Consumer complaint received 2020-09-17
Company: Investigation & Recovery Assoc. LLC
State: IL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: I do not know
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Used obscene, profane, or other abusive language

Complaint:
I have no idea who this company is and they refuse to provide me with details regarding any debt that they are attempting to collect! I have not received any written correspondence from them. I have no idea what creditor they are seeking to collect the debt for. I have received a bulk load of threatening telephone calls from them as early as XXXX XXXX  and as late as XXXX XXXX. They hang up and attempt to call me from different numbers but the recording and automated system is the same. They continue to call me from different numbers. I have blocked each number and they simply call me right back from a different number. I have requested to know who they are, what debt they're attempting to collect and they have refused to advise me of the requested information. I have advised them that they have the wrong number. I have requested that they remove my number from their contact list. Each person says that they'll remove me or they simply hang up on me. The agents continue to call and ask for someone named XXXX! When I tell them that it isn't me and to stop calling, they threaten me and tell me that a warrant will be issued for my arrest! That I will be sued in court. I do have most of the calls and voicemail messages recorded! I believe that they are scamming individuals out of their personal information. I received a call today from XXXX. I pressed 0 to request to speak to an agent and the first agent was a XXXX female. I asked for the address and direct phone number of the company and she immediately transferred me to another agent without advising that she was transferring me. The second agent was a very rude, unprofessional XXXX male named XXXX. Again, I requested the name, address, phone number and type of company in which he hesitated at first and then got irritated when I requested him to spell the city. Apparently he didn't know how or he was making up an address just to keep me on the phone. I was provided with XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, FL. XXXX. He advised that he was attempting to reach XXXX. I advised him to be on the lookout for a complaint from CFPB. This company has been calling the wrong number for over a year now. They continue to use scare tactics to force me into providing my social security number. Warning signs of debt collection scams, Withholds information from you, A debt collector must tell you information such as the name of the creditor, the amount owed, and that if you dispute the debt the debt collector will have to obtain verification of the debt. If the debt collector does not provide this information during the initial contact with you, they are required to send you a written notice within five days of that initial contact.Pressures you to pay by money transfer or prepaid card Scammers like these payment methods because they may be untraceable, and it can be hard for you to get your money back.Falsely threatens you with jail time or poses as a government official But beware, if you do owe criminal fines or restitution, it is possible that failure to pay may result in your arrest. Says they will tell your family, friends, and employer Some scammers may try to get you to pay by threatening to reveal your debts to family, friends, coworkers, or employers. A debt collector is not allowed to tell other people about your debt without your permission. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act states that a debt collector must send the consumer a written notice containing the amount of the debt, name of the creditor and a statement stating they have 30 days to dispute the validity of the debt or the debt will be considered valid by the debt collector. Failure by the consumer to dispute the debt within that 30-day time period is not considered an admission of liability. If the agency doesn't follow this process then they have no rights or grounds to collect or report the debt to any credit bureaus and must immediately remove the debt from the consumers credit report. The company didn't contact me within 30 days of assuming the debt and has therefore violated my rights so this needs to be removed from all 3 credit bureaus! I do NOT give the company permission to contact me via telephone, an employer, email or any other means except by US Mail.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response