This is a JUNK Debt Buyer who I have been toe to toe with since 2004 and it still continues.
The originating creditor (Discovercard) sent me a letter stating they could not establish how the charges were incurred. The account had been reported lost/stolen and canceled by me in 1999 shortly after a move. I never heard anything about the matter and that was the end of it.
In I received a document in the mail that appeared to be a court document demanding personal information. The letter was addressed to my first name and my roommates last name and the paperwork enclosed was addressed to Jane Doe. It was a standard Special Civil Court Filing form and a questionairre for personal information attached.
I took the paperwork to my lawyer and he immediately told me this was some kind of fraud and we contacted the police. The documents are documents that a plaintiff would use to file a motion with the court. The fact that the attached questionairre was on their letterhead, addressed to Jane Doe. I learned what a valid complaint looked like and was advised to not even communicate with these folks as they were obviously working outside the law and could not be trusted.
I long forgot about the incident until I 6 months later when I received a phone call from a relative claiming some court officer was looking for my ex-roomate's sister-in-law. I thought that was weird but again thought nothing of it and moved on with my life. About a month after that, the same court officer (I saw the family member and got his business card) showed up at my place of employment looking for the room-mates sister-in-law. Now it rang a bell because it was my first name and my former room-mates last name.
It was at that same time I received the same fraudulent Jane Doe document only now it was directed to the ex-roommates sister-in-law. I sent the documents, knowing they were fraudulent and hoping someone would take action, with a sticky note saying they had the wrong person and they never lived at my address and as far as I knew lived somewhere in New Hamshire.
After that, I started receiving personal visits from people phishing for my personal information from co-workers. I had relocated to another office and was told 2nd hand. Someone inter-officed me a business card they got from the guy questioning people in the lobby of the office building and it alleged it was an officer of the court. I called the court house and they had no officer by that name. I had a friend in the clerk's office search for any legitimate suits and nothing came up.
When this bozo showed up at my new location in the Summer of I called the police for harassment and fraud. It was determined he was hired by WWR to get my personal information. I was prepared and had a copy of the letter from THEIR alleged client - Discovercard stating the bill wasn't my responsibility. The police took the guy away in their car. I don't know what the story is there, but it does speak volumes about the folks WWR hires to work for them.
It was after this event that WWR started reportnig the item to all three major credit bureaus and started to pull my credit reports without my knowlege or consent.
I complained ot Discovercard and they proclaim that they sold the debt to WWR and they can do whatever they want. They apologized for my difficulty, but will not intervene to make it right. If there are any consumer protection folks scanning, this - wouldn't this be a violation of PRIVACY.
Under the FDCPA and FCRA WWR as a junk debt buyer has no justification to pull the report. They are offering me credit, they are not planning to extend me credit, and I sure as heck never signed any documentation to make me their client.
Now, I file monthly complaints with all three CRA's providing the original letter from Discovercard stating I am not responsible and the trade lines should be removed. The CRA's kept claiming they were getting different information from the originating creditor that superceded my validating documentation.
Discovercard refuses to put it in writing... So far... But have alleged by phone that WWR is fraudulently representing themselves as Discovercard and not only are they listing the trade line as a charge off, when they wrote it off as a profit/loss under fraud/ID theft but they are illegally altering the date monthly to make the same issue appear current, most recently as of November 3.
More complaints filed about this new information and the phone calls started again, follwed by a personal visit from a new "goon" last Sunday morning at 8:45AM. This was uneventful because I didn't feel like getting "into it" that early on a Sunday morning while stil lin the flanel pajamas, so I didn't answer the door - He left another unmarked envelope with the same questionaire demanding personal information.
Do some research on WWR - don't cooperate because they have a history of not turning the money people do pay over to the creditor. If you legitimately OWE the money, PAY THE CREDITOR DIRECT. Do not give these folks any information. Even if you are making payments, I have seen BLOGS where folks were garnished, bank accounts frozen, and much more.
Part of your negoitiation with the Originating Creditor should be to remove WWR as their counsel on your case. The company is corrupt and simple google will show where they have been sued in all 50 states at one time or another for Illegal Garnishments, Non-compliance with state Bonding and Licensing requirements, FDCPA violations, and much more.
If you get a collection letter, call a lawyer... If you can at all afford it, it will be cheaper in the long run.in the meantime tell your story on-line, speak out and get the problem noticed to prevent further abuse of the system.
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