November 2009    CFG started calling me at work recently. The first time they called I realized that they had the wrong person when they started telling me my address - nope, not mine, the last four digits of my social security number - nope, again - not mine, when they named my in-laws as being the people who verified where I worked - nope, they passed away in 95 so, you guessed it, not mine. I explained to the 'nice young man' that he had the wrong person and he promised to never call back again. So, of course, he called back two days later and got hold of one of my co-workers "to confirm you are the right {insert name here}". This time I got upset and told him that I am not the person he is looking for. I asked questions, 'who did you call at my workplace' to verify the last 4 digits of my ssn? He gave me a name I've never heard of - I work for a very small company, I know them all. What is the phone number you called to verify with my employer? He gave me a phone number which I looked up Google and of all the coincidences, they happened to be people one of my co-workers knows! :) CFG made up that number. They continue to call me, and call me, and call me - and always at work. I don't know what to do but I so confused the man last time I talked to him - I talked to him like you would a two year old child - that he actually gave me his extension number. I think I'm going to start calling him everyday and ask him if he's found the right {insert name here} yet!

April 2009    This co is so ruthless! They had called my cell-which I ignored. They then called my fiancé's work cell phone! Claiming there was an investigation re me, demanding to speak to me or relay a message.

November 2008   My daughter has unpaid bills on her Chase bank card. She does not live with us, is an adult, and my name is not on her credit card in any fashion. I have been getting harassing calls from Creditors Financial Group, their agent's phone name is Carl Catewell, demanding payment. I have explained to him that I have nothing to do with the account--I am a third party. He indicated on November 10 that he would continue to harass me even though I am not responsible for any of this debt. I am filing a complaint today with the Federal Trade Commission regarding Creditors practices. The Illinois Attorney General is sending me a complaint form, and I will be contacting the U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois to file a complaint. I have also contacted an attorney to represent me in this case. Creditors approach is boastful, arrogant, and harassing. These charlatans need to be put out of business.

October 2008   I have been receiving calls for several months from CFG, initially they called my parents number and left a message staying there was a pending suit against me. My mother panicked and insisted that I call and find out what needed to be done. The gentleman that I spoke to stated that I needed almost 3,0000 in the next 48 hours to stop any further actions. My parents lent me the money from their very meager retirement fund to help me. Then they called again saying I needed to make payment arrangements for the remaining balance. For the next few months I paid $100 a month it was all I could afford, and I couldn't even afford that. They always called me the day or two before the end of the month to tell me pay or the agreement is off. I had made sure to set aside the money waiting for the call. Then today I get a call, informing me that I had gotten the other representative fired because he was a bleeding heart and that because of my delinquency on the account the orginal creditor was going to take action against me. Isn't the fact that they even have my account action already? The gentleman that I spoke to kept me on the phone for 20 minutes even after I stated I was at work and could not take personal calls. After one of their calls last month my dad looked them up and found all these negative comments, so when I got that call today I did some looking myself. I am writing a formal complaint, and so glad to see that I am not alone. I am a recently single mother of a toddler, who is working full-time and going back to school so that I can give my child a better life. Should I not feed her for a few months so that they get the money they are demanding? I think not. They can try to take me for all I a worth, but you can't get blood from a stone.

October 2008   CFG called my husband's boss telling him the we had a matter with them concerning Chase Bank. My husband called them back and Jason stated he was from the legal department and that we owed $8400.00. I called and Jason wanted me to do a phone check for the whole amount. When I asked to validate the debt, all I got was a faxed letter (not signed) saying that I owed this amount.

October 2008   CFG cannot sue you.  They have no licenses to purchase debt.  This is what's called the least sophisticated debtor.  Always ask who owns the account because they can always settle lower than the collection agency who makes a fee off of what they collect.. and there are no attorneys there.  Don't let them get the best of you.

