United Recovery Systems review: Annoying multiple weekly calls! 100

Hey, Mr. COLLECTOR!
What a strange post - are you just checking in on these sites and making sure that good things are said about URS? I have just spent a few hours reading all these posts and I know I've seen your name before. I think I recall your previous post being more defensive and cross-attacking that this, which is some kind of public relations pitch. I have received calls from a URS guy and he followed the law and didn't call me more than 3 times a day, but he did call my brother, and probably my mother but we disconnected her phone now that she's in a nursing home. My rep used some pretty sophisticated techniques to try to scare me and get me to pay, he was not over the top, he also tried to guilt me, and when I asked for documentation (that he said was mailed to me and got returned) he got pissed off, checked my address and said, "good luck" bitterly. I didn't say I would not pay. I said I had not decided how, as I am out of work and have no money. He obviously was not happy he couldn't get me to pay 50% of the bill right now. What I am wondering is if the account was truly sold to URS for pennies on the dollar, and whatever they can collect is profit for them, or if they are really working with the credit card company, Bank of America, whose name he keeps mentioning, saying they have already flagged my file for a lawsuit. B of A told me they charged it off. URS seems to indicate that they have long term relationships with their clients. Anyone know if they are working with the credit card companies or just using the CCard company's name as a scare tactic? An earlier post also mentioned that URS has it's own legal dept. (which I would expect after 34 years in business) So why doesn't the rep just say that URS will sue? Why keep mentioning the name of the bank?

Any answers will be appreciated.

If you send URS a letter via Registered mail, with a reciept and they continue to call you REPORT THEM TO THE FTC : Federal Trade Commission.

Once you send DNC letter to a collection agency, they can NOT contact you by phone AT ALL except:

a) to say that they will no longer be contacting you; and
b) to report that they are taking legal action against you.

And, in that last one, they have to ACTUALLY BE IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING LEGAL ACTION, not threatening to do so in some vague and nebulous future.

And don't send the letter to the PO box they give you, no one can sign for it, and they can say they never got it. Send it to their corporate office:

United Recovery Systems
5800 North Course Dr
Houston, TX 77072.

Make sure you mention, in your letter, that you expect all calls to stop and that you will contact them via US Mail when they have sent you all the information regarding the alleged debt. Also provide them with your correct address and let them know that the information you have provided is correct and that there is no reason for them to contact family members or neighbors, except as a harassment tactic.

Let them know that, if they continue, you will contact the FTC, and make good on your promise. And log every time they call, after you get that signed receipt.

Just because you owe money doesn't mean you deserve harassment. No one does, and in this economy -- with unemployment where it is -- there are a LOT of people that owe money. These people are vultures.

URS agents are rude, disrespectfully and dishonest. I have spoke with agents in Texas and Florida and they are completely incompetent in both states. When I ask to speak to their supervisor they hang up the phone. When I start asking questions they cannot answer they yell and scream and hang up the phone. It is hilarious. Larry in Florida, living in the back room of his mother's trailer could hardly contain his anger and frustration when I told him that I had already spoke with the original creditor and had the matter resolved as they made a mistake. I wonder how much commission these low life bottom feeders make.

Listen everyone. The problem comes for you all. The debts are MADE BY the ones that the third party collectors are trying to get in contact with. EACH OF YOU WITH A DEBT WILLING WENT AND APPLIED FOR THE CARD OR LOAN AND DID NOT PAY IT BACK AS PER YOUR AGREEMENT WITH THE COMPANY YOU TOOK THE CREDIT OR LOAN FROM. YOU ARE CHEATING THE COMPANIES YOU BORROWED FROM by not paying the money owed back. Now you are going after the people who are trying to recover the DEBT YOU MADE? If you have a debt that you have not paid on and it gets refered to a collection agency it is because you DID NOT pay your debt. Dont take it out of someone who is trying to recover the money that YOU OWE. The people who are trying to collect the debt are trying to make you pay for something you did. If it does get to a third party collection agency that means you have IGNORED several attempts by the original creditor to contact you and then you are ignoring the people trying to collect a debt. By ignoring the letters and phone calls you ARE REFUSING TO PAY THE DEBT. PAY THE DEBT AND YOU WILL NOT BE CONTACTED BY A COLLECTION AGENCY REGARDING THE DEBT ANYMORE. PAY WHAT YOU OWE.

>BUTTBARRETTBELLA said: YOU ARE CHEATING THE COMPANIES YOU BORROWED FROM by not paying the money owed back. <

Actually, no, not everyone who owes money is trying to cheat the credit card companies. That assumption is rude and just plain inaccurate, and people who think that way are fools.

