NCO Financial Systems Consumer Reviews - Page 2

PENNSYLVANIA -- I have read the entire first page of reviews and complaints regarding this company. No need for me to read further. I have received numerous phone calls from NCO Financial in the past month to get in touch with my husband who is never home because of his over the road trucking job. I've advised them of this, but they still check in. I've offered to speak to them before, but they gave a speech about their policy regarding only speaking to the debt holder due to the federal privacy act. I was always told it was "personal business."

Well, today they called and again he's not home so I guess the federal privacy speech went out the window because they started chatting away giving me details of his overdue account and asking me to set up a payment plan. Well, I told her I could not pay in one lump sum today, but I did agree to the $50/month repayment plan, however I would set it up through online Bill Pay with my bank. This would allow my bank to send them a designated amount that we agreed to directly to NCO each month.

I refused to share my bank account/routing number with her and stated for fear of identity theft. She assured me the transactions were secure. I told her no company is exempt from unlawful misuse of personal information. If they can send me something in writing that would guarantee that, I may consider sharing my personal financial information, but not on the say so from someone I don't know and a company I am not familiar with. At any rate, the collections rep refused my offer and stated they would pursue with reporting it to the credit bureaus.

I thought I would share my experience. The woman was neither rude nor kind. She was "business-like." I guess I got lucky there. At any rate, I called the people we actually owed the money to and I've offered a payment schedule I could handle to them to satisfy my debt to which they kindly stated that would be acceptable. I have taken the advice of a previous poster in here regarding the federal letter which I generated immediately and will mail out to them certified with receipt.

You know, we incur debt due to various reasons in life. Ultimately we will also be responsible for that debt no matter whose hand it falls into or how much time passes. That is what directly affects our credit report/rating, not the company who's handling our account. It is their obligation to report it. A collection's agency purpose is to provide a final effort to collect a debt before it reaches your credit report so it's usually in your best interest to satisfy the debt. However, with the rising concerns of identity theft, no company is exempt from an unlawful employee misusing confidential information for personal gain.

How often that happens, we'll never know but it's for certain the risk is present. With that type of access, it's too good to pass up for some people. So what do we do when we really want to satisfy a debt but don't want to compromise our personal financial information? Well, if you truly owe the money they cannot refuse you sending them money to repay your debt if you send it on your own. If you do that, I would always send it certified and with return receipt. That is your proof payment was sent and received. I would also keep a copy of the payment you sent and a letter as well as any banking transactions to go with it.

On the payment I would indicate your policy/account number related to the debt (not your bank). I would suggest you send money order or cashier's check instead of personal check to keep your personal banking information secure completely. This also prevents any bounced payments since money orders are prepaid. Please make sure this will be accepted otherwise you've wasted your time and money.

If available, you may also try online Bill Pay through your bank. You'll need your account # for the collections agency, their full business name, address, phone number and payment amount. Of course you can also call them and ask to pay a certain amount via credit card. If they refuse, then ask for a supervisor. They are the ones bugging you to pay your bill. Too bad if it's not the way they want it. Paying a bill shouldn't be a hassle if one really wants to fulfill their debt obligation. That is the primary function of their business. If that doesn't work, seek legal advice. There are various sources online and some local offices will take the time to give you direction.

In the end, we'll never know what started this consumer war between debtors and collections agencies. The general opinion regarding collections agencies are "pushy" people who will do whatever it takes to get your debt settled. It makes the collection agencies money to settle a debt. They buy delinquent accounts from companies who cannot get people to pay their debts. If you incur a debt for any reason, say hospital, they generally give you 90 days to pay your bill. After that, they forward it to collections.

That is to say your account is "sold" to a collections agency to then collect the debt. They get paid to collect that debt. That would mean the company would have to be aggressive in obtaining payment for that debt so you get the numerous calls for debt collection. Somewhere along the line, this aggressive way of doing business has gone beyond customer service and grown into threats, name calling, demeaning conversations, misrepresentation, etc. I'm not saying all that is reflective of NCO, but I've dealt with a few other companies that have done so. The collections market is competitive.

Bottom line is, don't incur debt if you don't have to. Crawling out from underneath is a very nasty job. Nothing justifies their treatment of people, but they won't stop. So instead of complaining, let it be a new revelation to stop debt putting yourself in debt and get rid of collections agencies for good. Only one who will care about you truly is "YOU."