September 2008   Several harassing phone calls both at work and at home. I have a debt with CitiFinancial and could not pay this. They sold it to a debt collector which I tried to make payment arraignments with. Well when the economy fell through I fell behind, they harassed me day in and day out. I complained to the FCC among other agencies and they sold the debt to another company. Again the cycle started over. After having to choose feed my children and keep a roof over their head or pay this debt I chose my children. Now CFG owns the debt. They have called my house and my place of employment every day. I've explained I can't afford to pay right now. My employer has told them to stop calling me at work as I'm not allowed personal calls, they still call and harass me stating it's a family emergency. I'm at my wits end. They have now threatened with a lawsuit. Who knows what will happen to me an my children now.

August 2008   In dealing with Creditors Financial Group, I opened up communications by explaining that I was trying to obtain an agreeable settlement amount in order to close out the account (original creditor: Chase Bank). When I informed Bill Moses (Asst VP of Collections) that the money would be coming from a third party and that I couldn't make any agreements on their behalf, he became belligerent, stating that he was marking the conversation as a refusal to pay. I never refused and, instead, asked him to send the settlement information to me via fax. He was rude, telling me to "save the sob story" and that I'd better pay attention because he wasn't going to repeat himself. There were threats to place a lien against my mortgage, threats to garnish my husband's wages as well as my son's SSI and child support. All of this while I was offering to pay them!

August 2008   In the past my husband had been contacted by several credit card companies advising him that he owes money to them. He called to check on it and found that someone with the same name but different city, date of birth, etc. owed the debt. he asked that our phone number be removed. We didn't get any other calls for awhile until we heard from Creditors Financial Group. We've left 2 messages for the person who contacted us (last name Linvall,ext.3245) but have not heard back from him. I called to speak to someone else and was eventually told that I did not have the intellect to continue the conversation and she hung up on me. I'm working on setting up a tape recorder to tape future calls.

August 2008   Had agreement with this company for $50 per month to pay off debt. Manuelhas decided that he will strong arm me and now wants $267 per month. He is calling me at work, after I told him no to. As of today he has threatened to call my employer to verify my employment and amount I make. He wants to know how I pay my other bills. Manuel also left a message with a co-worker while I was off last week.  I will seek legal advice from this point on. I will not be stalked by this company or their employees.

July 2008    I was really inspired by this website and my own dealings with Creditors Financial Group. Last month I filed my own federal lawsuit against these low-life scumbags. Check it out at www.suecreditorsfinancialgroup.org

Anyone interested in filing their own lawsuit should check out my links. I have a spreadsheet that links to local rules, sample complaints, and state registered agents -- all free of charge!

July 2008   I am not going to rehash what other bloggers have confirmed through previous posts on Creditors Financial Group. These powerless thugs have no in house attorneys or legal department with the authority to follow through on any "implied threats" that are commonplace. Having worked in the industry myself, I've been told by many former employees including high ranking ones (initials ML) how the Buffalo office in particular is run. Turnover is very high and people actually get paid respectably for Buffalo standards. However, the people are on a very short leash. They have 30-60 days to hit the quotas set contingent on their hourly rate or they are out the door. So needless to say, collectors feel "great pressure" to collect money. Which correlates with overstepping their boundaries of FDCPA to meet those goals. To consumers called by these idiots call head of quality assurance Scott Berg directly at 866-919-4898 if you feel any messages or talk offs from CFG break FDCPA guidelines. As an aside, this agency should be on Bud Hibbs' list too. United Collections Bureau. I just cashed a settlement check for $500 and still have a receipt stub as proof after I spoke to their head of quality assurance for breaking several sections of the FDCPA on my voice mail. It merely took one phone call calling them out for implying "lawsuit" on my cell phone voicemail for them to settle for $500 and cut me a check. Yes, these places can pay you for breaking the law. The way agencies see it is any small claims court initiation with a good case is a minimum $1000 in your pocket so they are quick to settle over the phone if you have recordings of violations. That goes for any 3rd party agency. Make Mr Berg work for his money consumers, more calls to him will equal more compliance from his staff.

