Jun 13, 2008
I received a phone call from a 1-716-650-2640. The caller left a voicemail, stating her name as "Kristen" only and that she was calling from "The Law Firm of Ruben & Yates," which is illegal for a collections company to say. The nature of the voicemail message was very threatening, and at one point stated that I had "48 hours to comply" by calling back or legal action would be taken. The number left for me to call back was 866-237-6191. I did some online research first, reading this and other message boards related to the highly suspect "Ruben and Yates" and so knew the questions to ask. First, I asked repeatedly whether I had reached the Law Firm of Ruben and Yates. I was literally transferred to 3 different people, eventually (and supposedly) speaking with "The Director." I told him that I had a voicemail message saved in which someone using their first name only and identified themselves as calling from the law firm of Ruben and Yates, and then told him that I not only went to law school, but studied consumer law, and am aware that representing oneself as an attorney or law firm when one is not is illegal. He got very huffy and stated that they have an attorney, to which I replied "EVERY company or business has an attorney. That DOES NOT make you a law firm. ARE YOU a law firm?" He became much more calm, if being calm involves accusing me of theft, since I stopped paying on a credit card debt MANY years ago, after becoming unemployed. After I let him yell at me for quite some time, interrupting at every chance, and being horrifically rude, I explained to him the unfair and predatory practices of the credit card industry, usually taking advantage of people with nearly usurious interest rates and that people caught in such situations have almost always paid back much more than the actual dollar value of any services or products bought with the credit cards, due to the high interest rates and excessive late charges. I told him that these practices would be eventually looked into, probably by the next administration, as surely as the mortgage companies are being looked into now for their predation of the poor. When I explained to him that I was unemployed and wanted something sent to me in the mail, he literally said "what good would that do?" and hung up on me. Wow. Don't let these jerks bully you. They are a BAD collections agency only, and they are of the type to engage in all the practices that they are simply NOT ALLOWED to engage in. Search for a Consumer Law Center near you if you have given them any money, because most likely, you now have a lawsuit of your own, AGAINST THEM, simply for the things they may have done and/or said which are violations of various consumer protection acts. There are, in some locations, substantial fines that can be imposed against these companies if more people would just come forward and point their finger in the right direction. Some law schools have consumer law clinics with sliding scales or provide altogether free services for people who have dealt with (or are dealing with) creditors or collection agencies that violate consumer legislation. Contact your state's Attorney General, seriously.
See also the postings listed under the call-back number, 1-866-237-6191 in this forum, and in others, to see how AWFUL this collections agency really is! They have really frightened a LOT of unsuspecting people with what are surely terrible, terrible lies.