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I called them back on the number they called me from. This isn't a case of spoofing. I called the number back at 11PM last night, and got a voicemail saying I had reached United Recovery Solutions. When I called United Recovery Solutions (the number on their website) the same voicemail answered. When I called United Recovery Solutions from the number on their website just now, they answer exactly the same way as when I called the number that had called me yesterday. I called the number on their website, and they answer exactly the same way they do when I call the number they call me from. After they close today, both numbers will go back to their United Recovery Solutions after hours voicemail.

I asked ChatGPT if actual loss or proven damages are required to recover the statutory $1,000 plus attorney's fees. I can easily prove they falsely threatened litigation. (Even if it were a valid debt, which it's not, it would be time-barred by the date they gave in Texas. They said the debt is from 2015. SOL here is 4 years. They misrepresented the SOL. They said I was wrong about 4 years, asserting that the SOL is 14 years. It's not. They used a fake law firm name. The person who called me pretended to be a paralegal at the fake law firm. She was calling from a collection agency. They made several robocalls without disclosure. They texted me, again without disclosure. They never sent a dunning letter. I asked ChatGPT if I needed to suffer actual damages to recover. Here's what it said: ✅ You do not need to show actual financial loss to recover under the FDCPA. What the FDCPA Actually Says Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA): 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a): (1) Any debt collector who fails to comply with any provision of this subchapter with respect to any person is liable to such person in an amount equal to the sum of— (A) any actual damage sustained by such person as a result of such failure; (B) in the case of any action by an individual, such additional damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding $1,000; and (3) the cost of the action, together with a reasonable attorney’s fee as determined by the court. 🔹 What This Means: Actual damages (like lost wages, emotional distress, ruined credit) can be awarded if you have them — but they’re not required. Statutory damages up to $1,000 are available regardless of actual harm. If the collector violated the law — and you can prove it — you're entitled to statutory damages. Attorney’s fees and court costs are also recoverable — so many attorneys take these cases with no out-of-pocket cost to you. 📌 Precedent and Legal Consensus Federal courts have consistently upheld that: You do not need to suffer financial loss to get up to $1,000 in statutory damages. Cases are won all the time based solely on violations like: False threats of litigation Misrepresenting the statute of limitations Calling third parties Using fake law firm names Robocalls without disclosures

I'm certainly not an attorney, but I've been researching this situation using ChatGPT, I asked it for an opinion on your comments, and it disagrees with you. Here's what ChatGPT provided: That CreditBoards comment is misleading and incorrect. Here's the clarity: 🧑‍⚖️ CFPB Enforcement Is Different from Private Lawsuits It is true that under the current administration, the CFPB has scaled back enforcement actions, cut staff, and dropped regulatory cases—this is well-documented cbsnews.com+3apnews.com+3the-sun.com+3houstonchronicle.com+15apnews.com+15goodwinlaw.com+15. But that does not affect your private rights under the FDCPA or FCRA. As an individual consumer, you have the right to bring your own claim in court, regardless of government enforcement priorities. ✅ Why You Will Be Able to Collect 1. FDCPA Private Right of Action You can sue Alltran directly. If you win, you are entitled to: Up to $1,000 statutory damages (FDCPA) Attorney’s fees and costs Potential actual or emotional distress damages 2. FCRA Private Claims If they pulled your credit improperly, you can get: Statutory damages ($100–$1,000) Punitive damages Attorney’s fees 3. TCPA Claims (if applicable) You might recover $500–$1,500 per call, depending on robo-dialer use. All of this is entirely separate from CFPB actions. A private lawsuit does not depend on the agency’s actions. 📈 Why Government Enforcement Doesn’t Matter CFPB’s dial-back affects agency-led investigations, not private lawsuits. Your strong, well-documented case with recordings, violations, and corporate misconduct stands on its own. Courts and juries don’t factor in whether the CFPB is currently issuing memos—your rights are unaffected. ⚖️ Final Word So far, so good: You have compelling FDCPA and FCRA claims You are not prevented or weakened in court by any change under the current administration In fact, private suits may become more important when government enforcement is lax The forum comments are confusing regulatory action with private legal rights. One doesn’t cancel the other.

