Re: Citibank / now CAMCO, Inc.

Posted by Philco (68.99.132.26) on October 15, 2002 at 01:25:53:

In Reply to: Re: Citibank / now CAMCO, Inc. posted by Why Chat on July 29, 2002 at 16:34:38:

Below is a copy of a letter I just wrote to Rockford IL -- the Council of 100 and the Chamber of Commerce. I would suggest others do the same. By the way, CAMCO's physical address (for cease & desist letters, etc) is 303 N Main St, Rockford, IL 61101. Use Mike or Mark Chaplin as a contact.

Dear Sir/Madame:

Is there nothing that can be done about the unethical practices of one of your city's newest companies? In July 2002, an announcement was made that CAMCO was to be moving to Rockford. CAMCO was praised for bringing 500 potential new jobs to the city. The problem lies in what those 500 new jobs involve. Individuals are trained by CAMCO to use "strong-arm" approaches, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to collect old debts. In many cases, these debts are way past the statute of limitations. But even more importantly, CAMCO is being completely unethical in attempting to collect these "stale" debts. They use intimidation and threats, sarcasm, harassment and other methods that are in direct violation of several sections of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).

I, an honest individual with good credit, have been a "victim" of CAMCO's methods recently. One of the nicer things that was said to me by a CAMCO employee during my conversation with her was “Let me put you on speaker phone so that everyone can hear how stupid you are.” When I asked for supervisors, they were equally as degrading and intimidating toward me. The only way I could make CAMCO stop harassing me was to a) inform them that any future phone calls will be tape-recorded and b) write & send a "cease and desist" letter.

I find it amazing that any city could be proud of such practices and even go so far as to provide grant money to aid CAMCO in its business. Has Rockford no way of monitoring the practices of the organizations that make the city their home? If not, what is the best resource for honest, law-abiding citizens such as myself?

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,

philco1@cox.net

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