800-219-3577
Debt Recovery Specialists a debt collection agency located in Mount Vernon, Washington. The agency has been in business since 1986 and provides debt collection services to a wide range of creditors, primarily in the state of Washington. According to its website, when it is hired to collect on an account of a consumer residing outside of Washington, it forwards the account to another collection agency.
Contact Information:
1601 William Way
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Phone: (360) 428-8159
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports no complaints against Debt Recovery Specialists and it maintains an A+ rating with the Bureau, although it is not accredited. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal agency created to help ensure that financial companies, such as collection agencies, do not harass or abuse consumer, reports one complaint filed against Debt Recovery Specialists in 2015. The complaint alleges that the collection agency threatened him will jail if he did not pay the debt, because the first check he wrote to pay it bounced. The company responded to the complaint in a timely manner, and it was closed, however its response was not made available to the public. While check fraud is a crime, simply bouncing a check is not, and a debt collector cannot threaten a consumer with jail in order to get them to pay on a debt. This is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a federal law enacted to help protect consumers from unfair and abuse debt collection practices. The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from using many types of deceptive and abusive collection tactics including:
- Calling consumers before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.
- Using obscene or profane language
- Threatening to take any action that it cannot legally take or does not intend to take
- Causing a consumers telephone to ring repeatedly
- Speaking with a third party about a consumer’s alleged debt
The collection agency has been sued at least once, in the Western District of Washington, for violations of the FDCPA. The complaint in this case alleges that Debt Recovery Specialists used harassing and abusive means to collect on a debt. The claim involved information the company reported on the consumer’s credit report that she disputed. Debt collection agencies are prohibited by the FDCPA from reporting false credit information, or information they should have known to be false to the credit reporting agencies. The case was settled shortly after the complaint was filed.
If you feel that Beacon Service, LLC is using unfair or abusive practices in order to collect a debt from you, it is time to hold them accountable. Please contact our office for a free, no obligation case review at 1-800-219-3577.