Have you been dealing with what seems to be endless phone calls and harassment from Asset Acceptance? Learning about Asset Acceptance and what you can do about the harassment are the first steps toward easing your stress.
While Asset Acceptance Capital Corporation may sound like a new name if they call on their first connection with you, rest assured that they have been around for a long time. Asset Acceptance Capital Corporation is the parent agency, while Asset Acceptance, LLC, is their collections subsidiary collections agency.Be aware that this particular company is not afraid of going to court, and from online reports, they have sometimes even surprised their assigned debtors with serving a lawsuit before any other communication has taken place.
The company has been around in one form or another since 1962, and they have purchased many debts from other collections companies. On their website, they report that they have over 60 million consumer accounts valued at over $130 million. They also appear to pride themselves on taking “a long-term view toward collections.” From online reports, it appears that this agency will stop at nothing with their long-term debt collection tactics.
Allegedly calling a dead man’s wife three to five times per day, Asset Acceptance is determined to get their money. Other allegations of outrageous collection practices by this agency that are easily found on the internet include contacting relatives of other dead people by letter and telling them that their dead relative is due a large refund. Reportedly when one calls back, they are actually looking to see if the living relative had received any estate money that could possibly be collected.
In 2012, the FTC handed them a $2.5 million civil penalty for violating fair credit reporting and fair debt collection practices. This amount is one of the largest penalties assessed of its kind to a collections company. Among other issues, the FTC identified that Asset Acceptance also has a reputation for using deception to revive old debts. These “old debts” can also be called time-barred debts, and basically, there’s a problem when a collections agency tries to trick the consumer into making a partial payment, or even getting the consumer to send in a written promise to pay, which then revives debt that had passed its legal collection time.
The FTC also found other problems and now holds Asset Acceptance responsible for verifying its debts for collection validity. Since Asset Acceptance has a history of placing negative information on people’s credit reports without their knowledge, you will be wise to make sure that your credit report accurately reflects only what they can legally do.
As if the problems with the FTC were not enough, the Better Business Bureau reports that they have closed 913 complaints within the past three years, and most of these problems have been in the areas of billing and collections. Although this agency reportedly agreed with the FTC to “undertake industry- leading consumer protection practices,” do not be surprised if this huge company hires a collector on your case that oversteps the law.After all, a quick online search for Asset Acceptance confirms that consumers are not going to run out of complaints anytime soon for how they claim to have been treated, evenmore recently than their problematic year with the FTC, by this collection agency.
The good news is that if you want to make some money by filing a claim against Asset Acceptance, you just may have that chance by partnering with an attorney who knows what to do. After all, this agency is known to make threats, tell lies, and bully people who are on the other end of their phone calls. Additionally, they have been known to call people at known work numbers, call over and over, and call late at night too.
