Yes the way they go about it kind of sleezy but the debt is real and we as consumers do forget that we made these problems by not paying our bills

You work for these jerks ? Just how stupid are people, did these a***holes send you a letter in the mail, vertification of the debt, they probably found your information in the garbage. Better yet, perhaps an ex-employee of a company making extra money.....Wise up people first you have to be served with papers to be sued. Read a book...look up the info. on the internet...my goodness.

I've read alot of complaints and horror stories about this "EPA Group" or "Edison & Park Associates", but none of your guys tell us the ONE thing that we're so scared about:

"Did they ever really send out a summon (court order) to anyone here?"   (I NEED TO KNOW THIS ASAP).

I requested Debt Validation & they were able to provide that.  My debt was bought over & over until it got to them (They sent me the debt's "Bill of Sale").  I think they're a legit collection company (though they always refered to themselves as "active litigation firm") & violated every collection rules.

However, they're legit & can sue you.  And my question remains the same:

"Did they ever really send out a summon (court order) to anyone here?"   (I NEED TO KNOW THIS ASAP).

If indeed they did, then I'd bite the bullet & try to negotiate a small payment with them. ("Small" comparing to their requested amount).   But if not, then I'd gut it out & go to court to defend my case (base on the evidence that they give me so far, I guess I can only use ILLEGAL collection practices to defend.)

So anyone with a "COMPLETE" history with them please shred some lights into this.  I don't want to read another "they are a scam this, scam that" but never explain the "HAPPENINGS" and "RESULT" of your dealings with them.

Thank you!  I personally will update my "FINAL RESULT" with them in details later to help the future victims.

Yes, they are on my credit report.  If they are not legit how do I get them off of there?  I am in a position to settle this debt, but I am nervous that they are not legit, but then how did they get to my credit report?

Has anyone checked there credit report and found them on there

I have been called several times by people calling themselves "process servers" and claiming they have papers to serve on my ex-wife's husband. I talked to them and asked them why they were calling me about this and informing them that what they are doing is illegal under the Consumer Protection Act.  Obiviously the person was rude and belligerent, so...I read some of the posts here and found their true name and address and promptly called the Ontario, Ca. Police Dept. to file a report with them. The Detective I spoke with said this was probably more a Federal issue but that she would see if they could send someone by just to ask them some questions. I also called the U.S. Attorney's office in Riverside and they are sending me a complaint form to fill out and mail back to them. It is time to put a stop to this type of behavior!

I got a call today giving me that 1877 number. The girl was rude, I asked for v what they said a card from HSBC from 2003. Im not giving them a dime. I was going to call back now I will send the cease communication letter via usps and contact ftc and whomever I need to. They had an old address that wasnt even used when I had the card. Whats scary is they have your credit report. After this im getting a security for scammers n my credit. Glad I researched them.

The calls form EPA were came up as Unknown. They left messages with my In-laws, and on my phone but for my husband. The messages were to call 1-877-469-3553 with the file # they left, and that it was an attempt to verify address and employment within 24 hours. When I called back the man answered said it was the litigation department, but would not give me the name of the company unless I gave him the file #. I hung up. They called my inlays again today, said it was in regard to property claim ages, and that they needed to hear from me within 24 hours or else they were turning it over to a processor and have them served with papers. When they asked how they got their phone number, they were told they were listed as next of kin. I called them again today, managed to get them to tell me the name and address of their company. When I gave them the file #!they left with my in-laws, it was for another person. When I told them I had no idea who that was they said they saw I was calling from NY, and they typed in the wrong file #. They then told me that it was a case against me for fraud. When I asked for the info, they refused. I did manage to get a fax number from them. I faxed a cease communication letter (you can find ones samples on the Internet), but more important sent in via USPS certified mail with signature confirmation. When they sign for it, you get a postcard saying who and when it was signed for. That way, they can not claim they never got the letter.

We had to deal with these frauds last week.  They called everyone in our family, including out state relatives "trying" to find my husband.  They threatened to have them arrested if they didn't provide information to his whereabouts.  They also left voice mails stating if my husband didn't call them back by 4pm they would release our information to everyone.  They tried to serve a subpoena to a cousin in an effort to make us believe that my husband was being sued.  When he finally called them back, "Mr. Roberts" verified our address and information, so they already knew where he was. My husband told them he disputed the claim and to provide him with proof of the debt that he owed them.  Mr. Roberts got very belligerent and rude. He twisted what he was saying to say that he agreed to pay their set amount of the debt.. He told him he would be contacting the original company to find out about this "debt"  and told him we experienced identity theft in the past and Mr. Roberts got very upset about that.  
We have been waiting for over a week and still no proof that he owes this debt has been provided.

