I have been getting waged garnished for almost a year now from this company and my professional business license was suspended for 3 years and and wish I had the opportunity to be able to pay this company back for what they agreed to accept as an out of court arrangment back in the day. You two can do with what you want to do but I would settle anything that they are calling me about only because now I am charged with theft and fraud and have to deal with this garnishment for alot more than if I only settled out of court with them. If you do not know a company that is calling you and do not feel they are legit, then you can goto http://www.dos.state.ny.us/corps/bus_entity_search.html  and search their Business Entity Name at any time. If they are listed as a company doing business then they are a true and real company. The company name for which you two are complaining about is Brown, Andrews, and Scott they are a large firm based out of NY and use an attorney network to be able to file suit upon you in any state. I would also check your local and state criminal check fraud laws and that is what you could face if found guilty in your state under penal code 609 for check fraud. Do as you two wish but you will lose in the long run and then have them say I told you so. Good luck. Before you complain on this site for anything about an agency I would consider who and what I owe then pay it back. Payday loans are no joke when taken to court upon. You two will eventually find out as I believe both of you are ignoring the debt and them. This is no longer collections and if they have your case then they will eventually get you to pay. If it is with them or in the courts hands either way you will have to eventually pay their debts. Do the right thing and do research but do not hesitate to make an arrangment with them because they will file for suit and then you have no choice but to pay and it will be at a much higher price. Hope this helped the two of you out. If not they will see you in court eventually as it happened to me.

misdemeanor; 2nd offense - class IV felony. Issuing or passing a check of any amount - class II misdemeanor.

Nevada. Up to six months in county jail or $500 fine, or both. State prison of one to 10 years or $10,000 fine or both.

New Hampshire. Up to $200 fine or up to one year in jail, or both.

New Jersey. Up to $1,000 fine or up to one year in jail or both.

New Mexico. Up to $1000 fine or 30 days in jail, or both. One to 3 years in jail, or up to $1,000, or both.

New York. Up to three months in jail, or up to $500, or up to double the amount of the drawer's gain from the commission of the offense.

North Carolina. $50 - $500 or up to six months in jail. If check is less than $50 - $50 fine or up to 30 days in jail. Over three convictions, up to one year. If check drawn on non-existent account, fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 2 years or both. If check drawn on account closed by drawer prior to time check drawn, fine not to exceed $400 or imprisonment for not more than 5 months or both.

North Dakota. $25 - $250 fine, or up to 3 months in county jail, or both. If no account - fine up to $500 and one year in jail.

Ohio. Misdemeanor: Up to 6 months in jail, $1,000 fine, or both. Felon: Up to 5 years, $2,500 fine, or both.

Oklahoma. Up to one year imprisonment or up to $1,000 fine or both. One to 10 years imprisonment or up to $5,000 fine.

Oregon. Misdemeanor: Up to $1,000 fine or up to one year in jail, or both. Felony: Imprisonment for not more than 5 years.

Pennsylvania. Up to $1,000 fine or up to 2 years in penitentiary, or both.

Rhode Island. Up to $500 fine, or up to one year imprisonment, or both. Up to $2,000 fine, or up to 2 years imprisonment, or both.

South Carolina. Up to $2,000 fine or up to 10 years in jail, or both. In magistrate's court - first conviction, not less than $50, nor more than $250 or imprisonment of 30 days; second or subsequent conviction, fine of $200 or imprisonment for 30 days. Conviction in court of General Sessions, first conviction fine not less than $300 nor more than $2,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or both; for second or more conviction, fine of not less than $500 or more than $2,000 or imprisonment for not less than 30 days or not more than 10 years.

South Dakota. First offense: a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days or both. Second offense: a fine of not more than $300 nor less than $100 and imprisonment of not more than 6 months or less than 30 days. Third and subsequent offenses: a fine of not more than $500 nor less than $300 and imprisonment for not more than one year nor less than 6 months. Felony: Up to 3 years and not more than $1,000 fine.

Tennessee. Not over $100 - not over 11 months 29 days in jail, not over $500 fine, or both. Over $100 - from three to 10 years in jail.

Texas. Up to 2 years in county jail or up to $1,000 or both. 30 days to 2 years in jail and up to $1,000. Two to 10 years. Holder of bad check may charge obligor with any additional processing fees.

Utah. Less than $200 - up to 6 months or $299 or both; more than $200 but less than $300 - up to one year or $1,000 or both. More than $300 but less than $1,000 - up to five years or $5,000 or both; more than $1,000 - up to 15 years or $1,000 or both.

Vermont. Up to one year in jail and $1000 fine or both.

Virginia. $200 or less fine or 10 days to 12 months in jail, or both. One to five years in the penitentiary or fine and jail, or one to ten years penitentiary in discretion of court.

Washington. Misdemeanor - full restitution; the defendant need not be imprisoned, but the court shall impose a minimum fine of $500. Of the fine imposed, at least $50 shall not be suspended or deferred. Upon conviction for a second offense within any twelve-month period, the court may suspend or defer only that portion of the fine which is in excess of $500. Felony - Up to one year in jail or up to $1,000 fine, or both.

West Virginia. Maximum fine of $100, up to 10 days in jail, or both. For obtaining property under $200 - maximum fine of $200, imprisonment up to six months, or both. For obtaining property over $200 - maximum fine of $500, imprisonment from one to five years, or both.

Wisconsin. Up to $1,000 fine or one year in jail.

Wyoming. Misdemeanor - Fine of not more than $750 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. Felony - Fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for a maximum of 10 years, or both.

Debtors can be sued anytime. An out-of-court settlement is only possible when a meeting of minds occurs and that's sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons. Can't wring blood from a stone so it goes to court. No big deal. Go ahead, take them to court. Or were you simply trying to scare people with your shill sob story?

While it's true bad checks can get you jailed, this is only used for criminals with intent. Payday loan borrowers generally do not fall into this category because you'd have to prove in court that the borrower had criminal intent at the time he wrote the check and you'll have a hard time proving that if the borrower borrowed and successfully paid say 2 loans and defaulted on his third (demonstrated intent to pay). Unless a borrower leaves a trail of unpaid payday loans behind him, prosecutors won't waste time on it. Your post scares debtors needlessly and suggests a shill.

I think Steve Watters is Steven Scott, the supposed attorney from this firm. He knows way too much about the laws in each state and the tone of the posting sounded like he was trying to scare us.
This company (not firm, as it's not a LAW FIRM AND THESE ARE NOT LAWYERS) are taking old information that either has been paid off or discharged in bankruptcy and attempting to scare you into paying it. They break every Fair Debt Collections laws by telling your friends/relatives YOUR business and leaving detailed voice messages on your voicemail. They aren't allowed to even infer that a debt is owed on a voicemail or answering machine. Talking to family or friends, and telling them the gory details, is a clear violation of the law.
I asked for information as to the validity of the debt as well as payment information and was told that I couldn't have it! I asked a number of times and was told that I'd have to call back with definite arrangements before I could have it. If it was legit, why wouldn't they give me the info? I turned this over to my attorney, who called them and left a message. Mr. Scott called back and said he'd fax proof of the debt immediately. That was 24+ hours ago and nothing has been received. They've also called me again, which is illegal because they have my attorney information. I'm not scared...