American Credit Services, a payday loan collection scam, has come to my attention and I’d like to alert readers to the outline of how these fraudsters work.
Basically, the “company” is calling people and telling them they owe money on one or more payday loans. Some of the common characteristics of these fake collection calls are:
- Invariably the so-called collectors have moderate to heavy Indian accents. Presumably they are operating out of one of the thousands of offshore call centers in India.
- They start the call in most cases by telling the victim that they need to call their lawyer and appear in court the next day.
- These “collection agents” usually claim to be from some government agency, even claiming to be prosecutors in many cases. For some reason, they usually claim to be associated with the state of California.
- These fraudsters have a good bit of personal information on the people they are calling. They usually have some combination of Social Security Number, bank account and date of birth for the victim.
- They usually ask for a relatively large sum of money, about $1500 in most cases I’ve heard of.
- In some cases, through coincidence or otherwise, they actually claim to be representing a payday loan company that the victim actually owes money to.
The disturbing thing about this collection scam is that they actually appear to have a great deal of information and are targeting payday loan customers. I believe that they must have posed as a lender trying to buy information from payday loan lead generators in order to have so much information on people. Alternatively, they may be gathering information illicitly from insecure payday loan websites.
It is likely that they may change their name or some of their tactics since the word is getting out about this scam. However, it would seem unlikely that they will be able to change the accented workforce that they are using to perpetuate this fraud on innocent payday loan customers.
We have TONS of information on this scam, here are some of our other articles:
- Payday Loan Fraud Phone Numbers
- Indian Payday Fraud Company Using Emails
- New Information on Indian Payday Loan Scam
- Payday Loan Fraud UPDATE
They also appear to be using the following phone numbers often:
- 941-961-8518
- 714-845-0766
- 714-409-0250
- 310-208-3170
- 714-400-0563
- 213-221-1002
- 213-995-3046
- 310-362-4319
- 714-333-2951
If you have any questions about this scam, please us the Ask Brent section to send me a question.
Randy
on Aug 7th, 2010
@ 1:19 AM:
They have changed their names to American Credit ‘Legal’ Services. Just got the call today. What a scam. They even sent me a generic “release” form that I was supposed to fill our, sign and fax off to them along with a photo copy of my drivers liscence. BEWARE.
scott sanders
on Aug 16th, 2010
@ 10:09 PM:
Indian guy calls me nonstop threatens and harrases me at work and my cell, demanding payment with credit card and drivers lisence and that I oowed on a payday loan of 300 to pay total of 950 to settle. What am I to do?
Brent H.
on Aug 23rd, 2010
@ 4:48 PM:
Scott – unfortunately there is not much you can do with these calls except annoy them. They are pretty easy to identify in my experience, because as soon as you start asking probing questions about their legitimacy, they start bombarding you with profanity. Best of luck with these guys. Brent
spooked
on Sep 1st, 2010
@ 4:36 PM:
These guys called me up today claiming their name was ben thompson…he told me my address and said he is coming to my house tonite to shoot and kill me…
i told him to come but leave his gun at home…grrr
spooked
on Sep 1st, 2010
@ 4:40 PM:
also the number they called me from is 850-254-8883 i have been dialing *67 before it and harassing them back
Robin
on Sep 8th, 2010
@ 8:04 PM:
Their new name is “Affadavit Collection Services” and they will keep calling even when you tell them you are filing charges against them. I have decided to call them back on their (cell) numbers and tell them the owe me $500 for a uncollected slurpee bill………..They are ruthless and I cannot beleive people fall for this shit!
Tim Hall
on Sep 17th, 2010
@ 6:54 PM:
American Credit Legal services called me to. I called the cops and the FTC. I tell these guys this and they tell me that it isn’t true. I settled my debts and they still want to harrass me. The police officer I gave my statement to even called them telling them to stop. Even my manager at my job told them to stop. So someone is really not doing their homework when it comes to calling someone. They really don’t know or care about the consequences they will face when they are caught.
APRIL
on Oct 1st, 2010
@ 8:00 PM:
EXACT QUOTE FROM MY V.M
MESSAGE FOR APPLE PREXXXX, APPLE THIS IS ZACH WILSON CALLING FROM LEGAL DEPARTMENT OF ACS,AND THE REASON FOR MY CALL IS TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT THERE IS A LAW SUIT FILED AGAINST YOUR NAME AND YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY #, YOUR SOCIAL IS XXX XX XXXX, AND YOUR SOCIAL IS UNDER FRAGILE INVESTIGATION, AND YOUR DRIVER LICENSE AND YOUR STREET ADDRESS ARE ALSO UNDER STATED INVESTIGATION. SO MAKE SURE PRESTON GIVE ME A CALL BEFORE WE TAKE ANY LEGAL STEPS AND REVOKE YOUR LICENSE AND DOWNLOAD THIS CASE IN THE COURT HOUSE. CALL ME BACK ON MY NUMBER 646-918-5986 I REPEAT 646-918-5986 GET BACK TO AS SOON AS YOU SEE MY VOICEMAIL, YOU CALL ME BACK ON MY NUMBER I REALIZE ANYTHING GOES WRONG SO CALL ME BACK ON MY # AND LOOK FOR OFFICER ZACH WILSON. THANK YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY GOD BLESS YOU…FYI MY NAME IS APRIL NO APPLE….
I got a payday loan in June of this year; I fell into a financial hardship and was not able to pay it off, leaving a balance of 600.00 on my account. I called the payday loan company, Cash Net USA, and made payment arrangements. Then I got a call at work from an unavailable # 000-000-0000, a man with a strong Indian accent answered, I asked who was calling and he wouldn’t tell me so I hung up. I got two more phone calls within 5 minutes so I blocked the number. Then he left the message. I immediately called the number he gave back (646-918-5986) because he had my address, telephone #, date of birth and social security #. I spoke with I think her name was Michelle, she stated she was the supervisor for Zack and that Cash Net USA forwarded my account to her because I didn’t pay my balance, I tried to explain that I already made payment arrangements with the other company but she wouldn’t listen to me. She was very rude and said I’m just trying to do my job, if you don’t want to pay the balance with us you can go to court on Monday, and fight this case. I didn’t have any court notices and I told her this, she stated that was not her problem if I wanted to settle the balance with her I could make a payment of 300.00 and the account would be closed, I told her again that I already made a payment, then she said well you will just have to fight this is court. I called Cash Net after I spoke with her to get my receipt of my payment plan because I thought this was real. The woman from the payday loan said asked if the person I spoke with had a thick accent I said yes and she confirmed that this was a scam, she told me not to give them a dime and forwarded me to a compliance line, and I left a message and hopefully will get a call back. My payday loan company filed a report with the better business bureau, I also file a report with the FTC, all three credit bureau, my bank and (homeland security -989-497-0580) and made all aware I was a victim of identity theft. The officer at homeland security was aware of this scam and told me the next time they call explain to them I was aware they were a fraud company and that I have forwarded their information to homeland security. He assured if I tell them this the calls will stop. He stated this company was out of India, and they have hacked into PayDay Loan companies to gather their information. They have so far but I will keep posted.
Kelly
on Oct 20th, 2010
@ 3:35 PM:
I have been a victim of this as well. I think that CASH NET USA is part of the promblem. They either had a security breach or sold information to these people. I never took out a payday loan, but I did apply online for one. CASH NET called me back and told me what the fee would be, and I declined. Ever since then I have been dealing with these people… I have had to close my bank account and change my home and cell phone numbers. They have called my workplace like 20 times in a row – its humuliating! Luckily I did not lose my job over this. My boss was LIVID!!
Chris Maag
on Oct 20th, 2010
@ 4:29 PM:
Hello. I’m Chris Maag, and I write for Credit.com. I’m writing a story about this scam, and I just interviewed a woman in New Hampshire who was harassed by these guys for a year. I’d like to talk to a few more people who’ve experienced this. I’m especially looking for people who actually did take out a payday loan, even if this fake collection company is not collecting on it.
You can see some of my stories on my website, http://www.christophermaag.com. You also can see some of my work for this news site at http://www.credit.com. And you can reach me by email at chris(at)christophermaag(dot)come, or by phone at: 216-570-2661.