I am 22 years old and was recently diagnosed with severe depression and bi-polar disorder. I've been in and out of the hospital several times this year, lost my job some time ago, and thanks to that, have indeed fallen behind on my bills. Up until I fell behind, my credit score was 722. United Recovery Systems called my aunt's home phone number, (a number which I myself do not even have and STILL don't--I have always simply called her cell phone). My aunt told me that a woman called looking for me and that she was a debt collector. I called URS back LIVID that they had called a number I wasn't even in possession of, to which they replied "Well it must be on a credit referral or something somewhere because we don't do that." That is bull. First of all, as I told them, I'm not in possession of this number. Secondly, my aunt and I rarely talk. I don't use her name or number on anything for any purpose. That is utterly ridiculous.

Since then they call at least once a day if not more. They do so from a local number (for me 317 is local) despite being located in Houston. I answer the phone every time they call, yet the calls continue. Tonight, I got a call from them at 845pm, and when I answered the phone, it hung up on me. When I called it back, I was dumped into voicemail, and when I finally did get to speak with a person, he told me that "the law says they can call up until 9pm". I have spoken with them every time they've called...which has been every day. I live in a college town and the unemployment rate is ridiculous. Every time they call, I also remind them that I understand that they have a job to do and that I am not refusing to pay, but simply can't right now.

And you know what, BUTTBARRETTBELLA? I take offense to your comment not only for the reason I already stated but also because with your big capital letters in your post and your ranting at these other people, you are -assuming- things, which just makes you look ridiculous. Also, in my experience, typing in all caps like that doesn't further your point, either. That's something a fourteen-year-old on an instant messenger is likely to do.

For the record, -most- people who fall behind and owe money have legitimate reasons for doing so. The unemployment rate right now is higher than it has been in a long, long time. We are in a depression, whether people like to acknowledge it or not, and a lot of people owe money. It's not fun getting those phone calls or having your credit score reamed and your reputation tarnished over something that you can't help, and the harassment tactics that some of these companies use does not help to alleviate an already stressful situation. I just spent three hours reading this thread, and I believe -that- is more the point trying to be made than "Hey guys, let's all think of inventive ways to dodge our debt!"

Regarding the individual who works at URS and just wants us to be all nice and friendly with them and they will be all nice and friendly in return. What a load of crap! I have been getting calls from these idiots for months. They are asking for a completely different person. The first name matches, but the last name is COMPLETELY different. My first name is David. How many David's are there in the country.

I have been nice with them and politely told them they have the wrong person and they say thank you and hang up. Then the SOB's call back again and again!

From URSI's web site and related organizations...

Doug Schultz, CEO of United Recovery Systems
JoAnn Snook, a United Recovery Systems collections manager
Sean Keegan, National Marketing Director
Dr. Richard Faulk, Director of Recruiting and Training
George A. Williams, Chief Financial Officer

Contact: Jim Kelleher, President
United Recovery Systems, L.P.
Phone: [protected] x3141
E-Mail: Jim.Kelleher@UnitedRecoverySystems.com

Collections Information collections@ursi.com
Sales Information sales@ursi.com
IT Department mis@ursi.com

HOUSTON, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- United Recovery Systems, LP, a leading Account Receivables Management (ARM) company, is exhibiting at Expo 3.0, the industry's first live online exhibition. Unlike a traditional tradeshow in which vendors and clients meet face-to-face, Expo 3.0 is conducted totally online. The exhibition is sponsored by InsideARM.com, a leader in providing timely news and perspective to the ARM industry. The exhibition runs one day only, Tuesday, February 16, 2010 from 9AM to 5PM EST.

"Working in debt collection takes a particular individual; it's not what you might think, " says Dr. Richard Faulk, a psychologist who founded his own human resources consulting firm in 1984 and is now the director of recruiting and training at United Recovery Systems. "It's a balance of assertiveness and one's ability to listen and respond appropriately so a resolution can be achieved. No one wants to resolve their obligations with a debt collector they don't like, " he said.

The company's approach in creating a series of "work out" plans for clients has led to substantial growth over the past 24 months, according to the company's national marketing director Sean Keegan.

Houston, Texas (PRWEB) September 17, 2009 -- United Recovery Systems, LP (URS), a leading first- and third-party accounts receivable management firm, announced the addition of Dr. Richard Faulk to its senior management team as Director of Recruiting and Training. He will be responsible for expanding, retaining and further improving the capabilities of URS' world-class collection staff.

