I received a call from this number today and it was an automated voice message.  It said that this was my "last chance" to settle an issue with Chase Bank.  I don't have an account with Chase.  The voice message said, "press 1 to be connected" so I just hung up.  I called the number back and was connected with a guy who asked for my account number.  Again, I hung up the phone.  Sounds fishy to me.  I checked my credit on CreditKarma and didn't see any suspicious activity so I'm just going to see if they call again.

I too had to deal with these people. They certainly know how to make people very angry, and I cant say that I agree with any of their tactics. I thought that would be enough of a reason to not believe them. But then I got sued.

Complaint Number:     1
Complaint Type:     CONSUMER CREDIT COLLECTIONS CMPL (CRC 3.740)
Filing Date:     04/09/2012
Complaint Status:     DISPOED
Party Number     Party Type     Party Name     Attorney     Party Status
1      PLAINTIFF      BERTRAND MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC            JUDGMENT 09/11/2013
2      DEFENDANT      GRACE P. CANTILLO             JUDGMENT 09/11/2013

I got a default judgment on me because I did not show up. Here is a link so you can look up the case info
http://icms.cc-courts.org/tellme/tellme/tellm ... 30&casetype=CIV

I also got calls from these people. I work at a tire shop and they were calling on my day off about papers being dropped off. When I finally got on the phone with them I was a bit suspicious of their story. They claimed to be the owners of an old credit card debt, nothing huge just $770. It was an old store credit card from Best Buy. I know that it was one of the few things I had yet to take care of. All I did was have them fax me a bill of sale to my job, they let me settle for just $300. I pulled my credit just to make sure and sure enough they were right there as the latest inquiry.

Wow! What a day today. I receive a phone call from my mother while I am on break at work. She tells me that a "John Davies" was looking for me and that he was from the County Clerks office in a neighboring city. He stated that he was 20 minutes away from me at my old address and that I needed to call his law firm regarding a lawsuit against me. I call and a woman answers, "Corporate". I give her my case number that Mr. Davies had provided my mother. I am connected directly to a Meaghan. This woman tells me that there is a civil case against me and that I am being served papers that will force me to attend court, have my wages garnished, non-existant house mortgaged, blah, blah, blah, HOWEVER, if I settled with her for $2000.00 then Mr. Davies will not serve me papers. Well being 28 and scared out of my wits, I leave work halfway and drive home. I borrow the settlement money from my mother and before I call back "Meaghan" with my bank info, decided to Google the company's name that the woman provided me with, BM Group. The research woke me up. I called my county Distict Attorney Consumer Fraud Division who pressured me NOT to pay this group because all their claims were unlawful and dishonest. I was advised strongly to call the FTC and my local law enforcement. I reported to both, one resulting in my ID to be on high alert and the second as a peace of mind. Meaghan called me back and I told her everything that my DA told me as well as what the FTC lady told me. Meaghan tried her hardest to convince me, from obtaining my DA's number to call my bluff to convincing me that she would send me proof of their legitimacy ONCE I had made the transactiom, I was lucky enough to prevent myself from making a big mistake and puttin myself in a lot of financial trouble. I told her that I would be more than welcome to meet Mr. Davies at my local police station and be served. I got a mumble or two and then Ms. Meaghan hung up. Haven't heard from them, even though I was told that I will be served by the end of the day. I am so lucky that I called my county DA, and please advise all of you to do so. This group as no legit information on them. Scary part is that they know all my information which I know is listed on my credit report. Scarier is the fact that they aren't even listed on my credit report as a collection company. Scariest fact is that this Meaghan acknowledged all these complaints and most likely are trolling around scaring innocent people. I saved my $2000.00!!!!!

It's a scam. Got a call from "John Davies" who claimed to be from Alameda County, California. He gave me what turned out to be a fake file number. He called from a blocked number, but told me to call 877-978-4564 to update my address with them so I could be served with legal papers. He had a 2 year old address for me. I called my county operator, who connected me to the Alameda County Sheriff's office. The clerk looked up the file number and showed nothing in my name. He then connected me to the Sheriff who said he'd gotten the same call and challenged them to meet him at the Sheriff's office. He said they hung up on him. I called the scammers back and was told some woman from a nearby city with my same last name (someone I'd never heard of) listed me as an emergency contact. Why this would have anything to do with my so-called process serving, I have no idea.

