Victim Location 76306
Type of a scam Debt Collections
Agent from a supposed Jackson Eden Group called me stating that US CELLULAR had filed a complaint against me due to an unpaid bill from over 15 years ago. They stated that my paychecks or bank account could be garnished. After this I hung up with them, and reached out to US CELLULAR who stated that since it’s been so long ago that I’ve even had an account with them, they couldn’t even find me in their system. Please beware of this fraudulent company.
Victim Location 79606
Total money lost $82.15
Type of a scam Debt Collections
Tuesday evening, I received a phone call from a San Antonio, Texas number, (210)806-0233. The female stated that I was three days away from being served a complaint against me and would be taken to court. I asked her what the complaint was regarding, and she told me the envelope was sealed and ready to mail so she could only provide me with a file number and a phone number. I had a one hour hold time to call the number provided before they would mail the documents. I have never had any legal issues before, so in a panic, I immediately called the number I was given and spoke with a woman claiming to be Samantha. She informed me that the complaint was regarding an account with Stream Energy from 2010, nearly 10 years ago. The amount they were seeking at JE Groups was $1,649.27. I asked her how come I have never been notified of this debt before now, and she claimed that 45 days ago, I should have received a letter from them in the mail, which I definitely did not receive. I just bought my home in October of 2018, so I grabbed all the mail I have received since living in my home, and began searching through it for anything from JE that I may have overlooked. Nothing, of course. She informed me that not receiving the letter actually would work in my favor for getting the balance reduced. I informed her I had just bought my home three months ago, and I feel like this debt would have showed on my credit reports, so I was curious how come it didn’t show, and never has over the past 10 years. While on the phone with her, I even pulled up my credit card app and opened my credit report, no debt showing for Stream Energy. She informed me that debts will only remain on a credit report for so long before they will be removed and pursued by legal action. I find it odd that a debt from nearly 10 years ago wouldn’t still be showing on my credit report, and would not have showed up at all during the course of the last 9 years. She put me on a "brief , silent hold" to go speak with her supervisor to see what they could work out to avoid me paying the full balance and being taken to court. After a minute or two, she returned and said she had "great news!" They would reduce my debt to $985.71 if I paid in full right then. I told her that was not going to happen. She kept insisting that if I didn’t pay, arbitration would ensue and I would be taken to court. She also informed me they would garnish wages, levy my account, even take my personal possessions from me to obtain this debt. I told her this just doesn’t seem right to me because I have never been contacted in the past 9 years about this debt, by Stream nor a collection agency. I made a payment out of fear for being taken to court. I immediately deactivated my debit card through my banking app. Samantha had my social security number, my address, phone number, and date of birth. I am worried this is a scam and my account and identity might be compromised. I contacted my bank first thing the following morning and canceled the card and have been issued a new one. I also contacted my local police department to see what I needed to do, if anything. They advised me to contact Stream Energy myself first and see what they had to say. I called them and had them look my name up, I did have service with them from 2010 to 2011. Service ending in April of 2011. How come the debt claim is from 2010 and not 2011 if that is when the account with Stream closed? Stream did inform me a balance was due, but she could not see the amount since it had been so long. She did provide me with a phone number that was last updated in 2013 for a collections company. (888)270-2861. I called and it is now a number for Luminous Air. I called the original San Antonio number back and it didn’t even ring, just silence. I called the JE Groups number and told the lady I was returning a missed call. She looked up my cell number and confirmed my name. I asked her for proof that they are a legitimate collections agency and she said the email I should receive in a few days regarding my payment will provide me with the information I need for proof. I told her of the complaints I was currently reading through on ScamPulse.com and she said "Ma’am, no one likes paying debts they owe, people will say anything online. ScamPulse.com is basically a fancy version of Yelp." She even went as far as to tell me "If this was a scam, we would have drained your bank account." I told her that’s not necessarily true. I told her "You people are smart about what you do, draining an account would get you caught, you can fly under the radar by just taking the amount you claim to be seeking and then moving on to the next person." She said she was going to transfer me to my case manager, Samantha. Of course Samantha was "assisting another customer," so she would return my call within the next 30 minutes. I never received a call from "Samantha." I am unsure what to do at this point, because Stream informed me of a balance I owe them, but I have a hard time believing JE Groups is a real debt collection agency seeking settlement on my account with Stream. There are too many red flags and too many complaints from people with proof they do not owe the alleged company a debt JE is seeking. I contacted my lender yesterday morning, and she is also not seeing anything for Stream Energy on my credit report.
