I received a threatening letter in the mail titled "Notice of Intent to Proceed". The letter said that I had issued a check that had been returned to Walgreens mail service. The letter went on to say that if I did not immediately pay the check amount plus a fee amount, I would incur more fees and they would proceed with all legal means available to collect what was owed.
The letter seemed very legitimate. It had some legal-type language stating that they had been assigned my retured check and had also been instructed to "Take All Necessary Collection Action in a Lawful Manner to Recover the Amount Due." It also claimed that the balance "has been targeted for immediate collection" that their office was not required to provide additional notice before proceeding further.
I had actually had a returned check from Walgreens mail service. They had the correct check number and amount. However, I had already made restituion for this check with an electronic payment long ago and had called Walgreens several times to verify that I had no outstanding balance and that my account was in good standing.
Confused, I tried to call Check Plus Systems (CPS). I was referred to a very rude male person who asked me to give him the reference number repeatedly, and kept interrupting me. I asked for a contact name or number for Walgreens from CPS. They said that they hadn't "made the information up" and that I had better pay because it was going to proceed to litigation within one week.
I then politely asked for the person's name and street adress (I wanted a physical address for the company) at which point the man gruffly said "I don't like the way you are talking to me. I don't have to discuss this any further with you. I am hanging up now" and he hung up.
I called Walgreens again today. This concerns me because CPS did have some of my information (name, address, check no., check date, check amount). Walgreens again told me my account was fine and kindly offered to send me a letter for verification.
I am going to report this to my bank, the FTC, the Attorney General of Texas (where CPS is located), and to the Attorney General of Viginia (my residential state). I believe this is a scam where CPS gets a consumer, scared from the threatening letter, to call and give them credit card information or bank information.
I would encourage anyone who has been contacted by this company to file a letter of complaint to the FTC, the attorney general of Texas and to the attorney general of their home state.
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