Thanks very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Chris
Melissa Perez
on Oct 21st, 2010
@ 5:13 PM:
I fell victim today! I received a call from an indian guy with a heavy accent from a strange number, 1-208-001-7. He instructed me to call another number: 425-998-2821. I called and another Indian Man answered telling me there was c case filed against me, he provided me with my personal info. Luckily I was aware of this scam, and told him I was reporting their number to the FBI. I hope this stops the calls.
Brent H.
on Oct 27th, 2010
@ 9:53 PM:
Kelly – I have called these guys many times and they always tend to mention CashNet USA. However, I’ve also spoken to people who NEVER had a loan with CashNet yet were being called by them. I think they are just saying CashNet since they are the largest online lender and therefore the most likely to be correct.
chris
on Oct 28th, 2010
@ 7:50 PM:
I live in a state where payday lending is illegal. I also happen to be employed with a state criminal justice agency, and yes we have financial problems too. I applied for several loans over the internet. I managed to get a couple that I did pay on, however it got to the point where the fees were being automatically deducted every payday and I couldn’t afford that anymore. I contacted my bank and was advised to close my account and open a new one because these payday lenders won’t stop trying to milk your account as long as it’s there. They don’t really believe in alternative payment arrangements. It didn’t take long before I was being harassed at home and at work. I had relatives and friends calling me asking why I was going to be arrested. Embarassing to say the least. Fortunately, I was able to work through most of it, however the foreign scam calls continue to this day. All of the threats of arrest and pretending to be law enforcement. I actually told them I was law enforcement myself, and that I had personally turned them over for investigation. This resulted in me getting called numerous names and getting cussed out and hung up on. I still get the calls. They are relentless. Now it’s more of a nuisance, like say a gnat or something. It has slowed down, but I still get one or two a day which I just ignore. It doesn’t seem to me that there is much you can tell them that will get them to stop, I guess because they’re stupid enough to believe I will get tired of it and send them money. Absolutely not! My advice to anyone in this situation is to contact your local law enforcement if you’re being harassed. Notify your employer of what’s going on. Put fraud alerts on your credit report and notify your bank as well. Close your existing bank account. Change your phone number if it gets to be too much. Don’t believe their hype, it’s simply not true. If you took out any legally enforceable loan and defaulted, they would be willing to work out alternative arrangements with you or at the very least they would abide by the laws set forth in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. No true collector will harass you in this way, and certainly not without notifying you by mail that you have a valid debt owed to them. If they really want to sue you, you will be notified by the courts that you are being sued. It is a civil matter, not a criminal matter. You cannot be arrested for a loan, albeit internet or otherwise. Hope this helps.
Brent H.
on Oct 28th, 2010
@ 8:56 PM:
Chris – glad you have such a level-headed view on this. Too bad their tactics actually work on so many people who were in a difficult position already with regards to payday loans.
kathy
on Dec 17th, 2010
@ 2:57 AM:
Received a call from California local (a law firm), who had a clinet American Payday Services that wasgoing to sue me for a unpaid payday loan -which I never had.
Spoke to three different people (Allen Young, Allen Thomas and the 3rd person was only referred to as a “supervisor”.
( **Did not notice two out of three names are Allen ???)
All three men had strong foreign accents, and awful english ( they wanted me to believe it was a lawfirm , and nobody could barely speak English and who in a lawfirm is in the office past 7pm just to inform you that you will be served papers in the am???)…
Once I started to question them back, all they did was get mad and try to keep telling me I would be served with papers tomorrow morning.I continued to ask questions and they ended up getting so mad they hung up on me.
Their number was 661-727-3076
Brent H.
on Dec 17th, 2010
@ 3:26 PM:
Kathy – thanks for the information, sounds like a typical interaction with these guys. Very smart of you to keep asking questions, that’s always the best way to get them flustered and confirm that they are a fraud.
Bonnie
on Dec 26th, 2010
@ 3:57 AM:
I have the same problem now… When I first got called in Oct 2010 it was a lady claiming to be Jessica Bush…with an Indian accent,,,That was fishy right there…Now i get a man calling with the same type accent.. He has used the name Andy Hunt, Johnathan Jones etc I believe it is the same person changing their voice. They are relentless and they keep calling me at work There has to be a way to stop them… It just goes to prove …Dont give out any information on the internet which is what you do when you apply for payday loans…THEY ARE UNBELIEVABLE!!!
Bonnie
on Dec 26th, 2010
@ 4:05 AM:
These people always call on a Friday and say they are going to arrest me Monday….I guess because they think you get paid
Christina
on Jan 6th, 2011
@ 5:21 PM:
I recently received a message from a guy named Sean, his accent was very heavy, that of maybe Middle Eastern descent. The message he left said that I needed to call him back the second I received his message, he went on to say that I am involved in a criminal lawsuit. A criminal charge has been filed against me and I should contact him immeditely. He said I can only tell you that if you do not call me back all I can say is he hopes I am ready for what is about to unfold on me and to have a blessed day. Of course I was concerned, I was thinking what in the world did I do. I called the phone # back that I was left on my voicemail 760-684-4554 and spoke to someone named Calvin. He asked for my phone # in which I received the call from and I gave him my #. He asked is this (gave my name) and I said yes, he said do you live at (and gave my address) he asked if my date of birth was 00/00/00 and I said yes, he said is the last four of your social security # 0000 and I said yes. He told me that I took out a payday loan from Cash Advance USA and that they are pressing criminal charges against me for non-payment. About 3 months ago I was going through a hard time financially and did submit an application online for a payday loan, however I did NOT go through with it because the fees were outrageous and I could never repay that back. Calvin named two people that I put down as references on the online application and said that they will be dragged into court for this trial. He said if I want to handle this through court then I will pay $15,000-20,000 or I can settle outside of court and all I needed to do was send them a photocopy of my ID, and clearance letter. Then I would need to pay with a credit card, VISA, Mastercard, American Express, in the amount of $1565.20, when I told him that I could not do that he said then he could break up the payments into two payments of $782.60. I then questioned him when did I receive the loan and he said that he did not have that information. I said well can I contact Cash Advance USA myself and he said NO the communication between you and the customer has seized today. He then said hold on let me contact the customer and see if you can contact them. He placed me on hold and then when he returned he said ok you can contact the customer his name is Gabriel Conny 831-531-4266. Don’t you know that when I contacted Gabriel Conny he was at the same company as Calvin. I then looked up information about American Legal Services online and found this board on this scam. I then contacted Gabriel and pretended like I was someone else just to see what information I could get from him, I told him that I knew his company was a scam and that he was a loser for scamming innocent people out of their money and to get a real job. That must of hit a sore note with him because he went off, he called me a B&^*H, and said you M*****F******, how old are you and I said does that really matter and he said yes it does I said how old are you and he said I am 21. I then tried calling him back again but the phone #’s listed above went straight to a voice mail that hadn’t even been set up, it was the generic recording that all cell phones or phones have if you don’t set the mailbox up. ANY LEGITIMATE COMPANY WILL HAVE THE COMPANIES NAME AND THE NAME OF THE PERSON YOU ARE TRYING TO REACH ON THEIR VOICEMAIL. I was a little scared not for the fact of the payday loan because I knew I did not take one out, but for the fact that he had my personal information.
Mike
on Jan 29th, 2011
@ 12:56 AM:
I am looking for any recordings and more information on this scam. Please email me at mlinvestigationsohio@gmail.com.
Jennifer
on Jan 29th, 2011
@ 5:15 PM:
I have received a call from a number just showing up as 0000…they have called my work and harrassed me and my cell phone as well. They always left numbers to call back on but all they did was get me to a gated community who had no idea what I was talking about. They said they were a “Law Company” in California, but with very strong accents. When I started to ask him questions he started yelling at me, telling me not to interrupt him and that he needed the number to my lawyer. I had never even heard of the company. When he started telling me to be quiet until he was finished talking i hung up on him and called my bank immediatley. The bank saw charges being deducted for 3 months, tow for 49.99 and one for 148.99….All from a company called “American Credit” I changed my account number and since I never gave out my information I also filed a police report…I am only 22 years old I though how can this happen to me?
Nikki
on Jan 31st, 2011
@ 9:42 PM:
Claims to be debt collector from payday loan that I did NOT have. Threatening messages asking for attorney info. and saying “God Bless You and Good Luck”. Speak VERY broken english. Gives American/English name with STRONG middle-eastern accent. ie: Officer Mark Reneiecen, Aaron Thompson, John Adams. Threatening jail time, court fees. Sometimes claims to be from “All American Financial” or “Federal Dept. of Justice.” Claims to “download” a subpoena..arrest warrant…law suit..going to arrest me at work…meet me at courthouse. HILARIOUS considering i actually work for the state level Justice Cabinet! Sometimes claims to be representing CashNetUSA or CashUSA.Net. Call cell, place of business..and anyone you may have listed as a reference on an online payday loan….from years ago! Gave him the # to may attorney….the Better Business Bureau….became irate.
