I'm 100 % disabled and I supposedly went took a course from The Art Institute of Phoenix.  The only problem is I never did.  My mother would have filled out the application for me, as I don't understand forms etc (LD).  She also is my payee with the SSA.  These people only have set questions and don't want to resolve the problem, they just want money.  (I' m her mother & wrote this on her behalf).

THIS PHONE IS FROM A COLLECTOR AGENCY THAT WORK FOR THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. I  DEFAULTED IN SOME STUDENT LOANS I WAS HAVING A HARD TIME WHEN I FINISHED A TECHNICAL SCHOOL SO MY LOAN GOT IN DEFAULT STATUS.THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BEGIN TAKING MY IMCOME TAX RETURN WHEN I WAS WORKING  .THEN WHEN I BECAME 100% PERMANENT AND TOTATAL DISABLED GRANTED BY THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION  I WAS ALSO GRANTED SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY.WHEN THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FOUND OUT  THEY BEGING TAKING A PORTION OF MY SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS. I HAD MY DOCTOR TO FILL OUT THE FORM FOR LOAN DISCHARGE BASED ON
100% PERMANENT AND TOTAL DISABILITY BUT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DID NOT APPROVE THE DISABILITY DISCHARGE FORM UNLESS THEY CAN  SEE THAT YOU ARE MISSING ALL YOUR HANDS  LEGS  ARE BLIND  IN A COMA AND BLEEDING FROM THE AZZ
SO THEY KEEP SENDING MY DOCTOR LETTERS ASKING QUESTIONS BECAUSE NOTHING HE EXPLAINED WAS GOOD FOR THEM. ANY WAY I TOLD THE EDUCATION DEPARTPENT I WILL PAY 110 A MONTH UNTIL I PAY THE LOAN  AND I HAD BEEN PAYING ALMOST 2 YEARS ON TIME BUT THIS COLLECTION AGENCY FROM THIS TELEPHONE NUMBER WANT FOR ME TO SIGN  A PROMISSARY NOTE  SO  I CAN PUT MY LOAN IN REHABILITATION STATUS.BUT THERE IS A CATCH . IF I SIGN THAT BULLZHIT PAPERWORK  THEY WILL SELL MY LOAN TO SOME OF THOSE PREDERATORY LENDING AGENCIES LIKE SALLYMAE  THE COLLECTION AGENCY GET A GOOD CUT IN THIS DEAL AND THEN ILL BE AT THE MERCY OF SALLYMAE OR AZZHOLES  LIKE THAT. THEY JACKUP THE PAYMENT AND I END UP IN EVEN A WORST SITUATION.I TOLD
"FMS" TO STOP CALLING ME CUZ IAM NOT SIGNING ZHIT BUT THEY KEEP CALLING ME EVEN THOUGH I TOLD THEM TO STOP CALLING ME  AND I HAVE BEEN PAYING THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT EVERY MONTH.THIS LOAN WAS INITIALLY 10,000     I ALREADY
HAD MONEY GARNISHED AND VOLUNTARY PAYMENT TOTAL OF, IT HAVE TO BE CLOSE TO ABOUT 25,000 + OR- FEW K DOLLARS  I DONT WORK ANY MORE  THEY SAID I STILL HAVE TO PAY ABOUT $13,000  MORE    EDUCATION SCHOOL LOANS ARE A GOLD MINE  CASH COW .   PEOPLE DO NOT TAKE SCHOOL LOANS IT WILL BE ONE OF THE WORST DECISIONS OF YOU LIFE  TAKE MY WORD, THE REASON THAT THEY OFFER SCHOOL LOANS IS BECAUSE THEY ARE BECOMING FILTY NASTY RICH RIPINGOFF  POOR VICTIMS.

Some guy just called me talking real fast, claiming to be from the Department of Education. Wanted to verify my last 4 digits of my social security number. I refused. He asked me again and I got huffy with him. Then he asked me if my maiden name was so and so (he had my first and last name correct) and when I told him 'NO, not my maiden name' he hung up. Department of Education my Aunt Fanny! He called on my cell phone number. How he got that, I haven't a clue.

The people who run this company are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. They call and a recording asks, "if you are Mohammed something or other, press 1. If not, press 2. I press 2 and the same thing repeats again. I have reported them 3 times to the Nat'l Do Not Call Registry. Also called and left them a message as to what I believe FMS stands for. F*cking Muslims are Stupid!!!