Dr. Faulk holds a B.A. from the University of San Diego, a M.Div. from St. Meinrad Seminary, and a Ph.D. from United States International University (now Alliant University). He has been working in the field of industrial psychology for 30 years.

HOUSTON, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- United Recovery Systems, L.P. (URS), a leading first- and third-party debt collection firm, announced it has named George A. Williams as the company's Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Williams brings significant financial services experience to URS.

Sorry to hear about your trouble. If anyone is having issues logging into EXPO 3.0, please contact Jennifer at jminges@kaulkin.com or [protected]. insideARM staff
February 16, 2010

At the FTC, complaints against collection agencies rank second only to those about Identity Theft...
http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/reports/sentinel-annual-reports/sentinel-cy2009.pdf

Rank Category No. of Complaints Percentage of total complaints
1 Identity Theft 278, 078 21%
2 Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection 119, 549 9%

From URSI.com...

Doug Schultz, CEO of United Recovery Systems
JoAnn Snook, a United Recovery Systems collections manager
Sean Keegan, National Marketing Director
Dr. Richard Faulk, Director of Recruiting and Training
George A. Williams, Chief Financial Officer

Contact: Jim Kelleher, President
United Recovery Systems, L.P.
Phone: [protected] x3141
E-Mail: Jim.Kelleher@UnitedRecoverySystems.com

Collections Information collections@ursi.com
Sales Information sales@ursi.com
IT Department mis@ursi.com

HOUSTON, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- United Recovery Systems, LP, a leading Account Receivables Management

(ARM) company, is exhibiting at Expo 3.0, the industry's first live online exhibition. Unlike a

traditional tradeshow in which vendors and clients meet face-to-face, Expo 3.0 is conducted totally

online. The exhibition is sponsored by InsideARM.com, a leader in providing timely news and perspective

to the ARM industry. The exhibition runs one day only, Tuesday, February 16, 2010 from 9AM to 5PM EST.

"Working in debt collection takes a particular individual; it's not what you might think, " says Dr.

Richard Faulk, a psychologist who founded his own human resources consulting firm in 1984 and is now the

director of recruiting and training at United Recovery Systems. "It's a balance of assertiveness and

one's ability to listen and respond appropriately so a resolution can be achieved. No one wants to

resolve their obligations with a debt collector they don't like, " he said.

The company's approach in creating a series of "work out" plans for clients has led to substantial

growth over the past 24 months, according to the company's national marketing director Sean Keegan.

Houston, Texas (PRWEB) September 17, 2009 -- United Recovery Systems, LP (URS), a leading first- and

third-party accounts receivable management firm, announced the addition of Dr. Richard Faulk to its

senior management team as Director of Recruiting and Training. He will be responsible for expanding,

retaining and further improving the capabilities of URS' world-class collection staff.

Dr. Faulk holds a B.A. from the University of San Diego, a M.Div. from St. Meinrad Seminary, and a Ph.D.

from United States International University (now Alliant University). He has been working in the field

of industrial psychology for 30 years.

HOUSTON, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- United Recovery Systems, L.P. (URS), a leading first- and third-party

debt collection firm, announced it has named George A. Williams as the company's Chief Financial

Officer. Mr. Williams brings significant financial services experience to URS.

Sorry to hear about your trouble. If anyone is having issues logging into EXPO 3.0, please contact

Jennifer at jminges@kaulkin.com or [protected]. insideARM staff
February 16, 2010

At the FTC, complaints against collection agencies rank second only to those about Identity Theft...
http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/reports/sentinel-annual-reports/sentinel-cy2009.pdf

Rank Category No. of Complaints Percentage of total complaints
1 Identity Theft 278, 078 21%
2 Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection 119, 549 9%

Brandon Pierce with URS contacted a neighbor asking for information about me.
I told neighbor to tell Brandon not to contact him anymore.

my apologies to you all. but i agree with uniteds tactis. i was a former employee and one of the best on the floor. i used all these tacits to my success. alot of what you people are saying on here, is false as to the claims of "illegal". everything they do is perfectly leagal. they stay well within the boundaries and rights of the law. yes, i agree that sometimes the agents may be overly aggressive, but sometimes people need that little "nudge" in the right direction. oh, and the settlement thing, kid, ur stupid. we are told to give you guys settlements if we think that you arent going to pay at all. thats how we do business. you dont know jack [censor]. the tactic to call the neighbors, thats protected by law. we are able to call residents or "near-bys" if we think we can reach the person. which apparently and thanks to your PROVEN statement up there^ we can. cuz we got our message across. bye law, also, we are allowed to call a person up to five times a day. six...may have been an accident. as for the rest of you, if you need advice or anything. ask me. bobaatari@yahoo.com

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Debt-collectors-sock-it-to-cnnm-4156294800.html?x=0

DEBT COLLECTORS SOCKING IT TO CONSUMERS:

Blake Ellis, staff reporter,

Friday July 9, 2010, 3:01 pm EDT

DEBT COLLECTORS ARE GETTING DESPERATE AND DIRTY.