Under the federal debt collection laws, they are not allowed to harrass friends and family, neighbors, ANYONE if they already have your information.  They are not allowed to harrass or threaten to disclose any information about you!  And they are certainly not allowed to threaten to have you arrested.  I have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commisson, the Better Business Bureau and the California State Attorney's Office.  I have also sent a cease and desist letter to them.

Do NOT pay these people anything!  Look up your rights and report them!!

hi to all, i am so glad i found this site. Two days ago a guy named Andres Villanueva, called my mom in law's house looking for me. He told her that they are looking for me because they are ready to serve papers for me. I have a HSBC credit card that I wasnt able to pay since 2008 when I stopped working. It was only under $1000 when a collection agency was handling it. But havent heard from them for a long time until 2 days ago. This Andres Villanueva called my mother in law. I talked to him and he said that I owe $2,924 now and that the bank HSBC is suing me for it. But if I can pay them the money then they will stop the lawsuit, When I heard about it, I was so sad and crying because I dont want to go to jail, I have 2 young children. Anyway, I told him that I dont have that much money. As a matter of fact we only have $50 left for the rest of the month. We are broke! I am not working and my husband's SSI Disability check is our only income which is not enough for a month. Then he said, how about you pay the downpayment of $650 and they will make a settlement of $100 each month until i paid it off. I told him I could not do that, I can only do $25 or $50 a month. He then threatened me that if i cant pay then they will serve the papers and then i will go to court and i will have to pay $7000 for all the fees. Since he called me I wasnt able to sleep at night thinking about it. I dont want to go to jail. So I called EPA again and talk to a different person this time because he said that Andres is not in the office til monday. This guy's name is Richard Carter. He told me a different story. He said that he will make a settlement for me if i can pay $100 this month (Monday May 7, 2012) and then after that I can pay them $100 every month. So I told him I will try to come up with that money to pay them this monday. I told him I can pay them through MONEY ORDER, but he said that they dont accept money orders. Instead I can give them my credit card/debit card, but i told him we dont have any cards. Then he said how about through MONEYGRAM, or a PREPAID DEBIT CARD... this guy sounded really nice. I was glad to hear that i can pay $100 as a downpayment instead of the $650. So Im not sure now if i will pay them. I know I owe that credit card that I had through HSBC, and i want to pay it off little by little, or by how much i can afford a month. I just dont know if these EPA Group is legit anymore after reading this website...please help on what i should do!

Thieves posing as debt collectors Company goes by EPA Group(Edison Park),Steele Morgan and Associates as well as BlackStone LLC. They use other magicjack(restricted #s-909-456-1853/1892). Harass people into getting bank acct# to drain it. Use a P.O Box from a UPS Store as an address. Report to FTC to get them arrested as they have stolen $1000s from people. I called back only to mess with them and expose their untutored criminal tactics.lol

HEY MR ANDRES VILLANUEVA, IF YOU READ THIS LET'S TALK FACE TO FACE.DO NOT CALL MY FAMILY AGAIN! MR. G AKA TESON 5 (Tropas Especializadas En Operaciones Nocturnas)

Mr, Andres Villanueva called again. Last night send an e-mail still asking to giving him $ 2,272.08. Message was signed by Mrs. Sara Blankenship, Director of operations, phone # 909-456-1853. Saying that I had agreed to some bulshit. I told Mr. Villanueva that if he makes any threats again to any members of my family I was going to go to Ontario, CA and report him to the police!

First my son and daugher in law got a call from a Stephanie Mc Naab, I call back 909-456-1892, Mr. Andres Villanueva answered the phone and when asked he said he did not know any Mrs. Mc Naab. But he told me to pay 2,272.08 right know, I told him to have Wells Fargo to call me, and he refused. Told me I could go to court for fraud, and told me to give him information about my debit card and my bank, wich I refused. But they told my family the same thing that they worked for the county clerks office somewhere in California, and were intermediaries between Bank lawyers and the Webb County Superior Court ( that court does not exist in Webb County. He call me back later a couple times and said to pay only 2,272.08 and that they would report my payment to the credit bureau. I am not to pay sabotage to these persons, so I may call the police in Ontario, CA.

These people are COMPLETE frauds. They told me they would be sending a marshall to my home to serve documents, and that if my husband wasnt available, he could be arrested. The woman who clled- Melody Diaz _- said that she is employed by the state of california in the processing and serving division for the county courthouse. She told me the compaitant was an EPA group and gave me a number to call. When I called, they answered "corporate office", I said, corporate of WHAT? They said- are you an attorney- I said...no, what are you the corporate office of? I was then placed on hold, and I asked if this was EPA? They said , yes....I asked what EPA stood for? they said...nothing.I told them that I was onto their scam, and they claimed that my husbands records had been sealed and refferd to a different company...But, wait! I was told that they were the plaintiffs!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances give these creeps ANY personal info...They are breaking the law , I am reporting them to the FTC, CONSUMER COLLECTION AGNCY AND THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE!!! Dont be fooled by these rats.

gary stevens keeps calling my home with threats.  he has also contacted my husband's employer and that really ticked me off.  i called the FTC and reported them and will now have them blocked.