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- Last Saturday 5/12/07 - I received a bill that was for my father for $6500.00 (after all fees were assessed) that he supposedly made in 2005. The only problem is my father died 7 years ago this May. The original amount was a credit card I am assuming because they won't send me anything information on the account or who originally sent it either. The original bill was for approximately $2,200.00. The bill my father received from NCO was $6500.00. Penalties and all.

First, this was the first time any bill was ever sent or we heard of, and especially since he was dead at the time of the original bill, which I tried explaining that to the very arrogant woman, and tell her he did not owe this as he was dead at the time this was made. Besides calling me a liar, which was pretty much insensitive, the lady (who by the way, talk about a dead beat she was) wouldn't even listen to me. She first tried to hang up on me and I told her she had better not that I needed to get this settled.

My husband said it doesn't make any difference - he is dead and they will never get any of the money they billed for but I believe that this wrong and it is the principle of the matter. I was defending my father's good name, since he did pay his bills on time and was a model citizen and no Mr. NCO financial person that was complaining about cry babies. You are 100% wrong.

There are times when people have problems beyond their control and cannot help what happens, however, in this case it was absolutely wrong as my father never made the debt in the first place and your dead beat company that you are so proud of wouldn't even listen. It was obviously an identity scam/theft which was made after he died and I understand happens all the time. It doesn't seem to matter that they are going after the wrong person for the money. And what is really so funny about this is NCO financial was scammed too.

NCO purchased the original debt so they are out whatever they paid for it as I spoken to my attorney and he said by law they cannot harass me or send anything to him, especially since it obviously is not his debt. Of course upon telling NCO of this they refused and wanted my power of attorney for my Dad. Hey, NCO I am not as stupid as you are if you think I am giving you my POA.

I have contacted my attorney and he will be contacting you. People these are the true scumbags as they obviously cannot get a halfway decent job themselves or they would not be working for this terrible place. We all need to contact our attorney general's office to stop this scam for good. I won't let my father be scammed even in death. Shortribs in Texas.

BRICK, NEW JERSEY -- After months of non-stop phone calls from NCO at precisely 8:30 AM EVERY MORNING, I had finally graduated and had started my first full-time job. Since I was finally able to make payments toward my debt, I called NCO and asked to set up a plan. They were nice enough on the phone, at least when they were trying to get me to set up post-dated checks (which is illegal, everyone out there). Since post-dated checks was the only way NCO would allow me to set up a payment plan, I had no choice.

For the next few months my payments were taken from my checking account like clockwork. One day I was called and offered a settlement that was too good to pass up. I borrowed the money the next day - those slimeballs made sure I know it was a "limited time offer" and HAD TO GET THEM THE MONEY BEFORE THE END OF THE WEEK. Well I did, and I called them with the UPS tracking code just like they asked.

Now, here's where the story gets good (if you're even still reading then thanks! This was more for me to vent my anger) - ** at NCO had assured me my payment for this month would not be deducted from my account, so long as I got them the money for the settlement by the end of the week. Well the day of payment rolled around and wouldn't you know it - the money was taken from my checking account!! I called, furiously, and was handed off back and forth between rude reps until finally I was able to convey to one of these mental midgets that I had already settled my account.

Finally I reached **, a good twenty minutes later (and this is dealing with REAL people, not an automated system!!!). She offered NO apology, basically her explanation was "someone screwed up." She said they could refund the money, but they needed me to fax them a copy of the check as well as a copy of my statement showing the post-dated check had cleared.

Yes, that was exactly what I wanted to do after a long day at the office - stop at the bank and try to get the ** there to fax something to the ** at NCO. Well the bank was closed, so that meant printing out the statement and copy of check from my online banking and running across the street to the pharmacy to pay $3 to fax everything over.

After waiting a good half hour (I should note that ** told me if I faxed everything to her by the end of the day my refund would be issued the next day) I called and got ** (another twenty minutes with the mental midgets). **'s response? "Oh.. I haven't even walked into the fax room yet." Well, this didn't surprise me ONE BIT. When I asked if she could call me after retrieving the fax, she said "I'm sure it's there." So, no call.