In a nut shell, DON'T GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION. THIS IS NOT REAL. YOU CAN VERIFY WHETHER THERE ARE PAPERS AGAINST YOU WITH YOUR COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
---------------------

BM Group is Bertrand Management Group of Ontario, CA. They have had a number of lawsuits filed against them by consumers for violations of the FDCPA. I strongly encourage you to contact one of these lawyers that has gone up against them:

Todd M. Friedman (216752)
Darin Shaw (251037)
Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman, P.C.
369 S. Doheny Dr. #415
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Phone: 877 206-4741
Fax: 866 633-0228
tfriedman@attorneysforconsumers.com
dshaw@attorneysforconsumers.com

Bertrand has used a lawyer by the name of Jonathan Lau of the Stepp Law Group of Irvine CA to defend - but they always settle and pay the consumer.

Here's another consumer attorney who has gone up against them:

Joshua B. Swigart, Esq. (SBN: 225557)
josh@westcoastlitigation.com
Robert L. Hyde, Esq. (SBN: 227183)
bob@westcoastlitigation.com
Hyde & Swigart
411 Camino Del Rio South, Suite 301
San Diego, CA 92108-3551
(619) 233-7770
(619) 297-1022

Bertrand has also used Michael I. Goode of Irvine CA to defend some of the lawsuits that have been filed against them - but they always settle and pay the consumer.

Here is a law firm that has a case still going against them so this lawyer might really want to hear that they are still up to the same despicable tactics:

Joseph R. Manning, Jr., Esq. (State Bar No. 223381)
THE LAW OFFICES OF JOSEPH R. MANNING, JR.
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
4667 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 150
Newport Beach, CA 92660
PH: (949) 200-8755
FX: (866) 843-8308

Mr. Manning's client was harassed by Bertrand in the most outrageous manner. It was really horrible beyond imagination.

And here's one more law firm that has sued them for illegal collection tactics:

Tammy Hussin (Bar No. 155290)
Lemberg & Associates LLC
6404 Merlin Drive
Carlsbad, CA 92011
Telephone (855) 301-2100 ext. 5514
thussin@lemberglaw.com
08/02/13 2:38 PM

I agree totally.  This happened to me as well just today.  They called my father in law and said that I owed money on an account that has been closed and paid for three years.  They said they were surprised that my HR department had not already contacted me about garnishing my wages.  This I knew was not accurate because I had not been served papers and there was not a judgement against me.  I also know everyone in our HR department and asked them all and no one had received any calls.  So, I called them back and asked who in my HR department did they speak with and they wouldn't answer me.  I would not confirm any information and asked it they would just fax over the correspondance that was supposedly sent to my house stating I owed money.  I wanted them to fax information on their company and the documentation that showed I did in fact borrow this money they were referring to.  The lady immediately got very upset and told me that if I didn't give them the information for my debit account right away that she would not give me any type of break on the money that I owed.  I explained that I wasn't convinced that I owed any money and that without further information I would not give out my banking information, because this could be a scam.  The lady said that if the money is not to a valid company, I can get my money back with in 24 hours.  I told her this was crazy false information that I knew for a fact that was not the case at all.  She got so upset and started yelling at me.  I asked to speak to her supervisor and she finally hung up  and never received any information about this "debt".  So, this has nothing to do with paying your bills.  The person that commented above probably works for BMG.

