GC Services is notoriously known throughout the debt-collection industry. They’re arguably one of the biggest collection agencies in the world. They’re often the mouthpiece or middleman for companies in many different industries such as retail, traffic, and automotive. But, they’re most known for collecting student loans. Once one of these companies has spent a while trying to collect a debt from you, they might hire a third-party, such as GC Services, in order to pursue their debts for them. But, it’s important to understand the history of this company and the things that they have been accused of in the past.

GC Services currently has over 8,500 employees all across the United States and the Philippines. The company is based in Houston, Texas, but it also outsources much of their business overseas. They deal with both first-party and third-party debts. This means that they’ll often deal with debtors that have a delinquent account and those who have a defaulted account as well. They allegedly have 60 years of business experience and call themselves, “the largest business process outsourcing providers in the U.S.” But, even though this company boasts many successes, their name has been a hot topic in the news because of their FDCPA (or, Fair Debt Collections Practices Act) violations.

If you aren’t too familiar with the FDCPA, it contains rules and guidelines that debt collectors have to abide by. They’re designed to protect you as a borrower and keep you away from harassment and abuse. However, every so often, collection agencies violate the law, forcing consumers to seek litigation against these agencies to protect their rights and enlist the help of a credit repair company in Houston, or various cities around the country.

Recently, GC Services has become a hot new topic because of a hefty $700,000 fine to settle a lawsuit that alleged that the company was engaging in illegal and invasive debt collection practices. The company did not confirm or deny any wrongdoing, but it did agree to pay the fine to the FTC. The lawsuit mentions that GC Services repeatedly called third parties (family, neighbors, etc. of the borrower) even after being told that they have the wrong person. The lawsuit even alleges that GC Services said that they would stop calling them and falsely take steps in order to remove the third party’s phone number. Under the FDCPA, debt collection agencies are only supposed to call third parties once.

Also, the lawsuit alleges that GC Services revealed consumer debts in voicemail. Another person, who wasn’t the consumer, ended up hearing these voicemails. That again is in violation of the FDCPA. In the lawsuit, the debt collection company proclaimed that collected approximately $1.4 billion in gross collections from consumers in 2014. Also, the lawsuit stated that in that same year they had gross revenues of approximately $133 million.

This company also deals with a variety of customer complaints. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), there have been 111 closed customer complaints over the past three years. 25 of those complaints have been closed over the past twelve months. There are also currently 13 customer reviews on the company’s BBB profile, aggregating into a score of one star. On the other hand, the company currently has an A rating with the BBB. The percentage of consumers that have a problem with GC Services tends to make their voices heard in any way that they can. GC Services has an often bad reputation with the consumers they deal with, but they still maintain a high level of success in the industry.

Dealing With Harassment

If you’re currently dealing with a debt collection company such as GC Services, then it’s important to know your rights as a borrower. The FDCPA was put into place in order to protect borrowers from the predator like behaviors that debt collectors often exhibited, like GC Services, in order to collect the debts.

If you’re experiencing any of these abusive behaviors from debt collectors, you should seek help:
–       Receiving calls at work
–       Receiving late night or early morning calls
–       Receiving multiple calls per week
–       Collectors are threatening you with violence
–       Collectors are proclaiming that you owe more than you think
–       Use of obscene or explicit language

When a debt collector exhibits any of these behaviors, it means that they are breaking the law. There are steps that you should partake in order to have the best chance of proving your case if need be. First, it’s best to contact the debt collection agency (whether verbally or in writing) to stop contacting you. By law, they should abide by your request. If they haven’t stopped contacting you, it’s best to record all of the illegal behavior. This ensures that you’ll have the information to backup your claims. Next, you can send complaints many different ways including the Federal Trade Commission and to your state’s attorney. Representatives from these camps will be able to give you all the information you need in order to make the next step in your case. You don’t deserve to be treated unfairly by debt collection agencies like GC Services. Knowing your options as a borrower will ensure that you’re treated with dignity and respect.

Finding yourself unable to pay bills on time can have a devastating effects both personally and financially. Once some debt goes unpaid and moves into collections, other debt tends to head in that same direction. This seems especially true when a consumer is unable to pay due to personal life events such as, loss of a job or a death in the family.

What can be even more stressful in experiencing financial hardship, is being approached by debt collectors employing every strategy they can, in an effort to collect outstanding debt from the consumer. The best tool a consumer can have to work through the circumstances of being placed in collections and contacted by collectors is knowledge – knowledge of their rights under the law, and knowledge of strategies they can use when dealing with debt collectors.