2007   CFG has been leaving messages on my home phone for a few weeks now, on a daily basis. They always imply impending legal action of some sort by throwing out key words like 'summons', 'case number', 'complaint', etc. They called me at my office today. I took the call because Ms. Wallace said it was about an 'application on her desk'. Since I have an application to renew my Notary Public license pending, I assumed it was about that application, so I took the call. Ms. Wallace was very vague. She mentioned an 'application', something about Bank of America and $4,000.  Asked what I was going to do about it. I told her I was not in a position to do anything at this time so whatever action they felt they needed to do, I could not prevent. She said, "Okay, so you are working but won't pay us. Alright then, I will proceed with garnishing your wages" and hung up. I got the agency name and phone number and called back to complain and ask them to not contact me at work anymore. I got the same run-around as others who have posted here, with them insisting I provide them with my personal information. I knew better and simply told them to comply with the FDCPA or stop contacting me altogether.

I almost wish they would file a lawsuit against me so I could counter-sue and give them the spanking they surely deserve!

Oh yeah, did I mention that I am a paralegal with 20 years of experience in general civil practice who just happens to be sharing office space with a LEGITIMATE law firm that specializes in collections? Sorry, Ms. Wallace, and CFS. You are going to have to try much harder to convince me you have any standing whatsoever.

2007   I had been paying down a debt on an MBNA credit card, monthly, for over 2 years, in amounts from $100 - $200.

Each month, CFG contacted me to ask for authorization, how much money to make out the check for, and on what day to date the check. This month, when they removed exponentially more money than they ever have, they did not contact me for authorization

They have repeatedly tried to settle with me for a reduced amount, but I was consistently unable to do so.

On September 28, 2007, they removed $3,000 from my account without authorization. The money had only been in the account for several days, so they must have been watching the account. Because they removed this money without authorization, other checks I wrote bounced, which is how I found out about the withdrawal.

I filed a complaint with my bank. I called CFG to ask them to undo the unauthorized transfer, and they were abusive. They claim they have a tape of me okaying the transfer, but have refused to produce it. They have threatened to take me to court, and to have my bank accounts closed, as well as to ruin my credit. They repeatedly screamed at me, called me abusive names, and threatened me.

I feel violated, and I believe this is illegal. I have a child, and that money was earmarked for that purpose. They had no right to take this money, and did not even ask, and used threats and intimidation against me.

They claim they have shredded all evidence and closed the file, so there is no case to discuss. Is this legal? What can I do? How can I recover this money that was illegally taken from my account?

2007   I had a debt with these people they had someone named Steve Swatling and Monica Hens keep calling me, threatening they were on their way downtown to deliver a summons.  I looked up their website and questioned them on being just a collection agency, they got abusive and told me to have my attorney call and hung up on me several times.  these two are low rung blood suckers.  I'd avoid paying this agency ever.

2007   These people are the lowest form of creation on earth. I received a letter from Creditor Financial Group, but actually the people calling me are from Great Lakes Financial in Buffalo, New York. I am happy to say that I have filed a lawsuit against them. Some tips, record everything they say and take notes. There are attorneys who make a living filing law suits jerks like this company. The truth is, there is nothing they can do to you. They are a bunch of low life, white trash, uneducated low life's who cannot find a job. They are so desperate for money they will do all they can to scare you into paying something. It does not take much to upset them, so have fun with it and at the same time record it all.

2007   These people have called and harassed me for the past two weeks. I finally got the names of the people i have talked to. One of them have been mentioned before in other complaints i saw on here, Matt Rusciano. The others are Corban Padilla, Ray Zincioni, and Russ Hoy. They called me on several Sundays and then stated they were closed and there was no way they could have called me then. They then stated that i was a liar.

