I have been paying this company for 2 years now and knew my debt should be about paid... I tried calling them to see how much I owe still and the number is disconnected! Just filed a claim with my bank! That's over $2000 down the drain!

scammer alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are THE scammer scum bags that people are reporting about on here.  They use FEDERALLY ILLEGAL scare tactics to make people pay debts that DO NOT EXIST.

I did receive phone calls from this number a Maryann Braxton and a supervisor named Michael salieno I did have a payday loan but paid the debt I let them know this and they said they picked it up from the loan co to collect the debt didn't have my paperwork to prove it so I set up payment arrangements and paid the debt again then found my paperwork from paying the debt to the other co faxed it in and was supposed to be reinburseed my money that is going on three month supposedly sent two checks out then reimbursed back on my prepaid card have not seen it

3685 Harlem rd. Buffalo, NY 14206.  716-748-6269  is good numeber to reach the owner. They go by B.S.A,, Bernstein Seigal & Associates. They also like to use Burk & Meyers. They are nothing but a collection agency. They will not sue you. I know a person that works there. They get a bonus check if they collect enough money. They also use an internet phone system so it looks like they are in different states. Other numbers they use are:
213-995-6219, 302-380-7512, 804-420-4845, 877-617-8222. They have several others. I called the 213 area code then the 804 area code and the same girl answered bothe lines. Pretty good she can be in Virginia & California at the same time! Do not give them a dime! The owner has been in prison, you would have to be crazy to give them any thing other than a ceist & desist letter.

Also: call their landlord and let him know what kind of business is being done from his building: 716-542-9771.  I'm sure he will get sick of the complaints. He doesnt even know that they are a collection agency.

I think they're switching up their numbers, guys. Even then, I think they are actually finding some way to get updated information on people as well.

I got a call from this number yesterday: 855-203-0639. A woman left a rather loud and rude voice mail stating the current county that I live in, stated my name in the beginning, spewed another case number that doesn't match the ones that I had previously and stated that there were several complaints filed against me on fraudulent debt with a pay day loan company. She then stated my name again, but the last name was incorrect this time around. That sent a warning sign off to me. Since I know what PDL companies I owe money to (which I am paying back and have record of it), I knew this was a shill. But, just to make sure nothing new had arose for some reason, I gave them a call back.

Sadly, I couldn't hear the name of the company when I called. Maybe I can give it a shot again later today when I call them back to ask more questions. But, I got a male to answer the phone and I told him about some case number I got. He then asked for my name, and the last 4 of my SSN. I told him that if he had that information, then he should know who I was already. He said he had to confirm it. So, I did. Also stated my current address, email and phone number. Said that there was a loan with RCL Financial that I took out back in March of 2011 and that I owed over $1600 for it since it has been so long and that the original amount was for $460. I told him that I hadn't received any documentation about this loan from anyone. He said that he received the account from the previous company and that they should have sent that documentation to me already. I stated once again that I had no proof of this debt and I would've paid it off if I had it. I also told him that I needed to know who this loan was from. He said he didn't know. I stated that in order for me to make any form of a payment, I needed more information. He then stated "Pay Day 1." I recognized the name and told him that I've had several payments come out of my old checking account for that company and that it should've been paid in full. He then stated that after two attempts to take money out of the account, PD1 couldn't get anymore, making me have a remaining balance.

I told him that I refused to make any payment for over the original amount. He then put me on hold to talk to "the head attorney" in the office to try and work that amount down to a decent settlement amount. After about a 3 minute hold, he came back and stated that I could make a payment of "$525" to take care of the balance, and that the extra 60 or so was a fee due to sending out an attorney to look up my current information. I grinned on the side of the phone and stated that was understandable, since I knew he was lying then and there, and he then proceeded to try and get a card number from me.

Do to previous fraud cases, similar to this one, I told him I refused to give out any bank account information whatsoever. He then stated that was understandable and that I should use a prepaid card to pay instead. I told him I was not going to go through the trouble of getting a card to pay this if I didn't have it writing. I needed detailed information about this debt and I wanted it either in letter format or email, since he already had my current email address. He stated that wasn't possible. I then, repeated once again, that I was not giving them anything until I had it. He then put me on hold for 5 minutes to get his "head attorney."

