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The good, the bad, and the ugly - discover what customers are saying about Rephen Law Firm

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12:36 am EDT
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Rephen Law Firm illegal debt collection practices

A debt collector claiming to be “Erica Shaw or Erica Shah, ” a “legal processor” from a “law firm” called “Rephen Law Firm” (which she purposely pronounced “Restin” to avoid identification online) has attempted to collect a debt she claims is $220 for a bounced check with the original amount of $70. Their phone number is [protected].

1) She refused to give information about the alleged “law firm.”
2) She refused to give information about the original debt.
3) She claimed the additional funds from the original debt amount were for their “processing fees” and interest.
4) She threatened to take me to court, sue me and take legal action against me if I did not pay the debt and their “fees” in full with an unreasonable time limit.
5) She refused to send the debt information in writing or on the law firm’s letterhead.
6) She became irate, accused me of doing illegal activity, and became verbally abusive on the phone when I questioned the fees and requested the information in writing.
7) She attempted to justify the fees under the “Uniform Commercial Code” and refused to tell me what part of it she was citing or how my state, FL, had adopted it.
8) She became irate and refused to tell me the address where I could send them a letter requesting no contact.
9) She said their only method of payment was Western Union and at first refused a payment plan I proposed. She eventually said yes to a payment plan but refused to offer any means by which to document the original debt or document my payments with receipts.

It is obvious from the overwhelming number of online complaints made to debt/credit complaint forums (e.g., /link removed/ pissedconsumer.com, etc.) that they are an illegitimate operation.

It also appears if they have set up a phony website to garner information from consumers threatened by them in order to appear legitimate: http://mharveyrephenlaw.com/.

I have reported them to the Federal Trade Commission and urge other consumers to do the same here: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

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5:02 pm EST
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Rephen Law Firm Univaible call by unknow LAW Firm

I just today had a call from a bad check that i wrote. I have received 1 paper on it and didn't have the n=money to pay it... That was in November.. This man (JOHN FONTANA) told me I had to pay this bill and if not Rephen Law Firm would take me to court for the company the check security place(that my check as secured by)... I told him that I haven't receive any paper work and that I wanted him to fax or mail me prof that I needed to pay and who I needed to pay... He told me that it had to be paid today or I would be taken to court orders on Monday... He told me the only way to pay them was to buy a Money Gram Express at Walmart. I don't know if I should pay or if this guy is just a fraud... I am good at paying my bills and as soon as I had the money I would send it but know the bill is over 2x the size as it was... Also this guy told me to send the payment to New City New York... WHAT SHOULD I DO!

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Rock Lyons
Edmond, US
Mar 18, 2011 7:41 pm EDT

I am a retired Federal Administrative Law Judge who was contacted today by a 77 year old widow who is a dear friend. She was in tears over threats made to her by a collection agency that she would be sent to jail. She had been called by the Rephen Law Firm about two months ago about a bounced check written to CVS pharmacies in the amount of $150.00. She explained that her credit card had been stolen and funds debited from her account resulting in the overdraft. She agreed to send payment and was then told that the "fees" were an additional $300.

Not having the full amount she told the lady that she would send $150 the next day (which she did) and the remainder she would have to pay out. After sending the $150.00 she misplaced the address and was unable to make any further payments.

Today she received a second call. This time the person calling was well past rude. He refused to even listen to my friend and threatened that unless the new "fees" of $500 were sent immediately they would have her arrested for fraud. When she objected to this behavior he made further threats and then hung up on her,

I have recommended that she report this company to the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office and to the Consumer Protection agency. This type of harassment is unconscionable and when used against a 77 year old widow on Social Security it is criminal.

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Lisa Anne
Upper Darby, US
Sep 16, 2009 12:27 am EDT

I received a call from this Mr. Fontana yesterday regarding a bounced check that I had back in December. He was going to get the State Police after me.

Because this upset me so much, I not only called my local Legal Aid and Public Defender's offices just to find out how I should handle this. I did some Internet research to find out anything about this so-called "Rephen Law Firm". Because this Mr. Fontanta had a heavy New York City accent, I assumed that he was from Brooklyn, but he wasn't: he's from Rockland County, which is just to the north of New York City. I thank God that I came across these complaints. I didn't realize that this firm is a scam and uses threatening techniques to make you pay a debt.

