Review: D Scott Carruthers Attn At Law

The law offices of D. Scott Carruthers contacted me about an unpaid debt I had with Bank of America. I expected some surly collector to start threatening me with litigation, but I was pleasantly surprised. They were very understanding of my situation, gave me a 2 month forebearance on making any payment at all, then worked out a very affordable payment plan for me. It isn't often you come across a nice debt collector, but in this case I have to give credit to these guys. Very professional and considerate.

Do not trust anything from this place, D. Scott Carruthers! They tried to nab my wife for a fictious claim! Request a DV (debt validation) letter!
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/messa...

I recieved a letter from Scott Carruthers law offices about a bill that was being collected be Regent saying I have not contacted them yet and the funny thing is I have been calling 2 to 3 times aweek to set up a payment program and they either hang up on me are rude put me on hold and never answer the line again so who do I contact to get this straightened out?

i like how the 3 fake reports are all dated april 2009..

scott , if you want to trick the internet into thinnking you are legit, spend a little more time posting fake reports.. like maybe one every few days

Just got a bupkis letter from these folks this afternoon. They claim I owe almost $250 in "interest" (which I'm pretty sure that claim is an FDCPA violation). I'll be calling the FTC and BBB tomorrow to file a complaint, and I'll also be speaking with an attorney about filing a civil suit. You guys are a piece of work.

And they are all from Phoenix, AZ... you would think someone who can pass the bar can think to post from different regions.

Consumer Rights Lawyer wrote:

I'm a consumer rights attorney in Los Angeles and I have sued many collection agencies and even other attorneys for FDCPA violations. However, I know Scott Carruthers personally and can attest that he runs a clean and legitimate shop. Most all the negative press on the internet is posted by consumers that are trying to avoid payment of their debts. There is no basis in fact to 99% of it or Scott would be getting sued every week. I'm no fan of debt collectors, but in reality, it's just the few bad apples in the bunch that gives the whole industry a bad rap. Scott Carruthers is one of the better run collection agencies in California.

According to court dockets it looks like he is getting sued every week...in various states...

I recieved a letter at my home on the east coast from this so called attorney's office. i located their phone # and informed them that my Husbands exwife does not live with us on the east coast.(She lives in CA) The lady on the other end of the line provided me with the ex's address they have listed!!!! Which by the way is in CA..These people do not know what they are doing it seems. And to provide me with my husbands exwifes current address!! That is just plain stupid.

I spoke with a representative from this office and was told they couldnt wait three days for me to start making payment on my debt after I was more than willing to take care of it. I am awaiting court papers. I cant wait to see them in court!!!!

I am very upset with them. They are very rude, especially a rep named James Eison. They have done the same thing to me leaving me on hold, hanging up on me, and telling me I can't pay by mail and that it has to be a credit card. What's up with that? Is this law firm a scam? Because I have dealt with other collection agencies before and I didn't have these kind of problems. The rep James was yelling at me because I was trying to make a payment plan so I could get my problem resolved.

"You have defaulted on your US Bank account in the amount of $xx. Pursuant to your contractual agreement, interest has accrued in the amount of $xx. You currently owe $xx.

To assist in settling this matter, Regent is currently willing to waive half of the accrued interest on your account and accept $xx as payment in full. If you are willing to accept these settlement terms, please contact Regent's office immediately at 1-866-WE R SCUM.

If you have not contacted Regent to discuss this settlement offer within 14 days, I will begin preparing your case for a lawsuit to be filed in "your county" by investigating your employment, assets and banking information. If it is necessary to have court enforce this contract, court costs and attorney fees will be added to the amount you owe and the settlement offer will be revoked."

The few things that really stand out and bother me about this letter:

1. 14 day window to respond
2. On both the envelope and letterhead the return address is in teeny-tiny font.
3. It was postmarked in Las Vegas, even though the return address is CA.
4. It is D Scott Carruthers letterhead, but the letter repeatedly indicates it is Regent. I assume they are one in the same.

