Il. AG sues Arrow Financial

[keepmine]

http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/2007_01/20070125b.html

For Immediate Release
Contact: Robyn Ziegler
312-814-3118
877-844-5461 (TTY)
[email protected]www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov/consumershttp://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.g...ollection.html

[manglicmot]

I found this, dated 2004:

Lawrence Walsh: If you don't owe, or don't know, don't pay
Wednesday, April 14, 2004

By Lawrence Walsh, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

There's nothing quite like opening an envelope and finding the words "PAST DUE BALANCE" on a bill for $4,855.16.

Especially when you have no idea what the bill is for.

That's the problem John Cubbison had with a form letter from Arrow Financial Services, a Chicago-based debt collection agency. The letter said the company was acting on behalf of "a subsidiary of Bally's" (a health and fitness business). It carried the computer-generated signature and printed name of Mike Robles, an "account representative."

Robles said Arrow Financial Services was willing to settle his debt for $1,699.31 -- 35 percent of the amount owed -- if Cubbison paid that amount by next Tuesday.

Robles said Cubbison also had the option to make payments weekly, every two weeks or monthly until the full $4,855.16 was paid.

Cubbison wasn't interested in either option.

"I've never done any business with Bally's, and I've never heard of [Arrow Financial]," said Cubbison, 72, of Carnegie, a retired stationary engineer at South Side Hospital.

"The letter scared the heck out of us," he said, referring to himself and his wife, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Cubbison, 70, called Arrow Financial and spoke to a woman who identified herself as "Leeann," a customer service representative. Leeann said they had 30 days to pay the bill in full.

John Cubbison called Arrow Financial, spoke to someone who identified himself as Daniel Oneida and asked how the company had obtained his name, address, date of birth and Social Security number. He said Oneida sidestepped the question. He said Oneida checked the bill, discovered it was from 1990 and said he didn't have to pay it.

Troubled by the conflicting advice Arrow employees had given, John Cubbison called me. "We want to know what to do about this," he said. "We've never been to a Bally's, so we don't owe this money. But we're concerned [Arrow Financial] might do something that would hurt our credit standing."

I called Postal Inspector Randy Venanzi, a member of the service's fraud unit. I explained Cubbison's problem and faxed him a copy of the Arrow Financial letter Cubbison sent to me.

It didn't take Venanzi long to confirm that postal inspectors across the country had received a few complaints about Arrow Financial. He said they dealt with Arrow's attempts to collect money from people who said they didn't owe it.

Although Cubbison didn't have any connection with Bally's, I wondered about people who signed contracts with Bally's and hadn't paid their bills. How much time did companies like Bally's have to collect their money?

"The statute of limitations is four years," said Barb Petito, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office.

So why was Arrow Financial trying to collect money from a person who didn't owe it, especially when the statute of limitations expired 10 years ago?

A man who answered Mike Robles' phone, but declined to identify himself, said he and his colleagues were just doing their jobs.

He said Arrow Financial has received "a lot of flak" from people like John Cubbison who received bills for money they didn't owe. He said he was aware of the state's four-year statute of limitations. He said he relays that information to callers from Pennsylvania if they complain about a contractual debt more than 4 years old.

The man said he encourages people to file written complaints when they challenge their bills from Arrow Financial. He said that information can be difficult to convey because "most people are upset and don't give us a chance to explain."

A spokeswoman for Arrow Financial didn't return two messages I left on her voice mail.

To reach the postal inspection service, call during regular business hours at 1-800-846-4677 or go to www.usps.com and click on "postal inspectors." The state attorney general's office can be reached at 412-565-5135. Its number in Harrisburg is 1-800-441-2555 and its Web site is www.attorneygeneral.gov.