West Virginia AG Settles with Five Collection Agencies

West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw’s office announced Monday that it had entered into settlements with five separate collection agencies and debt buyers after what it classified as “scrutiny of the sometimes unscrupulous debt collection industry.”

McGraw’s office said that the settlements will return, or cancel debts totaling, nearly $1 million to 492 West Virginia residents.

The statement issued by the AG said that investigations were launched after the office had received complaints from consumers alleging that the companies were collecting debt without a license in the state. The statement also said that abusive debt collection practices were alleged “in some instances.”

The companies named in the settle were Anaheim, Calif.-based Bureau of Asset Management; Hurst, Texas-based Ascension Services, Inc.; Federal Pacific Credit Company of Salt Lake City, Utah; Kessler and Freedman, Inc., of Amherst, N.Y; and Phillips & Burns of Tampa, Fla.

McGraw’s office said that four of the five were classified as debt purchasers.

McGraw said in the statement, “My office continues to be concerned about the increasingly widespread practice in which alleged defaulted accounts, mostly credit card debts, are sold to debt purchasers for pennies on the dollar, years after the default and when proof of the debt may no longer exist. My office will also continue to monitor this industry to ensure that such debt purchasers are licensed and do not abuse consumers. Notwithstanding our concerns about this industry, I commend these companies for agreeing to conform their practices to West Virginia law and for granting important relief to West Virginia consumers.”