For those of you that are digging for dirt to see if the following debt collection agency is a bad bill collector, we hope that thisinformation can help:

Alternate Business Names:
Convergent
E R Solutions, Inc.
E R S

Website:

http://www.convergentusa.com

Locations:
Atlanta HQ
Six Concourse Parkway, Suite 2920
Atlanta, GA 30328
Tel: 770.730.0015
Tel: 888.858.0116

219 Perimeter Center Parkway NE
Atlanta, GA 30346
Tel: 800.444.8485

1040 Stevens Creek Road
Augusta, GA 30907

125 Wolf Road
Albany, NY 12205
Tel: 877.251.7385
Tel: 888.511.7901

301 Yamato Road, Suite 4200
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Tel: 877.778.0662
Tel: 888.511.7901

3232 W Royal Lane
Irving, TX 75063
Tel: 866.390.9935
Tel: 888.511.7901

2550 West Shaw Avenue
Fresno, CA 93711
Tel: 800.576.6941
Tel: 888.511.7901

13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 300
Gainesville, VA 20155
Tel: 888.511.7901
Tel: 888.511.7901

10750 Hammerly Blvd., Suite 200
Houston, TX 77043
Tel: 800.444.8485

2400 Presidents Drive, 4th Floor
Montgomery, AL 36116
Tel: 800.444.8485

124 SW Adams Street, Suite 215
Peoria, IL 61602
Tel: 800.706.4357
Tel: 888.511.7901

10050 N 25th Avenue, Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85021
Tel: 800.444.8485

800 SW 39th Street
Renton, WA 98057
Tel: 800.444.8485

925 Westchester Avenue, First Floor
White Plains, NY 10604
Tel: 914.421.7900
Tel: 800.431.1262

Contact Information:

Steven J Hunter, President
Robert Newman, Complaint contact
Jeffery Hunter, Vice President of Collections
Anne Carlson. Director

Convergent Resources, Inc (Convergent) is a debt collection agency that specializes in commercial services, including contingent collections, outsourcing, letter campaign, and consulting services. The company has been confused by many as their no longer existent sister company, ER Solutions, Inc (ER Solutions), which was founded as early as 1950 in Kirkland, Washington.

ER Solutions was originally known as Eastside Credit Bureau (ECB). ER Solutions, Inc. operated as an accounts receivable management agency, providing receivables collection services to retail and telecommunications creditors and utilities industries.

Convergent became one of 5th largest companies in the collection industry, employing over 2600 employees in thirteen branches in 10 states. They are also one of the biggest receivables management companies in the United States, providing third party collections and first party outsourcing to a variety of industries, including wireless, telecommunications, banking, utility, cable, and satellite markets.

Convergent Resources, Inc (ER Solutions), cannot be compared to some of the most notorious bad bill collectors. However, according to their January 24, 2012 BBB Business Reliability Report, the debt collection agency had 189 complaints closed with the BBB in last 3 years. 90 of the consumer complaints were closed in the last 12 months.
Most of the BBB complaints filed (142) on the debt collection agency were due to billing/collection issues, 45 due to problems with product/service, and only 2 due to advertising/sales issues. The BBB also alleges that Convergent Resources, Inc (ER Solutions), “has received a pattern of complaints from consumers alleging that E R Solutions Inc continues to contact them after they have been asked not to.”

You can locate various other complaints on Convergent Resources, Inc (ER Solutions) throughout a number of online complaint portals. On December 18, 2011, a complainant reported at Pissedconsumer.com, “having reported the debt collector (Convergent) to the FTC, and the Texas Attorney General’s Office due to attempting to illegally collect zombie debts (old debts past the Statute of Limitations).”

On Nov. 8, 2011, Christopher of Boone of North Carolina reported at Consumeraffairs.com on the debt collection aency (Convergent): “I received a statement from ER Solutions, Inc. concerning a Regions Bank debt on an account that I have never owned. I have tried calling ER Solutions but they have hung up on me thrice when I tried to communicate that the account is not mine. I did have a Regions credit card which has been paid in full. ER Solutions calls and harasses my parents even though they have my correct contact information. This is showing up on my credit and is not correct. What do I do?”

