They are stil at it. I came home form work yesterday to that message on my phone... googled it today and then reported it to my local crimestoppers... The new area code is out of South Carolina (803)... same spiel... restraining order, docket, you or lawyer, etc...

I reported it over lunch. Amazing that his reacket is stil active even after he is in jail.

The funny thing is, I have NO outstanding debt. 20 years ago, well that is a different story... but now? WTH? So, they must be operating from some very old debt collector lists.

I got a call at work from Investigator Sharon. Well should have been my first clue but I freaked out she told me it was a debt of $980 from 2 years ago. Gave an address of a current job and told me that if I didn't pay this I would be arrested and they arrested 24 people and I was 28 and if I didn't pay this there would be nothing she could do to stop this and the police would be at my place of employment in 15minutes.  I freaked out and paid it!!!!!!!!! I am so made at myself.

Called saying they were investigators and something about a restraining order.....wouldn't it come from my local courthouse?

THEY CAN NOT SUE YOU- THEY ARE NOT LAWYERS  this is an illegal debt operation in cleveland ohio being run by a convicted felon.   report them immediately to the cleveland attorney general's office or to NYS - who has an active warrant out for the owner, Tobias Boyland (aka Lawrence Johnson)   huge reward for his capture - call crimestoppers hotline asap to collect big money

crazy read tht ish about the guy Tobias Boyland ur tlking abt hahahha tht nigga a g for real  whts not legitimate about  it u owe a debt some1 buys it now u owe thm, like the guy on dateline said anyone with 2nickles can rub thm together and buy debt. ppl if u owe it u owe it , it was a scam whn u never paid it back. but hey tell me how u know its him and how u know so much abt him, i think u worked for him or something. how did he get out of jail if it was a scam, does that mean it actually is legal. im confused now.tell me more please

thank you very m,uch. i just didnt see the part that was a scam. i saw all of the other posts and they were very confusing to me. i dont see it to be a scam for personal information because they are not asking for it just verifying what they have. knew my name bday last digts of ssn and address. debt bis real and what they knew of it was true. thanks for the advice and i will be looking into clergy. will post questions for more advice,,, thank you again

All of these people (above), are right on the money; i.e., greg, hummer957, and onek.

BUT:  Your calls seem very different!!  In your case, it is a live deal and they really can sue.  If they do sue, you will not have to appear, but they will be given a default judgment against you, which adds the filing fee, process server, and reasonable attorney fees.  Find yourself a good and  reputable, credit counselor willing to call them and negotiate a lower amount or at least lower payments.  I would ask a few clergymen; they should know.  You do not need to be a church goer, because you can work from a yellow pages listing:  Ask for the senior pastor and then if he knows an honest and/or charitable debt counselor.  Unfortunately, there are as many crooks on the counseling side as the collecting side..  You should be able to find someone to help at no cost to you.

Now.  If they do get a judgment, they can make you show up with a list of your assets (typically all exempt from seizure).  But, alas, they really can garnish your wages.  So get to a counselor now and do not answer these calls yourself.  Good luck!

PS.  Bottom line, i.e, to answer your question, yes you can be sued.  But many operators avoid that, because they can't afford the fees (or justify them for what seems like a bottomless pit.)

I contacted our local pd on the call I recived,  because of the court action and resatraining orders.  If i had any they should know about it.  they called the number the first person they talked to hung up.  and the second person gave them a run around of there location.  they said that there is a company with the name of this one but it is not a invesagative company   this spells scam

I received this type of phone call this morning leaving a message for my daughter -- using the scare tactic of a restraining order, etc......I called my daughter and while she was listening to the message the caller left, she googled the phone number and found out it was an illegal phone scam.......I called the Federal Trade Comission and they told me this is the type of phone call used to "phish" personal information to be sold or sued illegally - for instance - could lead to identity theft -- we all need to remember to be cool headed and NEVER give out any type of personal information regardless of the intimidation put forth by the caller -- I just think it's a shame that there isn't a way to shut this down -- I think of others - senior citizens, etc. who will panic when hearing this come from the other end.....the world is full of crappy people -- let the answerer beware!!!!!!!!

