Bay Area Credit Service or BACS is a debt collection agency is bound by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Learn more about the company and how you can stop harassing debt collection calls.
Bay Area Credit Service or BACS is a third-party collection agency located in Norcross, Georgia. Bay Area Credit Service has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), such as failing to verify debts and using false or misleading language in an effort to collect a debt. If Bay Area Credit Service has contacted you about past due collection items, make sure you understand your rights before responding.
According to its website, Bay Area Credit Service offers a variety of services to its clients, including debt collection, settlement administration, a contact center, after hours support, and a help desk. Bay Area Credit Service boasts that it is one of the largest global providers of transaction processing solutions. Bay Area Credit Service implements collections at all stages, from calling and writing customers before a debt has been charged off as non-collectable, all of the way to chasing consumers whose debt was offered to one of the numerous companies who purchase consumer debt for pennies on the dollar. Bay Area Credit Service collectors are trained in the latest collection procedures. Its call centers have in-house quality assurance personnel to ensure best practices and maximum efficiency.
Bay Area Credit Service’s website does not provide any detailed information about the types of businesses, industries, or clients it serves. Bay Area Credit Service’s collection services include both first-party and third-party collections.
As a third-party debt collection agency, Bay Area Credit Service is required to adhere to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a federal law that protects consumers from abusive debt collection tactics. Nevertheless, consumers have filed complaints accusing Bay Area Credit Service of violating the FDCPA. Those accusations have included claims that the debt collection agency has threatened to sue consumers without actually intending to do so and talking to third parties about consumers’ debts. It’s imperative that you know your rights under the law before speaking with Bay Area Credit Service debt collectors.
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Bay Area Credit Service is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), though the BBB issued Bay Area Credit Service a “B” rating, despite the presence of 96 complaints against Bay Area Credit Service in the past three years, 52 of which have been resolved in the past 12 months. 86 of these complaints contained allegations related to Bay Area Credit Service’s billing and collections practices, while the remaining complaints contained allegations related to advertising and services provided by Bay Area Credit Service. Since March 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received 33 complaints against Bay Area Credit Service, 32 of which contained allegations related to Bay Area Credit Service’s debt collection practices, including its communication tactics and attempts to collect debts not owed, while the remaining complaint contained allegations related to credit reporting. In addition, Justia, one of the largest online legal databases in the United States, lists at least 100 federal cases of civil litigation involving Bay Area Credit Service.
Are you asking yourself…
Bay Area Credit Service could be calling for a number of reasons, all of them related to debt collection:
If you’ve been contacted by BACS it’s important to know your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If they’ve violated your rights, you can take the agency to court and sue for statutory damages of up to $1,000 – along with court costs and attorney fees.
First you can write a cease and desist letter. Explain to Bay Area Credit Service that they have the wrong person and insist that they stop calling you. Make sure to send your letter via certified mail with a return receipt requested. If debt collectors from BACS persist in calling you, make sure to keep a log. Note the date and time of each call, the name of the debt collector, and what was said. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt collectors, who violate the law, must pay consumers up to one thousand, dollars plus attorney’s fees. A fair debt attorney can represent you at no charge, and can readily evaluate your case. It’s also important to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau and with the Federal Trade Commission.
No. If you’ve been contacted by BACS, you have the right to sue them in federal court if the debt collection agency has violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Signs that you may be on solid legal footing are:
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was put into law in order to protect consumers like you, but there’s a catch. While the government sues debt collection agencies that egregiously violate the law, it doesn’t sue agencies on behalf of individual consumers. Instead, the FDCPA has what’s called a fee-shifting provision. This means that, if you sue and win, then the debt collection agency has to pay your court costs and attorney fees. Fee-shifting levels the playing field so that you can assert your rights.
Yes. Bay Area Credit Service can sue you if you owe the debt, however, threatening to sue or serve you with papers if they don’t intend to do so is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Additionally, after receiving the first collection notice, you have 30 days to dispute the debt. If you dispute the debt, then BACS is required by the FDCPA to prove that you do, in fact, owe the money. A debt collection agency isn’t allowed to sue you if, for example, the debt is past the statute of limitations or if you do not legally owe the debt. It’s a good idea to speak with a fair debt attorney if you’ve been served with a summons or legal complaint.
Yes. However, Bay Area Credit Service cannot threaten you to garnish your wages and garnishment can only only occur if BACS files a lawsuit and obtains a judgment against you. It’s common for consumers to ignore notice of a lawsuit; if you don’t appear in court, the judge may automatically rule against you. Debt collection agencies have been known to avoid serving consumers with notice to increase the odds of obtaining a judgment. This is called “sewer service” or “gutter service.” The bottom line? If wage garnishment takes you by surprise, talk to a consumer attorney who can fight for your rights.
Yes. Bay Area Credit Service can report debts in collection to the three major credit reporting agencies – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Once a debt is reported to the credit bureaus, it will appear on your credit report and will impact your credit score.
Yes. However, as with wage garnishment, a property lien can only arise out of a court judgment against you. If BACS files a lawsuit against you and the judge rules in their favor, then the debt collection agency has a right to collect that money. One way of doing that is by putting a lien on your house or property. That’s why it’s imperative to respond to legal papers and to have an attorney by your side who will fight on your behalf.
Yes, Bay Area Credit Service can call you at work however there are strict limits about what BACS can say or ask about you if they are calling your at your place of employment. If you want them to stop calling your job, you should tell them not to and you say that your employer either doesn’t allow those types of calls or it’s inconvenient for you. If they keep calling after you have made this request, it’s actually a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for them to continue to call you. These laws prevent calls to work when you’ve told them not to, so it’s important to make that clear to the debt collector calling you. Take the date, and time, and the name of the person that you spoke with when you asked them not to call at work and then consult with an attorney about your rights
Yes. Again however, there would be strict limits to what they can say. It would be illegal, for example, if BACS called your family and discussed your debt with them. It might be easier to say that the ONLY reason a debt collector can contact your family is to obtain or confirm your location information so that they may contact you. That is the only exception to the law regarding third party contact. Collection calls are annoying enough, but when a collector is calling your friends, family, co-workers or place of employment and discloses information about your finances, the annoyance can quickly turn into harassment. Under federal law, debt collectors cannot discuss your debts with your children, roommates, and in many states, even your spouse.
No. Bay Area Credit Service – or any other debt collection agency like BACS for that matter – has no authority whatsoever to arrest you. In fact, threatening you with arrest or jail is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. While so-called “debtors prisons” are illegal, only non-payment of things like traffic tickets can lead a judge to issue a bench warrant, which in turn can lead to arrest.
Yes. You can sue Bay Area Credit Service if you believe BACS violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FDCPA says that debt collection agencies that violate the law must pay consumers up to $1,000 in statutory damages, as well as court costs and attorney fees. That’s why engaging a fair debt attorney to represent you in an FDCPA lawsuit typically doesn’t cost you anything out of pocket. The attorney that agrees to take on your case knows that the debt collection agency will be forced to pay their fees.
If Bay Area Credit Service – or any other debt collection agency – is calling you to the point of harassment, using abusive or profane language, or violating the FDCPA in some other way, it’s time to fight back. Under the law, you may be entitled to up to $1,000. At Lemberg Law, we won’t charge you a dime out of pocket, and we only get paid when you win. Call us today for a free, no-obligation, case evaluation. We’ll get the justice that you deserve.
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