Although the degree of complaints found on Convergent Resources, Inc (ER Solutions) are unsavory, based on the company’s size, again their number of complaints pale in comparison to some of the worse bad bill collectors.

However, if this debt collection agency pursues you to collect a debt, observing their pattern of complaints, look out for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, including improper billing, continuing to call you after you requested that they not call you, use of harassment, or attempting to collect a debt that doesn’t belong to you.

If you suspect that Convergent Resources, Inc (ER Solutions) or any debt collection agency is acting like a bad bill collector and/or has committed an offense under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you may report them to the following state and/or federal agencies:

-Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov)
-Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (www.consumerfinance.gov)
-California Attorney General (ag.ca.gov)
-Alabama Attorney General (www.ago.state.al.us)
-Georgia Attorney General (law.ga.gov)
-New York Attorney General (www.ag.ny.gov)
-Virginia Attorney General (www.oag.state.va.us)
-Florida Attorney General (myfloridalegal.com)
-Illinois Attorney General (illinoisattorneygeneral.gov)
-Texas Attorney General (www.oag.state.tx.us)
-Washington Attorney General (www.atg.wa.gov)

As a frequent visitor to the Debt Free League Blog, you may have noticed that we also provide our readers with a wealth of resources to combat the abusive debt collection practices of bad bill collectors. You can also call a Debt Free League counselor at 1-800-213-9968 to get additional free tips and information.

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Company: Winn & Sims APC

Website: http://www.winnlawgroup.com/

Address:
110 East Wilshire Avenue, Suite 212
Fullerton, California 92832

U.S Phone Numbers:
Phone: 714-446-6686
Fax: 714-446-6686

Head Collection Attorneys:
Brian N. Winn, Lawyer, CA Bar #86779
Ralph L. Sims, Lawyer, CA Bar #83880

ATTN: This news will be very helpful for you if you are being pursued by the above collection law firm and/or need debt settlement California assistance.

Winn & Sims APC (Winn and Sims), a.k.a. Winn Law Group, is a professional law corporation in the city of Fullerton, California. Admitted with the State Bar of California and active to practice law in the state of California (BAR license number: 86779), Winn and Simms is a general attorney specializing as a civil litigation attorney for creditors. They collect credit card debt and other types of unsecured debt settlement California accounts.

The company is privately held and is under the business category of attorneys and lawyers. They opened for business and incorporated in California in 1992. Recent reports indicate that Winn & Sims Law Group earns a yearly revenue of $3,700,000 and employes 30 employees. The company is an expert in Credit Union Law, FDCPA compliance, Claims and Deliveries, Commercial and Consumer collections, Financial Litigation, Creditors Rights in Bankruptcy, and Defense Litigation.

In layman terms, Winn and Sims is a debt collection law firm. Original creditors normally hire them a third-party collection agency that they outsourced to failed to collect an unpaid debt. If you reside in California and have received a collection notice from Winn Law Group, it may be a mini-Miranda demand for payment. Being that such notice comes in the form of a law firm letterhead can be very intimidating. However, the intent of their notice is to get you to repay a debt or to get a debt settlement California negotiation.

The real threat to be concerned about is receiving a Winn Law Group summons and complaint. This is a lawsuit issued by a collection law firm to a debtor to legally enforce collection of a debt for a creditor. Note: Creditor lawsuits normally happen after a debtor has ignored one or more demands for payment from a collection attorney and are generally filed to effect debt settlements or legally collect on unsecured debts ranging from $4,000 to $12,000 in value.

If Winn & Sims serves you a lawsuit, their objective is to pressure you to reach an immediate debt settlement or debt repayment. Otherwise, the intent is to take you to court and win a judgment against you. If you fail to show up to your court date, the court can also award a default judgment favoring the creditor. From there, the collection attorney can proceed by getting a garnishment order on your wages, or a lien on your home.

Unlike a lot of debt collectors, few collection issues or debt settlements complaints have been registered against Winn & Sims APC. According to a report found in January, 2012 at the website of the BBB of the Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties of Southern California, in a 3 year period, 19 complaints were filed against Winn & Sims. Mostly all were for billing/collection issues.

