I've reported this company to both the FTC as well as the Illinois Attorney General's Office for harrassment and unlawful business practice. <br />
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I'll just hit the highlights of my interactions with them - before today, I had NEVER heard of them or interacted with them in anyway.<br />
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- Sporadic phone calls. Whenever I answered, no one responded on the other end and then they would hang up. After two occurrences of this, I called the number on my caller ID. No identification of who they were - just a request for a "reference" number. Reference to what? Apparently a credit card company (who I have been sending payments to) got greedy and turned my information over to this third party collection company to try to get more. Very annoying but hopefully this can be cleared up right?<br />
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- I requested a "validation of debt" letter from them. Any legitimate collections business knows what this is. By law, a collections agency is required to send a letter advising you of the purpose of their contact and the amount of debt they are collecting. Such a letter is (hopefully) on their company letterhead with contact information, a detailed process on how dispute should work, and your reference/account number. The person I spoke to acted like he never heard of it. He needed to go speak to his manager. In the meantime, can we set up payment? Absolutely not. I needed verification that this was a legit business. He said he could give me any detail I wanted regarding my credit card activity within the last 4 months. I told him a person could theoretically look through someone's garbage and find an old statement or hack someone's online info with the same information. I was told the manager was "busy" but that he said a letter was sent out to me and they wouldn't send another one. When was it sent out? They couldn't tell me. The contact said my credit card company would've sent it to me. I asked him if his company was a part of my credit card company. He said "no". I told him that I needed something from *his* company - Credit Services Incorporated - if they wanted any payment sent from me directly to them.<br />
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- Threatening behavior: Apparently, the manager was "busy" silently listening in our phone call and suddenly interjected into the conversation. He said they sent a letter. I asked for another one to be sent because it was never received. He said they weren't going to do it and informed me they were "disconnecting" the call because I was being difficult and refusing to pay. Furthermore, they threatened to report it to my bank (how the hell would they know my banking information?)<br />
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- More harrassing phone calls: after I contact the original credit card company and complain, things are "cleared" up. However, within the next hour after the call, I receive TWO more calls from CSI. The first one (because I recognize their number on my phone by now) was once again no one on the other end then a disconnect. Within 10 minutes later, another call with a live person, wanting to discuss setting up payment arrangements. I start to explain that I am working with the original creditor, I'm informed that my call is being recorded as "refusal" to pay and I'm hung up on.<br />
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I am sending four "cease and desist letters" to them by certified mail per advice from the FTC and the IGA. If they call me, they will be breaking the law. Why four? Because CSI refused to give me any contact information. I looked them up online (http://www.csipays.com/contact.php for your reference) - four different locations, none of them match the phone number on my phone. Wish me luck - a part of me almost hopes they call after I have my receipts in hand. They need to be shut down.