Abusive Debt Collectors Shut Down by Feds

The Federal Trade Commission shut down a Southern California
debt collection business accusing them of harassing consumers and
small business owners with obscene language and threats. They are
being charged with violating the Federal Trade Commission Act and

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

On Sept 30, the FTC froze
the business operations and seized the assets of this Southern
California debt collection agency. The business is owned by David
M. Hynes Jr. He runs the business along with his wife Loren
Quiroz-Hynes and operated under different names. These names
included Commercial Investigations Inc., Joseph, Steven &
Associates, Specialized Debt Recovery, Forensic Case Management
Services Inc. and Rumson, Bolling & Associates.

This company has been
accused of
harassing consumers. In one case, the debt collectors told a
woman if she did unable to pay the balance due on her daughter’s
funeral that they were going to dig her up and hang her from a
tree. They are also accused of threatening to take her dog and eat
him.

This is good news for the
Los Angeles County, but will it stop abusive practices in the rest
of California or impact other states? For quite some time now, we
have seen collectors with very similar tactics trying to collect
old payday loans. We have even had our own run-in with the Rumson
Bolling company. I wrote an article in our quarterly new letter
which can be found at our websitewhich
discussed our encounters with this and similar companies. Consumers
should be aware of these scams and armed with enough knowledge to
protect themselves.

Do you have collection
agencies contacting you? Check our website for a free case review or give us a call. We can help you determine if
they are violating your rights
under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

To read more, click here