I recieved this letter today, read up on a few sites about the situation, and have a few questions. I am no expert (obviously), but isnt this letter in violation of a few of the FDCPA provisions? I had gotten a letter a few years ago,(paid it without researching though), that had information about disputing. If they are in violation, would they be liable for $1,000 to every one of us who recieved this letter.

According to the FDCPA:
§ 809. Validation of debts
(a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing—
(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;
(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector
in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector
will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector;

Also, if I send a DV, how do I prove what I sent, besides the certifed mail. I mean that just shows I sent something, how do i prove what the letter said. Trying to get some responses to this, see if anyone has actually sued them and won?

This is their docket count. They are constantly violating the law. Don't pay them a dime. They never sue or ding your credit. Purely boiler room type of operation.

http://dockets.justia.com/search...

Yasmine wrote:

I am very upset with them. They are very rude, especially a rep named James Eison. They have done the same thing to me leaving me on hold, hanging up on me, and telling me I can't pay by mail and that it has to be a credit card. What's up with that? Is this law firm a scam? Because I have dealt with other collection agencies before and I didn't have these kind of problems. The rep James was yelling at me because I was trying to make a payment plan so I could get my problem resolved.

I'm a consumer rights attorney in Los Angeles and I have sued many collection agencies and even other attorneys for FDCPA violations. However, I know Scott Carruthers personally and can attest that he runs a clean and legitimate shop. Most all the negative press on the internet is posted by consumers that are trying to avoid payment of their debts. There is no basis in fact to 99% of it or Scott would be getting sued every week. I'm no fan of debt collectors, but in reality, it's just the few bad apples in the bunch that gives the whole industry a bad rap. Scott Carruthers is one of the better run collection agencies in California.

Well well well wrote:

"You have defaulted on your US Bank account in the amount of $xx. Pursuant to your contractual agreement, interest has accrued in the amount of $xx. You currently owe $xx.
To assist in settling this matter, Regent is currently willing to waive half of the accrued interest on your account and accept $xx as payment in full. If you are willing to accept these settlement terms, please contact Regent's office immediately at 1-866-WE R SCUM.
If you have not contacted Regent to discuss this settlement offer within 14 days, I will begin preparing your case for a lawsuit to be filed in "your county" by investigating your employment, assets and banking information. If it is necessary to have court enforce this contract, court costs and attorney fees will be added to the amount you owe and the settlement offer will be revoked."
The few things that really stand out and bother me about this letter:
1. 14 day window to respond
2. On both the envelope and letterhead the return address is in teeny-tiny font.
3. It was postmarked in Las Vegas, even though the return address is CA.
4. It is D Scott Carruthers letterhead, but the letter repeatedly indicates it is Regent. I assume they are one in the same.
I recieved this letter today, read up on a few sites about the situation, and have a few questions. I am no expert (obviously), but isnt this letter in violation of a few of the FDCPA provisions? I had gotten a letter a few years ago,(paid it without researching though), that had information about disputing. If they are in violation, would they be liable for $1,000 to every one of us who recieved this letter.
According to the FDCPA:
§ 809. Validation of debts
(a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing—
(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;
(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector
in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector
will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector;
Also, if I send a DV, how do I prove what I sent, besides the certifed mail. I mean that just shows I sent something, how do i prove what the letter said. Trying to get some responses to this, see if anyone has actually sued them and won?

I'm a attorney in LA and I have sued many agencies and even other attorneys for FDCPA violations. However, I know Scott and can attest that he runs a clean and legitimate shop. Most all the negative press on the internet is posted by consumers that are trying to avoid payment. There is no basis to 99.9% of it or he would be getting sued alot. Scott is one of the better run firms in Cali.

