it is not illegal for an original creditor to sell your information to a third party collection agency, once in house collections deems you uncollectable. in fact, it is stated in all contracts that you sign to acquire loans, credit, ect. the practices this agency is using however, is completely illegal and 9xs out of 10, little agencies (not big places like NCO) actually purchase debt from a broker - who can and it tends to happen often, resells the debt to more than one agency to make a larger profit which is illegal as well.

how about this? i had an old debt from my ex-husband that i honestly had no idea about until i checked my credit report. I CALLED THE COMPANY, APOLOGIZED AND PAID IT IN FULL. they sent me a verification form and everything. 3 months ago i started getting calls from Asset Recovery Solutions, saying i still owed them money. after countess explanations and faxes FROM the company showing there was no due balance they STILL called 8-9 times a day often between 7pm and 4am. I stopped answering their calls after about 20 days of this. somehow they got a hold of my 83 yo mother-in-law's phone number and began to call and harass HER about  this non-existent debt. they even went so far as to ask her if they could have the authorities bring my children (age 6 and 3) to her after i was arrested!! so she calls me sobbing hysterically, and understandingly freaked out. well i filed a suite and i'm waiting for the court date. it's STILL unclear how they got her number. oh and the amount of the debt i owed? $86.24. granted there will ALWAYS be people who for whatever reason can't or even won't pay their debt, but people like me and my mother in law are getting SCREWED by companies like this!! yes you SHOULD pay your debts and that alone can be hard enough, but this sort of thing is what needs to stop.

The problem is people like me DID pay off the debt, and then they still sold it off, so the company is making double profit and screwing over people...

Who owns the number?

I get the same calls for a debt that I don't own. The account was opened due to fraud and when I ask for the information on the debt they just hang up. The calls are constant and annoying. Does anyone have their address so I can sick the Ohio Attorney General's Office on them?

daisy you seem to know alot about debt collections...are you a debt collector or a debtor? you also have alot of time on your hands considering this is like the 3rd site i have seen you on. Do you have a real job?

Me...who are you?  One of the scumbag calling people?  These companies are low lying scum.  Sue them and put them out of business.

This is an automated call from Independant Portfolio Management.  They appear to be trying to collect on a dept for a credit card company.  Have had no such dept of this type.  The recording threatens to take you to court and garnish wages if no response.  You are instructed to call this same number.  When you do and ask for proof of purchases they decline saying they are only the collectors and cannot furnish such.  They say they work for Attorneys Phillips and Jones and collect for HSBC Mastercard.

When you make them accountable for their lies of suing you they hang up and terminate the call. Tell them if you are going to sue me, then do so otherwise shut up.

Hey, "Paying my debts", AKA. collections company plant (spokesperson)

Perhaps some of do not actually OWE these scum any debts, myself included.

I got a call from these jerks, and although they managed to get my name right, I never lived at the address they claimed, nor did ever have an account with the claimant they claim. They used the same tactics: high-pressure, threating jail (which is illegal), summons, calling my relatives, and the whole shabang. I finally asked "Sarah" for their street address so I could send them a "payment via FedEx (because FedEx does not deliver to PO Boxes), and she said to either make a payment online, on the phone, or send it to their PO Box. She finally hung up when I said I would send them something via FedEx.

So, Mr. "Paying my Debts", why don't you go back to your boiler-room phone bank and try to scam someone else? Some people actually DO pay their bills, knucklehead.

abryson,

If they actually told you:

"...and they could actually put my Mother and Sister in jail for "hiding" me..."

then they have broken the law under Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. They cannot tell you that because it is not true! They cannot arrest anyone, nor can they have anyone arrested. Why not? Because this is a civil matter, not a criminal one...

Try to get some names and addresses (ask for the street address where you can send a "payment" using "FedEx". Don't tell them the following bit of information, but FedEx does not deliver to PO Boxes. By asking for their FedEx delivery address you will have the physical address of their "office, which you can promptly give to the State attorney general!) And, don't let them pressure you into making a payment over the phone using a debit card or credit card. Tell them you will only "send" it via FedEx. If they are scammers, which is my gut feeling, then they will raid your bank account before you will know about it.

I think this company is now operating as  CS and associates or Premier group.  The address they provide is:

3842 Harlem Road Suite 267
Cheektowaga, NY 14215
877-203-2697

just sent them a debt validation letter as well as a cease and desist.  they are looking my last name up in the phone book and calling everyone that has the same name in my area..  so sick of the harassment..

Good luck Meg, I'm not letting them get away with it either. Keep us posted with your progress.

My card just got withdrawb $479, How did you resolve this??

SL don't waste your time there is no listing for that company in Buffalo or Cheektowaga which means this company is a ghost set up. My bank is having me fill out papers and I'm going to the police and to the postal union because if they correspond through mail (which they did to me) but have a bogus address to respond to it's mail fraud. I also file with the BBB. I'll get my money one way or another and they'll be lucky if I don't sue them or press any charges I can.

I actually set up arrangments and paid them I made 2 payments which paid off the dept completely. Then 2 months later after the debt was settled they took money out of my account. No phone numbers for them work and I am having to dispute it with my bank because I can't find any numbers for this company.

