the doubling time is short months and that's not even including penalty fees (if any).
Until you get the status of your loan with Advance America resolved (paid, unpaid, sold?), you'll always have nagging doubts about whether any collection call is legit or scam. I suggest contacting Advance America and simply ask them about the status of your loan. If paid, ask them to send you paperwork so you'll always be able to prove you've paid.

hey,katerules.... one more thing they also have a new number it is 716-748-7966 watch for this one they have been calling for 3 months and I have not yet got a summons or court date or even a LEGAL court decision I have not received one thing on paper not one until then too bad so sad for Brown Andrews & scott the fictictious law firm from the east coast why do most scams originate in New York or new Jersey? do we really wonder...

katerules,
you probably did pay it off I also did some research and contact an attorney right here and had a chat with her and it sounds like you can turn the tables on them and actually make them pay you contact this person at this e-mail and she will explain I got this information right here on this page but since Steve Watters did not tell us about this easy info I agree all his letters on here are set ups to scare us illegally into supporting his lifestyle sorry Steve not anymore change your name
mcorzano@consumerlawcenter.com;

I'm so glad I found this site.  Have been getting calls from this company and thought it was some scam, since the phone always reads "private" when they call.  Finally took a call and after a few attempts got through to a person.  It was regarding an Advance America payday loan from 2006 for my husband, and this lady started telling me he was going to go to jail if not paid today, etc.  I smelled fish so started investigating online and called NY bar association to find out if they were even attorneys... NO.  So tomorrow I'll be making a few more calls to report them!  My hearts been in my throat all day wondering what's going on!  Does anyone know how we can pay off the original loan without having to go through these scammers?  They doubled the amount owed, too.  We thought this bill was paid off a few years ago when we were eliminating debt and haven't heard a word from Advance America or collections since.

my parents had been recieving calls from this company and my dad told me that this collection company was getting very violent on the answering machines...i called the company and they said i had been caught on tape taking out a loan from ez-payday loans and that i will have a warrent issued for my arrest in the county i'm from if i dont pay them that same day.. i was in tears i'm a single mom and comming up with that kinda money in litterally 2 hours i didn't know what to do.... i couldn't go to jail so i begged friends and family... i sent out a money order to them and then decided to research this company because they were so mean... found all these post and so i did some checking called the pay day loan place and spoke to their collection agency man said even though i wrote the check for over $500 back in 2008 the only thing that they could do is put a judgement against me and i would have no jail time... he asked for this company's address and phone # and is emailing his supervisor... man said to call and cancell the money order i sent because i wouldnt have to worry about this..so i cancelled the express mail and spoke to the post office in new york and the man there said that i needed to call the attorney general and report them he said they have had a few cases of this already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A James Jones saying he was from the lawyers office of Brown Andrews and Scott left a message on our answering machine saying they were looking for our daughter, that they were trying to serve her with papers about a civil case of bank fraud at our county's court house. He had no other way to contact her so could we please give her the message. He used her dads real name and used the correct county in which we live in Maryland. I immediately got on the internet and found this page. We will not be calling them back and I will be calling the Attorney General's office tomorrow to report this.

These people called my job and stated I was being investigated for fraud. First stated they had video survalence of me commiting the crime then stated I was over the internet. Also stated a duputy from my county was on the way.Even gave me the name of the deputy. I informed them I never had business with them or the company they were so called representing. I asked for the address so my attourney could contact them. All they wanted to give me was a fax. When I asked again for the address she hung up on me. I called the sheriffs office, they had no deputy by that name. Also I informed the sherriffs office of the call, name of the company and where they were calling from. It is now documented about this company. If they contact me again I will be forced to press charges.

I think Steve Watters is Steven Scott, the supposed attorney from this firm. He knows way too much about the laws in each state and the tone of the posting sounded like he was trying to scare us.
This company (not firm, as it's not a LAW FIRM AND THESE ARE NOT LAWYERS) are taking old information that either has been paid off or discharged in bankruptcy and attempting to scare you into paying it. They break every Fair Debt Collections laws by telling your friends/relatives YOUR business and leaving detailed voice messages on your voicemail. They aren't allowed to even infer that a debt is owed on a voicemail or answering machine. Talking to family or friends, and telling them the gory details, is a clear violation of the law.
I asked for information as to the validity of the debt as well as payment information and was told that I couldn't have it! I asked a number of times and was told that I'd have to call back with definite arrangements before I could have it. If it was legit, why wouldn't they give me the info? I turned this over to my attorney, who called them and left a message. Mr. Scott called back and said he'd fax proof of the debt immediately. That was 24+ hours ago and nothing has been received. They've also called me again, which is illegal because they have my attorney information. I'm not scared...

While it's true bad checks can get you jailed, this is only used for criminals with intent. Payday loan borrowers generally do not fall into this category because you'd have to prove in court that the borrower had criminal intent at the time he wrote the check and you'll have a hard time proving that if the borrower borrowed and successfully paid say 2 loans and defaulted on his third (demonstrated intent to pay). Unless a borrower leaves a trail of unpaid payday loans behind him, prosecutors won't waste time on it. Your post scares debtors needlessly and suggests a shill.