Harassing phone calls, abusive language and physical violence are becoming a bigger part of business as debt collectors struggle to round up money from people who don't have it.

"The American consumer is really hurting and collectors are having to fight harder to get money, " said Robert Andrews, a senior analyst specializing in the debt industry at research firm IBISWorld.

Complaints of harassment by debt collectors surged 50% to 67, 550 in 2009, according to the Federal Trade Commission. And they are on track to jump 13% this year, based on the number of FTC complaints filed in the first six months.

The No. 1 complaint is repeated calls, and it is not uncommon for collectors to bombard consumers with back-to-back calls for days, weeks, months and even years.

When debt collectors finally get someone on the other end of the phone, they are more likely to use nastier language. Complaints of debt collectors using obscene or abusive language spiked 35% last year.

A 55-year old New York woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said a collection agent called her home repeatedly, personally attacking her and her husband. When she refused to answer the phone, the collector called her estranged sister, an ex-boyfriend and her husband's ex-wife's mother.

"This guy was out of his mind and he kept calling and calling, telling me 'you better talk to me, you deadbeat, '" she said. "He was very threatening and the whole thing was just really unsettling -- it made you wonder who was going to show up at your door."

She had reason to worry, since complaints of debt collectors threatening -- or actually using -- violence more than doubled last year, to 2, 517.

Keary Floyd, an attorney who represents consumers at the Floyd Legal Firm in Atlanta, said that while most of his debt collection cases involve excessive phone calls, one of his recent clients recorded a disturbing phone conversation where a debt collector threatened that he or someone else would come to the client's house to get the money in any way that he could.

"I heard it, and if any phone call was going to worry someone, it would be that one, " said Floyd.

Other aggressive tactics that are becoming more common are debt collectors calling before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., demanding more money than what is owed, revealing a consumer's debt to a third party or threatening "dire consequences" like prosecution, jail time, property seizure or job loss.

These practices are not just inappropriate, but they are illegal under the FTC's Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which has been around since 1977.

An industry representative said the increase in complaints of harassment should not only be attributed to desperate and aggressive collecting agents, but to more consumers trying to cash in on lawsuits.

"Certainly if debt collectors are being more aggressive, they shouldn't be, but it's not fair to characterize the actions of debt collectors as the only reason why there is an increase in complaints -- they're not fully to blame, " said Mark Schiffman, a spokesman for The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

"There's a growing industry of consumer attorneys and savvy consumers who have learned that they can sue a debt collector fairly easily and collect very easily, " he added.

Consumers are able to take a collector to state or federal court for harassment, according to the FTC. If the debtor wins the case, the collector is required to pay for any damages caused by the harassment, such as lost income and medical bills.

Even if debtors can't prove monetary damages but are able to prove harassment, they can receive up to $1, 000 and are reimbursed for the court and attorney fees.

I hope this stops this joke of a collection agency from calling me too. I don't even owe anything! They're too stupid to update their records. How 'bout that!?

I have had them call me several times and when I mean several times in one day I received over 60 calls, the next day I received over 45 and today which is only 10 AM I have received 30 calls.Well my husband and I do not owe money to the company the say we do, and when I was asking information they told me that I had to send money. They threated my Husbands career and my house, then the told me that we should know better than to do this with our bills. I asked if I could send them the information about our paid bill and they told me NO. They said that I needed to pay the bill and then turned around and tried to access my bank account from which I paid the bill that I so owed. These people are rude a fraud and they dont listen. Why cant they be closed down?

I hate URS. Yes, we do owe a debt, and we do intend to pay, but if the money isn't here then what do you expect? They have turned down multiple offers of payment installments, expecting me to come up with nearly $5K all at once, when I have already submitted financial documents proving that our monthly debt exceeds our monthly income by nearly 15% thanks to a recent career change after my former employer went bankrupt. If you need the money so badly, can't you work with me? I want to get it taken care of, but if the best I can do isn't going to be good enough, then I'm all out of suggestions.