Once this other guy was on the phone, he sounded just as bad as the previous guy. He kept saying "We're just trying to help you out so that this doesn't go any further." and "Most people feel the same as you, but we need something to state that you are going to pay this balance before we can send anything out in writing." I strongly refused it.

I then requested his name, contact number, and address. He told me his name was "Isiah," told me I could call him back at this number and that they couldn't provide me with an address for "their own safety, due to receiving death threats and more. But, I can't understand why, since we are trying to help these people out."

After I finally took all I could handle about this scam, I told him I would call PD1 myself, ask for information about this balance and get paperwork for them. He then quickly stated there was no point, since they no longer had the account and that it would all lead back to them. I stated I didn't care, as I needed something in writing stating that this debt was or wasn't taken care of. He then said that once I disconnected from him, he would have to mark the case as valid and me refusing to pay and he would be forwarding it on to his "head attorney" and I would be receiving documents soon. I told him if he had to, do it. But at least it will be in writing. I kindly hung up the phone.

I called PD1 (800-729-3291), they gave me a number to another company called National Debt Adjusters (look them up online, they have a ton of complaints against them as well), since they could "no longer handle the account." I asked if the balance still existed and he stated "I cannot tell you that information." I then called NBA (800-542-1048), and they said "We just sold your account to someone on May 29th." Gave me the number to this other company, which is called Debt Management. Their number is: 877-263-0694 in which it rings about 5 times, I then get a message stating "This is the customer service department. All of the other representatives are on another line. Please leave a name, number and a message and we will get back to you." I did, and left it at that.

I haven't called these jerks back yet, but I received a phone call from a relative earlier today stating that she had gotten the SAME message yesterday evening, spewed the same case number and statements. Now, if they could no longer handle the case after my phone call, why in the world would they be calling my relative?

Also, I got a call back from "Debt Management" from a woman named "Pam." Stated she got my message and that I could call her back at the same number. Since I wanted to get to the bottom of this, I called and guess what I got?

BEEP BEEP BEEP "This number is no longer a working number. Please look up the correct phone number and try again."

Yep... downright falsified information. I plan to call PD1 back today, tell them what's going on, and if I don't get written information that this balance was indeed paid off or not, I'm reporting them (along with the other "debt collection agencies") to the BBB, my attorney general and the FTC. I will NOT have these people calling around telling my relatives nonsense and making them worry for my safety and financial stability. I know my information on my debt, and this wasn't one of them.

It is not legal for any debt collection agency to call your place of employment. Due to federal law, that is considered harassment and this company could get sued for doing such acts. Depending on the state, they must have actual court orders that state that they are allowed to contact the place of employment and garnish wages. Even then, it still may not be legal for them to call and harass anyone at work.

Oh, and did you not read this line?: "This place needs to be stopped because it is crazy for them to call people even when you dont owe them money."

DON'T OWE THEM MONEY. See?

DUH

She already gave them money and hasn't heard or seen of them since! No confirmation of the debt being paid off, no letter, no email. Nothing!

God... quit trolling and get a life.

As if you've paid all of yours... why else would you work for this company and post stupid comments like this? Go off somewhere and die.

Do me a favor: Go back and read EACH AND EVERY ONE of the comments in detail. If you do, you would see that the majority of the people have stated that they have no idea what these people are talking about when they call. They give them little to no information on what "debt" they have, some not even having the debt to start with. They just have a phone number, a name, either a current or old address with a county name and the last four of a SSN. Anyone could call and do that if the information was sold off or stolen.

People ask questions about what this so called "debt" pertains to and they barely get any information on it at all. Some have even called the original companies and asked if their debt was indeed paid off and it was.

So before you go and try to troll this forum with your horrible writing, learn how to read comprehensively.

And as someone already stated: Give your story IN DETAIL about how they helped you. Otherwise, you're just a lost, cult-like individual working for this company who found out that people were actually doing research about these random numbers who call and harass them for some shill of a debt that doesn't exist and can't handle the fact that we're playing you at your own game.