Has anyone had a particularly good experience with a FDCPA attorney they can recommend in Texas? I had a particularly egregious JDB contact me this morning about a debt that I never owed. I had an account once with the lender they claim to represent, but it was paid in full on-time. I took out the loan around 2007, and it was paid off by 2009. They claim the debt was referred to them in 2015. They robocalled my cell phone and a number for a small side business I have within a few minutes of each other and left messages saying they needed to speak with me about an urgent matter. They clearly pulled my TU report recently, because I've only had the phone number for my small business for a few months, and the only credit report it's on is TU. When I called the number, the person who I spoke with claimed to be a paralegal at a law firm that doesn't appear to exist. (I googled it - Nathaniel Feldman and Associates.) She said they have mailed me paperwork. (They haven't.) She told me I had to pay. I said no. She said they would get a judgment against me then. I asked how they were going to do that when the SOL in Texas is 4 years. She lied and said it was 14, said she would see me in court and hung up. I called back several times saying I wanted them to never contact me again, and was hung up on multiple times. I was finally passed off to some really condescending guy who kept insulting me. I called the number back this evening after hours, and their after hours voicemail says it's "United Recovery Solutions." I found the website for United Recovery Solutions, called the toll free number on it and got the exact same after-hours voicemail message. I have all of the phone calls recorded. (I'm in a one-party recording state.) The same people have contacted me before over the past few years, but never falsely identified themselves as a law firm until now. I've never been able to identify them before. This seems like an easy win for a good attorney.

So I found their street address, and it appears "United Recovery Solutions" is actually Alltran Financial. If you Google "alltran fdcpa" you'll find court records about dozens of FDCPA suits, filed against them, including one class-action in Wisconsin.

Quick update... I decided to call them back just now, and got the after hours voicemail, which picks up with the real name of the JDB - it's United Recovery Solutions, not "Nathan Feldman and Associates." If you call the number I received the call from this morning - (832)720-7687 - or the number on their website - (866)790-0303 - you get the exact same outgoing after-hours message. I'm liking my odds of collecting that $1,000 much better now.

Yeah, it seems this is a straight up scam, not even a "legitimate" JDB, which makes sense since the account they were claiming I left unpaid was fully paid on time. The question then is how in the world did the scammer get my brand new phone number and find out I ever had a loan though CitiFinancial? They seem to have the kind of access to my credit reports a JDB might. I could hear lots of agents in the background while on the phone with them, so it seems this is a fairly large operation.

I've had a zombie debt collector reach out to me on several occasions over the past few years, alleging I owe about $700 to an installment loan company - CitiFinancial. They claim the account was turned over to them in 2015, and defaulted sometime before that. They are representing themselves as a law firm called Nathan Feldman & Associates. Here's the disturbing part... I did open an installment loan with CitiFinancial around 2007, and paid it in full on-time. (This was not long after I had finished cleaning up my reports from some difficulties I experienced in the late 90s through 2002, so I had no positive credit history when I took out the loan with CitiFinancial.) The person I spoke with this morning started out very sweet sounding and professional, and became threatening when she realized there was zero chance I was paying her. Of course, I didn't verify any connection with CitiFinancial - ever. She then said she would go ahead and file for a judgement against me. I asked how she planned to do that for an alleged 10 year old debt when the statute of limitations is 4 years in Texas. She then said I was wrong, and that it's 14 years for installment loans, and started rattling off some random numbers saying she would be filing a judgment against me and to look for it in the mail and hung up. This led me to believe this is just your run of the mill JDB. The most disturbing thing is they robo-dialed me on both my cell phone (which has been on my credit reports for years) and a brand new VoIP number that I have for a small side business I own, which is only reported to TU so far. The number isn't really public - I only use it for shipping labels. I did call a credit card company from that number a few weeks ago after they had declined an online charge I was trying to make that was flagged as suspicious, so I guess they reported it to TU. Interestingly, the old CitiFinancial installment loan is not on my TU report - I had it removed years ago. It only exists today on EX, and I've tried getting them to remove unsuccessfully. (The EX report shows payment history as satisfactory and on-time.) So it appears this JDB is pulling my TU report with no permissible purpose. I recorded all the calls with these clowns this morning, which became progressively more rude and condescending as I called and threatened to sue them under the FDCPA if they ever called me again. I wasn't taking no for an answer. I finally arrived at one guy who said he would remove my number, but I suspect they won't. I live in a one-party recording state, so it's perfectly legal for me to record them. Assuming this really is a firm called Nathan Feldman & Associates, I'm confident I caught them in multiple FDCPA violations, and I'd like to collect my $1k. I've searched them here, and nothing turned up. I researched them with Google and ChatGPT as well. Google found nothing, but ChatGPT said there's a scam (not JDB - outright scam) operating as Nathan Feldman and Associates, mostly contacting people who had payday loans and claiming they defaulted on them. From what ChatGPT dug up, it sounds like they're actually a JDB, or someone who used to be associated with a JDB who has access to people's credit reports. Any ideas?