At the Bud Hibbs website (http://www.budhibbs.com/bh/), between 2007 and 2010, several people reported unfair debt collection practices complaints against the law firm. The website also warns that, “Winn and Sims may be attempting to collect on debts that are likely bogus, time barred by statutes, which cannot meet legal verification requirements.”

Beyond the courtroom, debt settlement California is one solution that you can consider if the above law firm is attempting to collect on your credit card debt. Trying this approach can certainly help you avoid judgment or wage garnishment issues with creditors.

To learn how debt settlements work, you can call a Debt Free League debt counselor at 1-800-213-9968 for free assistance. On the other hand, if this or any collection attorney has committed a Fair Debt Collection Practices violation, you may also contact the following:

* California Attorney General
* Federal Trade Commission
* State Bar of California (415.538.2000 / www.calbar.ca.gov)

Collection agency review

Company:
NCO Group
NCO Financial Systems, Inc.

Website:
www.ncogroup.com

United States Address
507 Prudential Road
Horsham, PA 19044-2308

600 Park Rd Ste 200,
Charlotte, NC 28209-3238

U.S. Telephone Numbers
(800) 220-2274
866-287-2543
800-727-8444
(215) 441-3000
215-441-3923
(800) 550-9619
Fax: (866) 269-8669

Canada Address
NCO Financial Services Inc.
75 Port Royal East, Suite 240
Montreal, Quebec H3L 3T1
(514) 385-4444
Sales: (905) 819-4270

United Kingdom Address
NCO Europe Ltd.
Old Docks House
Watery Lane
Preston, England PR2 1AU
01772 765000

ATTN: This is very informative news if you have collection accounts and/or need debt settlement help -

NCO Group (NCO Financial Systems, Inc) is headquartered in Horsham, PA and started doing business in 1926. Based on earnings of approximately $1.5 billion in yearly revenue, they are the largest U.S. debt collection agency.

The company purchases, repackages and resells portions of their purchased debts to other debt buyers. They also outsource portfolios, including accounts receivable management, customer management services, and back office services to one of their numerous overseas collectors.

Their website, www.ncogroup.com lists multiple company locations in the United States, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. They also outsource to offshore branches in Antigua, St. John’s, Australia, Barbados, Canada, Guatemala, India, Mauritius, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom.

Having reached as high as $18.4 million in revenue from purchased debt, NCO Group (NCO Financial Systems, Inc.) is also one of the country’s top 10 debt buyers. They normally purchase delinquent or charged-off debt portfolios from the original creditor like Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. If you received a collection notice or collection call from this bill collector, chances are that they own the account that they are trying to collect.

WARNING: According to Ripoffreport.com, as of January 10, 2012, a total of 458 online compliants on NCO Group (NCO Financial Systems, Inc.) were filed on their site.

Although debt buyers purchase collection accounts at a mere fraction of the face value, they are known to fiercely collect on 100% of the face value. They may try to collect on their own or outsource to a third-party collector. In either case, they’re not too concerned about maintaining good customer relations with debtors or their record of complaints.

Many debt buyers often engage in abusive collection practices, notoriously violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Common FDCPA complaints include:

* Filing lawsuits with no documentation that the account was purchased or assigned;
* Collecting on accounts not owed by the intended target;
* Verbally abusing, using obscene language, threatening and harassing consumers;
* Improperly suing or threatening to sue to collect debts that are past the applicable statute of limitations or that were settled through bankruptcy;
* Reporting inaccurate credit data to credit bureaus;
* Impersonating law enforcement or threatening to have a person arrested;
*Threatening to garnish the wages or seize the property of a debtor;
* Failing to validate a debt in writing when requested;
* Calling a debtor’s place of work when instructed not to;
* Ignoring cease-and-desist notices to stop telephoning and communicate only via mail.

If you feel your rights were violated by a debt buyer or third-party collection agency, you can file an FDCPA complaint with the FTC or your state attorney general.