U MAD?

STOP CALLING ME!!!

you and all of the people who work for this company go kill yourself, i am so unbelievably sick of the calls

WOW...

Hate to say it, but you do sound like you work for this company. You may not, but you're not helping their argument.

You repeated the same message several times, you used all caps, and you fail to accept the proof that was given to you already about this horrible company. Look down at many comments. Some people have stated that they had a pay day loan at one time and PAID IT OFF. How this company got their number and told anyone that they owe a debt that doesn't exist is the problem. Its harassment, illegal and a scam.

Don't try to use the economy/national debt to convenience people that they should listen to these horrible people try to rob them of their money.

If this company has indeed "helped" you, then maybe you should share your story in detail. Not make a nonsensical post in all caps.

Reply to "wow"- Hell is going to have to do major renovations to make room for all the criminals from India. As of today I REFUSE to buy any products from or made in India!

IT'S AMAZING HOW PEOPLE GET ON HERE AND LIE AND MAKE IT SEEM AS IF PEOPLE ARE SCAMMING THEM AND OR A FRAUDULANT COMPANY BECAUSE YOU DONT WANT TO PAY YOUR DEBT OR YOUR JEALOUS OF ANOTHER COMPANY BUT FOR WHATEVER REASON IT IS..........
AMERICA IS IN DEBT CAUSE PEOPLE DONT PAY WHAT THEY OWE & SEEM TO THINK AFTER 7 YEARS IT WILL DISAPPEAR....WELL IT DONT WORK LIKE THAT......
AND GRANTED PEOPLE SHOULD BE MORE RESPECTFUL WHEN CALLIN YOUR HOME OR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT, & TRUST ME I HAVE HAD MY SHARE OF RUDE DEBT COLLECTOR'S CALLIN MY HOME OR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT..... THIS COMPANY DOES ASSET CHECKS THEY WORK FOR THE COMPANY THAT BOUGHT YOUR DEBT & YES THE COMPANYT THEY WORK FOR CAN PLACE A CIVIL SUIT OR JUDGEMENT ON YOUR CREDIT......HOW CAUSE THEY OWN THE DEBT YOU FAILED TO PAY.
THIS COMPANY IS A REAL & NO I'M NOT A OWNER NOR DO I KNOW HIM NOR HAVE I EVER WORKED FOR HIM, I LIVE IN ANOTHER STATE BUT I KNOW CAUSE I HAD A DEBT THERE AND THEY TREATED ME VERY RESPECTFUL & WELL & MADE SURE I RECIEVED ALL MY PROPER PAPER WORK WITHOUT ?.
AND ANOTHER THING WHO CARES IF THE OWNER WAS IN PRISON OUR COUNTRY WAS BUILT ON DISHONEST MEN WHO ROBBED, RAPPED, STOLE & CHEATED  THERE WAY TO THE TOP.....NOT THAT YOU PEOPLE REALLY CARE FOR THE TRUTH,  BUT I WILL SAY IT ANYWAY, GET LETTERS OF PAYMENT, IF YOU KNOW YOU DID A PAY DAY LOAN @ LEAST ONCE IN YOUR LIFE PAY IT, THEN YOU WONT GET THE CALL'S.....AND IF THEY CALL YOUR NUMBER ITS PROBLEY CAUSE @ ONE TIME YOUR NUMBER EITHER BELONG TO THE PERSON THERE LOOKIN FOR OR A REFERENCE THAT HAD YOUR NUMBER @ ONE TIME.....I'M SURE YOU KNOW THAT THE PHONE COMPANY RECYCLE NUMBER'S.......GET YOUR BILL'S PAID AND STOP TRYING TO COMPLAIN OR LOOK FOR A REASON TO FIND FAULT IN WHAT SOMEONE DOES SO YOU DONT HAVE TOO PAY YOUR DEBT & HELP OUR COUNTRY GET IT TOGETHER........

