Today I recieved an interesting phone call, from Tyler Lowe of RMS Collection Services, regarding an unpaid UPS (United Parcel Service) invoice.
You'd think this would be embarrasing news that I would keep to myself. On the contrare, I am VERY proud of the way I pay my bills -- last year I paid a total of $2.47 in interest.
This is just a short story on a recent experience I had... and how I dealt with it. Read on...
I'm still not 100% sure exactly what happened... I either recieved the invoice and misplaced it, or it was never recieved (read as: lost in the mail). Either way, it's no big deal -- a reminder letter or statement from UPS will make me aware of the unpaid invoice. But that letter never came. Nor did UPS contact me in ANY form (telephone, fax, email, snail mail, etc.).
The original invoice was from June of this year... JUNE and I get a call from a collection agency in DECEMBER? Actually, I got a letter from RMS last Monday... I called UPS and confirmed that I had an outstanding invoice... I sat down, wrote the cheque, mailed it and called UPS back to let them know. One letter, even though it was from a third party, was all it took to make me aware of an error in accounting and the invoice was paid. I asked them to look at my account and see if I've ever been LATE, never mind not paying a bill altogether. The answer was no.
I asked UPS what steps they had taken to contact me as the paperwork recieved from RMS stated that UPS "has exhausted collection efforts" -- no answer was given to me. I told UPS that they did not "exhaust" any efforts as all it took was one letter (a phone call would have sufficed).
You know the saying "SHIT HAPPENS"? Well, shit happens... I'm human... I make mistakes -- and I accept full responsibilty for my mistakes. But to be treated as an absolute low-life because of an oversite (one lost invoice) is sickening -- especially since I've been dealing with them (UPS) for over 10 years and have had not one late payment.
Anyway, back to the original title of this post... are collection agencies a thing of the past? Why do I say that? Well, simply from my telephone conversation with Tyler Lowe from RMS Collections. After he asked for me and identified himself as a collection agency, I said two simple words to him that, litterally, cut the conversation short -- "Prove it".
"Prove it?", said Tyler.
"Yes, prove it.", I said -- "Prove to me that you are who you say you are and are not simply a telemarketing scam -- you are asking for my credit card information and my security code on the back of the card. That, to me, sends up red flags for a scam. Prove that you are a legitimate company, you are gainfully employed by that company and have been hired by UPS to collect an unpaid invoice."
"How would you like me to do that?", was the reply.
"I really don't care.", I said -- "The onis is on you, not me. You are a third party that is making claims with nothing to back them up. Until you can prove to me that you are not a scam, I will have no further dealings with you. Have UPS call me."
Have UPS call me? Yeah, the collection agency is going to call UPS and basically say "We can't collect your invoice as we cannot prove to your customer that we are a legitimate company and your customer will not deal with us... your customer would like you to phone him.". Why would a company, such as UPS, deal with a collection agency if they can't collect?
This post is more of a rant than anything... I am pissed at the way I was treated simply due to an oversite. It is also to let you know that you can stand up for yourself and do not have to deal with these collection agencies, if you ever get put in that situation -- hopefully, you will not. Ask them to "Prove it", or don't give them anything -- then call the company they are "supposedly" collecting for and let them know as well. It's like PayPal always says, always type the URL into your browser and NEVER give information to a third party claiming to be working on the behalf of PayPal.
Let me also make note that I am IN NO WAY telling you to not pay your bills -- that's not what this is about. If you pay your bills, you should never need this information -- but that's not guaranteed either, as my story above explains. Whether you pay your bills on time religously or not, it's always possible that you too will be placed in a situation similar to mine. So, always remember these two words -- "PROVE IT!".
Me too
I also received a letter from collections in the same manner that you did, except I had actually paid COD for a parcel and they were still trying to collect the money on it. I had some very unprofessional responses from one Anna Maria Martin at RMS Collections. I mean, they treat you like a low-life even when you are not. I understand that they deal with people that don't pay their bills and they have to be rude and threatening to get the money out of people sometimes, but when you're innocent like me, being treated like some low-life that can't pay their bills is very non-productive and completely disrespectful.