Two days later I called NCO, got ** on the phone, and asked the status of my refund. ** told me it had gone to accounting, and would probably be issued Monday or Tuesday (it was Thursday, by the way - they had received my fax on Tuesday). But wait, "issued?" Silly me, I had assumed they would just credit my checking account. Nope, turns out they are mailing me a check. When I asked if they were overnighting it to me, they hesitated, put me on hold, apparently checked with a supervisor and responded "I believe we can do that." I WOULD HOPE SO!

Anyway, moral of the story? 1) NCO is a bunch of slimeballs. 2) They will make sure you pay THEM on time, but you getting money back from them? That's another story. 3) There is no avoiding any of it, so enjoy!

NCO Group CEO Makes Offer to Buy Company for around $1 billion. May 16, 2006 NCO Group (Nasdaq: NCOG) today announced that its Board of Directors has received an offer from NCO Chairman and CEO Mike Barrist, in a letter sent Monday, to purchase all outstanding shares of the firm for $27.50 each in cash. The Board said that they plan on meeting today and will form a special committee to evaluate the offer.

Barrist has partnered with One Equity Partners II on the deal. According to the letter from Barrist, One Equity manages over $5 billion in capital and has “extensive experience with management-led leveraged buyouts.” Barrist also stated that he and his group have received financing from Morgan Stanley to complete the deal. According to NCO's first quarter earnings release, the firm had 36,259,000 diluted shares outstanding as of March 31. Based on those numbers, the total offered for all shares in the letter is a little more than $997 million. NCO's stock jumped more than 40% in early trading on Tuesday.

The text of the letter sent to the NCO Group Board of Directors is below:

May 12, 2006
CONFIDENTIAL - Sent Via Federal Express

Board of Directors NCO Group, Inc. 507 Prudential Road Horsham, Pennsylvania 19044

Gentlemen:

I propose to acquire by merger all of the outstanding common stock of the Company for $27.50 per share, on the terms and conditions more fully set forth below (the "Proposed Transaction"). This price represents a 42% premium above today's closing price of $19.36 and a 33.8% premium above the 90-day average price of $20.56 per share.

I intend to partner in this transaction with One Equity Partners II, L.P. One Equity Partners II and its affiliated funds manage over $5 billion in capital, have acquired over 20 portfolio companies for aggregate consideration of over $7 billion, and have extensive experience with management-led leveraged buyouts. Given the extensive work that has already been completed by One Equity and Morgan Stanley, the fact that we have committed financing and our collective knowledge of the Company and its industry, I believe we can quickly and with great certainty complete an acquisition of the Company at what I think is a very attractive price.

The Proposed Transaction would be financed through a combination of approximately $388 million of equity and approximately $815 million of debt. Morgan Stanley has provided to One Equity Partners II a commitment for the full amount of the debt financing (including, if necessary, a bridge facility) required to fund the Proposed Transaction which One Equity Partners II is prepared to accept if we move forward with the Proposed Transaction. A copy of Morgan Stanley's commitment is enclosed.

I would make a significant investment in the transaction and would expect to provide other members of the Company's senior management team with the opportunity to participate as well. I would continue as chairman and CEO of the Company following the transaction, and I expect that our senior management team would also continue with the Company.

I know you are aware of my strong belief that the Company would be best served by a prompt resolution of this process. Accordingly, if we promptly enter into the Proposed Transaction, our proposed merger agreement would expressly permit the Company to solicit superior alternative transactions for a period of 21 days after execution of the merger agreement (the "Go Shop Period") and, at any time prior to shareholder approval of the transaction, to terminate our merger agreement to accept a superior proposal, subject to customary "matching rights." Further, if the Company terminates our merger agreement to accept a superior proposal that was received during the Go Shop Period, the Company would be required to pay a break up fee equal to only 1% of the transaction value, plus reimbursement of actual expenses. If the Company terminates our merger agreement to accept a superior proposal received after the Go Shop Period, the Company would be required to pay a break fee of 3% of the transaction value. Under this arrangement, the Company will be able to guarantee a high premium value for the Company without foreclosing the possibility, which I believe is unlikely, of obtaining an even greater value from a third party.

This proposal is subject to satisfactory completion of confirmatory due diligence by One Equity Partners and Morgan Stanley and the negotiation and execution of acceptable definitive documentation. Based on discussions I have had with One Equity Partners and Morgan Stanley, I am confident that their diligence will confirm their assumptions. Further, given the extensive work they have performed to date, I believe that, with your cooperation, their diligence can be completed within 7 to 10 days, concurrently with the negotiation and finalization of definitive documentation.