Got a call and didn't pick up

First received a call at work that showed up as "process server" on caller Id.
The man on the phone said he was trying to confirm my address so he could serve me with papers because I was being sued.  He then gave me a phone number to the attorneys office that was suing me.  I called the number and provided the case # the process server gave to me earlier.  The guy at the attorneys office said he was impartial and that he was trying to help me because the court date was set for tomorrow and if it goes to court i will incure 3-5 thousand in attorneys fees on top of the debt i owe  but if I made an offer towards the balance he would show it to the attorneys that work upstairs from him. I was coached on what they would accept and urged to pay more than what I said my original offer was.  So I did. He put me on a brief hold and said he was going up to show them the offer. When he returned he said he had bad news, they didn't accept it.  But in the middle of him telling me this he got a call on the other line, they accepted my offer of 1600!  Good news he says!  I give my card info and pay.  Later that night I did some research and found out they are scamming other people in the same fashion. I immediately put a hold on my card but the money still left my account 3 days later.  I filed a dispute with my bank and attached links to other blogs of people who also had received calls from this place.  2 weeks later I got my money back.  These people are slime balls and they have all of your personal info.  They are not an attorneys office and you are not being sued. Unbelievable.  That's my story. Don't let them get you.                    -Chris

Got a call today at 888-977-7699 claiming they have a summons for a court date.  I asked how they got my number and they told me that my mother gave it to them.  I informed them that they are lying about the court summons and threatened to bring my lawyer into the mix.  They hung up.  His name was Craig.  I called my mom and she said she gave them my number because they threatened her with court and she got scared.  I looked them up and they are a collection agency from a dispute I settled years ago with Target!  Why are they still bothering me?  I'm filing a dispute with BBB and my District Attorney's Office.

BMG Litigation is a sleazy organization utilizing various guises to trick people into believing they are some other legitimate legal entity.  They have charaded as the Orange County Sheriff's Office to serve a bench warrant, Clerk of the Court regarding my property, and a Law Firm needing to deliver legal documents to my home address.  The scary thing is they know my name, my wife's name, our address, home phone, and personal cell phone numbers.  They have been harassing us for more than a month and I am not the person they are looking to scam.  Same name but different birth dates.  They are relentless.  Most recently I actually made them hang up on me for being rude.  Victory!

The same "person" called me claiming to be from Orange County Processing office.

BMG Litigation is a sleazy organization utilizing various guises to trick people into believing they are some other legitimate legal entity.  They have charaded as the Orange County Sheriff's Office to serve a bench warrant, Clerk of the Court regarding my property, and a Law Firm needing to deliver legal documents to my home address.  The scary thing is they know my name, my wife's name, our address, home phone, and personal cell phone numbers.  They have been harassing us for more than a month and I am not the person they are looking to scam.  Same name but different birth dates.  They are relentless.  Most recently I actually made them hang up on me for being rude.  Victory!

I received a call yesterday (Wednesday, June 20th, 2012) and a message was left on my voice mail. This person sounded like an older female and she said something to the fact that they have a subpoena for me(from a place 7 hours from me, I won't mention the name of the town.) I had never been to that town in British Columbia before, I'm originally from Ontario. But where I am living now, these people supposedly called from a person hours from me that I've never been and I know NO ONE there. What's also weird was that I have caller ID but no number showed up for these people who called. Hmm..red flag. So I called the RCMP from the town I supposedly have a subpoena in and they weren't sure what I was talking about. So I then called the RCMP in my town and asked them if they could look into it for me because no one came to my home, no letter in the mail, I never witnessed a crime, didn't commit a crime or anything of that nature. Why would I get told over the phone (someone leaving a message on my voice mail) that I have a subpoena. I was a bit concerned but confused, because normally you get served with something like that in person, not over the phone.

Said they were from Brownpoint Management. The girl tailored the pitch to the services my company offers. Yes, I do owe money, but I feel I was scammed by the company I owe money to. I'm so glad I send everything to voicemail so I can screen calls. I have been on the other side of collections and I know they will not spend money on legal for a $ 200 debt. If they do, I will hire them for my debt collections.

Another name they use is Michelle Lang and Margo Ferrera. Same story, repeated calls and threats. Lies about process servers, etc. These people need to be sued for illegal collection practices.

Got the exact same message about accessing property but they left the message on my 94 year old Mothers answering machine. I'm calling a lawyer to report these vultures.

A woman named Margo was calling my Mother and my roommate at work telling them I was being sued. I called and she told me a process server had tried to serve me. They knew my address and I don't leave the house very often so that was a lie. I checked the BBB and they have a "F" rating. They are a collection agency and use illegal methods to scared debtors.