THIS IS A SCAM, PURE AND SIMPLE!!!  Do not tell these people anything.  They are looking up names and phone #'s, calling and threatining lawsuits, warrants, arrests, restraining orders, etc. in order to get your personal information.  The REAL National legal systems is a legit lawfirm located in Chicago, and on their website there is a warning message that states that these people are scam artists, and if you receive a call from them, tell them nothing, call the real N.L.S @ 1-800-728-5285 and report it, call the Federal Trade Commision @ 1-877-382-4357 and file a complaint along with the Ohio Attourney General's Consumer Protection Agency @ 1-800-282-0515.  Anyone remember a man by the name of Tobias Boyland, a crack dealer turned scam artist in NY who just got released from jail for the same thing? (Dateline NBC did a special on it)  Well that's who is doing this.  I spoke to the Supervising Attorney at N.L.S., and that's exactly what he told me.  DO NOT FALL FOR THIS!!

gbd you seem to be very informed. they called and said i would be going to court and sued. cant they legally sue. the debt is mine. i know it is and it is only two years old. im scared because given the current economic state of banks i would think that they would start some different tactics to get there money owed. it does make sense i just have never heard of it befor. i guess the big question here is can i be sued.

My email address (prior comment) is gbdery@hotmail.com

We received a call yesterday.

who are these people they said the same thing too............

Received a strange call from a special investigator, with a file number and told me to get a order to show cause within 24 hours.

Who are these people who think this is a proper way to address an issue.

It is not done in a legal fashion and I believe it is regarding a debt that has been charged off and sold to this company.  

Good Luck

I got a similar call today. I think if they do it again, I will be the one filing a case against them. For whatever reason they are calling for, they are leaving a wrong message, hoping that will catch anyone's attention. Well, first off, the restraining order is not served by private investigators, but by the local law enforcement agencies. Two, my clean record and proper conduct would not make anyone think of a restraining order against me. They will not hear from me.

I RECIEVED A CALL FROM THIS NUMBER AND WAS SCARED OUT OF MY MIND ABOUT THE RESTARINING ORDER. HOWEVER WHEN I CALLED IT WAS CONCERNING A DEBT I HAD WITH US BANK IN REGARDS TO AN OVERDRAWN CHECKING ACCOUNT. I ADVISED THEM THAT I WASNT ABLE TO PAY IT AND THEY TOLD ME THAT I WOULD GET COURT DOCUMENTS IN THE MAIL. I DID RECIEVE A JUDGMENT AGAINST ME IN REGARDS TO THIS AND I DIDNT APPEAR IN COURT NOW THEY ARE TRYING TO GARNISH MY WAGES! I TRIED TO CALL THEM AND PAY IT BEFORE THEY STARTED THE GARNISHMENT BUT IT WAS TOO LATE. I AM SO F'N P'D OFF RIGHT NOW! IF ITS NOT ONE THING ITS ANOTHER

i have the same issue got called today 08/23/2010 did not got the call but heard the message got scared cause i never had done nothing illegal so waiting on another day to call but before all this got a call from collector saying i have a debt for 2,000 my real social different birthday.they asked me my real info but did not gave it to them but am really scared about all this need an advise?

I RECEIVED A CALL FROM 1011 AND THEY SAID THEY WERE SPECIAL INVESTIGATORS AND THAT I HAD A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST ME AND PROVIDED ME WITH A REFERENCE NUMBERH

The best way to deal with these calls would be no answer at all.  I am formerly a federal bank examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (Treasury Department).  There is a federal law against this, i.e., Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA for short, and many states have corresponding legislation.  However, the penalties are relatively mild and the government has a glut of complaints way past what they are able to handle.  I think it is NBC Dateline which did a one-hour expose.  A few years ago, I ran into some outfit with people said to be in Illinois and New York who did the same dog and pony show.  They're crooks; and some, believe it or not, were threatening physical harm.  Check the Dateline site and/or search for "debt collectors" with "illegal threats."  I got my call today, actually, and I presume it is related to a bad check from going-on 20 years ago; well, or it could be a credit card, dismissed in bankruptcy in 1985 (believe it or not).  You might try your local District Attorney.

The best way to answer would be no answer at all.  I am formerly a bank examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (Treasury Department).  There is a federal law against this, i.e., Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA for short, and many states have corresponding legislation.  However, the penalties are relatively mild and the government has a glut of complaints way past what they are able to handle.  I think it is NBC Dateline which did a one-hour expose.  A few years ago, I ran into some outfit with people said to be in Illinois and New York who did the same dog and pony show.  They're crooks; and some, believe it or not, were threatening physical harm.  Check the Dateline site and/or search for "debt collectors" with "illegal threats."  I got my call today, actually, and I presume it is related to a bad check from going-on 20 years ago; well, or it could be a credit card, dismissed in bankruptcy in 1985 (believe it or not).  You might try your local District Attorney.