Well well well wrote:

"You have defaulted on your US Bank account in the amount of $xx. Pursuant to your contractual agreement, interest has accrued in the amount of $xx. You currently owe $xx.
To assist in settling this matter, Regent is currently willing to waive half of the accrued interest on your account and accept $xx as payment in full. If you are willing to accept these settlement terms, please contact Regent's office immediately at 1-866-WE R SCUM.
If you have not contacted Regent to discuss this settlement offer within 14 days, I will begin preparing your case for a lawsuit to be filed in "your county" by investigating your employment, assets and banking information. If it is necessary to have court enforce this contract, court costs and attorney fees will be added to the amount you owe and the settlement offer will be revoked."
The few things that really stand out and bother me about this letter:
1. 14 day window to respond
2. On both the envelope and letterhead the return address is in teeny-tiny font.
3. It was postmarked in Las Vegas, even though the return address is CA.
4. It is D Scott Carruthers letterhead, but the letter repeatedly indicates it is Regent. I assume they are one in the same.
I recieved this letter today, read up on a few sites about the situation, and have a few questions. I am no expert (obviously), but isnt this letter in violation of a few of the FDCPA provisions? I had gotten a letter a few years ago,(paid it without researching though), that had information about disputing. If they are in violation, would they be liable for $1,000 to every one of us who recieved this letter.
According to the FDCPA:
§ 809. Validation of debts
(a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing—
(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;
(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector
in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector
will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector;
Also, if I send a DV, how do I prove what I sent, besides the certifed mail. I mean that just shows I sent something, how do i prove what the letter said. Trying to get some responses to this, see if anyone has actually sued them and won?

Well said, I agree totally

***** PLEASE READ Re: Regent/Carruthers *****

I'll preface this post by telling you I am a debt collector, but also a consumer and what these people are doing egregiously violates numerous consumer laws.

Like most of you, in addition to phone calls from Regent, I too, received a letter from D. Scott Carruthers referencing an old checking account (which I settled years ago). The letter states I owe some 1300 dollars, 900 of which is interest. Even if I did owe the debt, this is illegal as the statutory rate for interest on an overdrafted checking account is 6% or less depending on which state you live in.[violation #1-FDCPA 807(2)(A)]
- "The false representation of the character, amount, or legal status of any debt."
The initial notice is from an attorney on his letterhead, but is not signed by the attorney, which is required by law.[violation #2-FDCPA 807(3)]
- "The false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney."
"Unless the attorney has in fact reviewed the debtor's file and made a professional judgment that whatever action is threatened is appropriate, and the threatened action has been authorized by the creditor, the use of such letters is a violation of 1692e(3), which prohibits "[t]he false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney."
In Clomon v. Jackson, the Second Circuit found that the use of an attorney's name in the letterhead of the debt collector's dunning letter, where the attorney did not review the file, violated the FDCPA.
The initial notice also does not contain the required statement that a consumer has 30 days to dispute any portion of the debt and/or request validation of said debt.[This is a blatant violation of FDCPA 809(a)]
Furthermore, the letter goes on to read "If you have not contacted Regent to discuss this settlement offer within 14 days, I will begin preparing your case for a lawsuit to be filed in XXXX county..." [violation #4-FDCPA 807(4)]
- "The threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken."
My research indicates this attorney is licensed only in CA and not in my state and therefore cannot directly take ANY legal action. Not to mention the alleged debt is beyond the statute of limitations in my state.
The irony here is that I work for a reputable law firm which lawfully collects on debts and we always conduct ourselves in a professional manner and we strictly adhere to all applicable laws provided to protect the consumer under the FDCPA.
I've been a debt collector for over 10 years and never had any complaints filed against me. These people give my industry a tarnished reputation and should be held accountable for their actions. Frankly I'm ashamed to even acknowledge that they work in the same profession.
So please, if you do owe a debt and a collector attempts to LAWFULLY collect on said debt, I encourage you to work with them. However, low-lifes like these need to be taught a lesson.
Hope this helps.
p.s. I have hired a consumer attorney who has agreed to take my case and file a lawsuit very soon.

I do not work for this company anymore and it is good to see that you are some what educated on the laws. As far as the intrest rate thing you have that wrong they can not ask for an extra fees or intrest that was not included in the original agreement. This 6% or less has nothing to do with "over drafted checking accounts" Yes if they were to take judgement then the contactual intrest rate would stop and it would begin accruing at the statutory rate.They may do somethings wrong and I believe US Bank should do more to help its customers before they sell the accounts. Anyway just thought i would ad that.