I anticipate that you will promptly establish a special committee of independent directors to review this proposal and consider how the Company should proceed. To facilitate this process I enclose a copy of our proposed merger agreement.

Of course, no binding obligation shall arise with respect to the proposal or any transaction unless and until definitive documentation has been appropriately approved, executed and delivered by the parties.

I believe that this proposal is in the best interest of the Company, its shareholders and its employees and I look forward to discussing this proposal with you in the near future.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Michael J. Barrist

Michael J. Barrist

Hello everyone! I have been driven mad lately by NCO. Sometimes I feel like finding them in a dark alley and **. Here's my story (maybe someone can give me ANY advice on how to proceed?). First, I live in Montreal and I am a student. Because I am a US citizen, I am required by Quebec universities to pay for the international student health insurance that they provide every year. In 2004, I was a student at Concordia University and was insured by SunLife Financial. They were excellent in terms of benefits. I had full coverage for most things, including 100% coverage of hospital bills.

Anyway, on Aug. 3, 2004, I had to go to the emergency room of a hospital. They took my insurance info, etc and I thought that was that. A few months later, I get a call from someone in their accounting department asking me if I could send them an insurance form from my insurance company filled out with my information as SunLife had told them they can't be reimbursed without this form. I did this and even offered to go over to the hospital to help them with the rest of the form, since it was a French-speaking hospital and they seemed to have difficulty understanding spoken and written English. They said "no no, it's OK, we'll take it from here."

Again ,no word for several months... Come around February 2005, I get another call saying there was some other mix-up and they need my info again. At this point, I feel sorry for them thinking it's probably a language issue, and I even offer to pay the bill MYSELF and then ask my insurance to reimburse me since I knew I was more capable filling out the forms and such then they were. The hospital said "NO, we handle these bills, everything will be taken care of, it will take a few months (60 days) to clear it up but don't worry."

I called SunLife to see if they had made a claim and SunLife said they had no record of it, but yes, the hospital should be the one to make the claim. So now fast forward to the summer of 2005. At this point, I think the bill is settled. WRONG, some ** from NCO starts contacting me telling me they never paid. I am super nice with him, give him all my insurance info and he says he'll take care of it. Again, I call SunLife and they assure me that under the plan, I was covered 100% for hospital bills, just send it and they will pay.

To make a long story short, it turns out the hospital took too long to put in the claim, since (in a streak of bad luck), my insurance for the 2003-2004 school year ran out Aug 4, 2004 (a day after I went to the emergency room) and any claims needed to be sent in within 90 days of the end of my insurance to be paid. Yes, sure, I was automatically insured again by my school for the next year, but since this occurred in the previous insurance cycle, the 90 days still holds.

Anyway, the NCO guy was pleasant at first when he thought he would get his money, but now he is insisting that the insurance people won't pay, and it's my responsibility... screaming at me, calling me a million times a day, etc. I even got a letter from SunLife that a claim was put in but they cannot pay it as it was not submitted within the 90 day timeframe.

At first I found the NCO guy amusing since he got so upset. But now he doesn't leave messages, except calls about 2 times an hour and hangs up when the machine picks up. I don't think it's my fault that the hospital didn't put in the claim in a timely manner! I know SunLife would have paid (since they said they would when I asked and they paid my other hospital bills!!) and I was covered, but now this moron is harassing me for close to $700 which I, as a student, don't have! That's why I pay for insurance every year for god's sake!

I want the NCO guy to take me to court so I can explain this to the judge, rather than have him call me since I can't reason with him. He lies and tells me the company won't pay because I am not covered for this bill, says it's my duty, etc... Says the same thing over and over (actually, screams it). Any advice on how to proceed? Does he have the right to keep calling like this? I won't call him back anymore because I see no point in him screaming the same stuff over and over. And I don't think I should be out 700 dollars because someone in accounting didn't do their job. I tried my best to help!

I am in the process of cleaning up my credit of bad debts that I opened in college or shortly thereafter. I came across a collection account of my credit report for a Bellsouth telephone/DSL account dating back to 2003. Neither NCO nor Bellsouth had sent any correspondence to me in the past; they sent correspondence to an old address that I haven't lived at in 3 years. It'€™s amazing they can add accounts to my credit report, yet they do not review my credit report for my current address.

