Bath Credit Services or BCS is a debt collection agency, which receives a lot of consumer complaints to our law firm for debt harassment. Find out who they are, why they might be calling,
Bath Credit Services, Inc. (BCS) is a third-party collection agency based in New York state. BCS has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), including harassment, using threatening and abusive language in an effort to collect a debt, and failing to verify debts. If BCS has contacted you about past due collection items, make sure you understand your rights before you take action.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Bath Credit Services , Inc. is a legitimate collection agency started locally in Bath, NY in April 2018. However, the BBB had established a profile page for BCS in April 2017. The BBB has posted an Alert warning site visitors about some of BCS’s business practices. Buzzfile indicates BCS also uses the alternate business name, Credit Bureau of Bath, Inc., and estimates BCS’s annual revenue at$254,000 and the size of its headquarters staff at4 employees.
According to its website, BCS “serves the debt-collection needs of a variety of businesses” and provides “complete receivables recovery services.” BCS states that its “professional staff has more than 80 years of combined debt recovery experience…and understands the importance of recovering debt in a legal and professional manner so that your customers will have every opportunity to pay off their debt, restore their credit, and return to being a customer in good standing.”
BCS collects delinquent debts for retail, housing, and medical services providers. BCS offers its collection services on a contingency basis, stating that “it costs nothing to use” their services. Instead, BCS states that when “debtors decide not to address their financial obligations, BCS staff, working with a local attorney, files all judgments, garnishees, etc., with the local town and village courts and employers. These costs are then tacked on to what the debtor owes.” BCS charges the client for “certain county court filings that require fees… but only if the client chooses fee-specific legal actions.”
In cases in which a “debtor makes payment arrangements and pays off his or her debt, an industry-wide standard fee is withheld from any money paid by the debtor and the remaining balance is forwarded to…the client on a monthly basis.” BCS also “reports the repayment of the debt to the three national credit reporting companies.” Finally, BCS offers the “additional service…of reviewing…invoicing practices and suggesting simple, inexpensive ways which permit any collection costs to be added to the debtor’s debt.”
At the bottom of BCS’s Privacy Policy page, there are two articles—one is entitled, “A Thrifty Thanksgiving,” and contains ideas for spending less money on holiday meals, such as substituting chicken for turkey; the other is entitled, “Dealing with a Fake Debt Collector,” and contains some general information and a link to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that leads to a non-operative webpage. However, the BCS websites does not provide any information about regulatory compliance polices, and there is no dedicated page with links and references to consumer protection resources, laws, or enforcement agencies.
Who are we? We are Lemberg Law, a Consumer Law Firm
Lemberg Law is a consumer law firm helping victims of collection harassment and abuse. We are ranked A+ by the BBB. We’ve helped more than 15,000 consumers stop harassment and recover money from debt collectors. Harassed? Abused? Misled by a collector? Call our Helpline today! There is no charge unless we win.
The BBB has given Bath Credit Services a rating of B-,citing as reasons the short length of time BCS has been operating and the number of complaints already filed against them.As of March 2018, the BBB has closed 3 complaints against Bath Credit Services in the past 3 years, with 2 complaints closed in the previous 12 months. All of those complaints alleged problems with billing and collections. The CFPB has not posted any complaint information about BCS. Justia lists at least 1 case of civil litigation involving BCS.
Bath Credit Services, Inc.
12 Liberty St.
Bath, NY 14810-1507
Telephone: (607) 776-7689
Website: http://www.bathcreditservices.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely BCS would sue you for a debt you may not owe or they cannot validate. However, debt collection agencies are known to have summoned debtors to court and garnish wages after a default judgement. Contacting an attorney BEFORE this could possibly happen would be a smart move. We’ve helped thousands of consumers fight back against unscrupulous debt collection harassers. Find out if we can help you too today!
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Absolutely. Here are some Sample Complaints
The BBB has posted an Alert on the profile page for Bath Credit Services that states:
“Better Business Bureau conducted an investigation into this business, with the initial contact on 6/29/18, asking for the following: licensing and bonding, where it does business, the company’s EIN, and affiliations with other businesses. The company provided some of the information that was requested but not all of it. The company refused to provide the EIN.
“The company advised BBB that they do not work anywhere where specialty licensing is required; however, the company’s website states, ‘A Collection Agency Serving New York State.’There are two cities in New York State which require special licensing for debt collection. BBB was not able to locate a license for the company or its legal name in either city.”
Complaints against Bath Credit Services cite problems resulting from disputes about the validity of debts and allegations of abusive telephone representatives. In January 2019, a complainant stated that he had sold a camper using a website in which the expenses were to be paid by the purchaser. The purchaser failed to make the agreed payments, and the complainant did not have a written agreement. As a result, the unpaid bill went to collections. Although the complainant had not received any advance notice of an unpaid bill, BCS sent him a “summons to claims court in Bath, NY.” When the complainant “called BCS to inquire why he had not received any bill” or notice, the BCS representative “informed him that they had sent it to an old post office box address.” The BCS representative then stated that BCS had “received his physical address from the post office” but had “never sent any correspondence.” Ultimately, BCS “agreed to accept $50 a month payment.” The complainant said he had a serious medical condition that was limiting his income, so the BCS representative told him he wouldn’t have to go to court. However, “after a month, his paycheck was garnished.” When he called BCS to ask why after they had agreed not to, the complainant was allegedly “treated badly, degraded, yelled at, and hung up on.” The complainant persisted in his effort to resolve the debt, but BCS “began getting nasty, yelling, degrading, then told him they would…refuse… to take his payment,” and that “it would remain… garnished from his wages.” The BCS representative“then stated, ‘Good luck ever buying anything again,’ and hung up on” him. In its response, BCS stated, ”The individual making this complaint has flat out told nothing but false statements in this situation.” BCS accused the complainant of abusing BCS staff and provided a lengthy and detailed accounting of the complainant’s transaction, alleging that he had a history of aggressive and abusive conduct. Two additional lengthy rounds of accusations followed, with no resolution to the dispute.
Federal laws protect you. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) regulates the behavior of collection agencies by prohibiting actions such as the use of abusive or threatening language; harassment; or the use of false or misleading information to collect a debt. The FCRA regulates how collection agencies and creditors report delinquent debts to credit reporting agencies. Additional consumer protection laws include the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).
But here’s the rub: If you want to enforce your rights, or recover money for violations — you need to sue. These laws provide individuals like you with a means to seek monetary damages in court. For example, the FDCPA allows consumers who have been violated to recover damages of up to $1,000, plus attorney fees and court costs.
You may have a case, if…
“With your help the nagging collection calls have finally ceased! I was thrilled I was also able to get damages from the collection agency. I am unable to adequately express my joy. I am so thankful I made the call.”
“When I first emailed the office, I was not exactly sure what they could do for me. I had an idea, but they responded back with everything I could expect to take place. I never believed I would be receiving a check, it was definitely a silver lining. I highly recommend them to anyone seeking customer legal services.”
“I just wanted to let you know we received the check from your office on now and I wanted to take some time to inform you that we really appreciate all of your efforts in this matter.”
We can absolutely help. Call us today.
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Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
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