The harassing company pays our fees.
Grant Mercantile Agency or GMA is third-party collection agency based in Southern California. GMA has received complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), including attempting to collect debts not owed and using false or misleading language in an effort to collect a debt. If you have been contacted by GMA, make sure you understand your rights before responding.
According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Grant Mercantile Agency, Inc. was founded in 1972 and incorporated in 1986. The BBB established a profile page for GMA in 1990. GMA is listed as a collection agency that uses the alternate business name, Yankee, Inc. Buzzfile estimates GMA’s annual revenue at $3.8 million and the size of its staff at 30 employees.
According to its website, GMA “has been helping businesses…increase cash flow, recoveries, and profits for more than four decades.” GMA advertises superior customer service and “exceptional recoveries.” GMA’s “consistent work ethic and innovative collection services have earned them an excellent reputation for…professionalism, courtesy, and positive public relations.” In addition, GMA’s staff is “trained to assist debtors as counselors and advisors…to help…debtors repay their debts as quickly as possible.”
GMA collects delinquent debts for four main industries: government, healthcare, retail, and commercial. GMA’s government division collects delinquent accounts on behalf of “city and county entities, utilities, county healthcare facilities, judgements, and license and traffic fees.” Their healthcare division “has decades of experience collecting for all facets of the healthcare environment,” and promises its clients “high recoveries…resulting from the efforts of…skilled, courteous, and professional staff…and distinguished technological capabilities.” GMA’s retail division maximizes “recoveries for…retail clients…by accepting payments by check, credit card, and check-by-phone.” Finally, GMA’s commercial division offers “business to business collections for…receivable partners, including some of America’s finest corporations.”
As for compliance, GMA claims to “have been recognized by their peers and trade organizations for their academic achievements, dedicated service, and contributions to…the industry” and advertises “strict compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations, including those contained in the California Civil Code, the Robbins-Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Federal Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), and the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).” However, their website does not provide links or references to consumer protection resources or enforcement agencies, and their contact form does not include a disclaimer identifying them as a bill collector.
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 closed 9 complaints against Grant Mercantile Agency in the past three years, with 1 complaint closed in the past 12 months. Most of those complaints allege problems with advertising and sales, with only 2 alleging problems with billing and collections. Since June 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has closed 23 complaints against GMA, and Justia lists at least 4 cases of civil litigation involving GMA.
Absolutely. Here are some Sample Cases against GMA
In December 2017, in United States District Court, Eastern District of California, a judge issued Findings and Recommendations in a case alleging Grant Mercantile Agency had violated several provisions of the federal FDCPA, as well as California’s state Rosenthal FDCPA and the state Business and Professions Code. According to the facts in this case, the plaintiff had received medical treatment for a back injury in 2014. She was initially billed in 2015 by the healthcare provider for $767.00, which represented the cost of treatment at $877.00, less a payment by her insurance company of $110.00. In March 2017, the plaintiff mailed a check for $767.00 as payment in full to the healthcare provider. Subsequently, the plaintiff received a letter from GMA requesting that the plaintiff send them a check for the medical bill she had just paid. The letter stated that she owed the principal amount of $877.00 and $206.15 in interest, for a total of $1,083.15. GMA allegedly sent three additional letters to the plaintiff. The first of these three letters acknowledged the $767.00 payment the plaintiff had already made, but requested payment for the remaining balance of $110.00, plus an interest payment of $208.58. The second letter also acknowledged the $110.00 insurance payment but requested payment of $209.09 in interest. The third and final letter simply demanded payment for interest charges of $209.09.
