I'm going to go ahead and start this by saying that this is just to help me feel better. This doesn't involve fixing the health care system or getting rid of the Stupak amendment or auditing the Fed, all things that are more important to the community at large. But I just need to get this out and tell everyone who cares to listen what a horrible company NRA Group, LLC is.
A couple of people on here probably already know this, but for those who don't, my fiancee passed on in January. She contracted meningitis unexpectedly and I never even really got a chance to say goodbye. This diary is not about that, but as an aside, never pass up a chance to tell your loved ones that you love them. That's one of the few things that comforts me about it. I know she knew how much I love her.
There are two salient points regarding my situation that apply here however. One, my fiancee was a major shopaholic. Never out of our ability to pay, but she had a few credit cards. Two, I was not the executor of her estate. So, after she passed on, her estate was responsible for the credit cards and I was not.
Over the last few months, a number of different collection agencies have contacted me. Although dealing with them was painful, many of them were very understanding about the situation. Indeed, a few of them, after hearing what had happened, quickly offered their condolences and hung up the phone. And, needless to say, as the months have gone by, the calls have dwindled significantly.
This brings us to today. I received a call today from National Recovery Agency, a recovery agency based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. When I asked who was calling, the woman on the other end of the line said Lakeesha (I think, the line was a little garbled), and she asked to speak with my fiancee (by name, but our names aren't important here). When I asked who she represented she said NRA Group, which is the official name of the collection agency. At this point, I explained as calmly as I could that my fiancee had passed on.
Now, most people would, at this point, say they're sorry, and hang up. At the very least, they would try to be respectful. Instead, she said that she saw that on her computer screen. Rather than look at the notes before calling, she just went ahead and called anyway, even though she had, right in front of her, the information that the person she was trying to reach had passed on.
I will admit that, at this point, I got angry. Not only was she bringing this pain back to me, but she had the knowledge right in front of her but just decided to ignore it. She then asked me to fax a copy of her death certificate (which is one of the most painful things a person can be asked) in a very short and curt manner. I told her to contact my fiancee's mother. She asked me for her number, and when I told her to just look it up herself as it was a listed number, she hung up on me.
Now, as an attorney, I will readily admit that nothing that this woman did was illegal. However, with the number of people who are experiencing financial troubles, I can only imagine how painful this sort of cavalier attitude could be. In a way, I'm one of the lucky ones in dealing with these collection agencies. I'm not legally responsible for any of these debts. In the end, they'll just have to be written off.
But what about the people who are dealing with this day after day, knowing that they're responsible, but also knowing that they weren't being irresponsible when they got into debt? What about the people who are trying their hardest to get through the day while these companies call and harass them without even looking at the individual circumstances?
So, I figure if they can harass me, then they can be harassed as well. Here's the contact information for NRA Group, LLC.
NRA GROUP, LLC. dba National Recovery Agency
2491 Paxton Street
Harrisburg, PA 17111
or
P.O. Box 67015
Harrisburg, PA 17106-7015
Phone: 1-800-360-4319 or 717-540-5605
Fax: (717) 540-4810 or (800) 360-9954
Email: inquiry@nationalrecovery.com
Feel free to pass this information around as you see fit. I'm also happy to give anyone who cares to permission to repost any and all of this diary anywhere else. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.