#s used:
646-653-2116
347-635-5971
358-956-4259
502-291-3000
202-241-5919
592-672-7369
421-781-8274
646-571-3386
646-396-9593
954-849-4843
585-331-8325
christina lau
on Feb 3rd, 2011
@ 6:49 AM:
They called me today and when i called the number back they just hung up on me. F these people get a real job. I dont think or believe they even care what they are doing to people. I made a police report and Im calling the F.B.I. tomorrow as instructed to do by the police officer. We hard working Americans need to getvthe word out there and fight back and let everyone know they can’t do this to us!
paula
on Feb 4th, 2011
@ 2:43 PM:
My sister has been receiving calls from “American Legal Services” also. They have not only called her non-stop on her cell phone but have called her place of employment several times a day. This is causing problems with her employer. They are now calling my cell as I was her contact number. At first my sister thought this was a legit company and she did indeed send them some money but when they called me I got very suspicious. They do not speak English well at all and boy are they rude and do they ever cuss you out! Wow! They hang up a lot on you and make demands that no legal collection company would ever make. I worked in collections for years and I know this isn’t normal. When they first hung up on me I called them back and told them to never do that again and also told them I knew this was a scam. Of course I was told my sister would go to court and pay many legal fees and would be so sorry if she didn’t send more money. They said she would go to jail for 6 months unless they received the money.
They have used the names John Watson and David Jones. They call from 562-314-4852 and 302-526-4898. After I called them out on their scam they will no longer answer at the 562-314-4852 number. I am having my sister file a complaint with our local police department and Homeland Security because this has to stop.
Ariel
on Feb 20th, 2011
@ 2:43 AM:
They called me Feb 14th. he number they used is 760-684-4554, and fax number 714-844-9190. Haven’t sent them any money. luckily i used a prepaid dedit card to fake them out a little. after researching i aint putting nothing on that card ever!!!! contacted a law firm and FBI about this. Will keep u posted. Thanks for info. You can also go to complaintsboard type in Cash Advance US & American Legal services. Lots of detailed complaints reported.
Ivan
on Feb 24th, 2011
@ 4:34 AM:
I received a call on Jan 25, 2011 from Law firm of Anthony H Rodriguez 877-255-2162. He said they are about to take me to court and sue me for check fraud. He said that I defaulted on 5 payday loans and in order to stop the law suit against me, that I have to pay them $3000. He said I can set up a payment plan by paying $500 dollars first. And $300 monthly. He said if I don’t come up with the money today that, the next day I will be served court papers to appear in court. After speaking to them, I googled their phone number 877-255-2162 and many people had the same story about these people. So I called them back and I asked them to give me the address of their business location and he gave me 1001 State stree, suite 1400, Erie Pa. I googled this address and found out that this address belongs to Moody Law Offices 814-464-9464. I called Moody Law Office and asked them were they affiliated with Law firm of Anthony H Rodriguez and they said that they never heard of them and they were not affiliated with them. I called Anthony H Rodriguez back and confronted them about this, and he started cursing and they hung up on me. I’m so glad I didn’t give them any money.
Bill
on Mar 4th, 2011
@ 1:34 PM:
My girlfriend and I have been victims also, they used the same tactics. The names and phone numbers they have used are:
Officer Jack Taylor – 904-410-1879
Officer Allan Smith- 863-216-8038
Sam Wilson (American legal Services) 562-314-4850
American legal services website addresses this scam
We paid $50.00 before i realized what was going on. The company that is debiting the money for them is Keshav Services located at 5711 Kenwood Missouri City Tx 77459, phone number 713-300-2065 owner Digvijaysinh J Chudasama. He claims that he has multiple collection agencies as clients and he cannot give me any information on them. I told him my name; he told me “I will have the company call you in 10min about this issue”. He then hung up. I didn’t tell him which client of his called me, nor was the account in my name (girlfriends name). 20min later Jack Taylor calls me asks if there was an issue. Right then I knew it was a scam.
FL
on Mar 7th, 2011
@ 7:51 PM:
I’ve been a victim for over a year now. I already know the numbers they call from and usually ignore them but sometimes I will call them back and harass them for change. The only scary part to this is they’ve learned how to become local. I got a call from a number in the same urban city as me. This Indian guy transferred my call to another Indian guy . It seemed like the call went from a local call to an international one. I’m not sure how they did this but it’s getting too close to home. Today I found a charge on my checking account for M. R. Deva. I looked it up and it traced back to a hotel owned by Indians of course in Dallas. I live in Dallas so these two incidents are making me think it’s going to get dangerous. I feel like they are targeting me more because I harass them back when they call. I’ve already reported all this to the attorney general but no one really takes it seriously. Even when the phone call is from the same city as me, they don’t look at it as becoming a dangerous situation. Someone can easily trace that local number and investigate but so far I’ve sent in 3 reports and talked to 2 people and still nothing.
Good luck to yall.
chrystina
on Mar 10th, 2011
@ 3:03 AM:
ive been receiving calls for months already at my job saying i owe american payday loans . they call with heavy indian accents saying they will come to my house and serve me to be in court and if i dont appear i will serve jail time. They also say they are based in california but when i asked questions as to where and other info they will not disclose it. Do not give any info out. All my loans are paid so i know this is a scam. They will say anything and tell you to get an attorney. When asked to speak to the company i owed they “transfer me” within a second and magically im on the phone with the people i owe money to but yet they also are indian and the background sounds exactly the same. They are good and can easily convince people who arent aware so watch out.
Misty
on Mar 18th, 2011
@ 3:49 AM:
I was first contacted in January from the same people; however, the number that is calling my cell is 253-561-7911. Same number that called me in January, but today they were using a different company name “American Credit Services”. Told me they were with a law firm. I told them that American Credit Services was not a law firm and while I had them on the phone, I pulled up numerous websites that warned this was a fraud. I told him I had paid them the $653 they requested in January and that I did not owe them anymore. They said it was late fees and interest or that maybe I had taken out another loan. I asked them for additional information and asked them to pull up the information from January. He became very angry and said that he would pursue with legal actions. He gave me all my personal information, including my children’s names. This is SO scary.
I then contacted Homeland Security and spoke with Doug Zloto at 989-497-0580. He instructed that I fax him the following information to 989-497-0610. He stated he is investigating over 4,000 complaints and is expecting a great deal more.
1. A copy of the bank statement showing companies withdrew the funds.
2. A copy of any information I may have sent them. (i.e. a typed letter of agreement stating the amounts I agreed to pay and the dates the payments would be made; my driver’s license and fax confirmation, if you have. Include the numbers and fax numbers that they have given you.
3. Type a statement of the dates and times of the calls; any threats made to me or my family; who they claimed they were and represented. He asked for as much detail as possible.
4. He also instructed me to contact my financial institution and dispute the charges withdrawn from my account stating I am a victim of identity theft.
He stated these people barely speak English and trying to reason with them is like beating your head against a wall; that they probably can not understand much of what you are saying.
Good Luck to you All.
Jodi
on Mar 22nd, 2011
@ 10:49 PM:
They are now going by American Justice Services, in ashburn virginia ph 703-651-3275, I had the pleasure of speaking to Jack who use a ton of profanity when i called him out on the scam
Jaxx
on Mar 25th, 2011
@ 3:38 PM:
wow ive been getting these calls since last year !! and lately they’ve been calling and the number that pops up on my caller idea is 911 !! how lame can they be?? ive had my boyfriend tell them they have the wrong number a bunch of times and they keep calling lol its amusing
Mary
on Apr 2nd, 2011
@ 6:31 AM:
TO ALL: DON’T BE TAKEN IN – SPREAD THE WORD TO ALL EVERYONE YOU KNOW; TELL THEM ALL ABOUT THIS SCAM! I fell for this same scame in February, 2011. I took out some payday loans online in 2009-2010, but now that Arizona outlawed these loans, thankfully, we cannot get anymore. All the callers had heavy Indian/middle Eastern accents. The first caller was “520″ prefix, said he was “Calvin Collins” from the “law firm of California”. I fell for it because they scared the crap out of me..I started to believe I did not pay back a loan..faxed a “payment arrangement” with my drivers license..gave them $300 with money cards…now comes beginning of March, another caller from a phone number with a Fresno prefix recited the exact same things every one posted here: “you need to call me Jane Doe…if I don’t hear from you, then all I can say is good luck to what is about to unfold..” It was at that point I finally realized I was scammed. I actually had my attorney call to say he represented me, and the Indian accented man hung up on him….