Bertrand Management Group (BMG) is the name of the firm that is calling.  They are now using another local number: 323.207.5524.

They are acting as though they are a law firm trying to get information in order to file a suit.  They are now saying that their name is "BMG LAW".  On a recent call that was received, they advise, "...we need access so that our officers can get onto the property..."  Whatever that means...

They are definitely shady, and I have reported their actions to the FTC, BBB, FCC and FBI for fraud.  The FBI has advised that this firm is under a joint investigation with the FTC for various violations of the law.  They'll soon be getting what's coming to them...

I had the same called just like everyone else and they told me they were trying to serve me some papers and needed to verify my address, after they said we can work something without having to go to court because I would have to pay the attorney fees. After they are been harassing me at work and calling me 2-3 times a day some block and some with the 909-212-5580, 909-801-3326 they all been calls from 909 and the girl who called said her name is Megan Parker and is a supper rude person trying to talked over people. I check the website of the county I live at and I don't have any pending law suits, they are just trying to intimidate people and if they want to suit me is fine with me. So we should see

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Guy called me 2 days in a row both from different numbers leaving the callback of 888-712-3106.  The first number came up unknown the second was all 0's.  He never said who he worked for just that there had been a complaint and they needed to get a hold of the property owner of my house, gave a case number and left the 888 callback.

you are an idiot and debt collectors can provide media regarding the charges or validate the debt  . . . .  . its one simple step . . . . . . request it from the creditor, IDIOT!!!

Why do you look at this Website, if you're not reporting a problem that happened to you? Are you only here for the opportunity to bag on someone? Don't you have anything better to do?

I am tired of hearing about the FDPCA blah blah dude  if people would just pay there bill instead of shopping it away come christmas  thanksgiving, easter ect....... A person told me that they would rather shop there depression away it make them feel better and worry about the bills later.!!! great way to teach your kids about life and being mature. Then people cry harrasment  knock it off handle business !st hard times or not

Recieved several calls from these people saying they have tried to serve me a summons to appear in court, they said I have an upcoming court date. They also said they have tried to serve me twice. They never showed up. They also called my sister in law one day and wanted to know if I would be there to serve me that evening. This time they provided a case number. I don't know who these people are but they never show up. It's a scam of some sort. I can't stand scum bags!!

Slimey is an understatement.   These folks are more like the ghouls in old horror movies who eat  flesh from rotting corpses.   I also received threatening and harassing phone calls from these ghouls about someone who is not a member of this household.   I also don't owe them or anyone else money.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA, 15 U.S.C., 1692, et seq)  prohibits harassing phone calls from debt collectors and others.   Violations of this federal statute may result in fines and penalties for the offending parties.   Send these insensitive ghouls a letter quoting the above statue and demand that they quit telephoning you at home or at work.

Had same call, with call back of 888-712-3109.  This is a scam attempting to get your personal information.  It is possibly originating from overseas.

Sorry i have a real job! Don't play yourself i have a B.A  and working on my Master's but hey
 have fun running you should be tired right? oh wait you have been on the run since
forever huh?....You are one of the main reasons why our economy sucks i count on it that my hard earn
money and taxes i have to pay covers loser's like yourself while you set home running from collectors and working the system!! Maybe you should be incarcerated so this will be one less bum that we
have to focus on damn!

Sorry i have a real job! Don't play yourself i have a B.A  an working on my Master's but hey
guess what you have fun running you should be tired right? oh wait you have been on the run since
forever huh?....Your the one of the main reason why our economy sucks i count on it that my hard earn
money and taxes i have to pay cover loser's like yourself while you set home running from collectors and working the system!! Maybe you should be incarcerated so this will be one less bum that we
have to focus on damn!

Brilliant.  You really got me with that one.  You're quite the wordsmith.
Have fun at your job calling people and trying to collect debts. I'm sure it's very fulfilling.  It looks like getting that GED while you were incarcerated really paid off for you.  XOXO

I got a call from them also- looking for my sons girlfriend, now caller id shows as 000-000-0000 when when i answered they were looking for her and gave a call back number as 888-712-3109 for a summons in LA California, she always lived in Maryland. the Judiciary case search does not show any summons for her, it is a scam