The same thing happened to
The same thing happened to me. They said I owed them money and that they were going to collect from my employer and it would affect my credit rating. I called UPS with EVIDENCE (my credit card statement) telling them that I had paid on delivery. They checked their system and she said that "it hadn't posted for some reason". She said that she would clear the matter up. We will see if RMS stops harrassing me.
I just called RMS, who has
I just called RMS, who has yet to send me a statement...The original balance was in the neighborhood of $500.00 and is now $96.00, but yet, "Mr Rude"...(and I'm being polite here..).says the had me listed as refusing to pay.....
RMS
Asking a collections "person" to prove that they work for the vendor is a fantastic idea. I received a phone call from Jimmy at RMS last Thursday night. He said that I had a delinquent bill with AT&T from 5 years ago in the amount of $1400.00. AT&T has never contacted me regarding this and I have been using their services all these years.
Well, Jimmy wanted to "clear this matter up" in the form of a check-by-phone, right there on the spot. I asked him to e-mail or fax something in writting. My spidey senses went through the room when I received an e-mail that a 5 year-old could have sent. It was not on letterhead, there was no company name (he claimed to be with RMS over the phone), just a po box number somewhere in PA. There was no sign-off at the end of the letter and his name did not appear anywhere.
If he calls back, I will definitly ask him to prove his identity. Thank you for the tip.
Caroline
UPS and RMS- ME TOO!
RMS is trying to collect money from me for UPS also. I don't owe UPS any money!!! I don't even have an a account with UPS! I sent 3 things thru UPS last year but always paid in advance! I'M NOT PAYING UPS MONEY I DON'T OWE! RMS called 3 times in a 30minute period one night. I called the Sheriffs office and reported them. Sent this company a Cease and Desist certified letter. This coompany continued to call. My lawyer is now going to sue this company. I don't owe UPS one dime! PROVE IT! YES, that works for me. I would definatly like UPS or RMS to prove I owe them anything... I DON'T! This is HARASSMENT AND IM PISSED!
RMS- very unprofessional
I too have been dealing with rms for a couple of months, this time they called to collect on a "clerical error" I explained to the rep "David" that I have requested to receive proof... he got very aggitated. I have talked to several supposed managers,who stated they would prove or remove this account.This time while on the phone with another "supervisor" named simon... I googled rms to get a valid address to send them a "formal letter", once I asked them what the "aggravation fee" would be,and to please send or fax me this offer on company letterhead he became very upset, I explained that I need proof for my records, he hung up on me..... I guess thats how they do buisness. Why not send what was requested? I think it would make their job easier....
Rms Joanne
I want to strangle this bit..! Calling me acting all high and mighty. Ya I wrote a check that didn't clear on time. I am aware and I have been making payments..by no means is that good enough she told me she hopes I lose my business because I am dishonest. Just got off the phone with her and I am so enraged!
I received a letter from
I received a letter from R.M.S. yesterday. It claims that I am indebted to UPS and must be paid immediately; otherwise they will report it to credit agencies. The letter seemed to me as a scam. I called UPS and the guy confirmed it. It was about a shipment on September 2008. He also apologized that I have not received the UPS official invoice before this collection letter.
I did pay the bill through the phone by my credit card.
However I could guess what the scheme behind this story is:
Obviously charging $40 brokerage fee plus $35 international shipping fee (paid in the origin) is not fair for shipping a small device that comes from U.S. to Canada and worth less than $100. UPS know this fact and also know that receiver may do complaint or even don’t accept the parcel and then UPS has to return it to the shipper and this will have a cost for UPS.
Therefore UPS prefers to don't bother the receiver by brokerage fee at moment of delivery and prefer to use "Collection Scam" several months later. This scam definitely is developed very well. When someone receives the collection letter he makes concerned about his credit history rather than the amount of brokerage fee and has no options left other than paying.
If you do search on internet about this issue you will find many people fell into this trap that means it is not about missing of UPS letters or mistakes, but it is a systematic scam.
Same thing as you
I had exactly the same situation as you, no invoice from UPS, but suddenly this RMS sending a rude collection notice. I filled in the fax form and sent it over, then got another rude notice saying to "govern yourself accordingly" because they never processed the fax form. So I called in and left my CC info on the machine, and that never got processed, so I thought I'd better call and make sure the idiots had gotten it. Of course not. Finally I had the guy do it on the phone and send me an email with an acknowledgement of the claim being paid.
