Anyone who disputes a debt in one sentence and admits a desire to pay in the next is sending a very faulty validation request. That said, let's not confuse healthy caution with willful evasion, as you collection cheerleaders always do. Exercising a federal right to seek proof of claim is not a cheap stall tactic, it's wise money management, something else of which you all insist alleged debtors are incapable. From other comments here, your boss doesn't seem able or willing to properly validate anyway. Who is being dilatory then?

I'm also a little puzzled. It appears you will pay any bullying gang of strangers on the phone so long as at least one of them is "very pleasant". I should phone you this weekend and call you foul names, then send one of my sweet talker friends afterward. I could use some extra rent money.

You will wring your hands and confuse a business problem with a moral lapse, and use money as an emotional bandage without thinking to first dispute and demand debt validation as is your right. You will do this despite hearing what was likely an illegal threat of litigation and taking abusive remarks. You think that some friend in Buffalo doing a drive-by and seeing cars parked in the agency's lot makes one "legitimate". You think a rep parroting the creditor's name from the collector's own skimpy files is enough to obligate you. You actually believe, poor dear, that a "paid thanks" letter from a lawbreaking debt collector you never disputed means you have seen the end of collection on that account.

Else you were "simply doing your job" of confusing the rest of us by implying that the collector is always right and the alleged debtor is always wrong.

Friends, if you would prefer to be less puzzled when facing a similar problem, learn to use the state and federal laws which will clear the fog.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm

They have big balls calling and trying to scare someone with this crazy s***.  They don't and can't tell you much.  I would like to see them face to face.

oh bob your so lame you are a collector for a company with bad paper its been sold 4 xs your welcome for the heads up

Calling the Employer is not ethical and goes against our company policy.  We do not accept personal calls at any time for anybody.

These people have gotten a bad name due to the stupid tactics they use to collect money.  I would rather deal with a car salesman than try to negotiate with these retards.  And how do people that don't pay their bills give people that do a bad name?

Yes I am aware that there is no "Mr. Clark" at this company as I have had to talk to them many times.  He mysteriously "disappeared.  Well, his message is saved on my voicemail for future reference.  I have asked them 4 times now to send me a validation of debt letter and have never received one yet.  I have TALKED to the company they are claiming to represent. I do NOT have an account with them and they have never heard of this company. I also had this company email me that I do not have an account with them, so I also have the email for future reference.  My tracks are covered.  

Don't lump everyone in the same category.  I work 2 jobs (70 hours a week) and I work HARD to take care of my bills.  I will not just give money to some random "Debt collector" who refuses to prove the debt.  And if you want to then have at it.  While your at it go ahead and post your phone number so I can call YOU and demand you give me money without any proof that you owe anything....

You people are all sorry deadbeats. You know damn well you owe the money. For those of you that are parents what kind of example are you setting. I was a debt collector for a few years but decided it wasn't for me. One thing I do know is that everyone of you does in fact owe the money. FYI.  They can in fact Sue you. I agree most collectors are shady, which is why I found a new job. In closing: they can Sue you and yes its scary but a good collector could get any one of you to pay. Just ask for a verification letter and then be an adult and pay your damn bills or don't...someones needs to pay the car note for your friendly bill collectors brand new car..

There is no mr  clark there..............Call you'll see 800-898-9454

I have been receiving phone calls from these scammers since August.  I still have the original message From "Thomas, Gregory, and Klein" claiming I have an outstanding payday loan and that if I didn't call back immediately I would be sued.  Curious, as I have had one payday loan that is paid off.  I called back and a "Mr. Clark" told me my case was going into litigation and my sister and best friend would be called in to testify.  I told him to send me the supposed court documents and papers from the company they claimed to be representing to my home address.  Never received any papers.  They called a few weeks later to "schedule a payment arrangement".  I informed them I have never received any papers and would like to know just who they were representing.  I called the actual company they said they were representing and according to them, I have no account with them.  It was closed and marked as paid back in 2007.  Again, asked these scums to send me paperwork.  Again, never received ANYTHING!  Yet, they still kept calling.  Asked them twice now to email me the documents since apparently I was not going to get anything in the mail, and of course never received ANY emails.  Just talked to a "Mrs. Davis" today.  I informed her to stop calling me, that I have the original voicemail where they lied and said they were a law firm and would have my license revoked and I would be arrested for fraud, etc (all the usual scare tactics left in one nice voicemail...how smart).  Well, she got NASTY.  Told me I was lying about not receiving any documents and that they were just going to go ahead and sue me.  I told them that was fine I would be filing a FTC report and a police report for harrassment.  She then hung up on me.  Please, Please, PLEASE do not give these jerks any personal information such as your debit card or checking account number.  I sincerely hope they are shut down.  I have done nothing wrong.  Giving money to them is the equivalent to gving money to a random stranger walking down the street demanding you give them money.  They will not even send me any proof.  I'm so furious that they are leeching off of hard working people who are struggling pay to pay!