For information on debt settlement help on a collection account owned or managed by NCO Group (NCO Financial Systems, Inc.), you can also call Debt Free League at 1-800-213-996. For collection account debt settlement help – call on the professionals.

In 2011, a record number of consumers decided to sue debt collectors for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violations. Yet, FDCPA debt collection lawsuits pale in comparison to the record number of FDCPA complaints. The following explains the various grounds for filing debt collection lawsuits.

The weak economy, which has forced more consumer debt defaults, has sparked more aggressive debt collection activity. But, by December 15, 2011 consumers had filed 11,359 FDCPA lawsuits, surpassing 2010′s record of 10,914 lawsuits, according to WebRecon LLC. Despite this precedent, consumers have filed a disproportionately higher volume of FDCPA complaints.

Although the 2011 report isn’t out yet, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may announce another record year of complaints on debt collectors. In 2010, the FTC, which protects consumers against the abuses of third-party debt collectors, received a record 108,997 complaints, representing a 19% increase over 2009, which held the previous record of 88,326 complaints.

The above statistics are no phenomenon to the FTC, which receives more consumer complaints about the collection industry than any other industry. But, why were 88% more collection debt collector complaints filed than actual lawsuits in 2010?

According to WebRecon LLC, “A significant percentage of consumer litigation is initiated by the same consumers over and over again, and screening them out of the general population can reduce lawsuits by as much as a third.” Thus, the heightened rate of collection lawsuits is arguably attributed to more “informed” consumers. Apparently, more people that are being educated about their rights are filing collection lawsuits.

FDCPA Prohibitions that Trigger a Collection Lawsuit

The FDCPA, which prohibits false, deceptive or unfair debt collection tactics, allows you to sue a company that attempts to collect a debt on behalf of the original creditor. This law allows you to take legal action for a variety of reasons, including if the company:

- Threatens illegal actions or actions that they have no intention of taking;
- Misrepresents itself as a law firm or that its collectors are attorneys;
- Calls consumers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., or at their workplace;
- Uses obscene or profane language, or harasses consumers with repeated phone calls;
- Misrepresents that a debtor will be arrested or have property seized if he/she doesn’t pay;
- Makes false statements to collect a debt or obtain information about a consumer;
- Communicates with a consumer after receiving written notice that the consumer refuses to pay or wants the collector to stop calling;
- Withdraws funds from consumers’ bank accounts or charge their credit cards without their consent;
- Deposits or threatens to deposit postdated checks before the date on the check;
- Asks a third party for a consumer’s location information more than once without the third party’s consent or a reasonable belief that the person’s earlier response was wrong or incomplete and that the person now has correct location information;
- Reveals to third parties that a consumer owes a debt.

Having a basic understanding of the law, you’ll know how to catch collectors violating your rights and what evidence to bring to court if you decide to file a lawsuit.

What Relief You Can Get If a Debt Collector Breaks The Law

If your rights were violated by a collector, the FDCPA entitles you to recover a maximum award for damages of $1000 per violation. Statutory damages are per action (lawsuit). Plus, they may have to pay your attorney’s fees and court costs as well as post-judgment interest. Legally, you have the right to sue a collector in state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated.

With some assistance, it’s not that difficult to file your own small claims lawsuit. You can also seek a free case evaluation from a consumer debt collection rights attorney. Many work under a “no recovery/no fee” contingency. This helps you avoid out of pocket costs and the attorney only gets paid when you get paid.

You can obtain a list of the top attorneys that sue debt collectors by calling Debt Free League at 1-800-213-9968. As professional debt arbitrator, we can also help you fight collection agencies to reach massive debt settlements.

Check out video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YDzy7TSawY&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Credit card companies and the collection industry are firmly lobbying to pass the Mobile Informational Call Act of 2011? But, why should you care? If passed, The Mobile Informational Call Act of 2011, a.k.a. “House Resolution 3035”, would amend the Communications Act of 1934, allowing robo-calls to consumers’ cell phones without their explicit consent.