In January of 2006, I sent NCO a certified letter (return receipt requested) making a settlement offer the account. If I would not have pulled my credit report I would not have known NCO had the debt. I did not receive a response even though someone in their office signed for it. I proceeded with cleaning up other accounts.

On March 16, 2006 I called NCO and offered to make a settlement on the account. She stated that Bellsouth did not do settlements. I called a few more times over the next several days hoping to get a different answer from a different representative. They all stated the same thing, "Bellsouth doesn't do settlements".

On March 23, 2006 I spoke with a different rep with an Australian accent. I asked about the settlement and she stated "Bellsouth won't settle". Since I couldn'€™t get them to settle I figured I would ask for them to delete the collection account once I paid it in full. Even if they didn't agree to it, it was worth asking. The worst they could say was no. So I listened to her spiel about how I owe the debt and I should pay it, blah, blah, blah. I begin to explain to her, that since I am paying it in full can they remove the collection account. She says that can be worked out once I pay the debt. Then she asks me to do a check by phone.

I don'€™t do check by phone and I don't do Western Union. She becomes irate and tells me I don'€™t want to pay. I say I wouldn'€™t be asking for a settlement if I had no intention on paying. I asked her for the address where I can send payment and she becomes more irate. She then goes on to say that I have made promises to pay in the past and that I hadn't paid. Now she is lying and I am becoming upset. I have not spoken to anyone in her office about promising to pay anything. I ask again if she could send me something in writing stating I owe the debt and that when I pay the debt this will resolve the matter. She became more irate when I asked for something in writing.

I speak to a supervisor and he says they cannot send anything in writing because they do not want to be sued. I say it is ridiculous that they can do that. I don'€™t care what is in my credit report. I'€™m not send a dime to anyone with something in writing. He then goes on to say they sent out a statement and I can pay it then. These clowns will wait until I am good and ready before I give them a nickel. I am now in the process of contact with OC and pay them.

I am writing to report on the negative experience I had doing business with NCO Financial systems. My overall experience was not terrible, however, the most recent phone call was extremely unpleasant. I was contacted by a representative of the organization on behalf of Bank of America. I was not aware of any debt that I owed to Bank of America, but I had recently closed an account, so I assumed that it may have been something that did not post until after the account was closed.

The first representative that I spoke with was very nice and professional. She explained to me who she represented, who the debt was for, and that she would like to try to settle this debt with me. She advised me that I owed around $430.00 but could settle the account for $370, payable in two post dated checks of Dec 27 and Jan 27. I agreed and proceeded to give her my account information. On Dec 27, my checking account was debited for the agreed amount.

I was again contacted around the middle of January from another representative. He contacted me at my work and said that he tried to contact my bank to verify the funds, but the bank had never heard of me. He then asked for my account information again. I asked him to hold on and explained to him that I was at work and I had some people to tend to and I would be back with him. I placed him on hold and when I returned to the phone, he had hung up. I did not hear from anyone else again, and I did not have the phone number to call back.

A few weeks later (around Feb 10th) I was again contacted by an NCO representative while I was at work. He told me this time that he was calling to settle a debt of from Bank of America. I advised him that I had already made arrangements with NCO to handle this. He said that the last account information that I provided was not right and that I needed to provide him with alternate payment. Again, I was at work and asked him to hold while I retrieved my account info. I again returned to the phone to find that he hung up again.

Now today, the same gentleman contacted me (at work again) and asked me to settle the debt in full for $277.99. I advised him again that the payments were for $185.33 and he said that since the second check did not clear and that since I had hung up on him the two previous times that he could not settle for less than $277.99 and that I had to present a credit card payment in full at that time.

I asked him if we could set it up for a draft on 3/1/06 at which time my taxes would be there because I could not cover the $277.99 right now - doing so would leave me without any funds in my account. He said "No it won't because NCO did not draft the $185.00 out on Jan 27th so that should still be in there". DUH! He just said that he had to debit $277.99!

I asked again why the funds from the postdated check could not be verified and he said "because the account number was not recognized". I explained to him that I had not had this problem with the first transaction and why could he not pull my previous check and verify the number that way. He said that was just not how things worked and that he would not take another check from me anyway.

I finally decided to settle the account in full with him, because I was going to make sure that my credit report indicated that I paid in full and not charged off or settled for less than full. I gave the rep my card number and apparently he could not type very fast, so he told me to slow down and start all over with my account number.