Victim Location 96793
Type of a scam Debt Collections
I received a call from a different phone number. (844-573-4704) When I answered the phone the person on the other side asked if I was XX, when I replied yes, she said that I had 2 hours to contact JE Group or I’d be taken to court. She gave me a phone number and an access code. I called that number, they said they were a debt collection agency and that I owe AT&T X amount of dollars for a cell phone bill that was under my name from 2000-2002. I tried to explain I never had cell service with that company. The agent proceeded to tell me that I had to pay or go to court. I asked to speak to a supervisor, she proceeded to tell me that JE Group sent me a letter in the mail 45 days ago to my lady 2 known addresses. I never received any paperwork. I asked for the account number and more time to do research because this whole situation was fishy. The supervisor whose name is Eleneh Barns stated that they only had the last 4 digits of my account number. She also said if I didn’t commit to paying this bill that they’d take me to court and this “bill” would be on my credit report for 10+ years. Needless to say I made the foolish decision to make a payment arrangement; however, I did my research. AT&T wasn’t even a cellular company st that time, the statutes of limitation has passed, and ATT&T couldn’t find me by name or social security number. Now I’m trying to call that number to share my findings with them and no one is answering their lines for 2 days straight.
Victim Location 33174
Type of a scam Debt Collections
JE Groups or also known as Johnson and Edwards collections, contacted me on 10/20/2017. Upon them contacting me, I was notified that I was being brought up on civil charges for a bill that was 10 years old.
I received a call on my husbands phone asking for me with my maiden name from a North Carolina number the woman stated that there has been a complaint filed against me. She refused to provide any info other than she had a sealed envelope that she could not open along with a phone # to call 877-639-0718 & File# Bg292 to provide them with. She also stated that she could put the complaint on hold for 2 hours if I don’t call the number within 2 hours they will go ahead with further proceedings. I called the number and spoke with someone. He had me confirm my date of birth which I provided. He then told me my last four of my social to confirm. He advised me that there was a complaint/civil suite and an asset and liability against me for a bill that I had with Tmobile that was filed in 2013. He stated there have been multiple attempts to contact me and they had sent a letter 45 days ago .I informed him that I never received a letter and have been at the same address for many years which he had confirmed was correct with me. I asked him to resend the paperwork so I can review it and determine if it is my debt. He stated that it is to late for that and I either need to pay today or they will start the process to garnish my wages. He stated they had a right to 25% of my paychecks as well as 25% of any money I had in the bank each month. He stated that if I tried to sell or refinance my car there would be a lien put on it until the debt was paid. I check my credit report frequently and have fraud protection. I have no accounts in collections or any derogatory marks. I informed him that if it was my account I had not had Tmobile for many years and that I had the clearance letter where it shows I owe no money when I switched company . He stated that that is untrue as it was sold into collections and reported on my credit report in 2013 and that it has been through several collection agencies . . He was wanting to go over information and confirm payment arrangements. I informed him that I am not discussing any of this and told him I will need to talk to an attorney. I kept getting the "pay now or else…" Ultimatum. I asked if there would be a court hearing that I could attend to dispute the account. He stated there would not be that if I do not pay today it will go to their judge and they would instantly win. I informed him that if that is what they must do then go ahead. I know certain laws and his words contradicted them. Everything about this sounded shady. I have Equifax and they had a security breach. I also worked for Jackson Memorial Hospital and they had a security breach so it could easily be a scam
Victim Location 33772
Type of a scam Debt Collections
Called saying my daughter owed 10,000 dollars for a t-mobile bill that the service never got shut off l. Well after non payment of bill we know the phone was shut off and that was when she was 18 she is now 35. So we know it’s a scam and we read other complaints of them doing this to other people.
Victim Location 97538
Type of a scam Debt Collections
They call up and claim that I will be subpoenaed and have to appear in court and possibly be arrested over a debt to us cellular that has never existed. They say they are from Johnson and Edwards and there is a long list of scam reports about this group that a simple Google search will bring up.