The letters failed to identify the original creditor, thereby violating the FDCPA provision against the use of “false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt.” In addition, the plaintiff asserted that the charges listed in the letters constituted an “attempt to collect an inaccurate amount of debt and…falsely represented the character, amount, or legal status of the debt.” As a result, the plaintiff’s complaint alleged that the letters sent by GMA violated sections 1692g(a)(2), 1692e, 1692e(2)(A), and 1692f(1) of the federal FDCPA; and section 1788.13(e) of the California FDCPA. She sought $1,000 in statutory damages for the federal FDCPA violations; $1,000 in statutory damages for the state FDCPA violations; and court costs and attorney fees, for a total of $6,010.00. The plaintiff served the complaint on GMA representatives in August 2017 and provided sufficient proof of service to the court prior to the trial. GMA representatives failed to respond, so the plaintiff requested that the Clerk of the Court enter a default judgement in her favor for the full amount she had requested. The judge could not find any error of fact in her pleading; agreed that GMA’s conduct constituted a violation of state and federal FDCPA laws; and agreed to enter a default judgement in her favor. However, he reduced the amount of the total award, awarding the plaintiff $600 each in statutory damages for violations of state and federal laws; and attorney fees and court costs of $3,737.00, for a total award of $4,937.00.
Grant Mercantile Agency, Inc.
49099 Road 426
Oakhurst, Calif. 93644
Telephone: (800) 821-7530
Website: http://www.grantmercantile.com/
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.
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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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Grant Mercantile will not remove a fraudulent collection from my husband’s credit report. He never rode in an ambulance in California so this bill is completely false. Despite several disputes filed with the credit bureaus, Mercantile continue to say it’s my husband.
Mercantile, nor the ambulance company ever sent a bill or called before putting this on his credit report. We are in the middle of an important purchase and this recent collection is dragging down his score. Just Awful!!
I had an ambulance bill from Liberty Ambulance that totaled $2955.56 which was mailed to me on 11/08/2018 stating if not paid in 10 days it will be turned over to a collection agency. I received another bill dated 11/09/2018 from the Ambulance company but this bill came to me in early 12/2018 also for $2955.56. On 12/10/2018 I received a bill from Grant Mercantile Agency that was dated 12/07/2018 that stated they were collecting for Liberty Ambulance with the principal as $4974.80 interest $155.37 with the total of $5130.17 and a paragraph on Fair debt collection practices from the Federal Trade Commissions. On 12/11/2018 a bill from Liberty Ambulance came dated 12/06/2018 stating that the amount due was $2955.56 no interest or other charges stating current amount due $2955.56. I find this to be quiet suspicious due to the fact that if I would of panicked and paid these bills it would have been over $8000.00 which is almost $5000.00 over the amount owed. I was immediately suspicious of the timing of the letters cause the bill received from Liberty Ambulance had a bright sticker that stated if this bill was not addressed in 10 days they were turning the debt to collections this dated 11/08/2018. So why did Liberty Ambulance send me another bill dated 12/06/2018 if it should have been turned over to a collection agency. I am a widow with a teenage daughter at home and I am barely able to get us by with my paychecks. I am very suspicious that the timing of the letters is not a mistake it was done on purpose. Grant Mercantile Agency clearly add $2000.00 to the amount of what was owed and then added interest to it which I am clearly not understanding because unless they are loan sharks is that even legal. I have kept all the letters and I have tried to contact the credit agencies to dispute it but am not able to download the paperwork I have at this time. Grant Mercantile Agency has claimed that I am delinquent and reported me as being $5483.00 in debt when I disputed it they took of $200.00. I am not in any position to have such a dishonest amount put on my credit record. I am really suffering because of this as I have been through two declared disasters which have damaged my home and caused a huge financial burden for me and if I did not have this on my credit record I could have at least gotten a credit card to help us instead of having to apply for state add as repairing my house damaged in both floods earlier in March and the earthquakes that are now causing us to not have water. I am now in fear that my house is going to be red tagged and we are going to have to sleep in my front yard. I am doing my best to keep repairing the damage but this has made me unable to afford even basic school supplies for my daughter to start school. I am really in need of advise and help this is very wrong. I am never going to be able to get out of debt if they are allowed to continue and what little I have left will be lost too.
Grant Mercantile Agency keeps charging me for an amount of $37.39 which I already paid for.
I want to make sure Grant Mercantile Agency does not ruin my credit which is very good standing.
Please can you help me with this issue with Grant Mercantile Agency.