ACM Group Collections Pt3

thank you stand tall ill check it out mate

this was what i had run into just over 2 years ago now...

ive had them contacting me for roughly 2 and a half year but in the last 6 - 12 months its been going over the top i have a $2000 debt with a credit card from the NAB and a $5000 personal loan from Commonwealth bank, before i go any futhur i must say that im not in this to dodge money i owe, i lost my job and fell behind...i have simply refused to repay this company due to the fact that they purchase these debts for 1/10th of the cost of the debt and mainly because of the manner in which ive been treat with such i believe that you must pay your debts and bills dont get me wrong but on principle alone these guys are just thugs!!!

so far ive had them call me up to 5 times a day sometimes...infact when i was in the usa in june they got my number over there and called me 10 times in 5 minutes as i repeatedly hung up on them, as i usually do, i have had them call my parents phone line constantly when my parents refuse to give them my mobile number or tell them im not around and dont live at the address they are served with nothing but cheek, abuse and smart ass sniping comments not only that but a lady by the name of Isapella (she has been on my ass for a loooooong time now real smart ass and rude son of a bitch) called my father one day telling him she was my financial manager and she needed my place of employment and phone number, which my dad gave across which i wasnt to happy to find out but not his fault i guess ( this is very constant at the very least once a week it happens) the main concern of mine is they have got my phone number to work, i work on a mine and the number they have is my boss's, they call him atleast twice a week, the story that bothers me most is what happen on december 3rd i was at home after night shift had a call at 8 in the morning it was them, i baisically said im not talking to you right now ive just got home from work and hung up they called back right away...i told them again this time with a "xxxxxx off" 10 minutes later i had my boss call me asking me why a debt collection agency is calling him saying they "cant get a hold of me and need my mobile number" after that phone call i swear it would be a minute after my aunty who i never speak to calls me telling/asking me the very same question i just find it very unacceptable and against the law after just lodging a complaint form with ASIC tonight and reading their guidelines i think i personally have a fair case against the bastards!

compared to most people ive read on that thread whos debts run into the 10's of thousands i think im pretty lucky in that aspect...but on their behalf as well as the barbarrick treatment ive copped from them i really want to give it back to these bastards and get one up on them!

Originally posted by cam555 i am returning to Australia in 4 days,

Your story would be more credible if you did not bend the truth, you actually posted this from a computer that is in Australia right now.

Guys,

2 years ago i was on this forum, having the same issues, i ended up contacting all sorts of departments including nab, asic, and channel 9, i still have emails and contacts if anyone is interested please IM me, i owed $7,000, i "stomped my feet" and had every single person (12 in total) reply, including ross greenwood of channel 9 (financial journilist) within a week the bank had taken back the debts, i havent heard a thing from ACM since, and believe i was a contributing factor to the injunction put upon ACM from ASIC/ACCC

what this company did to me was ruin me, i had employers, friends, neighbours, family contacted and informed of my situation, i was bullied, belittled, harrassed, lied to, and made out to be a bad guy, i now reside in the USA, debt free and gone on to become very successful, i have not forgotten how this company made me feel, what they did to my reputation and in the main their actions,

i have returned to Australia, i have already spoken to an a Llawyer who is taking on my case, i will be suing for defamation of charactor after the injunction handed down to these pricks late last year.

i am asking anyone else who is interested to launch a class action against these assholes to please contact me, you will not be required to pay a cent, i have 100% of the financials covered, i would just like to help/have others stories heard.




Edited by cam555 - 04/May/2013 at 01:03

Originally posted by Slightly Frustrated Good news folks. Debt is being taken back by the bank. Will be entering into a payment agreement to clear my C.C. debt. Credit rating restored back to brand new.    Many thanks to all for their advice and patience.

Excellent :)

The bank may have a clause in the sale contract to the debt aquirer that they are able to buy back the debt/under certain conditions, or ACM may let the bank buy back the debt from them in order to obtain future purchaser rights - in other words, "keep sweet".

Banks sell of "defaults" in bulk at their whim. Some would say to early others would not. They get 5-20% in the dollar (most likely 10-15%) and claim the rest.

Contact the bank, you have nothing to lose by doing so. They may buy it back but i believe that they are fed up with buying back debts since a % of them default again. I don't blame them for refusing some.

Agree do not pay them a cent. This is the same story I hear 20 times a day. They will never change. Next time they ring tell them you are not dealing further with them until they supply an itemised account and evidence they have purchased the debt or are acting on behalf of Westpac.
Looks like Westpac have failed in their responsibility to correctly handle your account. Lodge a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service against Westpac. Make sure you tell the full story. ACM cannot contact you while this is being investigated. Here is the link
http://www.fos.org.au/centric/home_page/resolving_disputes.jsp
Good Luck and remember you are in control

Edited by Gripe Central - 17/February/2013 at 22:45

Cheers for the heads up Stand Tall, re protecting ones identity.