We can only hope our U.S. Government can do something to stop these people. I certainly hope they are not Americans! No honorable American would do such a thing!
Andrea
on Apr 5th, 2011
@ 7:18 PM:
Like everyone else, I’ve been called with the same characteristics. Last week it was a message on my cell phone that I couldn’t understand and when I called back (mistakenly) off my work phone, they knew it was me by the number. I knew it was bogus to begin with because I have no outstanding debts to a payday loan company. The call was from John Smith. And he was rude and told me I was being recorded blah blah. I laughed at him, which really seemed to upset him. Then he told me I’d better get ready because I was going to jail tomorrow. I work for an attorney and my husband is a federal police officer. We’ve turned in the number which was a 424 area code coming up from Culvert California. Closing my checking account. Good luck to anyone having to deal with it. They don’t seem put off by anything and they are very determined little criminals.
Traci
on Apr 7th, 2011
@ 8:40 PM:
I just received a call at my work-place, which is a hell no for me, thankfully we have caller Id. The first individual stated that I have a case against me and I needed to be in court on Monday and was appauld that i knew nothing about this. I asked for details she couldnt provide therefore, I was connected with another individual who advised that I had a charge off date in Jan. which means I would’ve had to take a loan out in Nov and Dec. the second individual i spoke to could not tell me anything rather asked me for information. After i advised i am not the one to play games with and that i do have an attorney who will be more than willing to handle this, he began raising his voice at me. At which time I raised mine and told him to send me paperwork regarding this claim. He needed me to confirm information and say i was going to court before he could do so. My response ” hell no” apparently pissed him off so he put another individual on the phone whom he said had more common sense than he did. The individual told me he would have someone come and pick me up right now and arrest me to make a statement to people who do not make an attempt to pay back loans. The big bang was I never took out a loan during 2010. He stated i was disrespectful to authorities and i need a lawyer to control my mouth, i concluded the conversation with two words in which he did not like and he hung up on me. They called from 218-268-0005 when i returned the call….no answer.
Traci
on Apr 7th, 2011
@ 8:45 PM:
A good thing to do is go online as you speak with them and call them out on comments posted by myself and others. I went to American Payday website and saw no contact information which further illustrated that is was a scam. Please do not let these people cower you…get back with them..I advised i have proof and bank statements to prove otherwise…so good luck going to imaginary court. I’ve never spoken with an attorney who hangs up on people…..
Ms. Johnson
on Apr 7th, 2011
@ 11:38 PM:
New number for payday loan scam 206-299-2313
Jack Wood PaydayUsa/American Credit Services
Alleged Attorney Mike Rafael could not give bar number
Amber
on Apr 8th, 2011
@ 3:11 PM:
Aaron Thompson and Ben Davis stating they are from the Federal Dept of Justice at phone #646-571-3386. They say they are coming to arrest me and that I will have to pay $7000-8000 for a loan that I don’t even have. How can these people continue to get away with this?
Beverly
on Apr 9th, 2011
@ 2:04 AM:
A little while back I was looking onine for some information about payday loans, and fil out some information. Next thing I knew there was $60 every two weeks missing from my account. So I went to my bank and they informed me that the company that was taking the money had deposited 200 into my account. They said that the could return the electronic checks and despute them but the 200 deposit was beyond the date that the could despute. After they desputed the checks and the money was returned to my account I was contacted by a collections agency for the loan and made arrangements to repay it and am currently doing so. Today I received a threatening voice mail( on friday) from someone, when I call the number they left they informed me that I wasw to appear in court monday for a payday loan I took out they knew all my information(bankk acct#, Social…) they told that I had been emailed informing me that I was to appear in court, which I never received, but the insisted they had proof of 6 emails sent to me. they said I was being charged with check fraud, theft and multiple other things. After three calls with them they said that I can settle out of court for 800.87 if I pay them by monday. I do not have the money and I am really scared because they said that they will send a uniformed office to get me and take me to court on monday. And I could go to Jail. My husband went online and foud websites talking about this exact senerio and how it was a fraud but I want to make sure I dont know what to do or who to trust. please email me asap
Angie
on Apr 12th, 2011
@ 1:06 AM:
People from Culver, CA
424-258-4089
424-258-4093
206-424-7273
They barely speak English and are trying to tell me I owe money to lenders I have NEVER dealt with. This is amazing to me that they can be allowed to do this to people. They are so ridiculous that they told me I was being sued by a lender that I currently have a loan in good-standing with after I told them I had never dealt with the first company that was ‘suing me’. I filed a complaint with the FTC and blocked their numbers from calling my home. It’s just amazing to me what people try to do to get over.
Olga
on Apr 15th, 2011
@ 10:20 PM:
I haveu received already 5 calls from 206 299 2313 heavy indian accent. i caught on to them.
the voicemial he leaves on my cell he said; HELLO THIS IS PETER BROWN IM CALLING FOR OLGA I AM CALLING FROM AMERICAN CREDIT SERVICE LAW OFFICE. THIS IS IN REGARDS TO A BIG JUDGEMENT AGAINST YOU HAVE NOT PAID FOR A PAY DAY LOAN. PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE AT 206 299 2313 AT SOONEST IF YOU DO NOT CALL BACK THEN I WISH YOU LUCK AS THIS WILL BE VERY RISKY FOR YOUR LIFE. PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE AT 206 299 2313 THANK YOU
what a joke
they called me 3 times on thursday 14th and i told him i do not owe anything please leave me alone. they told me to give them my # i said no why should i, you called me leaving me a message so you have my number. then he asked for my social if the last 4 are — i said dont worry about it. i hung up on him.
I get 4 phone calls at work on friday 15th.twice on my cell that i did not pick up and 2time at work. i let the first one go to voicemail then they call my job again: i said hello
him; is this olga
me; yes
him; this is peter brown u have a lawsuit against u this is amercian credit law offices and you have a big fine you have to pay wiht a pay day loan that you have not paid
me; oh really i do that’s good
him; you are in big trouble and you need to pay the fine
me; do me a favor no law office is named AMERICAN CREDIT that’s bullshit
him; is your social last 4 are they xxx
me; dont worry about it
him; you are at big risk i hope you know
me; good bring it
him; this isn’t funny
me; yes it is do you thnk im really stupid to give you my info , my full social and other stuff when your dum a$$ is calling from india you people are scam people ok so do me a favor stop calling my job my cell and who oever else before i get the cops on you, it’ sall over the iternet what you people are doing, u better stop before i get my boyfriend who’s a lawyer ok.. so cut the shit and stop calling me CLICK i hung up.
he has not called me back since 1230 this afternoon on apri l 15th.. what a total lidiot…!!!!!!!!!
Abdul Qadeer
on Apr 19th, 2011
@ 1:26 PM:
Hello All you people and Brent,
Am into telemarketing to USA, Canada, UK, and Australia since 2002.
Yes, this latest scam is literally frustrating and annoying but try and understand the few basics that I would like to share with you.
Never put your personal info (Email address, phone numbers, cell phone numbers, home address, ssn, state IDs, or the like) on any websites unless you are 100% sure of its encryption and security. For that matter try avoiding this at all costs.
Telemarketers from India are annoying, yes – But you really don’t have an option but to report these instances to the FTC, homeland security, or others. The authorities might try to trace these numbers, but they land up with fake identities or the DID numbers available for free on the Internet. These VoIP revolution has given them the best ways to hide their identities.
Make sure you never give out your CC info to anyone at all over the phone.
Most of the vendors in US now accept alternative payment mechanisms that are safe for the customers. Best even they send in black and white to your address and then ask you to either register/buy online or make payments through bank but not through phone.
Hope this will be helpful.