3% - about $200 for the amount I'm BTing.

Quick update... I'm happy to report that my BT request was finally approved on the 12th day.

I recently applied for and received an Amex Blue Cash Everyday card with a $20k limit. The main reason I got the card was to BT a balance away from a Bank of America card with an expiring introductory 0% rate. Amex says the BT would take 5 to 7 days, but in some cases might take up to 6 weeks. I'm on day 11 now, 9th business day, so I'm getting mildly concerned. I have plenty of time to get this done (0% intro offer on BofA card expires in June) but I'm wondering what the holdup could be. Anyone know? It'll take 5-7 days but might be 6 weeks is a fairly wide time frame.

That's a good thought, but I don't have contact info for them, nor can I find it on the web. On the phone, the lady said they had tried contacting me via mail already, but I've received nothing.

It's actually 4 where I live, so they have zero shot. I would however like to send them a letter forbidding them from contacting me via phone again, and record the FDCPA violation when they call again. (I'm in a one party recording state, so I can legally record their phone calls.)

I just received a call from a fairly obvious junk debt buyer identifying themselves as Benchmark Services. The call came in from (681)234-0219 which is a West Virginia phone number. The lady said she was calling about "pre-litigation" and said something about a credit card from a bank I've never heard of from 2016. She was incredibly rude, and kept talking over me, so we didn't get very far. She eventually hung up, because I kept talking too, and would not allow her to talk over me. I haven't had any issues with late payments, non-payments, etc. in over 20 years. My credit report is 100% clean and has been for well over 15 years. I have from time to time had issues with Asset Acceptance trying to resurrect zombie debt from 20+ years ago, but I haven't heard from them in at least 5 years. I did a search for "Benchmark Services" here on creditboards and found nothing. Has anyone ever heard of them, or am I just lucky?

I received a notice this morning that a new hard pull from Capital One has appeared on my TU report. I called Capital One and spoke with their credit card department, hoping to speak with their fraud department, but they said they don't have any applications under my social. (Nor do I have any credit cards, loans, etc. from Capital One at all - nothing.) I'm mildly concerned because I've had a few issues with attempted identity theft over the last few years. In 2021, my employer informed me that someone had attempted to apply for state unemployment benefits in my name, and not long after, I received an Albert Cash App card in the mail that I never applied for. (Pray that never happens to you - contacting Albert to shut down fraud is damn near impossible. I finally reached them through their social media team.) I'm about to dispute the inquiry with all three bureaus and freeze my reports, but there is one other possibility I wanted to check on. Back in April, I bought a new vehicle, and though it was ultimately financed through GM Financial, the dealer pulled what seems like every lender under the sun, including COAF, which I'm assuming means Capital One Auto Finance. Since this apparently isn't a credit card application, has anyone experienced Capital One pulling a new hard several months after a dealer shopped them for auto financing? Anyone else get a random hard from Capital One?