I don't believe that I have ever heard the term "goodwill payment" used in legal terms before. Part of their own dialogue invented for their own ends I'm guessing. It even sounds very "iffy" as far as being "proper" goes anyhow. I also assume that any "goodwill payment" would be to get you "locked in" to the ACM Group one way or another.

So as long as I am not just ignoring them and they have a means to contact me, I can just get on with sorting this mess out without being pressured or coerced forcefully in any way?

Sadly another story for the ACM annals.

Received an SMS stating; "call this number within 48 hours to avoid possible legal action". I called the number to be advised that I needed to settle my outstanding Credit Card debt or I could be taken to court and bankrupted. I was asked to identify myself but they didn't. Straight up I was offered a $2000 discount to settle the matter immediately. I said, "how about an opportunity to negotiate a payment plan"? Response: "no that is not an option at the moment as it is such a large amount"(13 000). I said, "I am unemployed (between jobs) and don't have any savings at the moment, but would be happy to pay off my debt as soon as I start my new job". Response: "I will have to go to management and see what they say". Puts me on hold for maybe 6-7 minutes and comes back to tell me that "the best they can offer is a lump sum payment of %50 of the outstanding debt to completely clear the matter up". I stated that, "I do not have anything more than next weeks rent money, let alone $6500". Response: "Have a think about our offer and get back to me before 12.00 tommorrow as I will be going into a meeting with management about your account".

I called before 12.00 as agreed and stated that my circumstances had not changed overnight. I persisted with my request for a payment arrangement to be told that, "someone more senior would have to handle that". I said, "can I please speak to that person"? I was then told that, "they are in a meeting" and probably would not be available for 45 mins. I said "fine can you please get them to call me back". I get a call from a person much later than 45 minutes (better late than never) who said that, "he was there to help me". I said that, "I wanted to go on a payment plan". He said that,"I would need to put some money down to get started on a payment plan". I stated again that, "I was broke and unemployed currently". He persisted with me needing to put some money down to get on a plan and said for me to, "have a think about it and call him back the next day before 15.00".

I called back before 15.00 to be told that he was, "in a meeting". I said, "can he please call me back when he is free"? That was yesterday and I have not had a return call.

Now after all this unfolding over 3 days I got to thinking about the whole process. So, a couple of questions.
1. Should I have had something official from my bank stating that my debt was going to be sold off?
2. Should I not also get something official in writing from ACM stating the current state of play and what their intentions are rather than a series of high pressure phone calls seemingly designed to elicit money from me as quickly as possible?   

My whole situation has not been helped by shoddy customer service from the Westpac Bank. With multiple emails going unanswered and futile phone calls; either being told that this department doesn't deal with that I'll just transfer you through to another department or sitting on hold for anything up to 50 mins and still not getting through. My mail getting sent to my old address for 8 mths (still happening) even after calling up and changing it as well as doing it online. My credit card that was also linked to my savings account being gulped up by an ATM that had no doubt been told to do just that. I was left with no way to access funds for everyday living as my credit card account was suspended. I no longer had any way of making payments, not even online. I emailed them multiple times to ask how I may make payments and never got an answer. To compound things even further, I was at the time working remotely and was only home 5-7 days a month. Now I have to deal with this awful company to get this mess sorted out. Feel like I have been well and truly shafted by my bank; selling of my debt like it was worthless and not even to the highest bidder.

Apologies for the long first up post. Thanks also to all the other posters on this topic; very helpful but, so sad.   

Seek legal advice immediately before contact as MartinO stated.

Do not make ANY payments whatsoever including the fake "GOODWILL PAYMENTS" and do not ackowledge the debt in writing.

Do not "ID" yourself on this forum or many others including facebook, linkedin, etc.

ACM /ACMS Group monitors them all.

A *@!>! ACM (superviser manager) once said to me - that they can find out anything about anyone within 24 hrs. I believe it too - "Very DODGY" crowd. Probably can even trace your IP Address to anywhere.

We know where they are, just watch that as---l- ACM manager/superviser on the channel 7 website film clip,- when 7 stormed the ACM / ACMS Group office recently.   He could'nt hide fast enough

Check out also the ITSA website for more info in regard to debts, etc.

It you do speak to them over the phone at a later stage- and i suggest you don't, record the calls. You will catch them out with the lies and threats. Very important - do not pass around the recordings to anyone else except to the Police, ACCC, ASIC, FOS or other Gov dept.

Edited by StandTall - 29/January/2013 at 12:43