I am reporting this firm to the New York State Bar Association, to Andrew Cuomo Mario's son), the New York State Attorney Gneral, the Federal Trade Commission, Thomas Zugibe, the Attorney General for Rockland County; Tom Corbett, the Attorney General for Pennsylvania (where I live), Terry Grosselfinger, the Director of the Office of Consumer Protection in Rockland County, and the Bureau of Consumer Protection here in Pennsylvania. Everybody else should do the same thing. Don't let them victmize anymore decent law-abiding citizens!

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rephen law firm
Austin, US
Jul 31, 2009 8:18 pm EDT

A debt collector claiming to be “Erica Shaw or Erica Shah, ” a “legal processor” from a “law firm” called “Rephen Law Firm” (which she purposely pronounced “Restin” to avoid identification online) has attempted to collect a debt for a $45 bounced check. Their phone number is [protected]. It is obvious from the overwhelming number of online complaints made to debt/credit complaint forums and the Federal Trade Commission that they are an illegitimate operation and should not be paid a single dime.

It is also evident that the “processing fees” they are attempting to collect are illegal given the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm and therefore should not be paid either.

When questioned, she cited the Uniform Commercial Code which can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Commercial_Code and seen as an obvious sham to be cited, as states adopt only parts of the Universal Commercial Code and in different ways, meaning there is no way for her to tell me how exactly how it applies. IT DOESN’T. It’s like saying the Bible says something is wrong, but without telling me the verse. Obviously bull.

It also clear to me that their threats to take legal action and “take me to court” are also illegal given the FDCPA as well. They also refuse to put anything in writing and refuse to stop contacting me after both verbal and written no-contact statements, which is also illegal.

No reputable company only takes payment through Western Union. No legitimate company refuses to put things in writing or on their “law firm” letterhead.

My only question is why fraudulent companies such as this are still able to operate under this Act?

This company has even set up bogus “consumer help/protection” websites to gather people’s information here: http://mharveyrephenlaw.com/.

How is this legal? Should I report again to the Federal Trade Commission here https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en or somewhere else?

In short, do not give these people a dime. They prey on people who do not know their legal rights. They only buy bulk debt from companies who have already written off bounced checks. They intimidate people into thinking they are going to go to jail or be taken to court because their check bounced when this is simply not true.

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8:12 am EST

Rephen Law Firm threats/lying/trying to extort money on paid debt

I was contacted by Mark Cooper to call him immediately regarding a debt before further action was initiated. I called him back. He stated I owed money for a check that had not been paid. Stated check was written in June, they had spoke with me on August 18 and stated I said I would pay the check and had not done so. The check was paid, cleared my bank on August 19. Amount was paid to Cybrcollect to whom I owed the money. I tried to tell Mr. Cooper that it was paid. He would not let me speak, was horribly rude and threatening. He stated I now owed not only the original amount, but that I owed more. I asked several times how much I owed and he finally stated the amount. It was $150 more than the original amount. He said I would need to contact Cybrcollect, have them send a paid in full letter on their letterhead to him and that it needed to be taken care of by the next day. I asked him if he had Cybrcollect's phone number for me to contact and he stated he could not give me the number to contact as it was attorney/client information. I do not understand how this firm continues to be allowed to do business with these type of tactics. To threaten people who have paid the debt, not allow them to speak or obtain the information they need to resolve the matter with this company, and to come up with exaggerated, inflated, unsubstantiated fees is reprehensible. I am planning on reporting them to the Better Business Bureau, Federal Trade Commision, and the Attorney General of New York if I can ever find an address for this company. I may contact my attorney to see about legal action against them if the harassment continues. I hope anyone contacted by this firm
really follows up and does not fall victim to their tactics.

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trusted1
Oak Island, US
Dec 16, 2010 4:42 pm EST

same company, same threats. they have called me on and off for over a year. I called the company in concern and proved to them that they had missed a on-line payment that. they realized that they had been credited my payment to another account. when I told Sally Smith of Repneh [protected]) this she told me I had to get a copy of a paid bill on the company's letterhead and send it to them. At this point, I laughed at her and told her that I had proof and truth on my side and I didn't really care what she or her company did.

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finallyfree28
Cincinnati, US
Dec 11, 2010 8:52 pm EST

Thanks for posting all of the comments! I filed bankruptcy a year ago and part of my debt went to a company that sent a bill collector after me and he harassed me last year and when I gave him my attorney's phone number he even questioned her validity. He posed as a detective, called my place of employment and told them that I was going to prison for fraud, called my old neighbor and told her that I was wanted for embezzlement, etc. They must have turned this over to these a-holes. Now I will be sure not to return this call.