2007   After receiving a call from CFG in a very unprofessional manner for a debt I owed, not however in its original amount as per to the original contract before they bought my account for "pennies on the dollar" and they went on to pursue my unhappiness state-of-mind, not to mention I was paying as agreed until I had some financial difficulties which I explained to them. I believe that Mr. Hibbs is not trying to persuade americans NOT to pay their bills; even if he did I think the average consumer could distinguish from left to right. First, I would like to praise Mr. Hibbs for opening our eyes to these unmerciful social predators. So, I will boiled it down quickly... as Mr. VP from Creditors Financial Group stated that unless I paid the 25 % of the principal I would not go to court, so I said .. hmm I do not have the 25 %, may we settle this by arranging monthly payments? He said it is a two edged sword, even if you agree to pay on a monthly basis as you used to, we "CFG" from Aurora, CO are/is entitle to pursuit legal actions in court against you. He then questioned ..."Are you working"? I answered no, but I could start paying at least $100.00 a month and he started utilizing abusive & sarcastic language as: "If you are not working how you can make $100.00 a month"? I answered it was not his concern were I get the money as long as I abided in my agreement with CFG. He said that I was being negative & loud, so I stated...hmm I am just trying to make a payment and I am being perceived as negative? Interesting, so I decided to hang-up and went on in hot pursuit of justice. Now I will notify the FCRA, my state attorney general, NACA and all those lovely people, because I felt like I was talking to an extortionist and not to a professional debt collector. I am just appalled that these people operate business like this and that no one has exposed them to the authority for their mischievous ethics & morale when dealing with the public.

2007   This Scott Ebert sure is legendary! I was contacted by them today about a debt that I do owe, but that disappeared because the last collection agency it got sent to was not legal to operate in the state of Massachusetts. The debt vanished somewhere (where I was not sure) and I resigned myself to a lousy credit rating. When I contacted them today, I asked for the information to be sent to me in writing before I made any kind of agreement seeing as oral agreements are legal in Massachusetts (plus the last agency took me for $300 even though they were not legal to operate in my state!). Scott Ebert refused to send me a letter! He said he would only fax it! I said that I had no access to a fax and he suggested I get to a Kinko's! Also, apparently I am ridiculous and a child. Whoever writes his scripts seriously needs to do some major revision. But undoubtedly my favorite line was that because I earn very little money, I should go 'get an education.' I have a PhD from an Ivy League school...that's how I got into debt in the first place! Ah, Scott, somehow I suspect this has not ended...

2007   Yeah, I have been getting calls from CFG. It was for a Sears account for a Valid debt that I DO owe. I had tried in good faith to make reasonable payment arrangements on the account and no one seems to want to do that. They told me that this was a blatant refusal on my part to pay the debt..... to which I replied that I WAS NOT refusing to pay.... I was refusing to pay an unaffordable and unreasonable amount every two weeks like they wanted. I offered to pay $100 a month towards my debt and that just wasn't acceptable, it was what they wanted or no deal. I then got yelled at that he was going to "see me in court" About a month later I get a call from a different guy "Louis" Claiming to be part of a legal department forwarding action against me on my creditors behalf. When I started asking for full names addresses and personal extensions to basically research what he was telling me, all of the sudden it comes out that he can "stop" the legal action if I made a payment right now in full.... so I called him on the FDCPA and told him that by misrepresenting himself as a lawyer/legal department taking action against me was a clear violation... he proceeded to get very abusive even more so when I told him the call was being recorded (which it wasn't unfortunately because if it was I would have posted it on the internet in a heartbeat). For the meantime however I will continue to take down as much information as possible when dealing with these people on the off chance it does ever end up in court.