I received a call today from this number stating the number was for my name and if this was not my name to delete the message...which I did in a heart beat.  I do not now and have never had a loan of any kind.

This number has called me several times in the past four months. They call with 847-413-0326 and last night called at 9pm with 832-769-0822, which is a Houston-area code. They left me a message saying they had some documentation on me I needed to verify with my name and the last four numbers of my social security #. They have only left me a few messages. It seems like a scam to get access to my bank information. I also have student loans, however, I am not defaulted on any, and usually you will get a letter that they have the intent to default you if you haven't paid in 6 months. This to me sounds very shady and an easy way for someone claiming to be a debt collector to scare you into giving all your personal information so they can steal your identity. I don't have any money--stop calling me!!

This # calls only my cell...I have never even been to college except for what was fully paid for by my employer(29 years ago!) so they are so "barking" up the wrong tree- just report them to the donotcall.gov site. If enough folks do this they will be fined. THAT gets there attention, hitting them in their wallet.

This "agency" keeps calling and I did answer the call once. He said he was with JCP and I was elligible for insurance---blah, blah, blah.....I told him I was not interested and it wasn't 10 minutes later they were calling again. What an annoyance--not to mention they are full of sh**!!

i got a call from this number above but i didnt know the number so i didnt answer the person never left a message i have gotten the call from this number serveral times

I have received several calls from this number, the first few times I answered the phone but nobody ever said anything.  Now I just let it go to voicemail but they never leave a message. I would love to know how they got my cell phone number to begin with!!  This is irritating, they call everyday and sometimes twice a day.

Calls daily on my cell phone with an automated message for someone I've never heard of. If I don't answer, they don't leave voice mail. There's no way to indicate during the call that they have the wrong number. That seems pretty shady.

This is a collection agency for US Dept of Education. They left a "thank you" message for submitting payments to them from an employee that I am garnishing wages from for the company I work at. I returned the call. They are ligit in their representation of US Dept of Education. I have several garnishements from US Dept of Education. The collection agency did not ask me for my employee's SSN.....they verified info and payment received. Very pleasant to me. (but then, I'm the person garnishing paychecks and giving them money).  

My advice (if you have a school loan) is to make payment arrangements and get confirmation of it in writing....in case you need to confirm it with another employee form the same collection agency trying to collect on the same loan. Also, I agree with "chiochizachimachibinchilachiden" - don't take out a school loan unless you absolutely have to!! They take forever to pay back and they add interest and penalty for every little thing! Good luck!

some recording keeps calling me.  Says hello and then it disconects.  autodialer out of control?

I rec'd 2 back to back calls 3/3/09 with no message left, when he asked my name, I told them they had the wrong number, a couple months ago i was rec'ing a call out of vegas that seems to be simlar to the listed issues, stating i owed some money and they wanted some information, and when i told them to fax me some paperwork on the debt they, said they weren't going to argue with me about paying my bill and hung up on me.  i doubt its the depart of education calling on some loans, i've never had any school loans ever. not to mention i don't suspect the DOE handles loans.

I am have been getting phone calls about once a day for about 3 weeks now, and there is no voicemail and from what I have been reading about this being a loan collection agency for schools, i have loans but i am still in school so i have not even had to pay my loans back yet, so i dont know what the hell is going on.

I wonder why they called me since I never took out a school loan.  THey did not leave a voice mail either.

Very suspicious call from what eventually turned out to be a collection agency.  The caller was harrasing, requested personal information and refused to elaborate on the reaason he was calling. The caller also tried to intimidate me with the notion that he (a)knew my SS#, address and phone number, and (b) if I didn't provide information he was going to somehow make my life worse.

The bottom line was that he had the wrong person and certainly the wrong attitude.

They call me on cell phone, and ask me to delete the message on voice mail.

Dont you just love how people from these spam companies write these fake "reports" like this site really is real and it helped them SO much?! This person is a FAKE who wrote this. THIS IS NOTHING BUT A SCAM NUMBER. It calls my house at all hours of the day and night, including the "off" hours when these types of people/business/scams can not call. They call over and over. Tried to get my g/f to give out her SS number....SORRY FRAUDS...too smart for that! So, now it is time that I have a little fun with them! Last time that we got calls over and over, we started calling and spam calling the spammer. It did work! The guy has fallen off the radar and is no longer answering his phone!