Jhonno wrote:

***** PLEASE READ Re: Regent/Carruthers *****
I'll preface this post by telling you I am a debt collector, but also a consumer and what these people are doing egregiously violates numerous consumer laws.
Like most of you, in addition to phone calls from Regent, I too, received a letter from D. Scott Carruthers referencing an old checking account (which I settled years ago). The letter states I owe some 1300 dollars, 900 of which is interest. Even if I did owe the debt, this is illegal as the statutory rate for interest on an overdrafted checking account is 6% or less depending on which state you live in.[violation #1-FDCPA 807(2)(A)]
- "The false representation of the character, amount, or legal status of any debt."
The initial notice is from an attorney on his letterhead, but is not signed by the attorney, which is required by law.[violation #2-FDCPA 807(3)]
- "The false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney."
"Unless the attorney has in fact reviewed the debtor's file and made a professional judgment that whatever action is threatened is appropriate, and the threatened action has been authorized by the creditor, the use of such letters is a violation of 1692e(3), which prohibits "[t]he false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney."
In Clomon v. Jackson, the Second Circuit found that the use of an attorney's name in the letterhead of the debt collector's dunning letter, where the attorney did not review the file, violated the FDCPA.
The initial notice also does not contain the required statement that a consumer has 30 days to dispute any portion of the debt and/or request validation of said debt.[This is a blatant violation of FDCPA 809(a)]
Furthermore, the letter goes on to read "If you have not contacted Regent to discuss this settlement offer within 14 days, I will begin preparing your case for a lawsuit to be filed in XXXX county..." [violation #4-FDCPA 807(4)]
- "The threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken."
My research indicates this attorney is licensed only in CA and not in my state and therefore cannot directly take ANY legal action. Not to mention the alleged debt is beyond the statute of limitations in my state.
The irony here is that I work for a reputable law firm which lawfully collects on debts and we always conduct ourselves in a professional manner and we strictly adhere to all applicable laws provided to protect the consumer under the FDCPA.
I've been a debt collector for over 10 years and never had any complaints filed against me. These people give my industry a tarnished reputation and should be held accountable for their actions. Frankly I'm ashamed to even acknowledge that they work in the same profession.
So please, if you do owe a debt and a collector attempts to LAWFULLY collect on said debt, I encourage you to work with them. However, low-lifes like these need to be taught a lesson.
Hope this helps.
p.s. I have hired a consumer attorney who has agreed to take my case and file a lawsuit very soon.

I'm pretty sure I had the pleasure of speaking to the actual "D Scott" Carruthers on the phone this morning. I'm pretty sure his law firm consists of just him, as he is too giant a jerk for anybody else to work with. And that says a lot considering we're talking about attorneys here.

D Scott Carruthers is at best a fraud, and at worst, a menace to society. I received a letter from his "offices" dated June 2nd, called them June 7th to say this was the first time I'd ever heard of the bank that I supposedly owed a debt under and that I didn't appreciate receiving letters threatening legal action (in 14 days) for a debt that is not mine.

I was transferred to Carruthers who immediately started berating me, calling me a jerk (verbatim), threatening to lower my credit score and take me to court, all before I could even have the opportunity to explain to him that THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I'D EVER HEARD OF THIS DEBT, let alone the bank!

I am currently filing a police report with my local PD as Mr. Carruther's letters are in clear violation of several statutes of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, such as threatening legal action after 14 days of non-communication (the law says its 30 days), and threatening me in ways which he has no legal basis for action.

After reading several other stories across message boards, I am concluding this guy is indeed a fraud and you should resist paying 1 cent to him without proper documentation of the debt being disputed.

If you do call their number, be prepared to get called a jerk and subject yourself to a barrage of nastiness!

Doent anyone notice 99% of the "good reviews' this guy gets are from AZ??

i got a letter from these guys as well stating i need to pay it within 14 days and after contacting them on the phone they gave me 24 hours and raised the price of the original claim.not sure if these people can actually take you to court hopefully someone can tell me if i should take these guys serious.