Yes, we got this same call. Not knowing what to do, and also being scared to death, we called them back. They fed us a bunch of useless crap that is untrue, and asked if my birthday was on November 5th. Not knowing what was going on, and wanting to get these people off my back, I said no and told them my real birthday. They just hung up after I told them my real birthday. Can they do anything with that information? Obviously they know my phone number and address already, because they asked if I lived at said address. But I'm pretty freaked out and I don't know what to do.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Here is the link to the story: http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=107715

Boyland should have NEVER been released on bail! He was already a convicted felon when he was arrested for weapons possession and running an illegal debt collection operation which was exposed on "Dateline" almost two years ago.

Where is the JUSTICE?

A warrant has been issued for his arrest and his bail has been revoked.

Boyland, also known as "Bags of Money", was under investigation by former NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for using illegal practices to get debtors to pay.

If you have any information on Boyland's whereabouts, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at:  716-867-6161.  You could be eligible for a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of this suspect.

this is a scam collection agency, owner is wanted criminal: see following:

A warrant has been issued for his arrest and his bail has been revoked.

Boyland, also known as "Bags of Money", was under investigation by former NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for using illegal practices to get debtors to pay.

If you have any information on Boyland's whereabouts, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at:  716-867-6161.  You could be eligible for a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of this suspect.

this is an illegal debt operation working in cleveland ohio, in the superior building. owner is currently on NYS's most wanted list for felony weapons possession. if anyone knows exactly where TOBIAS BOYLAND (aka Lawrence Johnson) is call crimestoppers hotline or NYS Police.  huge reward for his capture. do not pay them, they are falsely threatening you.  about to be shut down and arrested soon.

I just received this exact vm this evening. It stated that there had been a restraining order issued against me & that I needed to appear in court, or something of the sort. Said to have myself or my lawyer contact them with a specific arbitration number...blah, blah, blah.

I always let my vm pick up if i don't recognize the number. I was so caught off guard that I had to listen to it once again. The funny thing is, i have since been married & not only changed my last name, but my first, as well. They still referred to me by my maiden name. It was too hokey to be real. It sounded "fairly" legit, at least it would to those that are somewhat gullible.

So i had to hop online & do some research. There was no way I was going to call this number just in case they have some kind of caller ID tracker. They already "think" they have my info... I dare not "confirm" it for them. Losers.

With any luck, they will eventually be the ones that are getting a REAL call about being taken to court!

This scamed me and my grandma payed and they also took extra money but the wont even refund it what do i do?

Same kind of message. Some BS about a legal suit and case number. Said I had 24-48 hours to respond. Also stated I had a restraining order against me. Ha..Go for it. I have no intention of going around you, cause we can't figure out who you are. Total scam, and I hope people don't fall for it.

Its a scam. I had my attorney call them today after they called my husbands cell phone looking for me letting him know i had a restraining order against me. They told my attorney that i had a credit card through a bank i have never been affiliated with and gave her the account number and everything for the credit card stating that i owe them $791.00. The company name they are using isn't legit either the law firm know they are using it and there has been a complaint filed again them with the Federal Trade Commission here is the info from the law firms name they are using.....


IMPORTANT NOTICE

It has been brought to our attention that a company identifying themselves as National Legal Systems has been calling individuals, throughout the country, threatening lawsuits, court appearances, summons, arrests and giving 48 hours to call them (904)758-5980. We want to inform you that WE ARE NOT AFFILIATED in any way with this firm. A check with the state of Florida of the filing for National Legal Systems shows that on 11/06/1989 that company was dissolved and their status as of July 2010 is inactive.

Their method of operation seems fraudulent and we urge EXTREME CAUTION. We are NOT a collection agency and never have been. We are a Chicago based law firm licensed to practice law in Illinois and other jurisdictions and our good name is apparently being used to perpetrate a fraud. Please call us if you have further information on this organization or have any further questions at 1-800-728-5285
or contact the

Federal Trade Commission at

1-877-382-4357

and use Reference/complaint #27314886


Pretty much they are just looking for people who are willing to give out personal information over the phone so they can take your money. This is being ran buy an ex convict from NY supposedly so if they call you DO NOT GIVE THEM ANYTHING!!!!