I have been threatened, coerced, intimidated, and belittled by First Revenue Assurance. They called me on Friday April 21st at 11 am and told me they would give me an extension so everything wouldn't get reported to credit bureaus.
They said if I gave them my bank account number, routing number, and a check number, I could do a post dated check for the amount and that would come out May 1. I wasn't about to give my account information over the phone when I didn't know who I was talking to was who they said they were. I said that I wanted to call Cingular and verify that they were actually working for them & he said I could call if I wanted to but the second he hung up everything would go through.
The representative kept telling me that the second he hung up the phone he would have to Do his job & report everything to the credit bureau. He kept telling me that there was a long list of people he had to call and that I wasn't the only person he was calling that day. He kept reiterating that they were giving me this extension and all I would need to do was give them my bank account information and do a post dated check.
His attitude was that it was now or never & if I didn't give my bank account information right then for the post dated check there would be no extension and he would report everything to the credit bureau. I kept asking if I could call them back in a few minutes after I spoke with Cingular and verified but he just kept telling me everything would go through if we hung up.
I was threatened and coerced into giving my bank account information by this representative. He made me so scared by saying he was reporting everything when we got off the phone. He kept telling me he was going to have to terminate the call and at one point I had to say Wait! Wait! Are you still there? Because he almost hung up on me.
I got my collection notice on Tuesday and it says This account may be reported to all national credit bureaus, AFTER 30 days from the date of this notice, unless otherwise resolved. So what is the extension I am supposedly being given if it won't be reported until 30 days after the notice???
I did call Cingular right after all of this anyway and had not given my bank account information. They verified that First Revenue Assurance was the debt collection agency they had sold my account to.
I called First Revenue Assurance back and asked for my representative.instead of putting me on hold and getting him, they screamed his name across the office to get his attention. I told him I had spoken with Cingular and they verified everything and he said I told you they were going to give you the run around. Let me go see if I can stop the whole process now that I have submitted it. There was a short pause (consisting of about 20 seconds) and he said I just received the e-mail that everything was stopped. I wasn't even on the phone long enough for an e-mail to be written or sent.
I have been given inaccurate information by First Revenue Assurance, they have denied things that they have told me, they CONSTANTLY interrupt me on the phone, every time I am on the phone with them they put me on hold multiple times before I can say anything, I have been hung up on multiple times but have NEVER hung up on them and I have left multiple messages for their supervisor and have NEVER been called back. I also e-mailed them and they DID NOT respond to that either. I have also been asked my social security number multiple times when they wanted to access my account even though I have a reference number.
They told me they could not fax or e-mail me an itemized statement about what I owe because "Anyone could get into my e-mail and read what it said." They said they would have to mail it to me because of this but when I received it the envelope was BARELY even closed! Yeah, I can really see how the mail was much more secure...
My representative belittles me & says things like Didn't I tell you this the other day? If you wouldn't have taken the extension/we wouldn't have offered you the extension the other day would you still be asking all of these questions?
I was terrified by all of this because I have never had to deal with this situation before and being intimidated, coerced, manipulated and misled did not help me emotionally or physically. I was almost in tears one day after I was hung up on by my representative and I also had SEVERE chest pains as a result of the stress he and the company have put on me.
I called on Tuesday to tell that I would be paying my bill off through Cingular and that I needed them to cancel our transaction. My repersentative told me they could not cancel the check out and it was already passed on and out of their hands.
He said the check cannot be stopped because they have already stopped the process of damaging my credit. I asked whose hands was it in but there was dead silence and was then transferred to the supervisor (that the rep already told me wasn't there!)
I got the supervisor's voice mail and left her a message then called my representative back. He said "Oh, was she not there?" I said "That's what you told me at the beginning of the conversation."
The rep said the only thing I could do at that point was go to my bank and cancel the check but they were still going to draw on that check and if the money wasn't in there it would bounce and that would go on my credit too; he then said If you want to put your credit on the line, that's fine.
I had to close my bank account at the advice of my bank because the bank said they might draw more money and continue to draw more money out of my account without my permission.
First Revenue Assurance's website says Our business is to assist both parties with finding a solution. We believe all individuals deserve to be treated with DIGNITY & RESPECT regardless of financial situation. I have NEVER been treated with dignity OR respect by First Revenue Assurance. They have done nothing but belittle me, harass me, intimidate me, coerce me into doing things I did not want to do, ETC.
The website also says We are creative and flexible they were not flexible with me on the phone the first day I received a call because they would not let me hang up the phone to call Cingular to verify that they were their debt collection agency because when he hung up the phone he said he would be reporting everything to the credit bureau.
First Revenue Assurance also has the the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act on their website and have violated MANY of the rules in it!
I plan on reporting First Revenue Assurance to the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and will possibly be pursuing this matter legally.
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