And to all those that say to pay your bills and we wouldn't have these problems...all I can say is you have to be associated with these companies in some way.  They are practicing illegal debt collection acts as well as FRAUD as I owe this company nothing!  In no way is this legal!

Just ask for a letter in fax or mail to show they have your debt. Then dont be scum of the earth and pay your bill..........

Some people request validations letters say they want to pay there bills. They request them to see if your going to send them and still still dont pay there debt. Probaly just scum of the earth............

Jeep, I got a good life, and pay ALL my bills...and yes, when someone calls my work phone (notice WORK, I have a good job), I answer it with my company name...I will not assume you and your situation so stop assuming mine...

Yes Resident, I have no idea who these people are...I have no oustanding debt and no reason to be called...its certainly possible they have my work cell number from the prior owner, because if they were reputable and knew me, they would certainly have both my home # and personal cell #...

Well they called me back, its been how long now, 3 months...same message left, and no, I do not plan to call them back...I have no reason to...

And to paralegal...is this your company calling me?  If they previously asked for that person, and I said no, that is not me and I don't know who it is, wouldn't you then take that number out of your calling loop?  I guess not, keep it up, I won't answer...

Not one word of truth. Amazing!

I have to say after reading all of these posts that I am a little puzzled.  I got several phone calls from a Ms. Davis about a payday account I had not paid back due to some financial hardships I was going through.  She was very pleasant.  We set up a payment plan to re-pay this loan.  The 2nd month I was to pay back the loan, my debit card was stolen.  I called Ms. Davis immediately to explain what happened and we set up another payment method (using my checking account).  I got their mailing address and sent the check right away.  That was fine.  I was expecting a new debit card but didn't get it as soon as expected and my account came due again.  I called to explain this to her and she pushed me to Ms. Taylor who was very unwilling to hear me out and became very angry with me and used a threatening tone with me telling me that either I take care of the payment today or I would be seen in court.  Well, needless to say, I was so scared that I worked out a way to make the payment.  I just today made my last payment with them, again speaking with Ms. Davis.  She was very, very willing to give me her address, fax number, and direct number.  I happen to have a friend who lives in Cheektowaga who checked them out for me.....they are legitimate.  She was even able to tell me who the originator of this account was.....Eagle Finance......and told me that she will be putting a "paid in full" letter in the mail to me today.  Am I ashamed that I let my account get to this point......absolutely!  But, if you are willing to work with them and you are familiar with the company they are calling you about, chances are it is legitimate.  If you give them attitude, they will give it back.....as I quickly found out.  Ms. Davis is wonderful to work with and is simply doing her job.  Ms. Taylor....well, lets just say she doesn't love her job.

Your speech is great , but what about the company whom now owns your debt? They can sue you too!

thomas and assoc
3806 union rd suite 169
Cheektowaga ny 14225
fax number 800-977-9651

I have been dealing with Thomas & Assoc and Ms Taylor for the past few months, with their harrassing threats of wage garnishment, license suspensions and court. I have actually paid my debt off with another company who says not to pay these people that they are fraudulent. It doesnt matter to Thomas & Assoc that you paid it, they will claim that it was for a different account#. I finally decided to do a cease and desist letter to them and phoned them for their fax# or address and they refuse to give it to me. I now intend to report them and if need be sue them for harrassment. My advise, be careful, do your research and with anything you owe, deal directly with the company that you owe not collectors, most likely the company you owe will work with you some way or another. Collectors cant do anything to you, only the company that you owe will take you to court if they have to. Collectors have NO power, so dont feed into them.