At the end I asked him if there was anything else I could do for him because I needed to get back to work and he said "Look lady you don't have to be like this. It's not my fault that you were uncooperative and we voided your agreement. That will teach you not to put us on hold". Sad to say that he had taken what was left of my self control. I asked him to provide a receipt and he said "Sure but I cannot guarantee that it will get there". I then told him not to contact me anymore about this account or my lawyer would be contacted.

Unfortunately, this is not the first collector I have encountered, but by far the biggest jerk in the industry. If I am ever to be contacted by NCO again, I will snail mail all payments and will refuse any phone interaction. When faced with a debt, I do my part and pay it back, although it may not be as quick as they want it. However I do not deserve to be treated as if I am a third rate criminal!

NEW JERSEY -- I would have never guessed that I would find so many complaints against NCO. I'm so glad that I came across this site. For the past few weeks, I have come home to find several "hang ups" on my answering machine. I'm talking at least 7 attempted calls per day, every day and no messages. Finally, last week I was awaken by a phone call from one of NCO's collection agents. He identified NCO as the company that he was calling from and the alleged company that he was calling on behalf of. He then proceeded to go into the details of the debt that I supposedly owe.

At no point did this individual verify with whom he was speaking with or ask for the usual last four digits of a SS, etc. I immediately asked him if NCO has sent out anything in writing and stated that I will not disclose any personal information via telephone with any company that I do not know. I also stated that I will contact the alleged creditor to find out what was going on and why I'm being contacted by NCO. This man must have tried every trick in the book to get me to commit to a payment. He even told me that if I contacted the original creditor, they would not speak with me and would forward my call directly to NCO.

Once he realized that I was not going to budge, he then stated that I was basically telling him that I refuse to cooperate and have no intention of paying my bill and that he will recommend my account to their legal department. I said goodbye and hung up. Two days later another individual from NCO contacted me and identified himself as an attorney in the "legal" department. What?!?!? Again, this individual did not verify whom he was speaking with and proceeded to go into the details of an account balance.

I said absolutely nothing and agreed to nothing. I then stated the same as previous, that I want to speak with the creditor in question and I want something in writing from NCO. He then asks me when I was going to call and what I was going to say to them, to which I replied "That is none of your business." Out of nowhere, a collection manager jumps on the phone and identifies himself as this other guys' manager. (Hmmm...now why would the "collection" manager be this "attorney's" manager???) I later found out that they lied and this so-called "attorney" was another collector.

This "manager" was the worst of them all. He was arrogant, rude and even more unprofessional than the other two individuals. He told me that my request for a statement or something in writing from NCO was not going to happen and that I was making "impossible" demands. He constantly raised his voice, lectured me on his theory of credit and attempted to bully me into making a payment directly to them. He was making statements such as "this call is not about the money", "I don't care if you pay your bill or not", "** credit company wants nothing to do with you and would prefer that you don't pay them", etc.

The whole time, I'm listening to the laughter going on in the background from his audience of so-called "professional collectors". I was so appalled and bothered by NCO's unprofessional and aggressive harassment and strong-arm tactics, that I told this man that I was going to contact the Better Business Bureau and any other agency necessary and file a complaint. He then yelled something about how he doesn't care and it's not going to bother him and hung up on me (only to call back twice in a 10-minute time frame). Well we'll see about that! I'm not going to allow them to get away with their lack of business etiquette.

To make a long story short, regardless of whether or not someone owes a debt, companies such as NCO have no right to harass or make threats. This is why it is very important to KNOW YOUR RIGHTS under the FDCPA. You can go online and find a ton of information on how to handle and if applicable take action against these type of debt collectors. Simply put, you do not have to give out personal information or discuss anything until you know who you are dealing with and why they are contacting you. Any professional business will have no problem putting their intent in writing and providing proof.

NCO ignores your rights because they get away with it, which is painfully obvious after reading all of the complaints against them. Stay one step ahead of them. Nothing turns them off more than realizing that you are not afraid to go toe to toe with them LEGALLY and not by wasting your time arguing with them in a verbal tug or war, which they are notorious for.

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- Hi. I have been contacted by the NCO people. They are very nasty. They threatened to hurt my credit and garnish my wages, etc. If it was a real debt that would be one thing but I don't owe this. I have spent the last two days researching this.

