Sky Recovery Services or SRS is a third-party collection agency based in Texas. Sky has received consumer complaints alleging serious violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), including making false statements and failing to verify debts. If you have been contacted by Sky, understand your rights before taking action.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Sky Recovery Services, Ltd. is a legitimate collection agency, founded in August 1998, and the BBB opened its file four months later. SRS is listed with a headquarters office located in Houston, TX.
According to its website, SRS is a complete, full service collection agency that “specializes in the collection of bad debt…and has over 65 years of experience in the accounts receivable management industry.” Sky claims to have experience including, but not limited to, collections for “multi-family (apartments), medical, physician groups, commercial, retail, credit unions and country clubs.”
The president of Sky Recovery Services “has held management positions in collection operations as well as marketing for over forty years.” In addition to serving existing clients’ needs, he “has brought in over 1500 new clients, 1000 of which are multi-family” accounts, including over $6.7 million “in multi-family collections for the Houston area alone.”
SRS does not offer a lot of information about compliance with consumer protection or regulatory laws. Their Apartment Collections page states, “All our clients need to do to get started with SRS is fax, mail, or Electronic/Digital Transfer from your office a copy of the statement of deposit, soda, summary of move-out (which ever you may call it) and a copy of the application…SRS will report your delinquent accounts to the credit bureau with NO CHARGE to our clients at all.”
In addition, Sky Recovery Services states that it is a member of the American Collectors Association (ACA), and the “HAA and TAA.” There no references or links to consumer protection resources, laws, or 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.
As of October 2017, the BBB has given SRS a rating of F. In the past three years, the BBB has closed 7 complaints against Sky Recovery Services , with 2 closed in the past 12 months. Almost all of those complaints allege problems with billing and collections. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has not logged any complaints about SRS. Justia lists at least 7 cases of civil litigation naming SRS as a defendant.
Sky Recovery Services, Ltd
12000 Westhemier #330
Houston, TX 77077
Phone: 281-679-9044
Website: http://www.skyrecoveryservices.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely SRS 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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Unlawful Debt Harassment? Learn the Law & Sue the Collector.
Absolutely. Here are some Sample Cases
In March 2009, in United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, a plaintiff brought a civil action against Sky Recovery Services for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Initially, the plaintiff alleged charges under the FDCPA, but the defendants successfully moved to have the charges dismissed. The plaintiff amended his complaint to allege claims under the FCRA, but the judge recommended that the previous dismissal, which had been converted to a summary judgement, be granted. The plaintiff again objected, and was again overruled, but because a previous judge had addressed the FDCPA claims but not the FCRA claims, the recommendation to dismiss was rejected, the summary judgment was denied in part and granted in part, and SRS was given 30 days to file a motion on the FCRA claims. SRS filed a motion to dismiss the FCRA claims, and this March 2009 hearing resulted in a Memorandum and Opinion regarding the plaintiff’s response and motion for reconsideration of the FDCPA claims.
Ultimately, the plaintiff was not successful in persuading the court that Sky Recovery Services was liable for willful and negligent noncompliance of the FCRA. The FCRA imposes four duties on “furnishers of information” to credit reporting agencies: “to conduct an ‘investigation with respect to the disputed information’; to review all relevant information provided by the credit reporting agency; to report the results of its investigation to the credit reporting agency; and if the investigation finds the information is incomplete or inaccurate to report those results ‘to all nationwide consumer reporting agencies to which the person furnished the information.’” The plaintiff attempted to argue that SRS was acting in the interest of a private individual rather than a collection agency, and that regardless, they had failed to investigate his complaint.
Although the plaintiff was not successful in arguing his motion, his case raises concerns about the conduct of SRS management. The case originated in 2008 when the plaintiff applied for a loan and was rejected because the bank discovered a $44,000 outstanding debt with Sky Recovery on his credit report. The plaintiff contacted SRS’ manager“to dispute the debt and request any information about the report. The manager responded…that SRS made the report because of a debt the plaintiff owed the manager and his business partner.” This assertion was the basis of the plaintiff’s claim that SRS was not acting in the usual role of a furnisher of information to the credit reporting agencies. In fact, the plaintiff knew the business partner of SRS’ general manager, and “the court record revealed that the debt SRS reported to the credit bureau arose out of a commercial lease between the plaintiff’s company” and the property management company acting as its landlord. The manager’s business partner was the president of that property management company.
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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Sky Recovery Services called 3 and 4 times a day threatening court action they are very rude and to the point of harassing i can’t sleep i feel like they are almost mob related scared someone is going to show up at my home