Did more research. This company is part of  an attorney's company. The attorney behind this telephone number, per Sarah Blakenship (supervisor) at the phone number is:

Thomas Stepp Jr., attorney Bar Number 75084
Stepp Law Group
15707 Rockfield Blvd Ste 101
Irvine, CA 92618 Phone Number (949) 660-9700
Fax Number (949) 660-9010
e-mail gerewjhke@lohanrj.govltjwagm@jbuat.govtes@stepplawgroup.combmks@ljjjwgeq.govqkqha@jifw.comflidd@jynr.govtwcjun@inacrc.eduhulnsn@sfeeru.comjcpmddgyj@dugylg.comyehifdfnr@buknj.comcgderppr@hahgs.eduorawebea@mihu.comdsorgbd@mhfhcs.netwotsqqrro@swpnr.goviney@qsdgow.govijydhy@oif.orgqaljq@uqsmnla.neteyunn@wdkqqlt.edunbgm@uwpdd.educcwi@wufmw.org  

This contact information came right out of the California Bar Association's member look up and was copied. Feel free to look up the info off the Calif Bar Association's member search--his address may have changed by the time you read this.

I called attorney Stepp but he was 'unavailable'. I left a message that the information they left on my phone three times yesterday, the name of Ida DelaRossa (not sure of the last name as they slurred it each time) located at 5763 Laurel Canyon Blvd #8, Valley Glen, CA and case CA13748SB10 had nothing to do with me and to please stop all phone calls. However, by identifying the person they are seeking and that the firm is an 'active litigation firm' and leavign the case #, could be considered breach of finanncial privacy.

Called harassing my mother, I have no idea who these people are, I have no debt with a bank.

They are an unscrupulous debt collection agency that lies about every option you have available to you including your ability to dismiss the claim bankruptcy among other things.  They violate the debtor/creditor laws on a regular basis and use threats

I got a call form this number yesterday for 5 to 6 times. I didn't picked up the phone they didnt leave any messages so I was researching this number and found out that they're from Blackstone group. Wow they called me again. I paid another debt sometime last month. They saw my credit report that I have lots (I lost my job). They harrassed me before and I was not aware they said that the sheriff is out there and I have a case number so I looked it up and it was nowhere to be found. They LIED to me. anywhow I ended up paying them (I can't afford it) so they negotiate up to $ 800.00 instead of paying $3K with attorney's fees etc. I don't know where they got my cellphone number. But these credit collectors violate the Fair Debt collection act in many ways. "Threats of lawsuit","Threats of arrests" anynomous calls, late-night calls or early, calls at work, calls to friends, collector using false names, Intimidation , lies & harrasments.  I will be reporting this Blackstone Group to Fair Debt Collection agency.

WARNING!!!  READ THIS !!

Rcvd a call yesterday from a female stating she had legal documents to process and if she did not call back they would send them to the address on file.  Case # FL42701CS11

Then my sister got a call threatening to arrest her if she did not provide info regarding me...  

Then my father got a call from a gent that identified himself as  the state police in florida and that they had a subpoena to serve me and they needed my address.

Just today (one day later) I got a call from a gent that identified himself as officer David Allen from the State of Florida Processing Server Division (which does not exsist) stating I had till 3 pm to call back or they would serve me at the address on file... Case # FL42701CJS    (Different #)



DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY INFO !!!!!

THEY ARE BLACKSTONE FINANCIAL GROUP FROM ONTARIO CALIFORNIA

OR STEELE MORGAN AND ASSOCIATES

SAME PEOPLE!!  THEY BUY OLD (WE ARE TALKING 7 YEARS OLD) DEBT AND TRY TO COLLECT IT USING THREATS AND LIES...

THEY ARE NOT FROM YOUR STATE.. THEY HAVE NO OFFICIAL POWERS AND THEY ARE NOT OFFICERS OF THE LAW.. THEY ARE NOT PROCESS SERVERS..

THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO COLLECT YOUR OLD DEBT  USING ILLEGAL TATICS!!

They are a 3rd party debt collection company. They are real but their tactics are b***s***. The 2 people you wrote about are in fact the same person. Go figure.