AQ
Tina
on May 7th, 2011
@ 12:47 AM:
I am so glad that I listened to mu gutt and googled this company. I received a call from “Peter Brown” from the number “206-299-2313″. He was speaking with such a heavy Indian accent that I had to have him repeat himself a few times just to understand. He stated that i owed a payday loan, he did not say from which company as I only had one that I knew of that did not get paid (that I will explain later). Well, he continued to state that with the very high interest on this loan that it was now $1500.00 and I told him that it was rediculous and he said that he could get some of the interest off if I made two payments to him of $451.00. I told him that I did not have that type of money and at the time that I did have it to repay the loan, I was not able to contact the company. so he said that because he was a manager he could authorize one payment of $451.00 and the debt would be settled. I continued to tell him I did not have that type of money. Needless to say, I took his name and number and extension “154″ and said I would get back with him in a week. Something on the inside said to google this SOB and I am soooo glad that I did.
Now with the pay day loan company. They were drafting $75.00 a month from my checking account to renew the loan for 6 months and then they were supposed to take the $300.00 out to pay the loan in full. Now not including the $300.00 that I owed them, they got a total of $450.00 from me. I do understand that there is rediculous interest, but when I went to pay them, there was no information from their bank and when I called my bank there was no toll free number or address to reference, so I didn’t pay them. Now months later they send my job a wage garnishment assignment to draft $550.00 from my pay because of the loan. Needless to say, I am the receptionist in the office I work in and I open all mail, so when it came I opened it and gave them a call. The lady on the phone sounded like she was on a speaker phone in her home. And she seemed surprised that I was calling her and not the employer. I explained to her what happened and she wanted payments still, I did not send anything because I just did not trust it. They sent another wage garnishment to my job and so I gave it to the HR department and they did not go through with the garnishment because they were not a legitimate company either.
It is amazing the problems you have in this economy just getting by and when you turn to something that you think is going to help you in the long run, it bites you in the behind. I am so greatful that I came across this site and all the experiences. Thank you all…..
ankit
on May 13th, 2011
@ 7:11 AM:
These business is going in india in many states. They are collecting funds from the U.S. people and force them to make a payment. They do hve a script as below…
This is ============ and i have you listed as the primary suspect on a case file which is going to be downloaded in your county court for further legal actions. The nature of my call is to ascertain your attorney’s information so tht i can be able to fax the affidavits to your attorney before file ing the case against you…
They give three false allegations . They do hve to information of the people of US with SSN, ADDRESS, BANK name and ACC, PHN NO, WORK NO, AND REFERENCE NUMBER. I kindly request you all to stop paying the payments cause u hve no loans pending and they are earning in rupees… India is great and one of the best country but there are some people who are doing this to earn a lots of money and the US payday loan sites should stop giving “LEADS” (they are giving personal informations of the people in india who are applying for the loan in united states so in india it is easy to earn money sitting and dialing and collecting money from U.S. people) to india.
Martha
on May 16th, 2011
@ 9:37 PM:
I too was scammed, I came across a website with helpful information, I have copied and pasted below, please give them a call and they can help.
You need to call 1-989-497-0580, Its the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service Department. Tell them your calling to report that these people called you, they’ll transfer you to an Agent who will take your info and direct you on what you need to do to
Stephen
on May 29th, 2011
@ 5:55 AM:
They;ve been harassing my mother, so I went off on them on the phone, they’re fake, so no worries.
Just be sure to say, I know this is a scam, I read up on it, we don’t owe you any money, you’re lieing to me, you’re full of S***, you’re not gonna get a cent out of me, etc etc (if you want to be more convinceing, throw in some curse words and sound really angry) Just make sure they get the memo, You know they’re fake and you’re not falling for it. I, personally, had a little fun doing it, I cursed them out, gave them a piece of my mind, and they haven’t called back since. Be careful though, don’t give them any ideas. They called looking for my grandfather one day, because he talked to them too awhile back, but he had died recently (RIP Paw paw), my sister told them he died, then they immediately tried to say that my mother forged his signatures on some documents, as if they knew he died this whole time.
Also, when they leave a voicemail, we found out they have to be reading something off of a piece of paper, they recite the following (it may be different every time to try and throwyou off, but basically it is the same thing) :
This message is intended for (your name here). (your name here), this is (Usually a common name, like Richard, or Rick, sometimes they’ll use a title like Officer) from (some sort of legal department American Legal Services, or some fake police department) I need you, or your attorney to contact me as soon as possible, for there is a legal investigation on your name, If you do not return the call, all I can do is say “good luck” as the situation unfolds on you.
(If you listen to the background hard enough, you can hear a bunch of people repeating the same thing, they have a lot of people behind this scam, it sounds like, so be careful!)
Lisa
on Jun 9th, 2011
@ 5:30 PM:
My fiancee has been getting non stop calls for 4months now and it is pissing us off who do we call to stop this?
Erica
on Jun 27th, 2011
@ 4:25 PM:
I have been getting this calls and now an Officer Daniel Smith is calling. I don’t have an payday loan so I do not understand how they got my information. They are on my do not call list so they just go to my voicemail. I call them back and told them I had already contacted the FBI and FTC and when I asked if I could record the conversation he got very upset and hung up and then when I called back he said I did not owe anything.
Ms. Butler
on Jun 30th, 2011
@ 8:16 PM:
I to have been getting the annoying calls. I just laugh and tell them I dont understand their strong Indian accent. I even called them back 10 times in a row so they can see how it felt to be harrassed and they said they would put harrassement charges on me. I laughed at that also. They claim I received a payday loan in 2010 on a account I never had in 2010. Hope this could be stopped soon. What can be done about this, its clearly illegal but hard to track them down. They change numbers and even names but once I hear that accent I know its a fraud and just try to laugh it off.
leslie
on Jun 30th, 2011
@ 11:50 PM:
i also am getting phone calls from these guys. they asked me to include my credit card info and send it to an email address. and an explanation of why i failed to pay back a loan i never recieved. They just called me a little while ago saying I was going to have to go to court. I said i would LOVE to be there just send the papers~ I have all my records from my bank with no such deposit so im ready for war!!
joshua
on Jul 5th, 2011
@ 4:10 PM:
you guys save my life i just got into it with these assholes, telling me that i owed a 2500 loan that i didnt take out, look i work on the base here san antonio, at lackland afb, dude that’s my whole entire paycheck, i aint giving shit to them,
LOL
on Jul 6th, 2011
@ 6:52 PM:
too funny.. i get calls every day from these clowns… i call them back all day sometimes and use different names and keep them on the phone for as long as i can… figure if i keep them on the line thats 1 less person these idiots are calling.. i block my #.. its hilerious
Perisseia Harris
on Jul 13th, 2011
@ 10:20 PM:
I was first contacted by this company at the end of May of this year. I had missed calls from a strange number, and threatening voicemails from someone claiming “a legal case was about to be opened against my name.” When I did actually speak with someone from this office, he stated that he worked for “Legal Services of Orange County.” He also stated that he was some type of legal expert/attorney. He stated his office had a pending legal case from the American Pay Day company. (This company controls several online pay day loan companies.) He stated I had failed to pay on a loan I had taken using one of the hundreds of the online sites this company controls (CashNetUSA.com), and as a result, I was being sued for the amount of the loan and for all possible legal fees the suit might require (approximately $8,000).
Shockingly, this agent had all of my most sensitive information including my Social Security number, address, employer address, etc. He then stated I would be served with legal papers at my home later that week.
However, the agent could not give me concrete facts concerning the suit, and no one ever appeared at my residence. I have yet to see anything in writing from this company at this point.
I do not owe money for any pay day loan company, and I was adamant that if there was to be any time of legal action taken against me, it would be done so in error.
Since the first call, I have been contacted several times by this company with each call becoming more and more threatening. Agents would threaten to appear at my place of employment, have me thrown in jail, ruin my good name, etc.
They call me now at least twice a week, and the individuals I speak with are at times very rude and unprofessional. I have repeatedly requested written verification of debt or the legal case, and they refuse to provide it to me.
Finally, yesterday 7/12/2011, I was contacted by the same office, but this time the agent offered to take a payment of $426.00 for this loan. Now, I believe this company is only seeking an unwarranted monetary payment and have no grounds for any type of legal case. I am frustrated that they have begun harassing me on a regular basis, and I am deeply troubled that they have so much of my personal information.
MTT
on Jul 15th, 2011
@ 8:05 PM:
LOL I have been getting phone calls and voice messages from these people as well. I went online to look for a payday loan but did not receive one. At first, I thought it was legitimate because they had my SSN, Bank Info and Address (which I would not verify as mine). It didn’t take long for me to figure out that Kenny Spencer, Jack Smith, Alex Jefferson, and who ever else (with thick Indian accents) were Scammers. Now I call them and harrass them back. *67 is a great tool!