IT IS LEGAL FOR  THEM TO CALL YOUR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT & ASK FOR YOU CAUSE YOU GAVE THEM THE NUMBER WHEN YOU TOOK THE MONEY YOU SAID YOU WOULD PAY BACK.....OH AGAIN! I FORGOT I'M DEALING WITH PEOPLE THAT TAKE MONEY THEY HAVE NO INTENT TO PAY BACK.......AND IF ITS THE WRONG NUMBER JUST SAY IT........WHY ARE YOU ALL TRYIN TO MAKE THIS HARD WHEN YOU TOOK MONEY OR YOUR FAMILY OR FRIENDS TOOK MONEY AND USED YOU AS A REFERENCE ON A CONTRACT......I PAID MY PAYDAY LOAN AND HAD NO PROBLEM WHEN I DID IT AND I DONT GET CALLS ANYMORE & I DONT ALLOW PEOPLE TO USE ME AS A REFERENCE UNLESS I KNOW THEY WILL PAY THERE DEBT'S.........

I JUST READY WHAT YOU SAID HAPPEN & AGAIN I WILL SAY SOME PEOPLE SHOULD NOT WORK & DO THE JOB THEY DO IF THEY DONT LIKE IT, BUT WHY WOULD YOU MAKE IT SEEM AS IF MS SHARPE WAS IN THE WRONG WHEN YOU CLEARLY STATED YOU CURSED @ HER..... WHY DID YOU SWEAR @ HER RATHER THAN TELL HER YOUR SITUTATION ....I WOULD HAVE HUNG UP ON YOU TOO .....YOU PEOPLE TREAT PEOPLE RUDE AND ALL THERE DOING IS WORKING LIKE YOU AND I.......IF YOU PAY YOUR BILL'S OR JUST TALK TO THEM THE WAY YOU WISH TO BE SPOKEN TOO....
THEY HAVE A JOB TO DO JUST LIKE YOU DO......RESPECT IS THE KEY HERE PEOPLE NOT TRYING TO PLACE BLAME.......AGAIN MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS COMPANY WAS NOT A BAD ONE....

AGAIN.....ONLY SMALL MINDED PEOPLE WOULD SAY SUCH, ITS NOT ABOUT WHO IS YELLIN OR WHO IS SAYING WHAT.......ITS ABOUT BEING HONEST & PAYING WHAT YOU OWE.....NO SHILL NEEDED AND WHEN YOUR TYOING FAST YES THERE WILL BE ERROR.....OH I FORGOT I WAS TALKING TO PEOPLE WITH NO MISTAKE IN LIFE BUT JUST PERFECT, I GUSS THATS WHY AMERICA IS IN DEBT NOW CAUSE OF PEOPLE THAT ARE SO PERFECT......PAY WHAT YOU OWE & GET PROOF OF PAYMENT.....THAT IS THE SMART WAY....

NO WHAT IT SOUND LIKE IS YOUR TRYIN TO FIND A REASON NOT TO PAY YOUR BILL'S.....SO WHY NOT MAKE A COMPANY LOOK BAD SO YOU CAN FEEL BETTER ABOUT NOT PAYING YOUR DEBT'S........

SHILL ALERT!!  You'd think if they were going to shill, they'd at least be able to type decently, spell, AND not yell (all caps).  Amazing how these sites attract morons.

LISTEN WHEN YOU SIGN ANY CONTRACT YOU ALLOW INTEREST TO HAPPEN ON YOUR ACCOUNT SO IF YOU GET MONEY FROM A PAYDAY LOAN AND DONT PAY IT BACK .........LIKE MOST OF AMERICA DO & THEN TRY TO SAY ITS A SCAM WHEN THEY CALL YOU AND SAY IT 4 TIMES THE AMOUNT.........YOU NEED TO A STOP GETTING LOANS YOU KNOW YOUR NOT GOING TO PAY BACK OR B PAY IT ON TIME SO YOU WONT GET THE INTEREST YOU SAID THEY CAN CHARGE YOU...........THESE PEOPLE WERE GOOD TO ME & HELPED ME GET MY CREDIT STRAIGHT & I WILL STAY ON THIS INTERNET FIGHTING FOR THEM.....YOU PEOPLE NEED TO STOP PUTTING OUR COUNTRY IN DEBT & PAY YOURS......