Get to Know Midland Credit Management

One such collector, Midland Credit Management, a collection agency owned by publicly traded Encore Capital Credit Group, will employ a variety of tactics to secure payment for outstanding debt. Understanding who Midland Funding LLC is and what their reputation consists of will help consumers who are forced to deal with them communicate in a way that best protects themselves.

Midland Credit Management, aka Midland Funding, has been in business since 1953, and has been on file with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 1992. It is based in San Diego, but like all other debt collectors, purchases debt accounts from a variety of lenders everywhere and then pursues consumers for collection of those accounts.

Midland has an A+ rating with the BBB, and has been given 3.7 out of 5 stars for its business practices. Despite that, 67 negative reviews of Midland Credit Management reside on the BBB website alone. That’s not taking into consideration the numerous complaints about the company on other consumer advocate websites.

The number one complaint against Midland is that it breaks promises made, or acts on debt that is full of error or completely false. According to the BBB, in 2015, a court case was settled between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Encore Capital Group (Midland’s parent company) over the allegations that “the business bought debts that were inaccurate, lacked documentation,and unenforceable and collected payments from consumers using false statements and false court documents. Under terms of the Assurance, the business agreed to refund consumers $42 million, pay a $10 million penalty,and stop collecting over $125 million worth of debts.”[1]

Although settlement of the dispute does not admit guilt, this case — combined with the wealth of consumer complaints made in the last decade provides a clear indication that Midland may be engaging in practices that violate consumer rights under the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act).

The FDCPA is a federal law passed in September 1977 to help protect consumers from a high prevalence of predatory debt collection practices that were often abusive in nature. The Act set out specific requirements that clearly defines the types of practices lenders and debt collectors can and cannot employ in attempts to collect a debt. Violation of any of these requirements is prosecutable under the law.

Know Your Rights

According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the FDCPA restricts lenders and debt collectors from engaging in the following practices:

Harassment

“Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact.”

• Threaten violence or harm
• Make public names of those consumers who refuse to pay (exception: giving the information to the credit reporting companies)
• Use inappropriate/obscene language
• Repeatedly use the phone to annoy or harass

False Statements

“Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt.”

• Say they are attorneys or government representatives when they are not
• Tell the consumer he/she has committed a crime
• Lie by saying they operate or work for a credit reporting company
• Misrepresent the amount of debt owed
• Say letters or paperwork they have sent are legal papers
• Say papers they’ve sent aren’t legal forms when they are.
• Tell a consumer they will be arrested if they don’t pay
• Say they will seize, garnish, attach, or sell a consumer’s property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so
• Say they will take legal action against a consumer, if doing so would be illegal or if they don’t intend to take the action.

Misrepresentation

“Debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt.”

• Give false credit information about a consumer to anyone, including a credit reporting company;
• Send a consumer anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it isn’t
• Use a false company name.

Unfair Practices

“Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt.”

• Try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge over the amount owed unless the contract that created the debt, or state law, allows the charge;
• Deposit a post-dated check early
• Take or threaten to take property unless it can be done legally
• Contact a consumer by postcard.

If you find yourself in the position of having to deal with Midland Funding or any other debt collector, there are specific steps you can take to protect yourself while communicating with them. First, let them know you will only be corresponding with them in writing, and that they are not allowed to call you anymore.

Lastly, if you settle for removal (paying an amount less than the total owed in exchange for your record being removed from Midland’s report to the credit bureaus), make sure it is in writing. One of the many complaints against Midland is that they promise to settle for removal, and then do not. If you don’t have it in writing, it is essentially their word against your own.

Dealing with debt collectors can add to the immense amount of stress already felt from falling behind on debt repayment. Knowing your rights and the specific measures you can take when dealing with debt collectors, will help give you some breathing room when you can start the process of recovering from bad debt.

[1] https://www.bbb.org/sdoc/business-reviews/financial-services/midland-credit-management-inc-in-san-diego-ca-101104/Alerts-and-Actions

As long as there has been debt, there has been debt collectors like Ad Astra Recovery Services; the two go hand in hand. Debt is such an institutionalized part of most ancient and modern societies, that debt slavery – a practice whereby debt was passed from generation to generation – has often been an accepted component of this institution.

Debt collection has historically been an aggressive, coercive business; and before the abolition of debtors prison in the early 1800’s consequences for failing to pay a debt were often personally catastrophic.