THE PRESENT RULES:

Under present law – the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), telephone calls to your cell phone using an automatic dialing system or prerecorded messages are strictly prohibited. (The only exception is for emergency calls or calls made to you with your prior consent.) Also prohibited is contacting your paging service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service if you are charged for the call. But, both the banking and collection industry have been petitioning Congress to carve an exception to allow debt collectors to make autodialed calls to cellular phones.

GOOD NEWS ON YOUR SIDE:

Most Attorney Generals completely oppose the proposed federal legislation. They argue it would drive unwanted, costly robo-calls to consumers’ cell phones. It would also permit telemarketers to invade your privacy and debt collectors to call you at all hours of the day. And, we say enough is enough!

The debt collection industry already generates the bulk of most consumer complaints. Debt collectors constantly violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), often contacting employers, friends of a debtor and divulging confidential information about the debtor. Plus, they aggressively target the wrong people who are not the debtor or have no relationship to the debtor.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Call your congressman or woman to oppose the Mobile Informational Call Act;
2. If a debt collector calls your cell phone without your consent, and/or their call causes you to incur any charges, report the debt collector to your state Attorney General and FTC, and/or
3. Sue the debt collector for violating your rights under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA);
4. Stop collection calls by sending the collection agency a cease and desist letter.

Posses of rogue debt collectors are swiftly heading for the hills to hide from the new kid on the regulatory block – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As of July 21, 2011, they opened for business, and in the enforcement ball field this hard ball slugger wields a BIG STICK. Amongst its enforcement arsenal to protect consumers is the Consumer Financial Protection Act. And collection agencies are bracing for a lot of pounding and aftershocks. Once this federal agency flexes its far-reaching powers, it’s going to get ugly.

Thankfully, if you’re a consumer in debt, Debt Free League wants you to know this is all good news. At last, bill collectors will have a reason to contemplate about violating your consumer rights. Or else, there’s a lot you can do to get even with the violators with some help from the CFPB. If they fail to operate by the rule book, this powerful agency can easily put virtually any debt collection agency “out of business.”

The New Sheriff in Town

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is cool refreshment for millions of Americans that are experiencing greater difficulties paying off hefty bills on credit cards, student loans, and utilities. Since 1977, the only true law that governed how debt collection agencies should communicate with consumers has been the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). However, its watchdog agency, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), only had the authority to enforce the Act. But, times have changed. Soon, the CFPB will be eating the lunch of law-breaking debt collectors with a bag of tricks that goes beyond the FTC’s enforcement powers…

Superman in Debt Collection Rule Making and Enforcement

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also joins ranks with the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Furthermore, it is the enforcer of the new Consumer Financial Protection Act. But what make this new agency so unique is that it does much more than enforce consumer protection laws. Here’s a glimpse of the broad powers of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

- Enforcement and rule making authority;

- Authority to enforce the Consumer Financial Protection Act and other CFPB regulations;

- Power to request compliance reports, conduct financial examinations and investigations;

- Authority to bring enforcement actions in federal court, and issue cease and desist orders;

But, wait, there’s MORE…

Debt Collection Agencies Face Crippling Fines

Before the regulatory agency, there wasn’t much monetary punishment that consumers in debt could dish out to debt collection agencies that violated their rights. The maximum fine against violators under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is $1,000 per violation. At most, a collector could get slapped in court with a maximum $2,500 fine provided there was also a telecommunications violation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). But, the new sheriff is a big game changer. They can sanction rogue debt collectors with civil penalties ranging from $5,000 to as much as a WHOPPING $1 million dollars per day PER VIOLATION.

Plus now, every single state attorney general has authority to seek civil penalties against debt collectors in federal or state court for violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulations. This essentially means that just in fines, debt collection agencies that don’t have their house in order are bound to get shut down.

OTHER WAYS TO GET EVEN WITH DEBT COLLECTORS…

• Use a free Android phone recording app (click here for article) to help you get even by documenting the violators.

• Hire a debt settlements professional and get on the driver’s seat with some worthy settlements.

• If you suspect your consumer rights were violated by a collection agency, report the violators by calling the CFPB at (855) 411-CFPB (2372) or the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

• You can also call Debt Free League at 1-800-213-9968 for some great tips.