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Harrassed Enough 82
Sammamish, US
Sep 22, 2010 12:13 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have had the SAME issues.

Not going to get into details but basically I just called the company that Rephen was stating I supposedly wrote a bad check to and they confirmed to me that they do not use Rephen Law Firm's services. THEY did not think that it was legit and that THEY were going to report them

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kengland
white bluff, US
Jul 21, 2010 3:22 pm EDT

[censor]S!

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kengland
white bluff, US
Jul 21, 2010 3:22 pm EDT

Rephen Law Firm

17 Squadren Blvd
New City, NY [protected]

Courtney Irons

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crossbredfoxbody
staley, US
Mar 23, 2010 10:45 pm EDT

Same here (Ann Jones) contacted my wife about a few bad checks she had wrote in the past said she was from rephen law firm. My wife sent her over 1000 dollars and never got 1 piece of paperwork from her. She contacted my wife on her new cell phone about 1 week after she got it. But anyway I told my wife to stop sending her money until we got paperwork of proof of debt.

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JMCpsd
Oakdale, US
Mar 18, 2010 6:03 pm EDT

I have been harassed by them as well. If a class action suit gets filed. Count me in.

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lisa venn
jax, US
Aug 26, 2009 10:50 am EDT

i spoke to mr james adler from refen law firm..I WAS HARRASSED AND TOLD THAT HE LIVED IN A BEAUTIFUL HOUSE AND THAT IF I DIDNT pay the checks i owed that my four children would have to visit there mother in jail. The checks are to Walgreens and were written in 2006.I had another 60.00 check that i paid in july 243.00 for...for which I had to contact them to pay...they told me that they had sent me several letters regarding these issues..which I never received..they never sent me a full pay letter for the first check i paid and I never received anything after that. I told Mr Adler that I didnt appreciate the way he slandered my name because he didnt know me and he said that I didnt know him either..how convenient..and that he really didnt care.He told me that I stole merchandise from Walgreens and that the 150.00 fee for each check was so that walgreens could restock their shelves..and that the firm was previously paid for what they do and was not getting any of the money they collect..Maybe thats why their so angry!lol...anyway..Im going to pay the other two chks off w/o the fees until they can be verified and i will contact the affiliate group for their bad choice of third party collectors...There may be a law against that... them hiring a third party to collect on what they cant...any way it is refreshing to see that i am not alone with this..if any class action suit arises let me know..oh he also said my voice was recorded and when i asked him to play it back i got nothing...

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JosephPazowski
, US
Aug 14, 2009 4:10 pm EDT

They are based out of Nyack, NY, near the TappanZee bridge based on a reverse lookup of their number.

Left a very hostile message on my voicemail (to the wrong person, oddly enough) so I looked them up.

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rephen law firm
Austin, US
Aug 01, 2009 12:33 am EDT

A debt collector claiming to be “Erica Shaw or Erica Shah, ” a “legal processor” from a “law firm” called “Rephen Law Firm” (which she purposely pronounced “Restin” to avoid identification online) has attempted to collect a debt she claims is $220 for a bounced check with the original amount of $70. Their phone number is [protected].

1) She refused to give information about the alleged “law firm.”
2) She refused to give information about the original debt.
3) She claimed the additional funds from the original debt amount were for their “processing fees” and interest.
4) She threatened to take me to court, sue me and take legal action against me if I did not pay the debt and their “fees” in full with an unreasonable time limit.
5) She refused to send the debt information in writing or on the law firm’s letterhead.
6) She became irate, accused me of doing illegal activity, and became verbally abusive on the phone when I questioned the fees and requested the information in writing.
7) She attempted to justify the fees under the “Uniform Commercial Code” and refused to tell me what part of it she was citing or how my state, FL, had adopted it.
8) She became irate and refused to tell me the address where I could send them a letter requesting no contact.
9) She said their only method of payment was Western Union and at first refused a payment plan I proposed. She eventually said yes to a payment plan but refused to offer any means by which to document the original debt or document my payments with receipts.

It is obvious from the overwhelming number of online complaints made to debt/credit complaint forums (e.g., /link removed/ pissedconsumer.com, etc.) that they are an illegitimate operation.

It also appears if they have set up a phony website to garner information from consumers threatened by them in order to appear legitimate: http://mharveyrephenlaw.com/.

I have reported them to the Federal Trade Commission and urge other consumers to do the same here: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

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