I was a tad depressed today when they attempted to contact me again via auto-dialer and then through their regular number, neither of which I responded to. I became SO disgusted with them, considering how they have broken several laws, and decided to turn things around.
I phoned and told the "receptionist" that I would like to speak to the lawyer, Mrs. Simonsen, who works in the legal department. She responded that there is no " Mrs. Simonsen" but there is a Mrs. Simons.

(I must pause and tell you that I used to be a journalist so I am trained to ask for names and the correct spelling!)

Oh, REALLY, I said, then Mrs. Simons obviously LIED to me during our telephone call on date/day/time and led me to believe that she was a LAWYER. Isn't that illegal? The "receptionist" said it must have been a misunderstanding on my part and I emphaticcally reassured her that, NO, there was NOT a misunderstanding on MY end.

She became extremely flustered and directed me to the legal department where a Mr. Connolly answered the phone. I said I was trying to reach Mrs. Simons and he said he was the only one left in the office and sounded like he couldn't wait to get the heck out of there. (Late Friday afternoon, after all, which I had planned ahead of time. LOL.). I asked him what position Mrs. Simons held in the company and, just like the receptionist, he said she was an Account Manager. Not a lawyer? No. Not a paralegal? No. Hmmm, I inquired, isn't it illegal to portray oneself as a lawyer if one is NOT! He also tried to tell me that there must have been a misunderstanding on my part and I inforned him that I had taken notes during my telephone conversation with Mrs. Simons or whatever the heck she pretended her name was.

I informed him that I was extremely concerned about my conversation with her because she had stated that I was being investigated for fraud, which I know for a fact that I am NOT guilty of, and asked him if he could please look in my file and give me the name of the investigating officer, the contact number, and the case number. He was stuttering by that time and said he couldn't access my file. I asked him how that was possible and repeated my Account # but he said he still could not access my file and tried to give me some hair-brained reason as to why not. I said I found that rather ODD. He couldn't wait to get me off the phone, telling me to contact Mrs. Simons herself.

So I did. Of course I got her voice mail. I left my name, account #, the fact that I had received a letter a few days ago from a law firm they had hired to handle my case, that I had obtained knowledge of her real position in the company, and that she had portrayed herself as being a lawyer during her telephone call to me on month/day/time.

I instructed her that she had until 1PM on Monday, Winnipeg time, to phone me in regard to this fraud charge or I would pay a visit to my local police sation and charge her and her company with extortion. I then phoned the Winnipeg Police Department, discussed this with them and of course they know nada.

I left a second message on Mrs. Simon's voice mail, telling her that I had just spoken to the Winnipeg Police Department, and further emphasized that if I didn't hear from her on Monday then I would be filing extortion charges against her and her company. I reminded her of the exact month, day, and time of her phone call where she accused me of committing fraud and stated I was being investigated, and suggested that it wouldn't be wise on her part to delete the recording of that phone call because the police would want to listen to it.

I just want to clarify that I derive zero satisfaction from discovering firm evidence that a collection agency has not acted within the law. They aren't the first, they won't be the last, but they have been so far out of line that they have earned my wrath. I pity them.

Yes, it appears to be exactly that!
I just received a phone call from some woman from CRM. I normally don't answer my phone when my caller ID displays a private number but I'm expecting an important call about some minor surgery I'm having this month and I thought that might be the call I was expecting.

Anyhoo, she was very rude and aggressive, demanding to know when I was going to pay this account. I told her I was on Disability and simply do not have the money. She got really mad and said that the Disability I receive is also to pay my bills. I told her that the amount I receive barely covers my rent (which is just under $500.00) and that I receive money for food from provincial welfare. I also told her I will no longer discuss my personal business with her company over the telephone and hung up.

LOL over $10,000..... so it is 100% a bluff.

ranzzz - Thanks for your response. I think I'll ignore the letter, too. I understand what a draft is, I just couldn't figure out why they'd be so stupid to pretend that the credit card number is a docket number.

My credit card had a limit of $7,500.00. As of the date of the letter from the lawyer, March 26th, I owe $11,185.23. On January 28th, I owed
$10, 899.88. Collection agencies live for those high interest rates, eh?!

Apparently it is a bluff. Remember it is a "draft". By saying "draft" they avoid breaking the law of forging Queen's documents.

Just continue to ignore them. For over $10,000 they have to sue you over at a divisional court which costs them WAY too much especially you are out of province.

How much do they say they claim for on your "draft statement"?

I finally received a letter in the regular mail yesterday from a lawyer with a law firm in London that Credit Risk Management has retained. It states that they hereby "demand" that I pay the full amount, contact them within ten days from the date of the letter, and go on to describe all the bad things that will happen if I don't. Interesting that the office contact info he provided is CRM's address and phone number in Stratford.

The letter also states that "in the event that Credit Risk Management obtains judgement against you...", etc. When Mrs. Simonsen phoned me a few weeks ago she told me that CRM had ALREADY been authorized by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank to proceed with a lawsuit. Man! Can these people LIE or what?

I am not going to phone them as I am disgusted with CMR's actions, which have been underhanded since the first day they contacted me. Any advice on this or should I just ignore the letter?

Also, I'm really curious about something. On the back of the letter from the lawyer they have typed a Draft Summary of Statement Claim, which shows J.P. Morgan as the plaintiff, myself as the defendant, and a Docket Number which is 16 digits long. This is actually the number that was on my Sears MasterCard. Why would they claim that as a docket number? Is that a method that is meant to scare me, possibly they didn't think I'd recognize it as my account number?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

LOL it's all a joke. Let them sue which I HIGHLY doubt it, you're a out of province debtor which involved too much paperwork and hassle to get you served.

The last payment I made on the card was May 30th, 2006.

angella,
I'll have to google the cost of a phone recorder. Yeah, I thought that dog comment was rich, too! She also asked if I had an entry code and I told her that it was next to my name in the entry. The clear implication was that she was going to have me served in person.

No, I won't get defensive, I'm too disgusted with them for that!

Honestly, if they're using those tactics, they probably won't. Don't have enough info to determine if they CAN nor not, but you you're falling for their tactics. Asking me about dogs would immediately cue me that she was full of (edited for language) and I'd probably start to laugh on the spot.