How bad can debt collection agencies be? How far is too far when being a debt collection agency, and what can you get away with? Not many would ask this question, but nowadays, it seems like they can get away with just about anything when they are attempting to collect on a debt.
For instance, American Medical Collection Agency may seem like a proper, well, and legitimate company. But are they as clean as they seem to make themselves seen? In this article, we dive into who American Medical Collection Agency is, and what you should know if you have been contacted by them.
What is American Medical Collection Agency?
American Medical Collection Agency is labeled as a debt collection agency by the Better Business Bureau. They currently serve the Metropolitan New York area, and go by many different names, such as Retrieval masters, RMBC, and many more.
Is American Medical Collection Agency a legit Debt Collection Agency?
American Medical Collection Agency is a legitimate debt collection agency. They started in 1977, and have been in business for 42 years. Their BBB file was opened in 1999, and holds an F rating with the BBB. They also have a 1 star average after 9 customer reviews.
American Medical Collection Agency Contact Information:
Address: 4 Westchester Plaza Suite 100 Elmsford, NY 10523
Other Address: PO Box 160 Elmsford, NY 10523
Website: http://www.retrievalmasters.com
Phone Number: 1-914-592-0055
Other Phone: 1-800-666-8097
Other Phone: 1-914-345-7136
Fax Number: 1-914-992-8935
Other Fax: 1-914-345-5023
Alternate Names: Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau Inc, Retrieval Masters, RMBC, A.M.C.A., AMCA.
Does American Medical Collection Agency have Complaints against them?
American Medical Collection Agency has quite a few complaints against them. On the BBB database alone, they have 59 complaints within the last 3 years, with 17 of those complaints being made within the last 12 months. They also have 9 customer reviews, with an average of 1 star between them all, and their F Rating is due to non-responding to complaints, as well as length of time between responses to the complaints.
On the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Complaint Database, there are no matching complaints to AMCA’s company name. However, the name Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau Inc yielded a plethora of complaints, for a grand total of over 710 complaints.
What kind of Complaints have been made?
The complaints made against AMCA have a massive spread of different genres. The most complained about problem with AMCA is with debt collection, and specifically misinformation and improper information handling. Multiple complaints on the CFPB’s CCD state that AMCA mishandled their information, reporting negative and misleading information to major credit bureau’s in an attempt to slander the consumer’s name.
Other complaints state that AMCA attempted to collect on a debt that was not even under their name, but were almost forced to pay the debt due to the constant debt collection harassment and abusive language that was used.
Are the Practices of American Medical Collection Agency Legal?
All of these practices performed by the American Medical Collection Agency can be considered illegal, as well as highly improper. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’s (FDCPA) guidelines and regulations, a debt collection agency may not use verbal harassment, or attempt to robocall/excessively call a consumer in an attempt to get them to pay for a debt. Along with that, a debt collection agency may not misinform a consumer in an attempt to get them to make a payment towards a debt.
AMCA has broken each of these rules. As such, they are considered to be performing debt collector harassment, and can be taken to court over their actions.
How can I protect myself and fight back against American Medical Collection Agency?
Although it may feel completely hopeless, there are quite a few things that you can do to help protect yourself against such debt collectors and their debt collection harassment. The first step is to take is to verify whether or not the debt is yours. To do this, ask for a verification document, or some form of authorization stating that this debt is indeed yours. If they are unable to provide you the documentation, then you are under no obligation to pay the debt.
If continue to receive debt collection harassment, then you may need to seek legal protection. The best way to get legal protection is to hire an experienced and well-versed debt collection harassment attorney. We here at the Law Office of Paul Mankin, APC, have many years of experience under our belt, and our team of lawyers and attorneys are ready to help you every step of the way. We are able to properly identify debt collection harassment and abuse, as well as get it to stop. If the collection harassment is severe enough, we can even help you document and report the harassment to the proper courts to get the harassment to stop.
Not only can we help you to defend against harassment, we can also help to build a case, and assist you in understanding where the illegal collection patterns are for debt collectors. We are also able to help facilitate any communications or discussions between the parties, ensuring that nothing you say can be used against you.
The most important bit of information in your fight is to always remain vigilant. No matter who you have at your side, it can seem like a daunting battle against such a large company and agency. If you have ever been the subject of:
- Multiple calls per week from a third party collection agency
- Multiple calls in the early morning or late night from debt collectors.
- Violent and belligerent language and harassment from debt collectors.
- Threats of arrests or poor credit due to outstanding debts.
- Having your friends, family, and coworkers harassed from debt collectors.
- Automated robocalls from third party collection agencies.
Then you may have a case available. So do not wait, make sure to give us a call, and get started fighting back against the debt collection harassment.