Reasons for not paying a debt don’t solely fall on negligence. Other circumstances include financial hardship, disputes with the debt, unreasonable expectations in interest and penalties, and failing health.

Considering the circumstances by which debt has accrued has contributed in a relaxation of laws against debtors over the past century, and affords them protection against negative and aggressive debt collection practices by creditors and third party debt collection agencies.

In September of 1977, Congress passed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which protects consumers from abusive debt collection practices. This law was passed in order to give the consumer protection from what was up to this point, aggressive practices by debt collectors.

Since that law was passed, the nature by which debt collection has changed for the benefit of the consumer. However, from time to time, agencies violate the law, forcing consumers to seek litigation against these agencies to protect their rights and fix their credit.

Who is Ad Astra?

Ad Astra Recovery Services (AARS) may be one of these third-party collection agencies. Ad Astra was founded in 2007 in Kansas, and is a collection agency, check recovery service, debt repayment planner, and payday loan service provider according to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It is located at 7330 W 33rd St N #118, Wichita, KS 67205-9370. Their phone number is 316-941-5488.

In the past three years, both the BBB and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have received over 420 and 380 complaints respectively, about suspected below board practices initiated by Ad Astra (AARS). At least 13 cases of federal civil litigation have been recorded against Ad Astra Recovery Services for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

An example of an alleged violation against Ad Astra can be seen in a 2013 case against them brought by a consumer in Illinois. According to the consumer, Ad Astra verbally abused and practiced intimidation in order to get the consumer to pay an outstanding payday loan that he  insisted he never took in the first place. The case was later settled between the consumer and Ad Astra.

Many of those who have complained about Ad Astra, and probably even more who haven’t lodged formal complaints may have qualified to bring litigation against AARS for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Ad Astra collections and the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors to engage in the following practices:

• Contacting consumers outside of the hours 8:00 am to 9:00 over the phone, and any time inconvenient to consumers due to work schedules, family schedules, etc.
• Failure to cease communication after the consumer has requested in writing that the collector engage in no further communication or has refused to pay the debts (with exception for notification of termination of collection efforts, or intention to file a lawsuit against the debtor)
• Calling the consumer repeatedly or engaging a consumer in a phone conversation repeatedly or continuously with the intention of annoying the consumer, abusing, or harassing him/her
• Talking to consumers at their place of employment, including telephone conversations after the employer has requested it to be stopped
• Contacting a consumer who is knowingly being represented by a lawyer
• Communicating with a consumer after he/she request validation and before the validation has been sent
• Misrepresenting the debt or practicing deception against the consumer
• Publishing name and address of the consumer
• Pursuing collection amounts that are unjustified
• Threatening the consumer with legal action or arrest
• Using abusive or profane language
• Sharing consumer debt information with third parties
• Using methods to communicate with the consumer that would personally embarrass him/her such as displaying embarrassing language on the outside of a mailed envelope
• Sending incorrect, intentionally false information to a credit bureau for the purposes of misrepresentation on the credit report

The FDCPA also requires creditors and debt collectors to adhere to the following requirements:

• Debt collectors must identify themselves as such and notify the consumer that they are attempting to collect a debt in every instance of communication
• The debt collector must provide the name and address of the creditor of origin
• The debt collector must inform the customer that they have the right to dispute the debt
• If the consumer sends in a request for verification or they dispute the debt, the collector must send the consumer the requested information
• If the collector files a lawsuit, it must be done in a proper venue such as the consumer’s residence or place in which the debt was initiated

The above requirements are just that — requirements. Violations of one or more of these requirements can be prosecuted under the law. Debt collectors like Ad Astra may also violate another law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 as well, if the collector sends robocalls to a consumer’s cell phone without prior consent by that individual.

Suspected violations of either or both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is prosecutable. Consumers do have the right to pursue litigation against debt collectors who have engaged in unfair and unlawful practices in order to collect a debt.

If you receive communication from Ad Astra or other debt collection agencies, know your rights well. If you feel they may be engaging in measures that violate your rights, let them know that. If they continue, you have the right to lodge your complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and even pursue litigation. The Better Business Bureau has a publicly viewable website that shares all complaints against a business with the rest of the world.

Complaints on the Better Business Bureau’s website against Ad Astra Recovery Services include not honoring an agreed upon settlement, not honoring a Pay For Delete agreement, inputting incorrect information on a credit report, failure to provide proper debt validation, lying about debt payoff conditions, submitting a false collection claim, and many others.