In mid-August this year I got a message from a Michael Blackwood. He said that I had to call him back within 20 minutes in reference to a pending case against me. He left 1-888-288-3114 ex 116 as his contact number, but my caller id showed 716-543-9443. I called him back and he said he was an internet investigator working with an attorney and a company called Asset Recovery Group in Buffalo, NY.
He said he had been trying to locate me to collect on an old payday loan from 2006. H e also said that he had been in contact with my grandmother trying to locate me. I had never heard from this man until that day. I did have a loan out in but to the best of my knowledge it was paid off. He said that i could avoid a civil suit and charges of internet fraud if i settled this account today for $1600.00. He said he could set up a payment plan of $400 dollars a month if i would give him my credit card number or bank info. He also said that i would be receiving some documents in the mail after i set up the payments. I gave my info because i thought it might be possible that i owed this money. I am no longer with the bank i had in so i thought there might have been a screw-up after i closed that account.
The first payment was supposed to come out of my account on Aug. 31. I had not received my documents by this time, and this did not sit well. I started to ask questions that i should have asked in the first place. Why would a payday loan company need to locate me when i gave them my address and phone number to get the loan? I have not moved or changed my phone number for almost four years. Why did this guy call my grandmother before trying to contact me?
The 31st of August came and went, but they did not take out their payment. They finally tried on Sept 8, but the bank returned it for NSF.By this time, I had done some digging and discovered a wealth of information on this so-called collection agency and others like it in the Buffalo area. I put in a stop payment order with the bank and changed my account.
The bank told me i had to try to contact the company to notify them of the stop payment. I tried the number Mr. Blackwood gave me and it went to the voice mail of an Allen Stein with Fidelis. I then tried the number that came up on my called id, and it went to the same guy. I left a message on his voice mail about the stop payment and that i knew it was a scam. I never left my phone number, but the guy called back and left me a message saying he had no idea what i was talking about.
Afew days ago, Michael Blackwood called and left a message saying that my payment was returned on Sept. 15. I know it was returned on the 8th. I have the note from the bank. He said i had until 2pm the next day to contact him or an attorney named Mr. Carrey would proceed with my case. He left a different phone number than he had before. This time it was 1-877-263-1580 ex 114. I never called back.
I have read many reports about such things happening. Afew of them make mention of a Frank Falzone Law office that is associated with Asset Recovery Group and several other collection agencies. Apparently he is being investigated too. I just wanted to know if Asset Recovery Group is also Assest Acceptance and if anyone else has heard of this Fidelis company.
I have filed a report with the FBI and the FTC about all this.
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