GC Services Watch

GC Services: A Typical Complaint Showing GC Services' Dishonest Behavior

2011-10-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a typical complaint about GC Services:

"I was contacted by Dawnie from GC Services, last night around 8:15pm. It came up on my phone as a local number so my husband answered it. He handed the phone to me and she asked if it was me and gave the address of which I reside. She said that she was calling on behalf of CITI bank in regards to a credit card debt I have with them and asked if I was going to pay the full amount last night of $3,947.95, and I told her no, because I was working with American Financial Concepts, which is a debt settlement company. She said that they will not speak to any 3rd parties regarding my account. To make a long story short, she asked me my husband's name, place of employment and a number where they could reach him. I told her that I wasn't giving her that information, because he has nothing to do with my debts, nor does he know about them. She said that she is going to document in my file that I refuse to give out this information and I said fine. She then repeated herself. She gave me 2 options, 1) to pay off my debt in 6 mthly payments of $600+ and 2.) to pay $1973 by tomorrow (Tues., 11/10) and then pay $100/mth. interest free. I had to give them a good faith check in the amount of $50 and then I am to call her back tomorrow at 1pm. She said that she was located in San Diego. She said that I am deemed evasive and that CITI bank is demanding that I pay the full balance.

Unfortunately, I felt bullied and didn't know where to turn, so I gave her my checking account information for the $50. Does anyone have any advice for me? I do not have the $1900+ to pay them by TOMORROW!!!"

Yes, the consumer here was bullied. That's one reason why you should never talk to collection agencies on the phone.

One way to handle phone calls is here. Here is another.

The law requires that debt collectors communicate with you in writing. When they do, respond with a debt validation letter.

Now, if GC Services had withdrawn more than the $50, they would have been guilty of wire fraud.

Also, the line about "demanding payment in full" is rubbish. Debt collectors like GC Services buy massive portfolios for pennies on the dollar.

Learn how these dishonest companies work. Know your rights and FIGHT BACK.

GC Services Taken To Task For Using "The Government" As A Reference!

2011-09-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

This is a very amusing case.

GC Services (Houston, TX; St. Louis, MO) tried to intimidate a debtor by making claims about work it had (allegedly) done for the U.S. Government.

A judge was not amused, and ruled in the plaintiff's favor.

GC Services is one of the most disreputable collection agencies in the country.

Illinois Residents: Beware of GC Services

2011-05-24T09:02:00.001-07:00

This is interesting.

In 2009, Joe M. Van Nest of GC Services sent a FOIA request seeking information about litigation and collection services for the Illinois Tollway.

GC Services is an awful collection agency.

They harass people on the phone.

This disclose (alleged) debt information to third parties.

They pester neighbors.

They do not respond to debt validation letters.

They have had a history of wage and hour violations

It seems they have plans to expand into other types of collections.

If you are an Illinois resident, you should contact your elected officials and tell them that doing business with GC Services is a VERY BAD IDEA.

GC Services Refusing Correspondence? Turn the Tables!

2011-04-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

It seems GC Services does not like receiving debt validation or cease and desist letters.

It seems they are not signing for certain pieces of certified or registered mail.

One thing they are guaranteed to sign for, though, is a PAYMENT!

Try addressing your letters like this:

Mr. Joe Van Nest
Payments Manager
GC Services
6330 Gulfton
Houston, TX 77081

** please expedite-payment in full enclosed **

And see what happens.

By the way, if you need a sample debt validation letter you can find a very effective one here.

RIP GC Services Employee and Pianist, Robert Nicholas Smith

2010-12-24T15:15:00.000-08:00

Robert Nicholas Smith, 52, of Gold Canyon, Ariz., formerly of Westport CT, died Nov. 29, 2010.

Born in Norwalk, he lived in Westport for the greater part of his life. He attended local schools and was a graduate of the Westport School of Music, studying under pianist Richard Gregor. He went to the University of Bridgeport for a year, then transferred to Arizona State.

He worked for many years in retail and restaurant management. After moving to Arizona three and a half years ago, he was employed by GC Service. It is not known if he participated in GC Services’ alleged abuse of systems such as Experian.

He is survived by his parents, Bob and Sandra Jaderlund Smith; his brothers, Darin and Wayne; and two nieces, Alexandra and Olena Rene Smith, all of Arizona.

A Mass was celebrated at St. George's Catholic Church in Gold Canyon. Burial will be in Willowbrook Cemetery, Westport.

Brad Batig: What Happened?

2010-12-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

Back in 2009, Brad Batig was a partner at a law firm.

In 2010, he's working for GC Services.

