The harassing company pays our fees.
Merchants Credit Association, Inc. (MCA) is a third-party collection agency based in Washington state. MCA has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), including misrepresentation and improper sharing of information. If you have been contacted by MCA, understand your rights before taking action.
According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Merchants Credit Association was founded in 1937 and incorporated in 1954. The BBB established MCA’s profile page in 1990. MCA is listed as a collection agency that uses the alternate business name, Merchants Credit Corporation. Buzzfile estimates MCA’s annual revenue at $6.6 million, and the size of its staff at 64 people.
Anti-virus applications such as Norton Anti-virus block users from visiting MCA’s website with a with a prominent “Malicious Web Site Blocked” warning page that displays the message, “This is a known malicious web site. It is recommended that you do NOT visit this site. The detailed report explains the security risks on this site.”
The detailed report states that, “Norton Safe Web has analyzed merchantscredit.com for safety and security problems. Below is a sample of the threats that were found. Summary: Computer Threats: 0; Identity Threats: 1; Annoyance factors: 0.” The detailed report also indicates that the site is a source of “phishing” attacks in which site visitors’ personal data is later used for unintended purposes.
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 36 complaints against MCA in the past three years, with nine complaints closed in the past 12 months. Most of the complaints allege problems with billing and collections. Since May 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received 5 complaints about MCA. Justia lists at least 4 cases of civil litigation involving MCA.
Absolutely. Here are some Sample Cases against Merchants Credit Association, Inc.
Cases involving Merchants Credit Association stretch back to the era of its founding date of 1937 and involve allegations implicating its founder, Charles Sunderlin, and his associates in various charges of misconduct with varying results, including hearings before the State Bar in consideration of disbarment. More recently, in July 2017, a judge issued an Order in a case alleging MCA had violated state and federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) provisions, as well as provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In this case, the plaintiff charged that MCA made several calls to his mother’s cell phone in an effort to locate him to discuss an alleged past due financial obligation. The plaintiff charged that these phone calls were made to the wrong number and therefore constituted a violation of the FDCPA and the TCPA. In addition, he charged that MCA also called two of his own cell phone numbers using a pre-recorded message, constituting further violations of the TCPA. Finally, he alleged that MCA had reported inaccurate information to the credit reporting agencies. Despite having disputed the information in writing, MCA failed to answer him back “‘with appropriate proof of investigation and verification of the information in dispute and totally failed to take corrective action.’”
MCA argued that the plaintiff did not have the standing to file a legal complaint against them on the basis of calls made to another person, regardless of the reason for the call or the nature of the relationship. The court agreed, indicating that because the plaintiff could not have suffered an injury himself as the result of phone calls made to another person, he did not have the standing to charge MCA with a violation. Furthermore, his mother had filed a complaint about the calls in a separate suit. However, the court did not dismiss his claim about MCA’s calls to his cell phones that used a pre-recorded message. MCA argued that those charges were spurious, but the court indicated that the plaintiff had demonstrated a substantial enough charge to warrant an investigation of whether a violation had occurred. Charges that MCA had violated the FDCPA were dismissed because the plaintiff had filed his complaint after the statute of limitations had expired. As for charges that MCA had violated the FCRA by reporting inaccurate information to the credit reporting agencies (CRAs), the plaintiff’s charges were too general and lacked specific evidence that MCA did not notify the “CRAs that [the plaintiff] was disputing the information being reported.” Thus, some of the plaintiff’s charges were dismissed on procedural grounds, but his complaint that MCA’s cell phone calls had violated the TCPA was upheld. The court indicated the plaintiff would be given the opportunity to file an amended complaint to address the deficiencies noted by the court.
Merchants Credit Association, Inc.
2245 152nd Ave., NE
Redmond, WA 98052-5519
Telephone: (425) 643-2613
Website: http://www.merchantscredit.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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I was making payments from a debt dated 7/15/11 to Merchants Credit Association and then garnished for not paying enough monthly as well as having my checking account cleaned out. After the garnishment stopped, I received no mail or phone calls for years. Just two days ago I received a letter stating I still owed $6745.75 (Original balance was $3073.90- Gesa Credit Union debt sold was only $1800) I estimate I paid them over $5,500 through garnishments and payments. It appears that while being garnished they tacked on $5066.10 in Legal Fees through Benton County. I never was given an opportunity to stand in court. I have no other debt other than student loans that I am current on and have worked diligently to have the 700 credit score I have today. I feel that the legal fees are fraudulent. What can I do?? I have kept many documents and will gather everything I have kept during the 2012-2013 garnishments. Please contact me for more information.
I also had a Gesa Credit Union Car Loan in 2011, that I paid off in full. Gesa refuses to give me the title to the car I paid for stating that due to the default on the Visa Card- That they sold to Merchants Credit Union- I can not get the title.
Thanks,