This is the story. I received a call and they told me that I had a debt with Sprint of $34.54. They immediately demanded that I pay it over the phone. I said "wait a minute. What is this about? They then became very nasty. Told me they would report it to the credit bureaus if I did not pay today. I refused to pay. They said some very nasty things to me then. I ask for the girl's name and phone number, which she provided. I called Sprint next... local. They said "nope. Don't owe us anything." So I tried sprint long-distance. Nope didn't owe them a thing either... just as I thought.

I called the NCO Financial people back. A different girl then spoke nasty to me again. I was able to get an account number out of the girl and verify that it was for long distance service. I called Sprint again. I gave them the account number. And it was for a real account just not in my name. Sprint would not tell me whose name or info on it... just that it had a balance due. All I could confirm with Sprint was that it was somehow associated with my phone number.

I then call NCO again. Yep you guessed it nasty call... but I was able to get out of them that it was named (Sprint tom LP - twc.com) address listed was 6580 Sprint parkway Kansas. Now with this info I once again called Sprint. I gave Sprint the account number and the name on account and address, now they talked to me. I was able to find out that this is billed to Time Warner cable. Now I had to call Time Warner cable to see why they hadn't paid. TWC said that I was all paid and current never late. They were unable to provide me with whom actually paid Sprint.

So I called sprint back and asked who received TWC money. I was able to talk to a girl that was able to say that this bill should have never been sent out and sure not for me to hear from a collection agency. I then tried to provide this info to NCO. They seemed to be listening then they just hung up.

Now Sprint said that this would be pulled from collections within 48 hours and that they couldn't provide me with anything in writing to help protect me from adverse actions of NCO. I am worried that NCO has already started some sort of adverse action against my credit and me. This sort of thing needs to be dealt with. I have had to waste my time to prove myself clear. Collection agencies should be held accountable for they actions.

GEORGIA -- Let me explain my problem w/ NCO and please let me know if this is a common practice for them. And also if I need to get some legal help. On Feb. 2004, I received a letter from this company saying they were handling the past due accounts for Cingular Wireless. I had a bill of $600 something. The letter stated if I paid them $323.00 they would settle. I called the number on the letter and the person I spoke with (believe it to be their PA office) he stated that I had to take this offer immediately or it would not be offered again. I set up a payment to be take directly out of my checking account. The date it was to be taken out was Feb 20, 2004.

The amount was taken out and I thought all was settled. Guess that is what I get for assuming. I ran my credit report on Nov. 2004. OK, here is where I'm not too observant... But I was looking over it yesterday (Feb 11, 2005) and I noticed that NCO for Cingular Wireless had me listed as not paid on my account. Well, on my credit report there was a Number for the PA office and I had the account number from Cingular Wireless and the Account number from that collection agency. I also have my bank statement, showing that the amount was taken out 2/20/04.

What I have not located at this time is the original letter sent by that company in regards to the "settlement payment" (I have moved since receiving it, and it may be in storage, I am in the process of looking now). Well, I called and spoke to a man named Dwight I believe. And his voice was very familiar to me. I honestly believe it was the same person. I remember our conversation back in 2004 b/c of some work related talk we were doing (at the time I worked in a call center and we were commenting on that type of work). When I told him that I noticed that NCO had not marked me as paid he asked for my account number.

I gave him both numbers and told him that it was a Cingular Wireless account. He couldn't pull up anything w/ the account numbers so then he asked for my social security number, he didn't pull anything up w/ that (Ok, now that HE HAS MY SS WHAT WILL HE DO WITH IT? I NEVER REALIZED THEY WERE BAD AT THIS POINT!!!) He then stated that NCO no longer handles Cingular Wireless account. But then he did state that he would try to do a report and it should appear in 30 days on my credit report as paid. But I couldn't understand how since he didn't have my name or anything.

After that I called Cingular Wireless, and they should me as NOT paying ANYTHING!!! The operator there gave me a number to a NCO office in Alabama. I spoke to a woman there and told her the situation and she directed me to another number. By the time I called that number they were closed for the weekend. Now, guess I have to wait until Monday. All I know is someone took out my $323.00 directly from my bank and I will go to my bank and they can trace that.

After that I guess I need to find my original letter about the settlement. My GF says that may be an employee pocketed my money, but I don't know where the money went as of now. With the problems that you have heard of or encountered, have any been of this nature w/ NCO?