Richard Silva
on Jul 18th, 2011
@ 4:55 PM:
To everyone who has been a victim or has been getting harrassing calls from payday loan lenders. I know what it’s like to have those calls come in. I mean when I first got that call and got a Voicemail I really freaked out because I was like can I really go to jail for not paying back a loan, but not only that, they were saying the had a lawsuit against me and I was going to be sued, etc.. etc… Most of them are overseas and can’t really be understood. So if your in the mess please feel free to contact me or leave a comment with your email address. We actually started a company in which helps payback these loans and gets rid of those ridiculous loan fees and interest rates that online lenders charge. Just so everyone knows, about 96% of online lenders OPERATE ILLEGALLY!! So they get into your account, take that money out, even if your going through a tough time and can’t really afford that $120 Bi-weekly payment they will still take it. They don’t care if it’s the only money you have left to feed your family, They are ruthless and relentless and will stop at nothing to not only get their money back, but try to get much more than what was given. Just know there is a way to get out of that mess and we are here to help. Please feel free to ask any questions as the more you know, it can lead to a more educated decision. OH AND NO YOU CAN’T GO TO JAIL FOR UNPAID DEBTS… IF THAT’S THE CASE MOST OF AMERICA WOULD BE IN JAIL, INCLUDING THE GOVERMENT!
Chelsea
on Jul 18th, 2011
@ 9:57 PM:
I was so glad to have found this website. I should have figured it was out there, considering all of the baloney going on in our world.
I just came off of a “conversation” with a man with a probable Indian accent, telling me I was the subject of a lawsuit alleging, among other things, an attempt to fraud American Payday Loans.
I was unhappy with the call initially, as I was eating my dinner, and told them so. Following are the central points of discussion:
*They said I would have to listen to their entire speel before commenting, and that I was being recorded for purposes of testimony in an upcoming lawsuit.
*They stated someone from my local sheriff’s office would be coming in three days to present me with papers attesting to such, and that I would be arrested.
*They asked for my attorney’s name, which I declined, as the question was posed before I was even aware of why they were calling.
After they dropped this bombshell on me, I plunged in with my defense, stating I didn’t have a loan with American Payday, that I didn’t know what they were talking about. Now because I’ve had payday loans in the past, that “grain of truth” made my heart pound.
Then I went on the offensive, and told them I thought their call represented a scam (actually, I was referring to their ghost client), and how did I know they were legitimate. This is when they backed off some. When I told them that I would indeed contact my local sheriff’s office, they hung up.
All in all, the call was technically flawed, wrought with inaccuracies, and poorly executed. Moreover, why would a company seeking reparations hire an outfit from India to settle the score? So many red flags!
They had me going for a while there, telling me I owed over $8,000! Interestingly, they couldn’t/wouldn’t give me the amount of the original loan!
Unfortunately, it looks like they’ve already called me at work as well. You can bet I’m going after those bastards. I almost wish their hated neighbor to the north, Pakistan, would send a missile in their backyard. How our country could call India an ally sometimes is beyond me.
I would like to hear back from others about this. Thanks.
Chelsea
frustrated
on Jul 19th, 2011
@ 4:16 PM:
I too am receiving these calls they started about two months ago. The messages they leave state that I or my attorney need to call them back. They state that if I don’t then all they can do is wish me good luck as this unfolds.
It is very scary messages and when I confront them to get more information then they become angry. I have gotten calls from Peter Jones, Allan Smith and today an Allan Jones. It is a person with heavy indian accent and they do not like it when you ask questions. They call my work and my cell phone. I asked for something in the mail to verify what this was in regards to and have never received it. I am convinced this is a scam as well and that is why I have been googeling to get more information. I am going to just have all of my bank information changed and my ssn as well.
Marla
on Jul 20th, 2011
@ 2:52 PM:
I was a victim of these calls last month. I changed my phone numer and figure thats the end of it. I do have a question though. Will these false “charges” show up on a background check? Im just bervous because they have my social security number.
kg
on Aug 3rd, 2011
@ 8:59 PM:
I was called today, by a guy name “Ryan Sylvester” with Indian accent, he went through the affadavit of my case and charges,, blah, blah, blah.. I laughed he said you are laughing, I said yes b/c I do not owe you anything, he then said you have a pleasant voice. I said whatever and hung up. I called back after finding this information on the net and let him know that I know that this is a scam, and that you are trying to scam me, he responded with no I am trying to “F-U”. I am calling Homeland Security and I have changed my bank account information. I have paid the payday loans I did have in full.
this is ridiculous!!! I hope they are soon shut-down
Nelda Moore
on Aug 4th, 2011
@ 2:07 PM:
I have been getting calls from three different states, Arizona, California and Colorado. A man with strong Indian accent, said his name was Mike Watson, and he was with a law firm trying to collect on a loan I never repaid. This call came from Arizona. Yesterday, I received three call from a man calling himself Tony. The first call came from California and the last two call were from Tony in Colorado. He stated I never repaid a loan and he was going to file and get my Social Security benefits.
Randa
on Aug 10th, 2011
@ 12:28 AM:
I have been a victim of this for about a year now. I had looked online for a payday loan about a year and a half ago, but decided not to go through with the process. I did, however, enter all of my information (like an idiot) on the payday loan website (which I can’t even remember the name of now!), but I never clicked “submit”. I went on with my life and ended up not needing the money.
About 6 months later, I get a phone call from a “Michael Johnson” with a thick Indian accent stating that I was being sued, blah blah blah, and he had all of my information. He wanted me to verify my SS number, but I didn’t. It worried me that he even had my bank account information and wanted the name of my lawyer. I actually called my lawyer friend and he said it sounded like a scam, and that I needed to file a police report. Life got crazy, I didn’t hear from them again, and I forgot to file the report. Then about a month later, the calls began again, this time telling me if I didn’t verify my information or get a lawyer I would be served with papers at the hospital I work at. I got angry and hung up on him. They started to call my work and leave the same messages with my secretary.
The calls stopped after about 6months, but started up again. About 3 months ago, I received a call from a Jonathan with a thick accent, with the same story. This was after he kept leaving me threatening voicemails, saying that I needed to call him back immediately or legal action would take place. When I told “Jonathan” that the same threats had been made to me 6 months ago but nothing had happened, he transferred me to his “supervisor’. I was very angry by this point, and I told the supervisor that I am aware of the scam that is going on because I had been getting calls for 6 months and nothing has happened, still. He hung up on me, and I thought that was the end of that.
Little did I know, they are still trying. Since yesterday, I have had 34 missed calls from their different crazy numbers, and 4 voicemails. I finally answered the phone 20 minutes ago and tried to be as calm as I could be. His name was Danny Bell, and he was with a lawfirm that is pressing charges against me, and wanted to know the name of my attorney. I told him I want to know what this is for, and he transferred me to his “Senior Attorney”. This guy’s name was Ronald Ruth (strong accent as well). I asked him to explain everything in detail. He says I’m being sued Thursday because of a payday loan I took out that I never repaid. I told him I’ve never gotten a pay day loan. He proceeds to list all of my information– my address, bank information, and work information. He then asks to verify my social security number. The numbers he said were not my number, so I said “No, that’s not me.” He then said “Oh sorry sorry I mean _ _ _ _.” That was my actual number, but I didn’t confirm it. I told him this all sounded wrong, and that I have proof in my bank account that I never got an online payday loan. I told him I was going to file a police report against him, and his response was “Well what about the police report we have against you?!?!” I said I can prove that I’ve never gotten a payday loan, and he says “Well we have your credit report and information.” I asked him who the loan was through, he said American Pay Day. I told him I would be contacting American Pay Day to see what this was all about, he said “would you like me to give you the number?” I said, no, I could find it on my own. I then asked him where who he was with, and he said “John Washington and Associates, which is in Oklahoma”. I live in Oklahoma. I asked him why he always calls from crazy numbers from all over the world, he answered “Mam, those are the numbers assigned to our office from the government.” I hung up.
