Harassment

[jas2005]

Ok... I'm in Indiana, btw, and need some advice about this same law firm.

I had a strange thing happen today. My old roommate (haven't lived with her in two years) got a voicemail from a Ryan, at "the law office of Lawrence A Hecker", and they gave the 1 800 number, and left a case reference number, etc. The strangest part about that, is the call was for my FATHER. The message was left for HIM. Now my father obviously never lived at this number, and has in fact lived at his same address for over twenty years, with the same phone number, etc. My name wasn't mentioned at all, but this almost HAS to be connected to me, in some way. Now, as far as I know, I don't have any bills out there that aren't accounted for, unless I've lost track of something and don't realize it. But I'm 100% sure all my credit cards are current. I can't think of anything I had that was in his name at the time. (I had just gotten out of college, so I did have some things jointly with him in the past, but my name was on them, as well.) Anyone have any clue what this might be? What I mean is, doens't this probably have something to do with me? I'm really confused and concerned, and reading these horror stories on here has me very worried. My former roommate gave me the information to give to my father, and I'm wondering if I should call it first, in the event it is for me. I really don't want to get my father involved if it is for me. Any thoughts?

 

[Maya's Mom]

FDCPA Violations A-Go-Go!

Rhode Island. I also had the good fortune of receiving a phone call from the Law Offices of Laurence A Hecker. I called their office within one hour of receiving the message that they were trying to contact me and informed them that, according to my records, the debt in question had been paid through an agreement with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) in March of 2002. They insisted otherwise and told me I had until 3PM that day to set up payment arrangements. I was told that if I did not send a Western Union payment or give them a postdated check over the phone by that time they would proceed with litigation paperwork. I explained that my paperwork showed the debt was paid and I would need to have proof in writing that it was not paid. I told them I could not discuss anything further until I received a verification letter.

Over the course of the next 10 days, I came home to several threatening phone calls on my answering machine from the credit agent (he calls himself Tony Brewer). I also received messages from three concerned family members and two co-workers each of whom had been contacted and questioned by Mr. Brewer. One morning my neighbor, a man that I hardly know, approached me in my driveway and handed me an envelope. Inside was a written summary of a phone call he had received from Mr. Brewer just before 9PM the prior evening. He was asked what kind of car I drive, where I worked, and if I owned the home I was living in. My neighbor simply told Mr. Brewer that he could not help him and asked him not to call his home again. In fact, the gentelman was so disgusted by the incident that he urged me to seek legal counsel. He even set up an appointment with his attorney who agreed to advise me pro bono. The attorney instructed me to mail a C&D letter (certified mail, return receipt requested) and to transfer all of the saved messages to tape. He had the tapes transcribed and I am currently putting together a packet to send to the RI Attorney General's office. I received the signed receipt 3 days ago and have not heard from Mr. Brewer for about two weeks. I am relieved, but still intend to file a complaint...the tactics used by this office are way over the line.

 

[PaGirl]

Another Case

The Hecker Law Office has been contacting me and demanding that I pay more money than I make. The debt is, as of right now, legitamate and I was intended to take care of it this month. The debt was created when I was in college. And I recently graduated and am starting to clean up my act. However, they have messed up many different things on this account. First they thought it was for business, but it wasn't. Then they are telling me that they are going to take me to court because I placed a stop payment on the check they had cause...the money they demanded wasn't there. I was trying to work with them, but what they want me to pay is going to make me starve and evicted because its actually more than I make. Any advice?

 

[Ladynred]

Demand they prove that you owe anything. Go to www.creditinfocenter.com and read up on VALIDATION per the FDCPA.

 

[sugarbear28602]

Another phone call....