Yeah, I recieved a call today.. They also may threats to take me to court..  they have been calling for me for 8 month just using diffrent names and telephone number.   I know its a scam...  people please be aware!!!! you shouldn't pay anything over the phone to anyone . if some one need to coolect a debit let thme take you court so you know who you are paying , if you owe a debt . that's how I'm going to deal with these people.

They just called me today 8/22/11talking about a loan back in 09 talking about suspending my license and they are talking about the a law firm Albany newyork please get back to me and let know if they are fake or not because they called me from a 1800 number and Albany is a 518 number my email dainawilliams@yahoo.com

I hope you have done your research.... Most consumers who are good consumers such as yourself and never going to go to a site like this and write good things about a company. It will only be the dead beats whom dont pay there bills..

THE MESSAGE ABOVE... I AM NOT IN CONTACT WITH MY EX HUSBAND; THAT SOUNDED STUPID. THEY ALSO CLAIM I WROTE OUT A FRAUDELANT CHECK. DON'T HAVE A CHECKING ACCOUNT... NICE TRY PEOPLE

I GOT A CALL FROM THIS NUMBER AND THEY STARTED TO THREATEN ME RIGHT AWAYS. THEY HAD NUMBERS OF MY DAUGHTER, SON IN LAW AND EX HUSBAND THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN IN TOUCH WITH FOR YRS. WHEN I ASKED WHAT THERE ADDRESS WAS THEY GOT NERVOUS. THE WOMEN MS. TAYLOR WAS SO RUDE AND DIDN'T GIVE ME A CHANCE TO TALK, THEN I LET HER HAVE IT AND SAID SEE YOU IN COURT LADY.

THEY EVEN  HAD AN EMAIL ADDRESS FROM A PREVIOUS EMPLOYER. THEY TRIED TO SAY I HAD A PAY DAY LOAN AND GAVE MY DAUGHTER AND COUSIN AS A REFERENCE. THEY DON'T ASK FOR PERSONAL REFERENCES.

I CALLED BACK AND THE RECORDING SAID COMMERCE AND ASSOCIATES. I ASKED THE GIRL WHO ANSWERED THE PHONE
WHAT THE COMPANY NAME WAS AND SHE GAVE ME THOMAS, GREGORY AND KLEIN I ASKED IF THE COMPANY WAS CALLED COMMERSE AND ASSOCIATES, I THEN ASKED FOR THE ADDRESS AND SHE TRANSFERRED ME TO THIS MS. TAYLOR.. WHO STARTING TO FREAK OUT. I HUNG UP ON HER.

I am curious to know that the firm that served your employment, was it Thomas, Gregory & Klein?

I got a call this morning from Thomas & Associates about a payday loan from a co. that i do remember from 2007 but can't remember if i paid back. i was going thru a really tough time and my wages were garnished at one time.they were willing to work out a payment plan but my gut feeling was that something wasn't right so i am in the process of checking things out. this site and your comments has helped me to decide to investigate further before i pay them a dime.

I'd agree your story has the typical poor writing skill and vague threats and insulting tone of a collections shill. Assuming the laughable, that it's true, you would not be running here to a mystery call site in response to a summons. You'd already have connected a business name to a phone number.

You'd already have received a dunning letter and perhaps some calls, and thus had plenty of chances to dispute the claim. If you'd actually followed the advice available in mid-June you would know how to defend yourself and prevent the worst outcomes, and potentially collect *from* the collector for its abuse of your rights.

Just obey the collections laws and you wouldn't be seeing complaints on forums like this, much less FDCPA suits. You give a bad name to the precious few respectful collection agencies which don't get their thrills from punishing the innocent.

I'm unsure what you're asking, again due to your poor sentence structure. Let's ask a better question: How does any debt collector justify false claims, hollow threats, and illegal intimidation? A thieving boiler room like this has no intention of suing anyone. Even allowing an aggressor on American soil does sue, an alert consumer can easily torpedo such an agency, or simply sue the collector first for serious FDCPA violations.

Why do you debt industry cheerleaders all have such a problem with reading comprehension? BD never claimed to be a debtor, and in fact sounds like a recipient of a skip trace call for a stranger.

You maybe want that person to answer an employer-issued phone without identifying the employer? If anything, it's the rogue collectors like this one which hide themselves behind cryptic acronyms and useless CID and spoofed numbers.