What happened? Not good enough for a real law firm? It is unlikely the owners of GC Services pay him well, as he's only admitted in Texas and they get sued all over the place…

GC Services: Caught in the Act with Experian!

2010-09-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

Add this to the long list of "improper activities" undertaken by Texas-based collection agency, GC Services (others include failing to pay overtime and not keeping current on tax status).

In this case, GC Services abused access to reports such as those provided by Experian. They have been forced, by order of the court, to pay consumers large sums for their misbehavior!

Jerald Burton Katz: Thank You, White Pages

2010-06-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

Can't get satisfaction with GC Services?

Take it to to the top.

No skiptracing, pretexting, lying, berating, or calls to neighbors needed. Easy if you know how.

Jerald Burton Katz. 11015 Country Squire Street, Houston, TX 77024. (713) 464-8214.

Brad Batig: GC Services' Lawyer

2010-06-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

If you need to talk to GC Services' lawyer, his name is Brad Batig and you can reach him on (713) 776-6508.

He does not like to give out his last name or phone number, as he is tired of people complaining about how crooked his company is.

Have fun.

GC Services Loses in Court, Must Pay $121,000

2010-05-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

This is just another case where improper and illegal collection practices end up costing a colleciton agency big time.

Do the math.

10 of these cases would mean that GC Services (or any other collection agency) would have to pay a million dollars…

Is Eric Bernhagen looking for another job yet?

Tameka Bennett-Quinn, GC Services Supervisor, INDICTED

2010-05-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

May 21, 2010

Tameka Bennett-Quinn, 33, of Wentzville, MO, was indicted by a federal grand jury on four felony counts of making forged securities and four felony counts of bank fraud. She is accused of altering customer payment checks and depositing the money into her own accounts while working as a supervisor with GC Services in St. Charles County.

The indictment alleges that between May and November 2009, Bennett-Quinn began stealing customer checks, altering them and depositing the altered checks into her own bank accounts. In order to conceal her fraudulent conduct, Bennett-Quinn allegedly would access a computerized database of GC Services and provide unauthorized promotional credits to the accounts of customers whose checks she stole and altered so that it appeared the payments had been made.

**

Where is ERIC BERNHAGEN when you need him?

GC Services: Suggests Woman Put Child Up for Adoption, Engage in Prostitution

2010-01-27T06:13:00.000-08:00

A GC Services "paralegal" told someone the following:

"I should give my son up for adoption or better yet sell him or even sell my body give my neighbor a BJ."

How professional of them. This reflects well on their "clients" such as American Express!

GC Services: Ohio Contract Terminated for Negligence!

2009-11-29T18:25:00.000-08:00

Collectors arent always careful with the private information they receive. In 2004, reporters for a Columbus, Ohio, TV station WBNS discovered an unlocked dumpster full of unshredded documents containing private financial information on 449 people outside a collection agency charged with pursuing student loan and state tax debt.

The company, GC Services, claimed it had been set up by a disgruntled former employee. But the station found other employees who insisted that confidential documents were regularly discarded, rather than shredded. The station reported that the Ohio Attorney General severed GC Services contract with the state after the incident -- and that the dumpster behind the collection office is now locked.

GC Services: Texas Tax Problems Continue On November 10, 2009!

2009-11-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

Ironically, GC Services has done contract collections work for various government bodies.

That's probably coming to a halt (and a crashing halt, at that).

Why?

Well, GC Services, despite the steady leadership of Eric Bernhagen, seems unable to pay its Texas franchise taxes. They've been out of good standing for some time. Calls to their office result in angry and evasive approaches.

GC Services: A New Low

2009-10-29T04:08:00.000-07:00

Eric Bernhagen and his associates at GC Services can't figure out how to pay their Texas taxes, but they can think of this:

"My neighbor whom I have never met before came to my home with a message from Mr. Joe Rios. He said Mr. Rios called his home and stated that he was speaking to me earlier, he heard gun shots, then the phone went dead. He told my neighbor to please go knock on my door to see if I was ok. Mr. Rios left his number with my neighbor and asked that I call him to verify that I was ok. My neighbor and I thought this was one pretty weird phone call. I called and it was GC services. Mr. Rios started yelling at me and was very rude. He denied that the whole conversation took place with my neighbor. I think that is totally unprofessional and an abusive tactic. I am filing a complaint with the attorney General regarding his behavior. Oh by the way, the guy is such a fat *** loser, that he never told me what he was calling about in the first place. I know this is a debt collection company, but what debt is he trying to collect is beyond me."

If the neighbor had called the police, GC Services would have had a lot of explaining to do. Filing a false report is a crime!