2007   I retrieved a call from my answering machine on a Friday evening, March 26. Ms. Amanda Smith from CFG said I should call her about a "very important" matter. I phoned her on the following Monday and asked her what her call was about. She said it was a Sears card debt in the amount of $3k. She then immediately told me the file had already been sent to the attorneys. then she said ,let me see if I can stop it. She said it was sent o the attorneys because I had refused to pay. I reminded her this was the first time I had spoken to anyone at CFG so how could I have made any kind of refusal? She again told me her records showed a refusal. I told her she needed to speak with my attorney that he was handling my finances and possible bankruptcy. I gave her his name and contact info and she refused to contact him. I went to the attorney's office and they called. Ms. Smith requested copy of power of attorney before talking with them. POA was faxed. Subsequent call by my attorney have gone unanswered. I sent a request for validation and included my belief that Ms. Smith ignored the rules of the FDCPA & violated my consumer rights. I told them my intentions to file complaints with the Attorney General in their state and mine and to FTC. Guess I can expect a deputy at my door soon with a complaint from CFG.

2007   Sherman has added another agency to it's group. Creditor's Financial Group out of Colorado sent me a collection letter after I sent them a certified cease and desist letter. They are claiming I owe a past due account from another Sherman arm called Resurgent. resurgent stropped taking our agreed upon automatic withdrawals after December's payment. I made the assumption that teh account was finally paid off. Apparently not, they are claiming late fees and collection fees. I am claiming fraud.

2007   FYI - This company does not even have a legal department and has never sued a consumer - EVER !!! A check over the phone does not have your signature on it - so there is no such thing as "bouncing a check across state lines." An ACH check not clearing is not a crime. Talk to an attorney and see if you can tape record there calls. You never know - they may just end up paying YOU !!!

2007   I too received a call from CFG. It was in reference to an old credit card debt, which I will admit I did owe.  I made arrangements to have 2 payments deducted from my bank account. I gave the ABA# and the account #. This payment was to be sent to my bank on February 26, 2007. On March 13 at approximately 3:15 a call from that same rep, informing me that my check was returned for "insufficient funds". The funny thing is, is that I never saw that check in the amount of $710 posted to my account. Since this was a new bank account perhaps I read the numbers wrong, in all honesty. The rep told me that I would have to make a Western Union payment by 6:00pm today, needless to say I was at work until 7:00, there was no way I could get to the bank before then. The rep's supervisor, Mr. Zak got on the phone and said if I did not make that payment, plus the other payment of $710 that I was going to make on 3/26 as agreed for a total of $1440, then he would press charges against me for giving a bad check. How can I do that when the check never hit my account, and I would like proof that the check was returned for "insufficient funds" which is not the case. I told him I could make the $730 payment ($710 plus the $20 returned check fee, i'll admit if I messed up my account 3's then I should eat the $20) He said no, he wants the $1440, I told him that was impossible. He demanded to speak to my payroll dept. I hung up on him. I then went to my HR director who told me she will not give him any information, he would have to file a judgment against me before she is required by law to provide any payroll information. What a nightmare. One of the first things we try to teach on this site is to never give a criminal your banking information...

2007   I was sexually harassed when I called to make a payment. When I asked to speak to a manager they said oh he didn't say that. The Manager also turned the situation around on me and how I said I would call the day before and called a day later you are so irresponsible. He told me there was nothing I could do since I didn't record the phone call. I after I got off the phone I was so mad and googled their company and found this website where I see I am not the only one. 

2007   Creditors Financial Group uses threats and humiliations in a poor attempt to collect debt. After an honest attempt to solve a debt owed, I missed calling into CFG by about two hours. Within that time Mr. Matt Russiano called my father stating that he needed to pay my debt, or I would be charges with a felony. Mr. Russiano proceeded in asking my father if that was what he wanted for his child. Well I am a 40 year old woman, and not a child! My father was given full disclosure of the account and the debt. My father has nothing to do with this account. It is in mine and my husbands name. After a heated conversation with Mr. Russiano, he used profanity with me, screamed over my voice, and threatened me with jail time, loss of wages, and loss of my family life! This man and this company needs to be stopped! I filed a complaint with the "Federal Trade Commission." I hope it helps me and others!

