Palisades Collection , LLC (PCL) is a third-party collection agency based in New Jersey. PCL has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), such as threatening to take actions that cannot legally be taken and attempting to collect debts not owed. If you have been contacted by PCL, make sure you understand your rights before you respond.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Palisades Collection, LLC was founded and incorporated in 1998. The BBB established a profile page for PCL in 2003. The BBB lists PCL as a collection agency that uses the alternate business names, Asta Funding, Inc. (AFI); GAR Disability Advocates; and Five Star Veterans Disability. Buzzfile does not host a listing for PCL, but they do host two listings for AFI—one listing under Asta Group, Inc.; the other listing under Asta Funding, Inc. Together, Buzzfile estimates their annual revenue at $24.1 million and the size of their headquarters staff at 202 employees.
Palisades Collection does not maintain an independent, publicly accessible website. However, according the website for AFI (www.astafunding.com), “Palisades Acquisitions invests in distressed consumer receivables in Latin America, acquired at substantial discounts to face value, and in providing international collection services. The company invests in debt from all types of issuers, including credit card, and consumer loans… Palisades Acquisition continues to look to grow its presence buying debt in multiple countries around the world additionally focusing on third party collections.”
AFI “is a diversified financial services company that assists consumers and serves investors through the strategic management of [their] four complementary businesses.” AFI “began operations as a subprime auto lender… Since becoming a public company in 1995, Asta has purchased almost $32 billion in face value of debt portfolios, making Asta one of the largest debt buyers in the United States.”
AFI also operates GAR Disability Advocates, “a specialized advocacy firm that helps people make successful appeals to the Social Security Administration to obtain long-term disability benefits needed to meet their daily needs”; and Five Star Veterans Disability, an advocacy firm “helping veterans manage the time-consuming and complicated processes of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to obtain disability compensation for physical or psychological wounds from their service.”
The AFI website provides information for investors. However, there is no information about AFI’s policies concerning compliance with laws regulating the collections industry, and there are no links or 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 PCL a rating of NR (No Rating), citing as the reason that PCL “is in the process of responding to previously closed complaints. “The BBB has closed 20 complaints against Palisades Collection in the past three years, with 5 complaints closed in the past 12 months. Most of those complaints cited problems with billing and collections. As of March 2015 ,the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has closed 43 complaints involving either PCL or AFI. Justia lists at least 12 cases of civil litigation involving PCL.
Palisades Collection, LLC
210 Sylvan Avenue
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
Telephone:(201) 567-5648
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely Palisades 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
In October 2011, in United States District Court, Western District of New York, a judge issued a Decision and Order in a case alleging Palisades Collection had violated certain provisions of the FDCPA. In this case, the plaintiff alleged that PCL, acting in collaboration with two debt collection law firms—Forster & Garbus (F&G) and Pressler & Pressler (P&P)—had “filed successive suits against her, failed to comply with the FDCPA’s validation notice requirements, and improperly served process.” The plaintiff had originally incurred debt by using a credit card that she was ultimately unable to pay. PCL purchased the delinquent debt and attempted to collect the debt directly from the plaintiff but was unsuccessful. PCL first hired F&G. F&G filed two collection actions against the plaintiff, both of which were dismissed at trial because they had been filed in a court that did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. Subsequently, PCL hired P&P to collect the debt. P&P filed its first action in September 2007, but the case was dismissed because PCL and their attorneys failed to appear. Next, PCL sent the plaintiff a collection letter that “contained a validation notice informing [the plaintiff] of her rights and included language” that she claimed violated the FDCPA. The fourth collection action was filed after they sent the collection letter. The plaintiff requested that the court dismiss the case, and the court agreed after PCL and P&P failed to respond to her request. The October 2011 hearing was held to determine whether PCL had violated the FDCPA by harassing the plaintiff with multiple lawsuits; by including false and misleading language and misrepresenting the legal status or amount of a debt in a collection letter; and by serving the plaintiff with a summons and complaint by placing it “in her mailbox, but not inside an envelope.”
The court reviewed all the reasons that Palisades Collection had attempted to file lawsuits against the plaintiff. Attorneys for PCL attempted to argue that the number of complaints could not constitute harassment, because each of them was dismissed without prejudice, and none of them was dismissed based on a finding that the plaintiff did not owe the debt. The court disagreed, stating that although the cases were dismissed without prejudice, attorneys for PCL had misfiled and failed to appear on numerous occasions. As a result, the court could not overrule the plaintiff’s allegations that PCL’s conduct amounted to harassment. As for the collection letter, the court acknowledged the plaintiff’s objections to the letter but could not uphold her argument that the letter had violated the FDCPA. Finally, as for serving the summons and complaint improperly, the court agreed that “an FDCPA violation does occur where information regarding a creditor or debt is disclosed to third parties, such as through an envelope window… Furthermore, a debt collector violates Section 1692g(b) where it serves process on an individual within the 30-day validation period following a validation notice” without also providing “communication explaining that the commencement of the lawsuit has no effect on the information contained in the validation notice.”
As a result, the court dismissed charges that Palisades Collection’s collection letter violated the FDCPA but upheld the plaintiff’s charges that PCL had violated the FDCPA’s provisions against harassment and disclosing information about debts to third parties.
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…
“I have to admit, I was not sure of y’all initially but you proved me wrong. You not only got the calls to stop but you have the company to dismiss the accounts once and for all! It had been more than I anticipated.”
“Prior to contacting you, we had tried repeatedly to handle this matter without threatening litigation. In the end, not only were they unapologetic, but they were dismissive – even of an attorney friend who called on our behalf. Sincerest thanks for resolving this matter for us!”
“Lemberg Law has saved me from the endless calls, and harassing voicemails. They really do go to bat for you. I didn’t know that debt collection agencies can end up paying your legal bill. What a surprise, to receive free legal help. I’m very grateful for all the hard work they did to finally give me my life back.”
“Thank you and your team at Lemberg Law for the exceptional work you did on my behalf. I have never experienced the level of care, professionalism, timeliness in follow-through, and monetary compensation obtained through your firm.”
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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