GC Services: Trouble with the Texas Franchise Tax Board!

2009-10-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

As of October 23, 2009, GC Services appears not to have paid some of its taxes! This is a screenshot from the Texas Franchise Tax Board:

If they contact you, bring this up. Tell them you can't pay an outfit that does not pay its taxes.

The best joke would be if they were trying to collect taxes themselves-they have been known to get tax collection contracts. If this happens, you should contact the local tax authority and let them know GC Services is behind on their own taxes!

Ask to talk to Eric Bernhagen, let him know what you think of them, ask him why they are deadbeats! Give them a dose of their own medicine!

GC Services: NOT IN GOOD STANDING as of October 21, 2009!

2009-10-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

It looks like Eric Bernhagen has been too busy to keep the paperwork current at GC Services! This is not the kind of thing that goes over well in a lawsuit…

They are not in good standing-it has expired! It is not clear what this means, but it certainly does show that GC Services is not well managed!

Is this a "special project" Michael Lane Fisher failed to complete properly?

GC Services FAILS in Effort to Obtain Medical Records!

2009-09-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

March 30, 2009

A plaintiff who files a personal injury claim for emotional distress and mental anguish does not necessarily waive the psychotherapist-client privilege, a federal magistrate judge in Richmond has ruled.

The decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck appears to be the first word in Virginia on the issue, and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to address it.

Pamela G. Cappetta filed a lawsuit against GC Services Limited Partnership stemming from a $10,444.59 debt incurred by her former husband.

She alleged that efforts of GC Services to collect the debt violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Virginia Credit Service Businesses Act.

Leonard A. Bennett of Newport News and Matthew Erasquin of Fairfax, Cappetta’s attorneys, alleged that GC Services called Cappetta at work and told her she owed the money due on an American Express credit card held by her former husband.

Cappetta paid the debt after an agent for the company told her that she was responsible for it because her Social Security number was on the account. Bennett alleged that Cappetta did not owe the money and GC Services did not respond when Cappetta demanded a refund of the payment, which he contended had been “extorted.”

The debt collection effort caused Cappetta to experience “severe emotional distress evidenced by one or more of the following: anger, sleeplessness, crying, anxiety, fear, and humiliation,” as well as “a loss of concentration and the ability to perform her job properly,” Bennett alleged.

During discovery, GC Services subpoenaed the records of a psychologist who had counseled Cappetta and her former husband in the summer of 2006 before they divorced. Bennett asked Lauck to quash the subpoena. Cappetta had alleged no more than the “garden variety” type of emotional distress the U.S. Supreme Court referred to in Jaffe v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1 (1996), Bennett contended.

She is not seeking reimbursement for medical or psychiatric bills and does not intend to call an expert witness to opine as to the severity of her emotional distress. Lauck said courts agree that the psychotherapist privilege can be waived when a party puts her mental condition at issue as an element of a claim or defense.

“Courts diverge, however, in taking a broad, narrow or middle-ground approach as to what type of emotional distress claims will put a party’s mental condition sufficiently ‘at issue’ to constitute a waiver of the privilege,” Lauck wrote in –Cappetta v. GC Services LP–VLW 009-3-124).

Under the broad view, a plaintiff waives the privilege by claiming emotional distress damages regardless of whether the plaintiff intends to use the psychotherapist’s records or testimony. Courts using the narrow view say a waiver occurs “only if the party asserting the privilege affirmatively uses his mental condition in the case, such as when the cause of action relies on the diagnosis or advice of a party’s psychotherapist,” Lauck said.

Under either approach, Lauck said, a mere allegation of incidental emotional distress, without seeking to recover damages for them, is not a waiver, while use of the psychotherapist’s testimony or records waives the privilege. Seeking damages for severe or emotional distress because of the defendant’s conduct or an assertion of negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress also waives the privilege, she said. That leaves a middle ground in which “no waiver flows from emotional damage claims incidental to other claims, or from claims in which emotional damages do not predominate,” Lauck said.

Lauck adopted the middle ground in finding that the privilege clearly applied to records related to marriage counseling sessions involving Cappetta and her former husband. Moreover, Cappetta had not alleged a mental health disorder caused by defendant’s conduct, and the record suggests that the psychologist did not treat anxiety that resulted from such conduct, Lauck noted.

The magistrate judge also limited the scope of a subpoena for the records of Cappetta’s primary care physician, who prescribed an anti-anxiety medication for her. Cappetta had waived the physician-patient privilege for records related to that treatment, but the defendant was not entitled to records that predated the treatment other than “sufficient records so as to establish a baseline of Plaintiff’s emotional condition at the time of the incident,” Lauck said.

