My first contact with Pentagroup came from a voicemail left on my phone by Robin Tolvert near the end of August. She left a 800 number and said that I "needed" to call her back. When I did not return the call, she began calling repeatedly over the next few days. Some of those were hangup calls but on others where she left voicemails, she was frustrated and annoyed that I had not returned her calls and again stressed that I "needed" to call. I still didn't call her but I looked up the company's name from my Caller ID online.
I soon learned that Pentagroup Financial, LLC was a collection agency. From what I know of such companies, they typically all call first if they can before ever attempting to send mail regarding any debt they claim you owe. The calls stopped and a couple weeks into September I got a letter from Pentagroup that claimed I owed them nearly $6,000 but no details as to what the debt was for. I had a good idea though but the amount they claimed was way off the mark so I ignored it.
Tolvert called my home a last time and she magically managed to call my in-laws home too and left a message with them that I "needed" to call her because she had an important decision to make by the next day in regards to my account. She then proceeded to give them a "referral number" to use when I called... That number was my Social Security Number!
Needless to say I was annoyed at the fact that Tolvert so cavalierly tossed out my SSN as some referral number when they listed an account number in their letter to me. Why could she not have used that? Simple, they don't care about your privacy. So, I called Tolvert and she claimed I owed a different amount than what Pentagroup's own letter stated... A higher amount. When I told her that the amount she claimed that I owe was invalid she asked if I was going to pay it. I repeated that the amount was invalid and she again asked if I was going to pay it.
This happened at least two more times before she tells me "well you can dispute the debt all you want but you still must pay it!" She then asked again if I was going to pay.
When I told her the debt was invalid and I wouldn't just pay money that I knew I didn't owe she said she'd just have to "turn it over to the attorneys" and that I was "playing games." I asked her what she meant by that and she told me I needed to calm down to which I replied "what are you talking about?"
She proceeded to then accuse me of yelling at her and even cursing at her as she got louder, talking over me. As I tried to figure out what the hell her problem was and why she was now yelling and lying to me about what I was saying, she says "I'm not your wife! You can't talk to me that way!!!" I told her she never would be my wife and angrily hung up the phone. So I fully assumed the matter would go to their "attorneys" and I went online to file a complaint with the FTC.
The month of October came and went without any phone calls or letters from Pentagroup. A couple days into November I received a voicemail left by Frank Simmons of Pentagroup. Given my experience with Tolvert I wasn't about to call him back and he made a couple more attempts at calling over the next two days. On the day of his last call to my home he somehow magically called my neighbor across the street too to ask them to give me his name and number but didn't use my SSN as some referal number.
In response to that, I fired off a cease and desist letter to Simmons and Pentagroup which I sent via Certified Mail w / Return Receipt.By law a cease and desist letter means a collector has to stop trying to contact you, your neighbors, extended family etc.in regards to a debt. They are allowed to respond to your cease and desist letter to let you know they received it and what action they will take further but that's it. I've used cease and desist letters in the past and they do work.
So, maybe now the matter will get forwarded on to their attorneys. I don't know and I don't care but I will not be harassed or threatened over the phone any further for a debt they claim I owe that's nowhere near correct. It's beyond me that such abusive tactics are within the law and unfortunate that more people are not aware that they have some legal recourse to combat collectors with.
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