Don’t be duped by a name.  Channel 11 reports that a Houston based company called, “Public Safety Services,” has engaged in fund-raising activities for the Dallas Police Department by representing that DPD will be a recipient of proceeds and posting official DPD pictures on their web site.  At first blush, not that significant since law enforcement agencies can generally use all the funding they can get.  The problem, however, is that despite their cleverly vague name, they are not associated with DPD.  As such they are now being accused of using a non-existent affiliation to receive donations.  According to the article, 80% of the donations remain with the organization.  The Better Business Bureau expressed concern in that, reputable fundraising organizations generally forward around 65% of their proceeds to the charity.

Similar to “Public Safety Services,” many debt collectors will use the same tactic.  They invent names to make it appear to you that they are with some type of enforcement agency.  The twist on names is endless, but some include “Law Enforcement Systems, Inc.” and “National Credit Management.”  Debt collectors are not allowed to represent that they have an affiliation, when in fact they do not.  Regardless, many will design names like these which push the “name game” envelop.  Watch for any trigger words like “national”, “Law”, “State”, and “American.”  The hope is that the name will scare or trick you into paying on the account they are attempting to collect.  If you are not sure whether they are with a particular governmental agency or an particular attorney’s office, pin the debt collector down and ask them to officially state which agency they claim to be associated with or working for.  You can then call the agency or firm to verify the affiliation, and report the fraud if need be.

Dealing with a debt collector can be scary or disturbing, especially when they are using intimidating tactics like these.  Fortunately, you can get help through a qualified bankruptcy attorney.  It doesn’t matter to the bankruptcy court, or attorney for that matter, how important or cool the collector’s name sounds.  What does matter is that they are collecting on a legitimate debt, that they correctly represent the balance which is due, and that they cease collection activities after your filing for bankruptcy.  A good bankruptcy attorney will insure that they follow these basic principles. The general purpose of bankruptcy is to help you get back on your feet financially.  But it also has the effect of protecting you from unscrupulous collection efforts.  You get this protection bonus regardless of the type of bankruptcy that you file.  Once you file for bankruptcy, you will notice an end to the collection games end and your family can get back to financial normalcy without being duped or harassed.