Is Automated Collection Services Inc. Calling You?*

Is Automated Collection Services Inc. Calling You?* Here’s What You Need to Know

If you’re afraid to answer your phone, expecting another round of verbal abuse from a debt collector, you’re not the only one. Thousands of Americans have financial obligations that have gone into arrears, putting debt collectors on their trail.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, restricts what debt collectors may say and do while attempting to collect a debt from you. Approaches like those below are illegal and can cause frequent offenders to lose their collection agency license:

• Calling you outside of the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Ignoring you when you dispute a debt and request no further contact
• Telling you that you can be arrested or sent to prison for nonpayment
• Calling you at work when they know that you’re not allowed to accept such calls
• Discussing the debt with anyone except you, your spouse, attorney, or any co-signers
• Reporting false information to the credit bureaus

Company Profile: Automated Collection Services Inc.

Automated Collection Services Inc. is a debt collection agency located in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1988, has 100 to 249 employees, and is managed by CEO Robert Duffy. It appears to specialize in student debt collection. Records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirm that Automated Collection Services Inc. has been accused of violating the FDCPA while trying to collect debts.

Alleged Violations against Automated Collection Services Inc.

Heather Meyers vs. Automated Collection Services Inc.

According to PACER** on March 20, 2015, Minnesota resident Heather Meyers filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. One of her creditors was College Assist, which received a Notice of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case, Meeting of Creditors, & Deadlines. The notice listed David L. Friedman as her bankruptcy attorney and provided his address and phone number.

On April 8, 2015 Automated Collection Services Inc. sent a letter directly to Ms. Meyers. The letter stated that “College Assist…will order your employer to immediately withhold money from your pay for payment of your defaulted student loan(s), unless you take action set forth in this notice.”

Ms. Meyers sued Automated Collection Services Inc. for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Falsely stating that it could immediately garnish Ms. Meyers’ wages when she was protected by the bankruptcy automatic stay
• Threatening to take legal action it was unable to take under the bankruptcy automatic stay
• Contacting her directly when the agency had contact information for her attorney

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for Automated Collection Services Inc are:

• 1-800-467-2316
• 1-615-361-6997

If the phone rings and you see either number on the caller ID, a debt collector is attempting to contact you. If they try to make you pay a debt included in your bankruptcy filing, hire an attorney. If you pursue the matter in court, a judge could order Automated Collection Services Inc. to pay you $1,000 per FDCPA violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. Don’t let unscrupulous debt collectors push you around: make them pay instead.

**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is (CASE 0:15-cv-02431-JRT-TNL from United States District Court for the District of Minnesota)

*Disclaimer:

The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Automated Collection Services Inc. or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.