Consumer complaint received 2015-05-20
Product: Debt collection — Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: False statements or representation — Indicated committed crime not paying
Company: Arnold Scott Harris, P.C. (IL)

The office of Arnold Scott Harris , P.C . Attorneys At Law, have violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) in their most recent written communication to me. They violated the FDCPA by making a threatening statement that was clearly untrue. I have not only verified that this statement was untrue with the XXXX XXXX, but have also had a representative of Arnold Scott Harris ' collections department confirm the statement was 100 % false. 

A portion of their letter to me reads as follows, " By paying your balance in full or starting an approved payment plan YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE BOOT LIST. You can pay with credit/debit cards over the phone or by calling us today. '' The obvious implication of the sentence about is that I am on the boot list, and am in danger of having my car booted and/or towed away at any moment. 

That statement is 100 % false. I called the XXXX XXXX XXXX office yesterday ( XXXX XXXX ) upon receiving this letter and spoke with a representative named " XXXX XXXX. '' I asked XXXX XXXX about this letter and whether or not I was actually on the boot list. He said that I was not on the list. I then asked him why the letter states that I am, and mentioned this was a violation of the FDCPA. XXXX XXXX went to retrieve a supervisor, but none were available. XXXX XXXX ended the call by assuring me that I was not on the boot list, as the letter claimed. 

On XXXX XXXX, I decided to contact the XXXX XXXX. The purpose of this call was to confirm whether or not I was on the boot list. I provided my licence plate number, drivers license number and the VIN number of my car. The representative informed me that there was only XXXX ticket on their record ( the one with XXXX XXXX XXXX ' office ) and that I was not on the boot list. 

It is abundantly clear from the letter that Arnold Scott Harris ' office wishes to scare me into thinking that my car is about to be booted and/or towed/impounded if I do not pay this bill. Why else would they say, " you will be removed from the boot list '' if payment is received? This is a clear violation of the FDCPA, as their own representatives agree that I am not on the boot list, yet their letter threatens otherwise. 

This is obviously a form letter, so I am clearly not the only person who has received such a letter. How many others are out there who are n't on the boot list, yet are being threatened with actions that the firm knows will never take place? 

This is completely unacceptable. A law firm should certainly know better than to issue a collection letter that is clearly in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Is Arnold Scott Harris somehow unaware that making false/misleading statements in order to collect a debt is illegal? I doubt it. I 'm sure this language is included in the letter on purpose, as scare tactics can be persuasive. 


PLEASE NOTE : Only XXXX options were allowed to " describe the issue. '' None were an exact match ... so I went with option XXXX. It is clearly an FDCPA violation, however.