Erasquin said the defendant contends that its agent never told Cappetta that she was responsible for the debt, but that she paid it to avoid any blemish on her otherwise perfect credit record. They also contend that any emotional distress was more related to the dissolution of her marriage than to the debt.

He said that he and Bennett are attempting to gain access to the way GC Services dealt with other supplemental cardholders to determine whether practices of the type it allegedly used in the Cappetta case would support a class action suit.

Discovery is continuing and no trial date has been set.

Lewis Wilkerson

2009-09-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

Lewis Wilkerson is given as a point of contact at GC Services for people seeking a job there.

If you have the name of an abusive collector, you should report them to Wilkerson.

Wilkerson's email is lewis.wilkerson@gcserv.com and his fax is (314) 851-4320.

GC Services: Corporate Information

2009-08-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

Here is some more interesting information on GC Services:

1) Their registration expires on August 17, 2009. Let's see if they update it!

2) Their registered agent is C T Corporation System, 350 North St. Paul St, Dallas, TX 75201. This is where you could file a lawsuit against them!

Mixed Signals from GC Services and Eric Bernhagen!

2009-08-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

First of all, thanks to everyone out there for sending stuff in. We'll never tell!

A reader received these letters from GC services within days of each other.

The person is making payments to American Express. They wrote to GC and requested debt validation. They sent it certified mail and got the green card back. GC stopped calling but kept writing, that's a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

But look at the letters. One wants payment in full. One wants a payment plan. There is no confirmation that the person's American Express account would be credited!

As usual, there is the suggestion that concerns can be brought to the attention of Eric Bernhagen, who seems to change job titles at GC Services as often as most of us change our socks!

GC Services: Sued Again!

2009-08-04T13:16:00.001-07:00

Now GC Services is being sued for misusing credit reports, making unreasonable demands and issuing false threats.

The man behind a lot of it is none other than the very important Eric Bernhagen. Something tells us he should start looking for another job…

Click the image to enlarge the letter!

A Good Point of Contact

2009-06-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Is GC Services calling your phone and asking for people you don't know? You're not alone.

If this is happening to you, contact:

Michael Lane Fischer, Telecommunications Project Manager
GC Services
940 Westport Plaza Drive #425
St. Louis, MO 63146

1-800-926-3136 x4371
1-314-851-4371

The address might be useful for sending debt validation and cease and desist letters.

Good Luck.

Making GC Services Accept Your DV Letter

2009-05-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

A lot of collection agencies (e.g., Mann Bracken, Penncro), won't take certified mail.

Why? Then they can claim they never got your debt validation or cease and desist letter.

Well, here's a trick, someone just used it on GC Services! Send it certified mail, but to the payment address, and make it look like there's a payment inside!

If you have the name of a collector, put it on there too! These people are greedy, they want money, so they'll sign for it if they think there's money in it. Now you have proof you sent whatever you sent them.

GC Services: Continual Calls to WRONG NUMBER

2009-05-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

GC Services.

One of the worst.

Sued all the time for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violations. They lose.

Here they go again. Calling someone, looking for someone else. GC Services kept calling, and calling, and calling, even though they'd been informed, politely, that they had the wrong number.

It ended up in court. Read this part of the complaint, has this happened to you? Maybe you should take them to court as well!

GC Services "Invents" a Lien

2009-05-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

GC Services is one of the worst. In this case, they told someone there was a lien on their house (double click to for a larger version).

There WAS NO LIEN.

GC Services lies and breaks the law. They get taken to court ALL THE TIME and THEY LOSE.

Fight back!

The VERY Important Eric Bernhagen!

2009-05-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

He has two jobs, account representative and general manager of GC Services. Now you can read all about him!

Sneaky Letter

2009-05-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

For some reason, American Express continues to do business with GC Services.

Here's a sneaky letter they just sent.

Note that all they "seem to be willing to accept" is full payment.

Also note how they "helpfully" ask you to "be certain your account is correct" by providing information that will help them collect.

"Mr. Bernhagen" is either very important or has a split personality. Is he an account representative, a general manager, or both?

GC Services:

6330 Gulfton, Houston, TX 77081 (800) 926-3136

PO Box 46960, St. Louis, MO 63146 (314) 4300

GC Services: One of the Worst

2009-05-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

GC Services is one of the worst collection agencies in America.

They have been around for a long time. They never seem to learn.

They are still the preferred collector for American Express. That says something bad about American Express.

They have also had problems with government accounts. There have been many complaints about this, and that has led to a reversal of the trend towards private collections for everything ranging from taxes to parking tickets.

Be careful with them. Stand up for your rights!