It is hard to believe UPS thinks that people will stand for this abusive customer service policy in hard economic times. I'm with you, if they had just sent another letter, it would have been paid without having to resort to this unprofessional firm (that I'm certain UPS owns).
Suffice to say, I take every opportunity to not use UPS. I don't purchase online from anyone using UPS, and specifically choose vendors with their own customs clearing arrangements (free, not $30). And I send a note to vendors saying that I am not purchasing from them because of the way UPS conducts business. A few have been quite responsive to the comment and have taken action to increase their shipping options.
Screw UPS!
Another UPS/RMS Victim
I just rec'd my first letter and voicemail from RMS.
Apparently I rec'd "vacuum batteries" shipped COD from UPS some time ago. Since we live out in the country and were not home at the time of delivery, the driver chose to leave the package at our door. We never saw it, never ordered anything, and don't own any cordless vacuum.
We called UPS after a few letters were sent. Apparently UPS policy is that "drop-off without signature" is up to the drivers discretion. They are unwilling to provide any further info and have now tossed our file to RMS.
This is frustrating and seems very wrong that we have to spend time and energy to resolve this. We also feel this is scam and do not plan to pay even though it's just $36. Next I think I will call the bank to see what we need to do to protect our credit rating.
RMS Collection agency
I am going through a similiar situtation as the rest of the people that have commented. Mine involves BlueCross/BlueShield. It is claiming an overpayment from almost two years ago. I did receive one notice from BCBS but before I could respond I received a collection notice. My wife is sure that the alleged debt has been reported to a credit agency. If so, RMS has violated both federal and Florida credit reporting laws and I will sue them. I'll let you know how it turns out.
UPS/RMS Victim
Here is my horror story,
October 2008 receive a UPS package with fees of $ 296 payable COD I give my credit card number to the delivery, UPS has returned my number wrong when it says invalid card in December I get phone in English I do not speak English I doing research and I realize that the bill is not paid on my card, I post dated checks 3 UPS before the filing date, my bank returned the checks in April I received a call RMS as what needs of 296. plus $ 75 NSF check fee, although I oppose expected, I received no statement of account or phones UPS telling me that he accepted the post dated checks, the checks I have ever returned, so I they made another $ 296 check sent by mail in late April to UPS and the check is made well but UPS has not yet been cashed and my file is still open at RMS, I received a call on Monday of this company, I have warned the company not to make a spot in my file during this time is that UPS is at fault. Excuse my English I am using a translator but I had to make you share my discomfort with UPS experience.
UPS-RMS... Another fun story...
I am currently being chased by RMS due to a UPS delivery which was supposed to have been prepaid. Apparently though, there was a "brokerage fee" which was not mentioned or disclosed until the package was delivered. The driver insisted on immediate payment or the package would be returned to sender, so I wrote a cheque. UPS didn't cash the cheque for 4 months, by which time I had forgotten about it and it was returned by the bank (roughly $20 cheque). I couldn't find any record of having written a cheque in this amount, so thought I would get a letter from the payee to let me know about it.
Next thing I know (2 months after the returned cheque), I received a call from RMS advising me that UPS had "exhausted all avenues" in trying to contact me. They threatened immediate legal action if I didn't pay them the cheque amount plus a $45.00 "Service fee".
I immediately contacted UPS and confirmed the returned cheque was to them. I arranged to make a direct payment to UPS through online banking, and believe it is now cleared up. However, I am still getting calls from RMS, despite offering to prove that I have made the payment. I do not have a credit card, and certainly wouldn't give them any information about one anyways.
How can a company operate like RMS, and still stay in business? They seem to run in violation of most consumer protection laws, and I am sure there have been enough complaints against them to show a pattern of disregard for the law.
RMS is a scam company
The FTC should close RMS, for their collection practices....they called me last week for some unpaid UPS bills, I told them that they are wrong...they wanted to collect the money anyway, they wanted my bank account information, my credit card security codes, they even said they will garnish my paychecks...my God..they call at 3am in the morning, at 4 pm, at 11 am on saturdays, at 2 am on sundays...this is the worst collection agency, they are a nightmare..!
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