2007    I have received several calls from this agency regarding a personal credit card debt. Several times on my personal phone & twice at my work number. The collector has been rude, verbally abusive & threating. After his last call I informed him never to call me at my place of employment again & disconnected the call. He then had the nerve to call my family & begin to harass them. I find these means to collect my debt un tasteful & after reading the laws regarding this type of tactic completely unprofessional & obviously against the law. I appreciate your website & would like to see some kind of lawsuit waged against this type of debt collection.

2007   I myself am a debt collector out of buffalo. I actually used to work at creditors financial group. I always hit my number every month without traveling into the popular grey area that most collectors at this agency prefer. Then, my own manager told me i should say certain things that would "help me" hit even higher numbers. eg. "investigator" and "chief of arbitration" . So i listened because i felt this was part of my job . Then within two weeks i got a complaint call. They gave me a lecture with the same manager present that told me to say these illegal things, and proceeded to fire me. Now you tell me if something isn't right with this scenario. Just thought id share this info with you guys. I have no respect them since i was bringing money without using illegal tactics.

Standby by folks, we have a ranter:   2007   LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION MR HIBBS, DO YOU BY AMERICAN MADE? i WAS JUST WONDERING, B/C THE CRAP THAT YOU POST LOOKS LIKE JAPANESE TO ME. I WOULD LOVE YOU TO PRINT THIS ON YOUR SITE, BUT YOU WONT B/C I SPEAK THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU. YOU ARE SO WILLING TO EXPLOIT THESE AGENCIES, WHEN YOU USE TO BE A DEBT COLLECTOR YOURSELF. YOU KNOW MAYBE INSTEAD OF HIDING IN TX BEHIND A DESK YOU SHOULD GET A REAL JOB. THE MOST AMUSING PART IS HOW YOU ANSWER YOUR PHONE AND PRETEND NOT TO BE YOU, WHEN CLEARLY ITS YOU. REALLY TELLING THE PEOPLE THAT IT IS OK TO RUN UP THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND NOT HAVE TO PAY IT OFF, HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU MAKE OFF OF THE INDUSTRY AND PEOPLES STORIES??? THAT IS HOW YOU DO IT RIGHT?? INSTEAD OF BEING A BILL COLLECTOR YOU TAKE OTHER PEOPLES IDEA'S AND EXPERIENCES, AND MAKE LOTS OF $$$MONEY$$$ OFF OF IT. YOU KNOW IT FUNNY I DON'T SEE THAT IN YOUR BOOKS THAT PEOPLE BUY AND YOU MAKE OR SHOULD I SAY ROB THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THERE HARD EARNED MONEY. JUST LIKE WHEN YOU WERE A BILL COLLECTOR, SOME TINGS NEVER CHANGE DO THEY MR HIBBS?? WHY DON'T YOU PRINT THIS ON ALL YOUR AGENCIES, NO YOU WOULD WANT TO DO THAT B/C THEN YOU WOULD BE THE INVESTIGATOR MAKING MONEY. MR HIBBS AFRAID TO PUT THIS ON WEBSITE BC TRUTH HURTS AND YOU WOULDNT BE ABLE TO MAKE ANYMORE MONEY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE YOU PROTECT, IM SORRY!

And an eloquent ranter at that. We normally don't print these drug-induced rages, but this fellow put so much time and effort into it, we had to give him a little air.  We see the old standard line about Bud being a former Buffalo collector has returned.  It's a shame Mr. Hibbs can't account for those twenty odd years as a consumer expert with evidence from Oprah, Phil Donahue, MSNBC, CNN, Morton Downey Jr. - oh wait - he can!  Pretty clever for a debt collector - day job - collecting -night job: Consumer Advocate.  See people, we're dealing with collectors that have the equivalent of an eighth grade education.  Should they have access to your personal information???

budhibbs.com