We also received a call from this "Attorney" today. First it was a male "associate" that initially called. Then when we started telling this guy about the statute of limitations and asking questions about how old the debt was...he had to get a female "associate" on the line that, supposedly, had more experience in the collection field because the male associate had no idea what we were talking about. Duh! My husband and I were both on the phone and here is what transpired:

(1) When the man and woman were asked about the date of the debt, supposedly, by made by my husband...it was 1993 in the amount of $30,000!!!!! And, by their account, there had not been any type of collection(s) or proceedings done on it in over 10+ years. It had been so long, they did not even have a record of any type of collection proceedings ever being done. The debt they were claiming he owed was 15 years old!!!!!!! Also, my husband had no recollection of any bank by the name they gave him. This debt has not shown up on any credit report we have pulled for him in the past 3 years.

(2) We also informed the woman we were recording the conversation for legal purposes and we had already contacted our attorney concerning their firm and their unethical collection practices. After informing the woman that we were recording the conversation, she stated that we did not have her permission to record the conversation. I also told her that we had researched their firm on the internet and were fully aware of how their firm operated and the tactics and practices they used. She stated that "all the people that had made complaints against them and their office were just deadbeats that did not want to pay their bills".

(3) We also informed her that there is a 3 year statute of limitions for collections and their "law" firm does not have any jurisdiction in this state. We again informed the woman we were recording the conversation and she again stated we did not have her permission to record and hung up on us!

(4) I have also blocked their phone number from my phone, but they will probably try to call me from another number, which I will also block. If you have this service available with your phone....use it! If not, contact your provider to get it.

I wished I had written down the man and woman's name so I could have posted their name on here too, but at the time, I didn't think of it...but that mistake won't happen again. I am going to get the person's name and position and post it everytime I write on this site.

Good, honest citizens, or their neighbors, friends or family should not be subject to the unethical, not to say illegal tactics these people use. What I wonder is.....how do they sleep?....and is it worth the amount of money they make to live with themselves after the way they treat people?....I sure hope so! I guess jobs are hard to find in New Jersey.

 

[snoopy69]

I was contacted by this same law firm "Lawerence A. Hecker" by a gentlman by the name of Mike Williams around the 21st of Jan. 08. He called me on my cell phone while I was at work. When I confronted him about how he got my cell number (since only a few people know it), he claimed that they are tryin to collect a debt and they can do whatever it takes to collect it. I also mentioned that I never recieved a letter from thier office stating any of this. He proclaimed that a letter was sent, weeks ago and I never responded to try to settle the debt. He gave me a pay off amount of $5000 to settle this matter and asked if I could put it on a credit card or have me authorize payment over the phone from my checking account. I refused to give him the information, and he asked to wait one minute and put me on hold. After sitting on hold for about 10 minutes, a gentleman by the name of Gabe Hoffman picked up and tried to get me to make a payment over the phone, again I refused. I made notation to them that they are not to call me on my cell or at work and that I would also need a letter from thier office stating such debt owed and the amount.
Since this time, I have been contacted both at home and on my cell a few times while at work, even thoughI asked them not to call. As of yet I still haven't recieved a letter from their office stating the amount owed.
I did contact them at one point to get their mailing address so I could send them a certified letter requesting a letter stating the debt. I was given the following address...:

Law Office of Lawrence A. Hecker
2c South Gold Drive
Hamilton, New Jersey, 08691
Attn. Mike Williams

Phone number I was given to call.....: 1-800-355-0123
number that showes up on my cell phone when they call......: 609-570-3039

 

[longsally111]

If anyone on here is interested, I had a similar experience with asset acceptance corp. I found a private law firm that takes cases like this and charges the collection agency the fee's, no money out of pocket. They were contacted by the attorneys, told of their violations and offerred a settlement not to go to court for breaking the FDCPA ( ? ) rules. They settled!!!!!!!!!!!!! PM me and I will give you the information!!!!!!!

 

[Debt Guy]

Snoopy

It makes more sense to start a new thread instead of resurrecting one that was started 3 years old. The deceased should be allowed to rest in peace.

Start a new one and you will get all sorts of advice.

Sally's contact is real.