I came upstairs to my computer just to google “American Pay Day” and I pulled up this website. I had no idea that so many people were having the same problem. It really is a nuisance and I wish there was something I could do to make it stop. Not only is it annoying, but it’s scary to know that all of these foreign people have all of my important information.
dizzyd
on Aug 24th, 2011
@ 12:27 AM:
I became very upset on the first phone call. I requested a loan with one company and over 100+ were sending me emails, wanting me to except their offer. I only excepted one offer, but another company had the nerve to automatically deposit some monies into my bank account. I called that company as soon as I noticed the deposit and told them that I did not send them confirmation to deposit any money into my account. They said that once I fill out the application- that it considered immediate confirmation. I told them that I did not want it; they sent me a rejection confirmation letter; I (electronically) signed the form and they withdrew the monies. I will not ever submit for a loan anymore- this event has left a sour taste and I am bothered by the fact that these people from American Credit Services have my personal information. How can I protect any futher inquisitions of my personal information?
n mosley
on Aug 25th, 2011
@ 5:17 AM:
Nice. so last month a man with an accent left me a message saying that i need to call this # back asap and if i did not he feels sorry for me. i called the number during the weekend and it woul ring and hang up after a couple of rings. today, august 24th, i recieved a message at my home # that’s a new #, i called them back from work, and they asked me for my telephone number so the coul pull my file up. SCARY. they do have your name, last of ss# and your employer name. but when i asked them who was the company, when i took the loan out, and how much, they could not tell me because it was confidential. will call homeland security and my bank in the am. so far no unusual deductions have been taken out of my account
Carm
on Aug 26th, 2011
@ 1:18 AM:
JUST went through the exact same thing today.
- Received phone calls (that I missed, from some random phone numbers)
- When I finally answered, the men with Indian accents were BEYOND rude when you asked them questions about this supposed law suit against me.
- Told me they ere showing up to my house the following weekday to ‘serve me with papers’ and the investigators would be making sure I was taken to court and/or JAIL for not making payment to my loan (THAT I NEVER EVEN GOT BEFORE, WTF?)
- a month ago $150.00 was taken out of my bank (checking) account.. it was fishy, so I closed that particular account & opened a new one.
I think they got angry knowing they couldn’t take anymore funds out of my account, so they started calling/harrassing me LMAO.
I will admit that the few things that made me nervous about the calls wa that they had ALL of my personal information. I do feel a bit better knowing that people here went though the same thing that I went through on these phone calls…. so I highly doubt anyone will be showing up to my home… but they still have my personal information.
Will I have to deal with nervous feelings forever knowing someone has my social security number & address without my concent?
Rachel
on Sep 1st, 2011
@ 9:29 PM:
I have been recieving calls all day at my place of employment from a Dennis Richardson from American Credit Service. This company has called my job about 60 times in a 4 hour time frame.
This is ridiculous that they have that much free time on their hands.
Get a real job and get a life.
Teeva
on Sep 14th, 2011
@ 4:58 PM:
I recently received a call from these scammers. Due to some unforseen expenses, I did apply for a payday loan, but with a reputable company. I am assuming that during my research someone hacked into my information. I keep getting a call from a “Shawn Wilson” from American Legal Services, but when I call the number back, the gentleman that has left messages is not the person who answers. Funny thing is now when I block my number they never answer. It goes to a voicemail, but get this…the voicemail says “The magic jack subscriber you have reached is not available. Please leave a message.” Now, if I call with an unblocked number they answers. I did do some research on the magic jack and it says that people can buy them in the US and ship them overseas. I am guessing that they are doing the same thing with prepaid cell phones which is what I am hearing that they use. So far I have just gotten calls on one day. Two at my home and one at work. When I went home I called them from home and I told them that I did not take out a payday loan and to please send me the documents. I also let the person I was speaking with know that I was on the web as we spoke and everyone says that you are overseas scammers. Then he proceed to tell me to go and ask those people what happened to them for owing $$. After some back and forth the guy said that he would send the documents to me at work certified mail. He even knew the name of my office. Anyway it is not two days since he was supposed to send the documents. If this is such an urgent matter why werent they sent fed ex. Anyway, no more calls yet, but from what I have been reading I should expect to start receiveing more.
Teeva
on Sep 14th, 2011
@ 4:59 PM:
By the way, the number that he calls from is 718-549-9926 which is a Brooklyn, NY telephone number. These guys are obviously calling from overseas.
clarisse
on Sep 14th, 2011
@ 10:30 PM:
Ok so Ive been receiving harrassing calls from law firm stating that i owe them $850 for a balance not paid to a loan agency American Payday (Cash Advance is owned by them as well). I have answered their calls off an on in the past month. They just called me back so this time in answering, I claimed to be someone else, and took a message. they told the message taker (me:posing as someone else) that if i do not call them back within 30 minutes that they will send my file to their legal dept and proceed to come to my place of business. This person said his name was Steve no last name. So i decided let me call them and really get some information out of them.
This immediately is intimidating for obvious reasons. They have alot of personal information and that makes them sound pretty legit. Aside from the fact that NO one seems to have even close to resembling an english accent. Everyone i spoke with had a strong india accent. The person who contacted me said his name was Steve (no last name given), when i called back, they transferred my call to Steve, but this time I could tell the voice was considerably different in tone it was clearly easy to hear it was not the person id just spoken to 5 minutes ago. I’d recently read an article explaining the legal rights bill collectors have when trying to obtain a payment, and non of those say that forceful language, threats, or inconvenient actions such as coming to a place of work or home is legal for them to do.They are also not allowed to discuss confidential cases with other members. That being said, when his tone started to become more threatening I informed him that i know my rights and legally he can not threaten to send anyone to my place of business or home. He instantly became angry and was saying that i am wasting his time, and if i dont have the $800 by friday than he will send my paperwork off and they will have a cop come to serve me my paperwork along with arrest me and take me to fight this in court. The more I continued to try to explain that I dont currently have $100 let alone will i be able to get $800 by friday. he proceeded to tell me that i can pay in payments of $200 per week. otherwise im wasting his time. I tried to then tell him, that his tone was very hostel and unnecessary. I also tried to ask if i could get some proof of the case via mail in writing, and he said that after I pay my debt of $800 he would send me my file information. Which is AGAINST THE LAW according to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) if asking for any paperwork about the case, company information and repayment options, they are required to send you this. So while i remained calm and respectful, i started to explain my situation and then he raised his voice, and said if he wanted to, he could send people over to my house now, but hes being reasonable and going to wait until friday to send them over, and that since im wasting his time, he is done talking to me and then hung up on me.
Now i have spoke to different people calling me from two different numbers but the same company. and previously they said when trying to arrange me to pay, they gave me a western union account information and said to pay the money through western union which i thought was weird. any other company i have worked with has sent me a paper bill explaining any dept owed and how to make the payment to the company. not to mention, when speaking to customer service, you may get different people but they all have english accents. Everyone at this firm was indian. here are the numbers i was contacted by.
818-306-9823
818-688-3507
Pam
on Sep 15th, 2011
@ 1:10 AM:
I have been recieving these calls also, I tell you what knowing that they have all my personal infomation is really scary. I did like so many have, called them back. These are the telephone numbers that have been calling me:
850-810-5221, 516-502-3393 and to contact Steve Adwin, I think thats what he said, hard to understand. From American Legal Authority. and the other number is 760-557-1135 and this one says he is Eric Jones. I tell you what these people are really annoying. And they do get mad when you start questioning them. I tell them I will contact my Better Business Bureau and they hang up. Damn Dirty SOB’s anyway. Someday I pray they will quit!!! Lord help them.
Cori
on Sep 16th, 2011
@ 7:43 PM:
I received a call stating that I needed a lawyer because I had not pain my pay day loan. I said he was wrong they debited the whole thing from my account then they asked for dates but was not able to give me any specifics from “his records.” They had heavy Indian accents and I almost hung up on them. But a lawsuit threat scares you. They called themselves The 1st State Attorney’s Office gave a number of 1-347-468-9571. This is the same number as the caller ID. The extension they gave me was 258 which they did not connect me to. I told them I knew they were bogus and that I had right to file a law suit against them. They sat the phone on the desk and refused to talk to me but I could here a lot of foreign voices in the back ground.
Michele
on Sep 20th, 2011
@ 8:52 PM:
The same number, 818-306-9823 called me several times today at work and on my cell number. I asked him to send or fax me something and he told me he could only send something to my attorney. They have a very strong Indian accent and would not give me any information on this so called loan that I owed late fees on and that they would be sending a person out tomorrow morning to arrest me. He told me the state of Virginia had a case on me and my SS#. How scary!! I don’t know what to do. He eventually hung up on me when I kept questioning him as to this loan. How much it was and when did I receive this money. I have called the FTC and went on the website and did a claim. Don’t know how much that will help me.