DEFINITELY a SCAM! A guy claiming to be a "Lee Val" lval@steelemorgan.com called my cell phone number numerous times from a blocked/unavailable number and left harrassing voicemails and a "case number". I called back and he pretended to be and impersonated a "paralegal" in which he would send someone to retain/arrest me to appear in court unless I paid. WHAT A JOKE! He terrified me into believing him and so regrettably I gave him my card number thinking I was avoiding the court and paying off past debt when in reality it was a SCAM. They have since sent me several emails and continuous phone calls even though I requested that they CEASE until they send me documents of Debt Validation. Suddenly I started receiving emails from a Lisandro "Lee" Valenzuela <lvalenzuela@blackstone-financial-group.com> (how the hell did this person from a different company get my email???) who claimed to be BLACKSTONE FINANCIAL, which is also known for being a SCAM company. They then EMAILED (even though I requested to be sent by USPS postal mail, which they did not adhere to my request) me several fake documents that appeared to be real, but in fact were not. The documents were not real as I had contacted a legal consult from Krohn & Moss @ www.krohnandmoss.com and upon consultation they researched my situation and said that the company is not legit and in fact was a scam. I immediately notified my bank of the dispute of transaction/fraud and cancelled my card. They are currently in the process of returning my money to me (I received half back so far). I also filed a Victim's Consumer Complaint on the Federal Trade Commission website @ ftc.gov and also filed a complaint on the FBI Internet Crime Complaint center @ ic3.gov. In addition, I am filing a fraud police report. PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THEIR schemes. If in doubt, DO question and file immediately! I plan to sue them if they do not return my money and if they continue to harrass me.

I got a phone call from this number stating there was documentation for my house in AZ.  Um, since when is the county clerk in another state.   THANK YOU GOOGLE VOICE!

Don't believe this poster PLEASE.  This might come from the scam company themselves.  1. They state they JUST paid the last payment THIS month but yet have already seen their credit report that says PAID IN FULL.... LIE!!!!  It takes 3-6 months for something to post and change your credit score, it's not instant.  Not only do these scam collection companies lie and are sleazy to boot but they post on the forums to try and scare you.  PLEASE people check your state laws for collections.  many people are not aware that a collection agency can only try and collect a debt for a certain amount of time.  Sure the scam companies can try to scare you into your paying them anything 10 years later but your state laws might say otherwise.  In my state they can only collect credit card debt for 5 years...actually they can try to collect it forever if they want and believe me other bottom feeder collection companies will try to harass you for years but once it's past the time frame given by your state laws they can NOT sue you or garnish wages!!!!  After the statute of limitations has expired (check with your state to find out exactly how long this is), there is very little legal recourse the collection agency has to collect on the debt owed.
PLEASE CHECK YOUR STATES STATUE OF LIMITATIONS ON COLLECTING DEBT!!!!!!!

Exactly the same story as reported by everyone above... Wish I had read this before giving them any money.... Thankfully it was only a few hundred dollars... I stopped payment on the rest and reported them.

They called looking for someone that I knew in the past and somehow got my number.  They claimed they worked for the County of San Diego and they called from a Riverside number.  He said his name was Kelly Lyle.  When I called back they said there was no one named Kelly Lyle that worked there and that they were not with the County of San Diego.

They are called Black Sun.  Sounds like they are collections company.

HEY SO I DID THE SAME THING TO AND I ACTUALLY HAD MY LAST PYMNT THIS MONTH I GUESSS MAYBE THE WAY THEY GO ABOUT THIS SHADY BUT THE FACT THAT THEY OWN OUR DEBT IS TRUE AND YES THEY CAN PUT A JUDGMNT IF THEY WANT TO IF WE DONT PAY///I DID FIND OUT ITS A LONG PROCESS THOU NOT LIKE THE WAY THEY SAY...BUT NON THE LESSS I DID END UP PAYING THEM FOR LESS THAN WAT I ORIGINALLY OWED AND YA THIS MONTH WAS MY LAST PYMNT....I DID RECIOEVE A PAYED IN FULL LETTER AS PROMISED ANHD I CONSTANTLUY WATCH MY SCORE AND YES IT DID GO UP....ALSO IT IS REPORTED ON THE EXPERIAN AS PAID IN FULL NOT LIKE WACK A** AMEX THAT PUT LEGALLY SETTELED FOR LESS THAN BAL...SO YA I WOULD ADVISE U GUYS TO SETTLE W HIM FOR AS LOW AS U CAN POSSIBLY GET IT TO BE!!

ur an idott! who says there tryin to take ur money..this is money u borrowed...and decided to never pay back...fyi...when u borrow u need to pay back...;)
crooks?! how?! the law penalizes for depts people dont pay back and yes hunny that is a law! and you will go to court...

I have done the same as you.  They told me I can call my orig. credit card company and gave me my credit card company's place that outsources their loans.  I have given my credit card info. and they faxed me a letter and an e-mail stating that the debt will be settled in full and closed.  I will call my credit card first thing in the morning and their outsourcing company to make sure I did the right thing in settling with this particular company.  If they are not legit. then I will contact my bank and stop the credit card payment.