This company has been calling for a year now for a debt that I dispute, because I paid it off. They actually took $405.00 out of my checking account yesterday (12/30/10) using a POS sale. I did NOT authorize this transaction!!!! I called my bank, they can't reverse it until I go to the police and file a report, AND have an official letter drawn up with Independent Portfolio Management, Inc. with a contact number, who I spoke to, and all documentation. Here's the real bummer: 877-312-9336 doesn't accept "incoming calls." I'm ready to drive up to 2846 William Street, in Cheektowaga NY and ask for my money back that they stole. I can't believe this happened. They might as well robbed me at gunpoint! Is this America or what? Some half-assed debt collector can TAKE your money because they want it? I don't know where to turn next, not many legal services open on New Year's eve or at least until Monday. All I could do was to cancel my debit card linked to my account. To say me and my husband are furious and mad as hell is putting it very lightly.

Because collection-agency-plant,  there are many occasions out there where people have genuine disputes with the original point of service or purchase and rather than resolving the dispute in good faith, some companies just throw the dispute into collections.  In many cases the so-called debt is disputed, incorrect, illegitimate, or  take your pick in description and may not be fully or partially genuine.

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I don't know who these people are, but after finding this website by accident I am one step closer to getting them. They charged my debit card without my approval ($350.00), I don't even know how they unlawfully obtained that personal information. Good luck to you, I hope you are successfull in shutting them down!

They left me a few messages.  The don't even have my name right.  This page has been helpful.  I'm ignoring them now.

does anyone have their fax number?

I found another number which someone here gave, 877-858-7576.  I left them a message to call me instead of harassing and threatening my Mother and Sister.  It will be interesting what type of response I get.  And to the "perfect" person who just says for us to pay our debts, this will happen to you eventually, trust me.  This Company operates on the fringes of the Law, but; there time is coming, as is yours when a scam like this gets you on the phone.

Scum bag's just don't describe them enough.  They have taken to calling and harassing my 80 year old Mother, and my sister.  The caller tells them it is public record, so the launch into telling them everything about the debt, including the fact that the "agent" is an ex-NYPD Detective, and they could actually put my Mother and Sister in jail for "hiding" me.
I delt with this Company about 7 months ago, and instead of fighting and arguing with them, I took all the info they gave me, which wasn't much, and called my State Attorney Generals Office--where they have  thousands of complains against them, and the Telephone Company who told me that they get hundreds of complaints about them every day for harassment.
I'm planning now to sue them, and would like to guide the Authorities to this web-site for their investigation.  What they are doing is actually a violation of Federal law, and the fines and punishments can be severe.  I intend on shutting this business down, by any means that are legal.  Wish me luck.

Last fall, I, too got this call from this number for my long ago ex-wife from the same IPM, with the same "pending litigation in your county" message.  

Now, I am getting the same call from them from a different number, 877-858-7576.

I called back and told them that it sounded like a scam, and was told that I would be taken off the list.  Let's see how long that lasts.

Why do you have to be scared to "pay up"  Why not just contact your creditors or collection agencies and make an arrangement?

Independent Portfolio Management calling on debt for my X-wife.  I divorced her in the 1900's!  Told them to stop linking my name to her debts.

We get at least 5 calls a week from this number with an automated message. Sometimes it is once a day and sometimes multiple times per day. Usually it is while I am at work so I never answer. They are asking for a person that doesn't live here and we don't know. I can only assume it is whoever had our phone number before us as this has been happening as long as we have had the number (approx 2 years.)  I have tried to call back a few times and no one ever answers. I would love to tell them to just go to hell and stop calling. I wish they would answer.

Independent Portfolio Management has called me about once a day for the past few weeks.  I never answer the call, and they leave the same automated message: return the call or be served a summons.  It seems the also called a couple of acquaintances of mine, and told them I was facing pending litigation.  I looked into this out-fit, discovered they are a bottom-feeding debt collection agency.  Last year, I cleaned up my credit and purchased a home, so I know these people have nothing on me.  I checked with my lawyer, who advised sending them a simple "cease and desist" letter via certified mail.  If I get a call after they receive it, I just need to alert his office.

In the meantime, for a laugh, I called them back.  I told them who I was (they knew based on my phone number), but would not confirm anything else they asked of me.  I simply asked that they send me the documentation showing the debt for my review.  I was transferred to another agent, who was a bit more stern, and played the same game.  He advised me that my summons would be served in three days, and hung up.

Its been 5 days, and no papers have been served.  There is no pending litigation for em in my county.  

Here is something to consider.  The "agents" who answer the phone are paid, either an hourly wage or a commission.  What would happen if every person on this blog called them back, at random from public phones (they give you a toll-free number), and said nothing?  Or, what if you spoke to them, but told them nothing, not even your name, and just asked them to stop calling you?  What if we all did it like 3-5 times a day, every time you get a call from them?  How much in hourly wages would be lost?  How many opportunities to earn a commission would vanish?  

Just a thought.

Sue them? How about you just pay your bills..