Stick it on my credit report and see how much damage that'll do to me after you and about a dozen other creditors have done the same. I have a house, I have a car, and I don't want any more credit cards, so ha. Someday, after my financial situation has stabilized, I will contact you to pay the balance. Until then, leave me alone.

I owe a few OLD credit cards and am about to have the ability to pay them off. Obviously, I'll try to negotiate a settlement since my credit is already trashed. Who wouldn't. The banks had no problem taking our money without asking when they couldn't pay there bills. So do I feel guilty - hell no. Those days are gone in America - & the banks need to look in the mirror. My problem w/ URS is it's a dance everytime they call. The lady asks me to confirm a bunch of personal information and refuses to even tell me a general reason for the call before I do. So I don't know if it's a scam or a legitimate collection effort. Anyways, I have 3 to pay and I'm going to contact the credit card companies directly. I ran up the debt and realize I owe the debt - no issues there. It just seems you should get some sort of certified mail from the credit card company saying "your debt of $xxxx on credit card xxxx has been relinquished to 'so and so collection company @ the following address and phone number' ". How do you confirm the collection effort is truly settling the debt of the specific creditor? Like I said, I will have the funds next week to pay the folks & I want written verification that the debt is specifically resolved. It's like a Catch 22. But I'm going to start by calling the original creditor directly. Any advice from collectors or others folks?

This is the legal settlement for a 240k fine for them. There is a required hotline to compain within the document. http://www.ftc.gov/os/2002/04/unitedconsent.pdf
URS (United Recovery Systems) Complaint hotline mandated by FTC = Contact Center address is 3100 South Gessner, Suite 400, Houston, TX 77063 and the
toll-free number is [protected].

This is the legal settlement for a 240k fine for them issued by FTC. There is a required hotline to compain within this document. http://www.ftc.gov/os/2002/04/unitedconsent.pdf
URS (United Recovery Systems) Complaint hotline mandated by FTC = Contact Center address is 3100 South Gessner, Suite 400, Houston, TX 77063 and the
toll-free number is [protected].

Officers

Douglas B Schultz CEO and Director at United Recovery Systems, Inc.
MEMBER at Smiley Management, LLC General Partner at Summerset Enterprises, L.P.

Dan R Cantine President at United Recovery Systems, Inc. Houston, TX

Glenn Osuch PRESIDENT at United Recovery Systems, Inc. Houston, TX

George Williams Chief Financial Officer at United Recovery Systems, Inc. Houston, TX

Jim Wiseman Treasurer at United Recovery Systems, Inc. Houston, TX

Bill Schneider Director at United Recovery Systems, Inc. Houston, TX

John Westerhausen Secretary at United Recovery Systems, Inc. Houston, TX

Jim Crawford Vice-President at United Recovery Systems, Inc.

Attorneys for United Recovery Systems (URS)
ANTHONY E. DIRESTA, Esq.
Fulbright & Jaworski
801 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Washington, D.C. 20004

Federal Trade Commission Attorney who sued URS
THOMAS B. CARTER, Attorney
Texas Bar No. [protected]
Southwest Region
Federal Trade Commission
1999 Bryan Street, Suite 2150
Dallas, Texas 75201
[protected]
[protected] (facsimile)

Let your voice be heard and they will be fined again by FTC

To all you ignorant, self righteous people trumpeting "just pay your bill, get a job and stop spending money you don't have" I have a degree in science, I have 2 jobs, I own a business, my husband is an engineer and has 2 jobs. Why can't we pay our credit card bills right now? I was diagnosed with cancer. That caused me to lost time at work and built up thousands in med bills. All I asked for was time to get back on my feet again. I'm still on chemo and URS is harrassing me, adding more stress to my life and not helping me get well. All I can say to you people is STFU. Someday it could be you.

All of you are ###. Man up and pay you bills. If you can't afford it then don't spend it or apply for it.

I have received a letter from URS regarding an unpaid balance on my T-Mobile account & the letter is offering me to pay 55% of the total balance as a settlement . Then I called them up they said it's better for me if i pay the full balance instead of the 55% because it's gonna be reported for the credit berue that i had a settlement with them & she stated that it's not good for my credit history. I am not sure what should i do, shall i pay the full balance or pay 55% of the balance as they offered in the letter?! Is it truely gonna affect my credit history if i pay the 55%? I have a good credit history I always pay my bills .. but I was out of the country for few months & my sister didn't pay her bills & her phone bill was under my name, that's why t-mobile sent it to a collection agency ..