Lets get these scammers and I found an easy way to do it too!

These people also use the number of 1-800-889-6321 It is from the Chicago area, unpublished, from either

1. Schaumburg, IL
2. Roselle, IL

Got several calls from this number over a period of a few weeks. Each time they asked to speak w/ someone named Elaine. I explained at first that they had the wrong number. After several more calls I clarified for them that they had the wrong number and not to call anymore. When the calls persisted, I tracked down where the calls were coming from and reported it to the proper authorities. I haven't had a call since.

keeps calling after being told worng number my number is a minute phone and your killing my minutes

keep getting calls on my cell phone which is registerd on the no call list.....looking for my ex husband ......we've been divorced for 8 years. I called back the one time and told them to take my phone number off their call list. Then they asked for my ss#. That;s when I lost it. Then guy got short with me and hung upon me. I know my ex has crazy debt but this is nuts.From the sounds of it, it's a scam......I'm calling my cell phone company today! We'll see if that works.

these people have ben calling land line and cell for severalYEARS - last medage left called me a liar and some other degrading names and said Iwas playing games WITH THEM!  haha thats rich!

FMS Investment Corp, apparently a scam company since the names of the people they are "collecting a debt" on change depending on the day/week, yet they keep calling me at the same number.  I've read that FMS has been sued and taken to federal court before for this crap, so please please please follow my lead and report them to https://complaints.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx    You don't have to be on the Do Not Call list to report automated messages from BS companies like this.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THE DEBT COLLECTORS AND THEIR ILLEGAL COLLECTION PRACTICES

File complaints with

Federal Trade Commission  https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

Your State Attorney General
State Attorney General is every state they have offices

Link to all State Attorney General Websites www.naag.org

If you or they are located in NY ? use this SPECIAL Link  www.NYDebtHelp.com
This special website was created by NY AG Andrew Cuomo specifically for reporting illegal debt collection practices.  HE?S CRACKING DOWN AND SHUTTING THEM DOWN!

Also report your calls and contacts with debt collectors at http://www.budhibbs.com/index.html  If the company is listed under agencies ? report there. If not on the list YET, click on Watchlist! and add to the list.   You can also post here http://www.collectorsexposed.com/forum2/index.php?board=2.0

Debt Collectors DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION!    
The INFORMED CONSUMER IS THE DEBT COLLECTORS WORST ENEMY!

Dealing with Debt Collectors
http://www.budhibbs.com/start.html


Statute of Limitations by State ? always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Website
http://www.budhibbs.com/statute_of_limitations.htm


Recording calls from Debt Collectors - always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Website
http://www.budhibbs.com/record.htm


From Federal Trade Commission Website ? FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT
Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide for Consumers
If you?re behind in paying your bills, or a creditor?s records mistakenly make it appear that you are, a debt collector may be contacting you.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation?s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.
Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.
Here are some questions and answers about your rights under the Act.

What types of debts are covered?
The Act covers personal, family, and household debts, including money you owe on a personal credit card account, an auto loan, a medical bill, and your mortgage. The FDCPA doesn?t cover debts you incurred to run a business.

Can a debt collector contact me any time or any place?
No. A debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it. And collectors may not contact you at work if they?re told (orally or in writing) that you?re not allowed to get calls there.

How can I stop a debt collector from contacting me?
If a collector contacts you about a debt, you may want to talk to them at least once to see if you can resolve the matter ? even if you don?t think you owe the debt, can?t repay it immediately, or think that the collector is contacting you by mistake. If you decide after contacting the debt collector that you don?t want the collector to contact you again, tell the collector ? in writing ? to stop contacting you. Here?s how to do that:
Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by certified mail, and pay for a ?return receipt? so you?ll be able to document what the collector received. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact or to let you know that they or the creditor intend to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect the debt.

Can a debt collector contact anyone else about my debt?
If an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you don?t have an attorney, a collector may contact other people ? but only to find out your address, your home phone number, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting third parties more than once. Other than to obtain this location information about you, a debt collector generally is not permitted to discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.

What does the debt collector have to tell me about the debt?
Every collector must send you a written ?validation notice? telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don?t think you owe the money.