I just received the phone call today from the same place and she said her name was Agent Sharp.  I thought it was unlawful for them to call you place of business.  This place needs to be stopped because it is crazy for them to call people even when you dont owe them money.

I recieve a call from bsa and they said i have a case  i owe 1,145 dollars but willing to lower if we set up payments with perpay card so i did cause tell told me i would get pick up by the police at my job afraid of going to jail and loseing my job i did so.at the time i wasnt thinking they named of address i never lived or heard of. I to talk with Jesse Stone in March,2012.well sad to say this they got my money does anyone know what actions to take or how to go about this we need to stop this NOW!

Yes, this is an obvious shill post. The asterisks are put these by the site, because the last part of the name of this criminal operation is A S S -- truth in naming!

RIGHT.... sure you did.

And why can't you put the full name of the company in this response? "Bernstein Siegal and A**?" Sounds like someone from this fraud of a company found this page and decided to make a falsified post.

I just paid my bill to Bernstein Siegal and A**. I thought it to be some scam so I called ACE Cash where I took out a payday loan to see if they had my account  or was it sent somewhere else and they stated that Bernstein Siegal and A**. Had the account. It had been sold. So I called the 877-617-8222 phone # and paid my balance. They said that I would receive a letter within 30 days telling mey account was closed out for the agreed amount. Thanks Bernstein Siegal and A**.

Someone named Pam Sharpe called from a company named Bernstein Siegel [sic] and Associates; left several messages all saying same thing " I'm calling in reference to a civil complaint with possible criminal charges" and asking to return the call; two different call back numbers were given in different messages:877-617-8222 and 716-748-6217 but both are in same office. When I called back she stated she was calling in regards to a payday loan that wasnt paid and I said okay assuming she would provide more information, she didn't, only stated Alameda County when I said are you asking me if I live in that county? (I don't)  she said that's where the claim was being filed again I said okay, she then hung up. I called back and asked the same person whether she was acting in the capacity of a debt collecetion agency, she replied no, I then got angry and asked then why in the f*ck had she been repeatedly calling me over the course of several days??, she hung up again. I immediately called back again to obtain the business mailing address was put on hold for several minutes, then called from another phone while still on hold got the rep again, asked for her mailing address and she refused to provide it became and told me to stop calling because I was HARASSING HER and became more rude & beligerent and accused me of opening a debt and not paying, when I told her that I've had an open identity theft claim since 10/04 and was only calling to get the necessary information to dispute she replied "that's all you had to say in the first place, I don't get paid to listen to people yell at me, then when I told her I needed her to send me a dispute affidavit, she said she'd mark the account dispute and hung up on me again. DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE THE TIME OF DAY!!

I just check my message and some one from this law office leaves a message about a case and to call them back the number was 877-617-8222ex 101 the person says her name is Linda Schultz they need to stop harassing people and something needs to be done.

I got this same call today, only they are saying they are looking for Viti Hunter, a name I've never heard.  Oh, I'll call them back tomorrow.  Thanks a million for all this info.  I already knew they were scams!

I received 2 calls from the same collection agency named Bernstein Seagle(?) and Assoc. They call using the phone number 716-748-6269 but ask you to call back on 877-617-8222 and give you a "case" number. The canned message tries to scare you into thinking there is some sort of legal action pending against you. I called back the first time and they brought up an old pay day loan that occurred years ago and I am pretty sure I paid off. I asked for "proof of debt" paperwork which is required in my state. The first girl handed me off to a "supervisor" and the supervisor became agitated when I insisted on the proof of debt notification. She insisted the they were not a collection agency and they were working as an "agent" for the pay day loan company...haha...riiiight.

Anyways, the next day I got another automated voice mail, same words, same callback number, etc. I called back, got a different girl. I told her I talked to them yesterday and I that I needed a proof of debt notification. She said she would speak to a supervisor about it and hung up.

I bet I get another automated call tomorrow.....frickin idiots....