The Federal Trade Commission just shut down the national collection agency CAMCO (a subsidiary of Risk Management) for massive violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FTC received many complaints about CAMCO from consumers. CAMCO was notified of the violations, but apparently ignored them. The complaints continued, and after 8 months, the FTC shut them down Dec 6, 2004, as well as required CAMCO to pay a $300,000 civil penalty.

After reading through the following information, I hope this shows you that a) this is proof that collection agencies violate the law, and as in this case, they do it flagrantly, b) legal action can be taken against collection agencies who violate the law and c) that complaining to the FTC is NEVER a waste of time. Here's a link to their on-line complaint form.

Here's the full text of the agreement.
Here's a copy of the complaint.

Among the violations:

• Harassing consumers at their workplaces;
• Discussing consumers’ debts with third parties;
• Continuing to communicate with consumers after consumers had notified them that they did not owe the money and did not wish to be contacted again;
• Using obscene or profane language;
• Calling consumers continuously with the intention of annoying and abusing them;
• Falsely representing the amount and legal status of the debts;
• Misrepresenting themselves as attorneys;
• Threatening imprisonment, seizure, garnishment, attachment or sale of property or wages with full knowledge that such action could not legally be taken;
• Threatening to take action that could not be legally taken, including threatening to disclose the debts to consumers’ employers and threatening to report the debt to consumer reporting agencies even though the debts are past the credit reporting periods; and
• Ignoring consumers disputes of the charges and continuing to harass them after consumers requested verification of the debts.

Specific Violations (The laws violated are listed):

• On numerous occasions , in connection with the collection of debts, defendants have communicated with a consumer without the consumer s prior consent given directly to the debt collector or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction:
  • at times or places that defendants knew or should have known to be inconvenient to the consumer including but not limited to communicating with the consumer at the consumer's place of employment when the debt collector knew or should have known that it is inconvenient for the consumer to receive such communications , in violation of Section 805(a)(1) of the FDCPA , 15 V. C. 9 1692c(a)(I); or
  • at the consumer's place of employment when defendants knew or had reason to know that the consumer's employer prohibited the consumer from receiving such communications in violation of Section 805(a)(3) of the FDCPA , 15 U. C. ~1692c(a)(3).
  • On numerous occasions, in connection with the collection of debts, defendants have communicated with third parties for purposes other that acquiring location information about the consumer, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction and when not reasonably necessary to effectuate a post-judgment judicial remedy, in violation of Section 805(b) of the FDCPA , 15 U. c. 91692c(b).
• On numerous occasions, in connection with the collection of debts, defendants have communicated with a consumer after the consumer has notified defendants in writing that the consumer refuse to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, in violation of Section 805(c) of the FDCPA, 15 U.S. C. 9 I 692c(c).
• On numerous occasions, engaged in conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse a person, on numerous occasions, in connection with the collection of debts, defendants have violation of Section 806 of the FDCPA, 15 C. g 1692d, including, but not limited to the following:
  • using obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer, in violation of Section 806(2) of the FDCPA , 15 D. C. 92d(2); or
  • causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation -repeatedly or continuously with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number, in violation of Section 806(5) of the FDCPA , 15 D. C. 1692d(5).
• On numerous occasions, used false, deceptive, or misleading representations or means, in violation of Section Section 807 of the On numerous occasions, in connection with the collection of a debt , defendants have FDCPA, 15 U. C. 1692e, including but not limited to the following:
  • falsely representing the character, amount, or legal status of any debt, in violation of Section 807(2)(A) of the FDCPA, 15 C. 1692e(2)(A);
  • falsely representing or implying that any individual is an attorney or that a communication is from an attorney, in violation of Section 807(3) of the FDCPA, 15 C. 1692e(3);
  • representing that nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure; garnishment, attachment, or sale of any property or wages of any person unless such action is lawful and the debt collector or creditor intends to take such action , in violation of Section 807(4) of the FDCPA, 15 D. C. 1692e(4);
  • threatening to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken, in violation of Section 807(5) of the FDCPA , 15 U. C. 1692e(5);
  • threatening to communicate to any person credit information that defendants know or should have known to be. false , in violation of Section 807(8) of the FDCPA, 15 C. 9 1692e(8);

 

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