Leslie
on Sep 21st, 2011
@ 3:47 AM:
I have been getting calls from my family members because someone (I later find out American Credit Legal) about a payday loan I owed. They threaten me with court and so I set up a arrangement (not even sure that I owed the money) they said they had all the info. I ask them to send it, she said she could not because they would have to use it in court. do not know why they could not make a copy. But they are also calling my ex husband and his family. we have been divorce for almost 12 yearas and they tell them what it is about a bad check. It is not their business anymore. the number they called me from is 1 877-881-8653 Give me some feedback please
santos
on Sep 21st, 2011
@ 9:17 PM:
The folks from the call center are Filipinos, they are using a 619 292-8273
chris
on Sep 22nd, 2011
@ 12:21 AM:
file a report with the fbi with all the info you have
ankit
on Sep 24th, 2011
@ 5:17 PM:
These business is going in india in many states. They are collecting funds from the U.S. people and force them to make a payment. They do hve a script as below…
This is ============ and i have you listed as the primary suspect on a case file which is going to be downloaded in your county court for further legal actions. The nature of my call is to ascertain your attorney’s information so tht i can be able to fax the affidavits to your attorney before file ing the case against you…
They give three false allegations . They do hve to information of the people of US with SSN, ADDRESS, BANK name and ACC, PHN NO, WORK NO, AND REFERENCE NUMBER. I kindly request you all to stop paying the payments cause u hve no loans pending and they are earning in rupees… India is great and one of the best country but there are some people who are doing this to earn a lots of money and the US payday loan sites should stop giving “LEADS” (they are giving personal informations of the people in india who are applying for the loan in united states so in india it is easy to earn money sitting and dialing and collecting money from U.S. people) to india.
Roger Dodger
on Sep 28th, 2011
@ 12:43 AM:
Indian guys using 720 area code( Denver CO) saying they are from Hartford and Associates.. Only want a small amount of money i.e. a 100 dollar loan and you can settle today for 129.00 to stop the calls LMAO. Play along and be polite and drag the thing out for as long as you can. ITS FRICKIN GREAT to get them razzled
use *67 and call them back at all times you can afford to F#$% with them 
It takes their time away from calling others..
Nancy
on Oct 4th, 2011
@ 8:08 PM:
I just got a call at work from someone with a heave indian acent by the name of Ron Adams, he is claming that I owe $5,000 to an unpaid online cash advance, the thing is that I no longer owe anyone for a payday advance I have taken out such loan but it is already paid in full. should I be worried that they are going to “take me to court”?
Jody
on Oct 6th, 2011
@ 8:55 PM:
I have also been contacted by them today as well. They had a heavy Indian Accent and if i didn’t pay my loan back today that I will be subpoena to court in NY and I am from OH. Said that if I didn’t make a payment today of $419.22 they would take me to court and then I would have to pay for court costs and fees of up to $3840.00. I called the company that I had supposively had a pay day loan for and they stated that I had no loan thru them to report this to the FTC. So I called this supposively lawyer back and told him it was a scam and I wasn’t paying him anything and he started talking over me saying that he was going to process the paper work for my court hearing then and I just talked over him told him to lose my information and that they were a F’n scam and to F off! They also tried to contact me at work. What fricken jerks!
Jody
on Oct 6th, 2011
@ 8:59 PM:
Forgot to give the names of the people I spoke with. One was Roy Morgan and the other was Mike Robinson (sounded like the same person) but claims one was the supervisor ??? supervisor of an attorney? Really??? lol supervisor of a scam call center maybe!
number they were calling me from is 718-569-9426
r doe
on Oct 21st, 2011
@ 12:02 AM:
I have also received a call from two middle-eastern men with heavy accents, stating I took out a loan with cash advance america and did not pay it back and that I have committed fraud and the police would come to my home or job to pick me up if I did not pay. They stated they were with American legal services and that they had my ssn, bank account number, routing number, address, and email address. I ask them to send me documentation of the loan and they stated it would be emailed I never received an email. I also asked for the telephone number for cash advance america and date the loan was taken out and they could not provide a telephone number or the date the loan was taken out. When I started asking questions the person started to get upset. I didn’t give them any informationb because I knew that I had not taken out a loan. I received a call from Steven Rodgers at 904-410-6780 and Peter Davis at 914-412-8270. They gave a fax number of 206-888-4663. These scammers my be reported by calling 1-877-382-4357.
jennifer stewart
on Oct 27th, 2011
@ 10:11 PM:
Hi this company claiming to be sueing me say the state of alabama has a suit against u for a payday loansaying americanpayday loan and they wasn’t sueing for the money that has not been paid but we were going to court and they could get $5000.00 or more and i started speaking french to them it was the wrong words they wanted to hear and they hung up.i called back and told them i just called the police and gave them this number telling them that i’ll see them in court he called me crazy woman and hung up.these are the #
818-698-7069
855-863-9392
630-869-5682
303-573-3192
855-800-3144
855-791-1189
Susan
on Nov 3rd, 2011
@ 5:31 PM:
Here’s another telephone number you can add to your list. 917-745-8932. They tried calling me this morning. They definately have broken english, sounds like they are from India. Called me at work, and began threatening me with jail, no paycheck, no credit of any kind if I didn’t pay. They told me I owed $649.36, and that I would be arrested for passing fraudulent checks. The funny thing is I don’t even have a checking account and haven’t for over 5 years. I only use a prepaid debit card. Beware!!!!! I hung up on them after I got online to check out the company name they gave me American Credit Legal Services. Guess where it took me, yep, right to this website. I may have been born at night but it darned sure wasn’t last night.
Lynette
on Nov 16th, 2011
@ 11:56 PM:
I have been getting these calls for over a year now. I refuse to answer the phone. Today I received a fax at my workplace from them. It is a “Legal Notification” and it states such things as they are going to drag me into the court house, tell my employer, call the sheriff… Most of the wording in the fax is broken english. They are using the names Martin Taylor and Jonathan Anderson. How do we get them to stop harrassing us? Unfortunately I have already become a victim, but I refuse to be a victim any longer. I hope they do not cause anyone to loose their job.
Lisa
on Dec 3rd, 2011
@ 5:23 PM:
The people that are calling me are African American – threatening that they will be at my house in 2 days to serve papers- they do have my personal information and have even called my school age sons phone and left messages that scared him to death – when they call its a private blocked #. They are mean and scary, I hate to admit I was so scared I fell for it and gave them my card # by the time they took money out I had found this site and realized i was scammed – we changed everything at my bank and I was reimbursed by my bank due to the scam. Today the calls started again I told them they had the wrong # but I am sure they aren’t through – he said a payment was declined so they know I canceled my card.
Marlvin
on Jan 10th, 2012
@ 8:50 PM:
It is especially annoying since I never received any funds fro any payday loan company. They have threatened me with court fees in the amount of $8000 and my driver’s license being revoked for six months. I’m getting calls from 631-907-7205. Do I ignore these calls?
sam
on Jan 14th, 2012
@ 12:07 AM:
there newest number is 8143341009
Christinia Smith
on Feb 27th, 2012
@ 5:31 PM:
I just received a call that I “owe” money to American Payday and I only have 1 loan and it is through them. The caller, a woman with a HEAVY Indian accent hung up on me when I started asking her questions about the loan and couldnt answer the questions. I havent applied for any loans since December of last year, so I dont know how they are getting my info.
Christinia Smith
on Feb 27th, 2012
@ 5:35 PM:
They are also going by Mackenzie Associates now, called from the number 1-814-334-1009
Christinia Smith
on Feb 27th, 2012
@ 5:36 PM:
The loan is not through them, darned typo’s.
Stephanie
on Mar 5th, 2012
@ 4:06 PM:
I received multiple calls from them this morning at work and on my cell phone. they stated to be from California, saying they were filing a law suit against me. I hung up knowing it was a scam and they kept calling my job back. they called approximately 10 times and then proceeded to call my cell phone. When I called them to try to get information from them it was 2 guys, with indian accents. They asked for my lawyers information as they were filing a law suit against me. I just hate that they have my information. The newest number that they called me from is 929-268-0029, and are going under the name of American Credit Legal Services. The one used the name as John Johnson and did not get the “supervisors” name.