Can a debt collector keep contacting me if I don?t think I owe any money?
If you send the debt collector a letter stating that you don?t owe any or all of the money, or asking for verification of the debt, that collector must stop contacting you. You have to send that letter within 30 days after you receive the validation notice. But a collector can begin contacting you again if it sends you written verification of the debt, like a copy of a bill for the amount you owe.

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?
Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:
    use threats of violence or harm;
    publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
    use obscene or profane language; or
    repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:
    falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
    falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
    falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
    misrepresent the amount you owe;
    indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren?t; or
    indicate that papers they send to you aren?t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:
    you will be arrested if you don?t pay your debt;
    they?ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
    legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don?t intend to take the action.

Debt collectors may not:
    give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit reporting company;
    send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it isn?t; or
    use a false company name.

Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, they may not:
    try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount you owe unless the contract that created your debt ? or your state law ? allows the charge;
    deposit a post-dated check early;
    take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally; or
    contact you by postcard.

Can I control which debts my payments apply to?
Yes. If a debt collector is trying to collect more than one debt from you, the collector must apply any payment you make to the debt you select. Equally important, a debt collector may not apply a payment to a debt you don?t think you owe.

Can a debt collector garnish my bank account or my wages?
If you don?t pay a debt, a creditor or its debt collector generally can sue you to collect. If they win, the court will enter a judgment against you. The judgment states the amount of money you owe, and allows the creditor or collector to get a garnishment order against you, directing a third party, like your bank, to turn over funds from your account to pay the debt.
Wage garnishment happens when your employer withholds part of your compensation to pay your debts. Your wages usually can be garnished only as the result of a court order. Don?t ignore a lawsuit summons. If you do, you lose the opportunity to fight a wage garnishment.

Can federal benefits be garnished?
Many federal benefits are exempt from garnishment, including:
    Social Security Benefits
    Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits
    Veterans? Benefits
    Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits
    Service Members? Pay
    Military Annuities and Survivors? Benefits
    Student Assistance
    Railroad Retirement Benefits
    Merchant Seamen Wages
    Longshoremen?s and Harbor Workers? Death and Disability Benefits
    Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Benefits
    Compensation for Injury, Death, or Detention of Employees of U.S. Contractors Outside the U.S.
    Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Disaster Assistance
But federal benefits may be garnished under certain circumstances, including to pay delinquent taxes, alimony, child support, or student loans.

Do I have any recourse if I think a debt collector has violated the law?
You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can?t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney?s fees and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector?s net worth, whichever amount is lower. Even if a debt collector violates the FDCPA in trying to collect a debt, the debt does not go away if you owe it.

What should I do if a debt collector sues me?
If a debt collector files a lawsuit against you to collect a debt, respond to the lawsuit, either personally or through your lawyer, by the date specified in the court papers to preserve your rights.

Where do I report a debt collector for an alleged violation?
Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General?s office (www.naag.org) and the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov). Many states have their own debt collection laws that are different from the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your Attorney General?s office can help you determine your rights under your state?s law.

For More Information
To learn more about debt collection and other credit-related issues, visit www.ftc.gov/credit and MyMoney.gov, the U.S. government?s portal to financial education.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
        February

received a call from a very rude person from this company and started insenuating that the person they calling for is home and she is not. do not accept any phone calls from this company, i feel that they are fraud.

They call about once a week. The caller id says fms invst. group. I usually dont answer. They never leave a message. I did answer once and there was nobody on the other end. Its getting pretty annoying.

Who are these people...really? I try to call them back and just get if you have a persons name please enter it now...or leave a message and we will get back to you. I do not know who these people are, but if their going to call me they at least need to leave a message and not call me off and on during the day with no message left. Like the rest of you, I believe this must be some sort of debt agency, which I dont have outstanding debt...hmmm...

FMS continue to auto call asking for a brittany watson who I have never heard of.I respond by pressing the number for "she does not live here" but we contnue to get calls.How does one put an end to this ? Ihave no reason for debt collector to call my home especially for someone I dont know about.

This number has called me every day for the past week. There is a message running asking for someone I have never heard of. The second time, I pressed keys through the menu to the point of "press 3 if this is a wrong number".

It did no good. The calls have continued. Today I pretended to be the person they were looking for. They would not identify themselves.